Group items tagged

Your question - How do you represent ideas with images? - is a very powerful one. We are bambarded with images all day. I often think of these images as trying to sell me something - such as a commerical to buy something - or sometimes a quick reference to information - such as a symbol for a restroom. I realize now that technology has allowed for the production of images to be so accessible that they are now a part of our normal dialog. It is easy to make a video or take a picture. On Facebook, we see this all the time; people adding content to their story with images.

Just looked at your portfolio which is a learning course in itself! You've done a great job of summarizing what we've been working on. Our portfolios are a perfect place to store this. You've inspired me to take a few steps back before I move forward with Module #4. Thanks, Bruce.

Ann and Helen, Thanks much for your feedback on the website. It's much appreciated!

Bruce...I have a question. I wrote a story blog this week. Can you tell me if your course would help me create a video presentation of this blog? http://joystechtool.blogspot.com/ I don't have your email, except maybe the one you have at BC. I would have to take it as a senior. Which means space available. Can this be done?

Joy, Just to let you know... the visual storytelling class won't be offered again until Fall 2011. It sounds like your story would make an interesting educational online comic or presentation - explaining the idea of backwards design. One approach, is that you could use a virtual world environment like Second Life or BlueMars to engage virtual characters/actors, and set your camera positions to tell your visual narrative. You could synchronize narration and other audio, and then post it to the Web via YouTube, Google Presentations, or some other presentation application like SlideRocket. Just a thought...

Thanks Bruce. Fall would be perfect! That is if I could get in the class. I suspect it is very popular on campus. I would like to use second life; but have not tried. Is it free. My understanding is it is very expensive. While I would like a video of the story to put with the blog, it can be done at a later date. What I do not know how to do is synchronize the narration and other audio. My husband uses camcording to capture band performances. Could you maybe email me on this issue? jal8008cel@comcast.net. Unless I am taking advantage of your knowledge here. Please?

Thank you, Bruce, for sharing the objectives of your Course. It sounds so intriguing that I would love to be a part of it! Perhaps that will become a reality for me as time passes.

Joy, I could probably begin to answer your question here, and then if you have more questions we can connect via my other email address: bcweb20class@gmail.com. Probably the best online multimedia delivery application that I know of is SLIDEROCKET. I've been using it in my courses for about a year. You can upload Powerpoint slides, incorporate video directly from YouTube (or uploaded video), images, graphics, text, and integrate these all with a sound track. Everything is built online, and the interface works well. The catch is this - after the 30 day trial period, it costs $12 per month. I taught a very challenging online course this summer, and I didn't mind paying that fee because of the excellent results I got. SlideRocket saved the day by pulling me out of a jam. It also now integrates well with Google applications. Another (this one is free) cloud-based multimedia authoring application is EMPRESSR . Here's a quote from the website: Empressr is the first free online storytelling tool that allows you to create, manage and share rich media presentations online. Earlier in the quarter, Jennifer recommended another audio editing tool called AUDACITY , which is really terrific! It's simple to use and produces good results. I actually prefer Audacity for audio editing over some other commercial products that have a lot more bells and whistles. I hope that helps!

Here's my post for mapping an evidence for understanding to specific learning objectives.

Bruce, I especially liked the "evidence" requiring students to create their own business card. Each item you posted was very concrete and would definitely indicate understanding on the part of students.

I second that business card lesson. It will prepare them for job hunting in the future. I think creating ePortfolios are another good practice.

Jennifer, I agree with the following quote from the Chris Lehmann article you cited, with some some additions: With the research, creation and networking tools at our disposal, we have the ability to help students see that the lives they lead now have meaning and value... Ideally, what evolves is our ability to help students find approaches to real world engagement. As computing becomes progressively smaller in size, and more portable, online activities don't need to be limited to sitting behind a computer screen with a mouse. For example, Project Atlas at Harvard is using GPS and hand held devices to augment classes and and create hybrid projects that integrate with the non-virtual world. Ann Steven's account of the teaching/learning community surrounding colon cancer is a great model of web-enhanced knowledge sharing. Another example. I belong to a large social dance community in Seattle that communicates via email, websites, YouTube, Flickr, and Facebook. This is the way that everyone keeps track of current dances, classes, and gossip - such as wedding anniversaries, babies, new arrivals, and departures. For those who teach dancing for a living, participation is essential to maintain a successful business. It's a thriving hybrid teaching and learning community that exists simultaneously online and in the "real world". Just as the Web enhances and supports the dance community, it can be used to sustain and support our classes. Here are a few examples (there are many more) of social dance related sites in Seattle: Northwest Dance Network Century Ballroom WaltzEtcet

Bruce, thanks for the acknowledgement. The part of this article that resonated with me was: The true promise of technology does not lie in being able to reproduce - in shinier ways - the things schools have always done. It is difficult to think this way. Creativity often goes into the tools, which are a part of it, but not really a different way of doing things.

I read this blog and decided to ponder it a bit. I think not only must schools and institutes of higher learning change the way they think about technology; but they need to consider what it can do and how to incorporate it into international learning, as well. Not only can students learn from each other; but they can broaden their horizons even more with international connections to other students.

Spot on! I have a MS; but have never had a job using my academic skills. In fact, the workplace has penalized me and on several jobs told me I have no skills to obtain other jobs or be advanced. In fact, I have been told NOT to put my academic degrees in a resume. So, I am a honor student with 9 solid years of academic education, and a work force retard. What do you suppose is going on here? Unfortunately, there a several varibles at work in my case. The "glass ceiling," discrimination, ignorance of what education means and is (or maybe a better grasp); no knowledge of what tranferrable skills are and as we brain storm the list goes on, especially as I get older.

I hear you. I turn 40 this year and I can't help but wonder if I'd be better able to support my family if I had a marketable skill, instead of knowledge about knowledge :) I fantasize about raising goats and alpaca and selling soap and sweaters. :)

Joy and Jennifer--EVERYTHING you shared hits home with me. I find myself in both of your places (as expressed in your comments) so I am now trying to enhance my resume and become more marketable as I age!--I'm already "too old and too expensive" to fit into the traditional classroom in either private or public schools so. . . thanks for being there for me and helping me learn new skills that are so needed in the domain of 21st century education.

I recently submitted my resume for an education software training contract and this was the response. "I read through your resume and realized that most probably our position would bore the heck out of you." I replied that I enjoy working with people and it's always a challenge and not boring. He responded with the other issue; salary. I told him that was very low for this area. His response was, "Most probably I'll be finding someone younger (less experience) or someone older (semi retired)."

Ouch that is discrimination! The "semi retired: comment was even worse!!! In the first case he stated you were over qualified; and in the second paying lower wages to "semi retired" people is even more discriminatory! His verbal behavior disgusts me!

One resource to join the movement against age discrimination is typing into a search engine...Gray or Grey coalition. http://www.graymatterscoalition.com/

AMEN, Sisters! I'm totally appalled at what happened to you, Jen--the whole thing was discrimination!! Thanks for the link, Joy--I'm looking into it!

WOW! The RSA Animate visualized version of Robinson's talk is terrific for a variety of reasons - I'm just trying to unpack it all! First the presentation provides an instant visualization of Robinson's talk - a shorthand for thinking and remembering his ideas. The animation is engaging, entertaining and memorable. Since it's on YouTube, you can go back and watch it all, or portions of it. The perspective moves from close up to big picture, and changes on the fly. What's especially powerful, however is the central idea that Robinson is talking about - a real elephant in the room. He says our educational system, which was created for a different time and economic era, is outdated. It's a factory system, arising originally from the Industrial Revolution, that to many students seems irrelevant to their own futures and careers in the 21st Century. It divides students into two camps - academic professionals (ie. "smart people"), and vocationals (blue collar, "not-so smart people"). In one memorable section, he distinguishes between "aesthetic" experiences - which enliven and engage human attention, and "anesthetic" experiences which deaden curiosity and passion. He associates these "anesthetic" experiences with our current educational process. The fact that he delivers these heavy hitting criticisms with such a light hearted, though well articulated sense of humor, is especially powerful.

Three points come to mind. 1. Presentation. The way the information was presented was totally engaging had me wanting to believe the message without question. I would have appreciated having the sources of his information indicated. As we've commented on in other posts as well, the verasity of information is always an issue. I tried finding the prescription distribution used in the tape, but could not find specific information to support the claim (although I'm sure it is somewhere on the internet.) 2. Education Model. Although his model definitely resonated with me, I think of education or I should say the educational system as having two goals - to train us to be academics (as he describes) and to prepare us for jobs. Some jobs do require specifc answer knowledge. 3. On-line learning. One of his earlier points about the educational system is that there was a paradigm shift when free, state-sponsored education became a reality. His description of education prior to that seemed to fit what we often see in "internet" learning - more individual driven learning.

Jennifer - I am so glad you included Sir Ken Robinson in your syllabus. I love his unique perspectives, especially about our educational systems. His talk about the importance of educators fostering creativity in the culture of the classroom is very powerful. I also finished reading Downes article about the role of the educator and I see his points regarding how technology has redefined/redesigned our roles. I find it very exciting. Regarding the value of"divergent thinking." As a teacher, I always encourage and appreciate this capacity in my students. However, I also ask they reflect upon this process of divergent thinking. "What led you to think this might be a possibility?" I often find asking students to be reflective and to articulate about meta-cognition frustrates them. In our overstimulating and quick answer/fix culture, is it wrong to ask how their ideas came about? "Could you follow your train of thought?" Also, (and not directly related) did anyone click on the game Downes referenced called "Evoke." What an amazing on-line game - a "designed, learning community" posing serious, real-life problem solving about starvation in Africa. Wow! I can see how a learning tool such as this would make a course very exciting, but I can also see where some basic geography, social studies and other content should be woven into the syllabus.

Ann, it is completely engaging. I recognize your concerns about sources. When they create the RSA Animates, they do take the talk out of the original context, and also add creative interpretation. It's interesting to see how those things can be mixed together for such a powerful effect. I've never taken the time to dig too deeply into them to find the original context and determine whether there's a publication with sources.

. . . and Jennifer, this isn't criticism of our course structure. I think I understand your reasoning for being introduced to diigo and using this "application" (is that the right word?) to respond to and communicate with our fellow students. I'm simply thinking about what kinds of course activities and applications really challenge students to read, research, analyze and CREATE some original thinking and student work products which can help change these types of findings, especially in higher-ed.

Someone observed once that when television first started, the people writing for tv came from a "reading book" age and we had shows like Twilight Zone, Perry Mason, etc. - shows with real stories. Now, although there are some of these, much of our tv is "reality" tv - where the focus is quick stories with emotions and that writers now grew-up watching television for entertainment. So, my connection here, is that perhaps education might need to de-emphasize some on-line usage tools and emphasize others, to balance students so they do get the critical thinking skills. I know with my math tutoring, that when the audio is not operational and they have to use a chat box, they learn more spelling and English. I purposely "chat" in full sentences and will often provide feedback on their chats. Hear and here, for example, is often incorrectly used.

Helen, it's important that you're recognizing that one tool or method won't work for all situations. For an online class, it's hard to predict what your students will do. There's a certain amount of control we have over design, but once things get rolling, there's a lot of improvisation. I didn't figure on Diigo playing such a prominent role so early on, but since several students felt comfortable writing here, I latched onto it for early community-building. We will definitely be creating more as we move forward. If we had a larger class, we'd do smaller group projects, as well. One of the big challenges in online teaching is the fact that so many of us are used to being motivated by grades. We've grown up in systems where we perform and receive a reward. Unless a student finds something to spark their interest and desire to learn, we risk a teaching and learning environment where learners only do the bare minimum. I think the short readings and conversation help learners discover what's in it for them. And, honestly, sometimes there might not be anything in it for them. I try to find something for everyone, but in a society that values certification/degree more than the learning experience, many students are forced to take classes that just don't interest them.

It would seem to me, given my comments on Bloom's Taxonomy, that creative and critical thinking can be stifled by Universites and colleges. If this is happening, maybe they need to re-assess the whole concept of teaching and learning. I think that process has begun in the US. Had my professors been able to guide my learning, as we are beginning to learn in our reading materials, I may have finished that Ph.d and written the theory I began to write or not. Who knows. It is a question yet to be examined.

I read this article too, Helen. It is indeed interesting to contemplate the reasons for very little forward progress in students' critical thinking skills, but you may be on to something with on-line socializing as a possible contributing factor. Since the wave of education today and into the future is focused on a combination of hybrid and on-line learning, I think it's very important that we as educators take the lead in changing our coursework to emphasize more critical and creative thinking as well as problem solving. After all, these are some of the 21st Century Learning skills that CAN be applied to digital technology and teaching. As for a series of short readings as proposed by Jennifer, I would be inclined to take part and enjoy discussions centered around them. Does anyone else have an opinion about this? Jennifer, I agree with your point that not all tools and ways of teaching things fit each learner in a given community, but considering learning styles and differentiated instruction, instructors (on-line) can create a community that is dynamic and viable. Have you ever thought of offering a "CHOICE of activities" focusing on different learning styles, all of which would meet a particular learning objective? Students could engage according to their own interests and preferred learning modes.

Mary Ann, all the portfolio activities will be your choice. You can get an idea of it if you skip ahead and skim the content for next week. I do as for a "cognitive presence" post, but you can use whatever medium you like. Next week we've got a collaborative document where we'll be adding potential activities. As far as learning styles are concerned, I'm not a big fan of how that theory is promoted and distorted. I'll share some resources about it, and you can tell me what you think.

I wanted to further Mary Ann's comment about this study making a case for the importance of elearning as tool for delivery of education. I understand elearning is in the early stages, but the internet lends itself to the written word and certainly has the flexibility to be molded to learning needs.

Helen: Very interesting article with compelling statistics. Statistics don't always tell us the true story, however. I say this after reading in our textbook about 'understanding' and 'misunderstanding' and learning how to determine how to express content so the student understands. Now, on the other hand, I agree that students spend more time with extra-curricular activities rather than their studies.

Another interesting read. I quite understand the need and growing need for the workforce to understand social medias and other forms of Web 2.0 tools and be able to use them well. Reading more about millennials, it is becoming more and more apparent they need to have strong " crap detectors," the ability to think critically and analyze huge volumes of information on the net, just to name a few.

I think this is one of the better collections of 21st century skills. I'm mostly concerned about the ones that don't involve technology. Like many of you, I worry about a future where people don't have basic problem-solving and communication skills. As far as technology skills are concerned, I'd like to see kids learn programming, with a focus on humanity, rather than commerce. I'm surprised how many teachers adopt "free" tools for young students, without having them explore the terms of service, and learn how their data and content will be used, sold, etc..

Thanks for this, Mary Ann. As much as I value the technology and what it can offer and do, the interpersonal and social skills seem more and more critical now. Seeing kids standing next to each other texting, or texting rather than calling or meeting makes me wonder if they will develop those skills to the level they are required now.

Mary Ann, thanks for posting this article on the 21st Century classroom! Just based on some of observations of current trends and ideas, here are some of my ideas regarding this. To me it seems likely that whatever happens to the classroom in the 21st Century - ideally it will have some of the following features : 1) Instructors who have good live people connections, knowledge of Web resources and tools, and the ability to quickly readjust curriculum on the fly. They will be able to access the very best resources at hand to engage students (live presenters, online resources, web tools, etc.) 2) Teaching and learning will take the form of ad-hoc groups organizing around various kinds of problem solving or common interest explorations. 3) While traditional degrees probably won't go away soon, much of our ongoing lifetime learning will take place in courses like this one - or the MOMA online art series. We will obtain numerous certificates and engage in a variety of online cohorts/communities of shared interests. 3) Communications will become increasingly global and courses will not be necessarily bound to individual institutions. We will draw from a growing/maturing resource base of online lectures, virtual worlds interactions, simulations-based learning experiences, and multimedia databases. 4) The teaching technologies that we'll be using will have the functionality and freeform interactivity as videogames. Consider the Kinect, for example, which allows for full body and voice interaction with other people as well as maturing forms of artificial intelligence, as seen in this extraordinary TED talk with game developer Peter Molyneux. 5) Finally, I don't believe education will be transacted completely online, or that physical locations where actual human beings gather together will go awa

Well loving that animation got me searching and going! I am still munching on the concepts he presented. Not certain if I am ready to swallow or not.

He seems to be debating both sides - i.e., 21st century enlightment is about taking a global, universal view and yet says how a small group of committed people are needed to move things. To me, what has evolved the most in society and world is the ability to be autonomous and the lack of a community with history about its members. We can connect over the web, but can easily be whoever we want. We often live geographically distant from our families and where we grew up, so there is not as much of an inherent support group.

I think you made a good point on that micro blog Ann. I cannot help but feel something isn't quite right in the cyber world; but I cannot put my finger on it yet.

Not only is this a good site to teach more about the art of presentation, but Mogi, the presenter is an amazing man! I was in love with his slides that spoke about the need to keep "the sense of wonder" alive and that "curiosity" is what has brought us to this point. These are the very same words that I always used with my science students in middle school and college! I even had them in my syllabus! I've always held that we all come into this world as scientists because we all share the one common characteristic that all practicing scientists have: CURIOSITY. Kids were pretty amazed that they were already scientists before they even embarked on the great science learning adventure! Rachel Carson, the famous environmental scientist of the '60's wrote a book titled, "The Sense of Wonder" in which she expounded on the idea that every child needs at least one person (adult) to nourish and share his/her innate sense of wonder in order to keep it alive. I resonated with this man and now plan to read/see more of his stuff! Moreover, the new learning module in my ED250 class is a collaborative presentation of a topic using Google Presenter. I think the Presentation Zen site I just looked at may have some implications for that assignment! Thanks once again, Jennifer! I find myself thoroughly enchanted!

The concept of maintaining curiosity as the catalyst for true education and joy in life resonates. The challenge for me is the line between enterntainment and education. One of the comments to this article restated the debate is education to train one for a profession or to be educated and think. Why can't it be both?

I believe it can be both, Ann! Sometimes the "Experts R Us" and not those folks out there engaging in philosophical debates!

Ann and Mary Ann, I think you've touched on one of the challenges we find so frequently in discussing these things. It's not black and white. There isn't necessarily a right or a wrong. It's like potato salad. (Holy cow! I just made that up.) How many recipes are there for potato salad? People will argue about what it "should" have in it, but what really matters is the experience. And the experience isn't just in the taste. There's context around making it. There's a different context around the environment where we eat it, and our emotional state. We're not just training someone for a profession or to be educated and think. And even if those are our goals, where is the agency? What is the student's responsibility for learning? These are all complex issues, and I'm glad to see you all opening your minds and expressing both your gut reactions, and your own values. (Please forgive me for the potato salad. I maybe leaned to far on the entertainment side this time...)

The potato salad metaphor is a good one. In reading the post, it got my attention in a way that dry message might not. There is so much information (noise) out there, that it is important, maybe even mandatory, that information has something to catch us. What is a challenge for me as an educator, also with limited time, is the how much effort I put in to this "rising above the noise".

Great now I am hungry for potato salad!! Actually, a little humor now and then would be nice! Even songs need a hook and that is what I hear you saying Ann. I argee with that concept. Set up a "hook!"

I like the idea proposed by the potato salad metaphor. However, I may not forgive you Jen...LOL! I still want it! I like mine bland, no vinegar!

I want it too, and the more you keep saying it, the more I want it! I want mine with bacon and spicy mustard! You may just have to take a diet break, while we develop a collaborative potato salad recipe. P.S. Will you hate me if I post the site I used when I learned to make croissants from scratch?

Wonderful! Now I want potato salad and croissants! Okay I am open to recipes. Now I hope this does not get us off our intellectual track of study. Slogging through recipes might side track the ladies in the group: and reduce me to a helpless food addicted, potato salad craving croissant vixen. ::::sigh::::I am suffering from brain overload!

My philosophy is that I'm happier when I'm chubby and doing things I want, then (than?) I would be if I were torturing myself and trying to resist temptation. It's a balance thing. Do I beat myself up more for breaking a goal, or for having to haul my bigger clothes out of the basement. (Just did that.) This isn't an intellectual track of study. It's play. People learn by playing. In fact, I'm going to inject some more fun in this course. (If I ever catch up on the grading.)

Looks like a good site to go back to for good techniques for our presentations.

The idea that information which used to be one-way (published by someone for everyone else) is now interactive (instant publishing and response via the internet) is a good articulation of the catalyst that is and will continue to change how we learn and how our learning institutions will change. However, what caught my attention in the video was that analysis of links and connections - that basically search engines/Google migrated from analyzing the content of the material to analyzing the number of accesses to the information. What came to mind was the discussions on critical thinking and how analyzing the access and not the content takes us away from critical thinking. It substitutes popularity (how often do we google something and then go to the first few links listed?)

Ann, that's a great observation. If you apply that to developing your online presence, what does it say about how we value popularity? How do we feel when our own material online doesn't sort to the top? What do employers think when they can't find our work? Are we okay with that?

Quick read. The bottom line one needs to ask, will companies find that balance and then abide it? I am not optomistic that will happen. There seems to be a mentality that it's OK to collect all this personal data. There has been some backlash of late, specifically Google and Facebook appear to be 'trying' to implement some safeguards. It will be interesting to see how things look in 12 months from now.

I often wonder how privacy can ever be achieved on the internet. Although there may be more gates, access, and checkpoints added, there will always be a server somewhere that is recording our inputs and gathering data and stored.

This was a long video (of a lecture) and although many interesting points were made, the crux of the lecture was out of focus for me. The model of copyrighting in an effort that relies on sharing information - as he points out, such as education and science - does not seem to fit. So many people violate it. Yet, I do believe people should benefit from their creativity.

After watching about 15 minutes of this video, I believe the main point of the lecture was to bring the listeners to the point that Copy Right Law needs to be revised and a hybrid created. After all, he is a law professor. Precedents set in a court case or at the US Supreme Court level, means the law is slowly corrected or changed to accommodate new evidence; that it needs guidance from the US Constitution precepts, as determined by the US Supreme Court Justices. Or Copy Right Law changed by Congress and the introduction of new legislation guiding the issue, which in this case would be Copy Right Law and the enforcers of this law, whomever they may be.

Jennifer, Thanks for posting this terrific presentation from Lawrence Lessig! He's one of my personal heroes for bringing up concerns over the growing privatization of information - looking at ideas and creative work as strictly property to be bought and sold. It's interesting that Walt Disney, whose company became one of the staunchest and most powerful advocates for expanding and enforcing copyright law, benefited mightily from public domain stories - Alice in Wonderland, Pinocchio, Snow White, Sleeping Beauty, and Cinderella, to name a few. It's doubtful that Disney would've survived without his release of the first cartoon with sound - Steamboat Willie (with Mickey Mouse). This cartoon took its premise freely from a movie made in the same year with Buster Keaton, called Steamboat Bill. That kind of informal use of other people's idea was common at the beginning of the 20th Century. Now a documentary film maker can be sued for accidentally including a Wendy's or McDonald's logo within a frame. The incredible complexity of copyright law makes it difficult to know what's legal and what's not under Fair Use. Lessig advocates the use of the new Creative Commons copyright designation (CC) - where creators/inventors can designate how their works can be used (non-commercial, commercial, credit, etc.). A great description of how Creative Commons works can be found at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=io3BrAQl3so I think it's extremely important that folks in the education fields stand firm in their insistence on continuing non-commercial access and use of a variety of media and information resources - it's the lifeblood of our profession - the open exchange and evaluation of ideas. Lessig is looking to build a future that moves us in that direction, while providing Creative Commons copyright protections. He also wants us to actively advocate for changes in the existing (broken) copyright regime and has posted a http://bawolcott.brinkster.net/educ251

Bruce - I tried going to the link at the end of your last post and got an error - page not found.

Ann, Thanks for spotting this glitch! The last line of the post should read as follows: He also wants us to actively advocate for changes in the existing (broken) copyright regime, and has posted a "Certificate of Entitlement" that give us official (tongue in cheek) permission to question the current copyright legal framework. Here's a link to the certificate...

Ann, the information contained in this article (digital presence sometimes even before birth) was a bit shocking. The lasting imprint you refer to is definitely a reason to instruct our children/grandchildren/students to carefully consider what they want broadcast to the world before they publish it! Thank you for this reference.

Articles like this are designed to be shocking. My children have had a digital footprint before they were born. They also both have their own domain names. But my grandparents and great grandparents also have digital footprints after they've passed on! In my opinion, it won't be long before there is so much content online, that the information about individuals will be of little interest to any of the people we currently worry are concerned about it. More importantly, I hope it brings awareness of what it means to be human. We all make mistakes. Most people aren't 100% good or bad. I would prefer more people to put more stuff online so it becomes irrelevant. The way I see it, only those with privilege and access even have the choice about what to put online. If we put too much value on it, the only people who will benefit are the people with privilege, access, and either the foresight to keep their online presence squeaky clean, or the money to clean it up afterward.

I used to think that my name was off the beaten path enough that there wasn't anyone else with the name Bruce Wolcott - but I was mistaken, and was glad that I laid claim to brucewolcott.com. Over the past few years, I've slowly been working to build an online presence. A few years ago, the my top reference on the Web was at ratemyprofessor.com , which I've found in the past to have favorable reviews, but also some student reviews I felt were retribution for getting poor grades. I wanted to build a presence that I thought was fair, represented my true interests, and a way to quickly let people know about my background. After developing my website and blog, it turns out that Google has put the information I'm most interested in having out there, at the top of the list. I see this as a long term project, and something that I will be building consistently and gradually over time. After Jennifer's comments regarding Facebook, I'm having second thoughts about what kind of presence to be projecting there.

I was thinking of the direct experience with the first grandchild in the family. Her facebook is limited to family (I have an alias email for this) and friends, but you never know when something is really forwarded. She recently had a some minor illness - ear ache, slight temperature. This has now been posted on facebook. We often think of medical things as private and yet this was easily shared as a way for us to know what was happening.

Ann, the medical thing is a good point. I had a Twitter conversation with Howard Rheingold the other day, about the kinds of things we put online. He felt he didn't put too much personal stuff. I thought it was pretty personal that he had a cancer blog and a separate Twitter account for his butt :) He explained a little about why he did that. Read from the bottom to the top. https://skitch.com/injenuity/rmqq1/twitter-your-favorites

Howard's cancer post exemplifies the uneasiness I feel. Having a blog for an illness is a wonderful way to stay connected, get advise, not feel isolated, etc. However, when we do that we are thinking of family, friends, and a community we want to connect to, but we have no control of where this information goes and what the consequences of that might be as happened in this case. We all know now that Howard had cancer. I have personal reaction to this information - what type of cancer, reminds me of personal experiences, current friends, the medical system, etc.

One thing to think about is the reality of community to an individual. An outside observer might analyze and decide there is no real community. But if a participant perceives it as community, do they then reap the benefits of community? Could there be health benefits in believing there are people who support you and are there to listen?

I agree that there is a benefit to on-line blogs and support groups. The question for me is how do I get that benefit from the people I am targetting it to? So, for instance, I have used online support groups for a medical challenge I went through. It was helpful and beneficial to both them and me. However, that is different from having a digital footprint of the interaction. Maybe an employer or someone who would use the information judgementally, for example. So to Howard's example, did he realize that people that only tangentially are even aware of him, now know something intimate about his life. He probably doesn't care on one level, but it is the "unconsciousness" of this footprint that I think about.

I think he cares and just wanted to have control of it himself, rather than let other people decide what's out there about him. The optimist in me hopes what will happen is we'll start to discover we have more in common with people that we ever thought possible. I blogged through the loss of my baby, and that's online forever. Years after the fact, at least 4 men in my online professional network have told me how much they appreciated being able to see that, because they went through the same thing, but didn't feel dads had the right to that kind of grief. It's very rewarding to go a thousand miles away to a conference and get the biggest hugs in the world, simply for being open about a personal experience. I drop off line all the time. I delete accounts. I stop blogging. Every time I do it, people contact me to tell me how much they miss my interaction, and how they've been touched by my sharing. When I feel like I'm not making a difference, people always tell me I don't know that, because it's not something I can see. A lot of times I've written blog posts that go against the wisdom of my colleagues, yet I receive many private messages from people thanking me for saying the things they've been afraid to say. I think it's all a matter of choice, and I want to encourage people to stand up for their right to change their minds. People thought I was nuts deleting my facebook account, but I've never regretted it. I do say, though, that when people tell me I never know who I might be helping, I have to consider whether I have a moral obligation or not, to continue to share. I certainly won't be bullied into it with that argument, but I do believe it's an important consideration.

Here's a map of the responses. http://maps.google.com/maps/ms?hl=en&ie=UTF8&msa=0&msid=214113702736779726260.00049dc8a7f15e97c9544&z=2