McBloglin

I was surprised actually at the lack of comment about Arthur C. Clarke’s passing (at least in my rsses). Mostly known to me as a science fiction writer, he was rather prescient regarding “geostationary orbit”

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arthur_C_Clarke#Concept_of_the_geo

As a kid I avidly read science fiction, but never Arthur Clarke. However, I can remember so well watching “2001: A Space Odyssey” and just getting such a buzz when the ape “got” it (that musical score didn’t hurt). Never really understood really what was going on, but Hal was cool; 2010 seemed anti-climatic and even more confusing really.

I decided to pick up “2061; odyssey three” and “3001: the final odyssey”(*) for some fun reading this weekend, and to pay tribute to a great mind.

Here’s a couple of quotes from page 15, “2016: odyssey three”:

“….the political tectonic plates were moving as inexorably as the geological ones….For in the beginning, the Earth had possessed the single supercontinent of Pangea, which over the eons had split asunder. So had the human species, into innumerable tribes and nations; now it was merging together, as the old linguistic and cultural divsions began to blur”

and

“With the historic abolition of long-distance charges on 31 December 2000, every telephone call became a local one, and the human race greeted the new millennium by transforming itself into one huge, gossiping family”

This was written in 1987!!!

I am spending entirely too much time this week enjoying my RSS feeds and direct delivery of comments that are filling my inbox. Fascinating “debate” going on at http://weblogg-ed.com/ where Will Richardson has hit several hot buttons. I sifted out 3 key points: the frustration of the converted in trying to understand why everybody doesn’t get it and use Web 2.0 tools exclusively, some name-calling between the bloggers and the academics (bloggers are winning that by sure numbers, obviously…it’s a blog), and a few tentative notes by teachers and administrators who are down in the trenches, trying to be agents of change amongst the realities of bandwidth, RFP’s for hardware, cranky images, creaky AUP’s, parent councils, EBDM’s and sometimes yard duty. I’m in that little group of reality-pushers. Between that debate and all of its jump-outs, and the Ryerson thing, my head is spinning. So I thought I’d share an interactive game, that I came across when I was roaming around the TED lectures. Enjoy! http://www.etchy.org/single.php There is also a LightBrite sim, but I didn’t Del.cio.us it and I have to get out of this chair and go ski or something!

Challenged with the responsibility of moving a system along the continuum of adoption, I have spent some time giving presentations to pre-service and practicing teachers regarding the seamless use of technology as a tool for learning. Web 2.0 literacies are a part of that tool kit, and I have found a few pockets of interest, less sustainability and general dis-interest in learning something new. This from teachers who may use audio and video applications, simulations, or whatever technology they have internalized and are able to incorporate into engaging, authentic and assessible lessons. But holy cow, do they want an interactive white board!!

Very real concerns of Web 2.0 tools are privacy and safety for students and the impact on teachers and administrators if the fortress of learning is breached. I think it is time we moved the discussion forward to the realities of students using Web 2.0 tools, their abilities to sort through the incredible bombardment of web influences and our responsiblities to be knowing guides through these interesting times.

Your mission, should you accept it, is to initiate creative thinking, authentic publishing, collaborative thought and acceptable use of the internet with your wonderful read/write Bloggers. Return to Jack Donohue and receive the documents that will ensure your success in this endeavour.