Just saying.....

I'm reviving this blog because I think I'd like to share a few thoughts.
The posts that precede this one are all from a Grad Cert ICT I did in 2009.I've thought of deleting them so I could start new but I thought what the hell, where would I archive them, they are sort of useful so I'll leave them.
From the dates you will see that they are all over 3 years old.  Hopefully I've moved on...
How? Where to? Well stay tuned - but basically: I realised we are in a different century than the last one - new rules, new music, new economy, new life. I've changed (again) from being a teacher to being a far more creative thinker and doer and I'm getting to the last few decades where I can think and communicate coherently - so I better speak up now.

Debrief on the POD Exercise

3 stages of interaction called socialization, alliance building and forming a team to do the work.

The background writing for the exercise (as well as the final recommendations) can be found both as part of this blog and on the Blue Group Ning. All of this material is to be considered when evaluating my contribution to Blue's work This post is just a personal debrief of the POD work structured according to one of the questions on the sample exam paper.

Socialisation

'To get social' with people you've never met or seen for me was a real problem. Fortunately another Blue member (Sarah) had somehow 'decided' that we would use a Ning as the main communication platform and had set it up for us. After inviting everyone, she was a bit vague on what to do next. I made contact with her and suggested we use Skype on a regular Wednesday night to get a better quality communication. Because Sarah had done so much in establishing the project, I aimed at trying to establish a timeline and the various roles that other POD members would play. I published this on the Ning forum.

Alliance Building

By this time, Sarah and I had started to work on the project (as if no other people would come forward). However, soon Andrew and Tyrone replied to their invitations and supported the work that Sarah and I had done. I then published a forum posting for each of the POD questions. Over the previous few weeks, I had collected lots of bookmarks that would help us. My posts included the best links and tried to link bookmarks to particular questions. I also posted a draft set of dot points that covered the main points of question one. Sarah replied to this post with a very expanded and improved version. In the meantime, Andrew had provided his own set of bookmarks and comments linked to each question.

Forming a team

We knew a team was building when we realised that with only a week to go, we were well on track according to the schedule we had set ourselves. At the final meeting, Andrew got us using Google docs, which enabled us to edit all drafts into a final set of recommendations. It's lucky there were only 4 of us because it got a bit complicated when everyone wanted a say. At this stage, I felt I had done enough and didn't want to get in the way of the others. I sort of sat back and watched the document write and edit itself in front of my eyes. It was amazing. I thought the final doc was a pretty good version of what we all thought and did in the activity. I thought the activity was great because it gave us a real and practical way of engaging as an online community and developing a POD.

Exercise 10.1 Social networks case study

Since we have a fine collection of artefacts from our own learning community in this subject, use the references to guide your directions AND figure 1 on mapping the social network as a set of nodes.

As the diagram and grid shows:

James is followed by Sarah and Andy

Sarah is followed by James and Andy

Andrew is followed by James, Sarah and Tyrone

Tyrone is followed by James and Sarah.

If you look at the blogs of the various blue pod members, all of us has a different view of what is a follower and a followee. My definition just looks at each blog and notes the followers as claimed on the site. However, if you also make a person a follower if they posted a comment (but did not register as a follower) then the diagram looks very different. I tended to comment a lot on the main Blue POD site and also on the blogs of the other members but I didn't register as a follower. Therefore the diagram makes my communications minimal and my contribution seem small (and I don't think it was).

The tricky part is deciding whether those followers who are not in Blue POD should be included. This depends on the context of the 'following'. Blue POD activity was based on the CIO recommendation scenario. It had a clear purpose in bringing us together. My (and others) following of non Blues blogs was to ensure that I was up to date with the course work and to see what other students' responses were to the same questions.

If I try to reconcile the nodes proposed by my diagram, I think it is a very simplistic view of the nature of the interactions. I suppose the exercise would be useful in tracing 'pass the parcel' communication scenarios or decoding 'swarm behaviour' but it did not provide much help in documenting how Blue delivered their award winning recommendations (lol).

I think the diagram could be improved by putting arrow heads on the lines to indicate 'flow' and maybe colour coding to designate roles or sub groups and PODs outside the group that contributed. Sarah included follower outside of the Blue POD and I think her effort was better for it.

Exercise 9.2 Research and evaluation in Government 2.0

Summarise the use of Wiki drafts of papers for public discussion and Twitter in Government.

The government has just as much right to use Web 2 tools as any teenager. It just needs to learn how. The writing on http://gov2.net.au/ is very informative and I like the way they have picked up the use of hyperlinking to the various wiki platforms to add information and credibility to the discussion. The blog posts were all very supportive and offered the possibility of real forward movement in this enormous topic. I found the ideas put forward by David Eaves at http://www.facebook.com/note.php?note_id=167627754521&ref=mf and the piece on Inquiry 2.0 at http://www.facebook.com/note.php?note_id=160433599521&ref=mf to be the most interesting.

Oddly, I found the Facebook version of the information more accessible and easy to use. The summaries of the pieces were better presented and it was easier to get around the various topics. Or it may have been the less officious tone of the site.....

Having the Twitter posts at http://gov2.net.au/ did not work at all. Obviously some very fashion conscious people picked up on the funkiness of "Gov 2.0" and inserted it into their Tweets with gay abandon. One of the Tweets somehow made the connection between Gov 2.0 and looking for an audio product to use for recording oral histories. Because they'd dropped the 'Gov 2.0' word, it ended up on the Gov 2.0 site.

I just hope Britany Spears does not mention Gov 2.0 in her Tweets otherwise she'll find herself on the site. I thought the Tweets completely devalued the discussion.

Did you see yourself as a supporter of Government 2.0? If so how did you benefit? If not then explain why. Consider the Gov 2.0 taskforce site at http://gov2.net.au/ and the conference at http://www.gov2.com.au/

This is very difficult question. Part of me says 'What are we paying them for?" I don't ask government to do my job - why should I do theirs. I can see how Web 2 could revolutionise the way the public service operates (God knows the various ministries need better ways to communicate) but I don't know whether I have the time to get too involved in contributing to a debate on anything - I'm too busy with my own life.

But putting my crippling prejudice aside for a minute, I would like shorter lines between the citizenry and the rulers. In some cases (those that impact on me directly) I would like to contribute to a debate. For instance: I'd like to know why my father was arrested by ASIO in 1968 and released a week later without a coherent explanation, I'd like to know why both state and federal governments routinely use IBM and Microsoft products and services instead of supporti

ng the AUSTRALIAN IT industry, I'd like to know roughly how much money it takes to keep soldiers in Iraq when we can't afford to provide enough beds for sick people in our hospitals - but if I could post my thoughts to the Gov 2.0 blog, would anyone care?

Wouldn't Gov 2.o just be a wailing wall for the disenfranchised IT literates?

Exercise 9.1 Is social networking a business model ?

What are the arguments for and against social networking being classified as a business model?

Arguments for-

Business is almost by definition a social activity. It makes sense that newly developed constructs such as the social networking tools of Web 2 have now become important business tools. Who you know is now just as important as what you know. Therefore sites such as Linkedin really cut to the chase: a supercharged resume that not only contains links to past employers, published works and current circles of influence but also makes it very easy for people to contact the person is as many ways as the 'linkedin' person is able to provide. Linkedin has some very powerful people 'on their site' and its is very easy to trawl the site for people who might be able to improve your opportunities.

Arguments against-

Business (ie money/profit) is not the only reason for interacting/networking. It is only one reason and non monetary ones are usually more exciting and useful. Unfortunately some people cannot separate money from anything. People who are open and trusting enough to document their worlds on Linkedin (and other potent social networking sites) must receive far more 'non profitable' requests than useful ones. For some, it could become a full time job just evaluating who is real, useful or a pain in the arse.

Sometimes anonymity is better. Only those who have gone through considerable effort and shown lots of ingenuity are rewarded with one to one dialog with the person they most want to meet.

Exercise 8.4: Aggregation, syndication and the social engine

a) RSS is an XML application needed for aggregation and syndication, often called a Web 'feed'. What is RSS and explain what aggregation and syndication are and how they have changed the nature of the Web. How do you subscribe to an RSS feed? Try some of these RSS enabled sites such as itunes.com and the notions of "swarm" and "stack" at digg.com

RSS (most commonly translated as "Really Simple Syndication" but sometimes "Rich Site Summary") is a family of web feed formats used to publish frequently updated works—such as blog entries, news headlines, audio, and video—in a standardized format. An RSS document (which is called a "feed", "web feed", or "channel") includes full or summarized text, plus metadata such as publishing dates and authorship. Web feeds benefit publishers by letting them syndicate content automatically. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/RSS In general internet terms, a news aggregation website is a website where headlines are collected, usually manually, by the website owner. Examples of this sort of website are the Drudge Report, The Political Simpleton and the Huffington Post. There are also websites like Google News, where aggregation is entirely automatic, using algorithms which carry out contextual analysis and group similar stories together. In computing, a feed aggregator, also known as a feed reader, news reader or simply aggregator, is client software or a Web application which aggregates syndicated web content such as news headlines, blogs, podcasts, and vlogs in a single location for easy viewing. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aggregator syndication Hide links within definitionsDefinitionSupply of content (articles, cartoons, stories, etc.) orinformation (business and economic data, news stories, etc.) on a subscription basis to marketers or media (periodicals, radio and television, websites). http://www.businessdictionary.com/definition/syndication.html

What is Digg?

Digg is a place for people to discover and share content from anywhere on the web. From the biggest online destinations to the most obscure blog, Digg surfaces the best stuff as voted on by our users. You won’t find editors at Digg — we’re here to provide a place where people can collectively determine the value of content and we’re changing the way people consume information online.How do we do this? Everything on Digg — from news to videos to images — is submitted by our community (that would be you). Once something is submitted, other people see it and Digg what they like best. If your submission rocks and receives enough Diggs, it is promoted to the front page for the millions of our visitors to see.

Swarm and Stack

The best information about Swarm and Stack can be found at http://www.techcrunch.com/2006/07/17/digg-to-add-sports-swarm-stack/. It shows its good visualisations but probably the best information is on the blog that accompanies the page. Lots of pros and cons about s&s. Basically s&s is about presenting lists of links grouped into categories. The list items are prioritised according to how many people have accessed the link. It's meant to keep you up to date with 'what's happenning' i.e become part of the 'swarm' by consuming what's at the top of the 'stack' you are most interested in.

b) del.icio.us is a social bookmarking website. What does this mean and what are the advantages for workgroups? Discuss how del.icio.us uses the term 'tag' in a different context to what Web publishers would be familiar.

del.icio.us aggregates bookmarks according to category and allow sophisticated searching to further define topics. The topics are 'tagged'. A tag is simply a word you can use to describe a bookmark. Unlike folders, you make up tags when you need them and you can use as many as you like. The result is a better way to organize your bookmarks and a great way to discover interesting things on the Web. A tag cloud is list of tags where size reflects popularity.http://delicious.com/tag/

Web developers use tags (ie metatags) to 'seed' web pages so that search engines will put them high in the list if search engine results. Their choice of words for metatags does not always match the tags athat are given to pages by Delicious users because the motives for tagging are different.

c) How do you see services such as those provided at the GoToWeb20.net site as changing the way that YOU and your future workgroups operate?When I went to GoToWeb20.net, I thought the idea of aggregating web2 tools very appealing. I'm frustrated because there are so many tools and they are located all over the web. GoToWeb20.net is a directory and as such is not really responsible for the content. I found the content to be pretty thin on the ground when you visited the sites. Most of the applications were either very basic or poor versions of more successful web 2 tools. I personally do not think the world needs more services, it needs now to use the current services more effectively. Much of the quality of the sites depends on the amount of traffic/content. Increasing the number of services decreases the potential traffic (and potentially content) for each service. iTunes is successful because of the enormous amount of content and traffic. The very intelligent tagging system in delicious is great for research and staying in touch via the RSS feeds. d) Explain how the Elgg social engine works on a Web site where it is installed? Is this the type of application you want on your Web server in the workplace?

Once installed, the Elgg social engine is able to collect user data based on their interaction with the suite of web 2 tools implicit in Elgg. The data can be used to influence the behaviour and opinion of users through pushing information (that may have been collected from other users within the same group). To me this sounds a bit like mind control depending on how intelligent, broadminded and 'well read' users are and how 'honourable the administrators are. In a business entity, I think this could be used in a very negative way and seems to go beyond the level of privacy normally expected in countries like Australia. Potentially, prospective employees could be asked (or not) whether they would consent to having the app installed on their computer. They possibly could be refused employment if they did not consent to the app.

The Elgg feature set can be found at http://docs.elgg.org/wiki/Features

Exercise 8.3 Data portability, FOAF and the Semantic Web

How does the FOAF tag form part of the Semantic Web and Web services via social networks?

When data goes into a web interface repository, it is either manually or automatically tagged so that it is 'positioned' within the semantic web. While some may see this as an invasion of privacy, the benefit is that the more information the users offer about themselves via forms, polls, profiles etc., the more powerful will be the associations made using the FOAF idiom.

In order for the search engines to make sense of the gigabytes of free data keyed into the web each hour, they must make a call on connections and expected outcomes. If I compare my facebook page of today, I find it is infinately richer than when I created it only a few months ago. This is because the semantic web databases have processed my information stream continuously and as I make choices about which friend to accept and on which to remove, at the same time I'm telling the Semantic web a bit more about myself.

In return, the semantic web is saying 'Oh - I didn't know you cared so much about that person, issue, image,sound file, youtube clip etc. But now that I know that new information, here's a whole lot of new information/multimedia/memberships that (because of your recent choices) should be even more useful to you than last week's.'

If we 'get into the code', the metadata of the discrete webpages (and the server logs that describe our activity) we consume, reveal very accurately what sort of person we are. The FOAF tags not only broadcast our identity through syndicated sites but distill our choices into XML strings - and if we are to truly harness the power of the web - that's the way it should be. I'm not afraid of big brother.

Exercise 8.2 The avalanche of applications self-interview

Has the increased use of social networking tools lessened or increased my communication with people?

My wife tells me that I now spend less time with her than before social network tools became a part of my life but I disagree. I was very aware of this potential relationship buster so I monitored the new situation closely. When she's not home, I spend most of my time online. When she's there, I try to live 'offline' as much as possible. Before we got broadband (only recently) I set up pay television at home to entertain her while I was online. Now she watches more television than ever (because she says she has greater choice) and I watch far less (because I don't enjoy a lot of what she watches). Instead of getting online when she watches TV, I tend to do chores, CSU and school work and practise my music.

What changes have I noticed in my self due to increased exposure to social networking tools?

When I created my Facebook page, I immediately started reconnecting with old friends who also had pages. In some cases this was very liberating. I didn't have to explain why I had not called them in 10 years - I just opened up with 'I saw your name on Facebook'. Without exception they were thrilled to hear from me again and I even subsequently met several of them 'in the real world'. In other cases, after an initial communication, I became irritated with their cybernetic meanderings: mindless polls, boring videos, meaningless links and photos of their partners and pets. It was a strange sensation when I 'removed' them from my friends list. I felt guilty about it - but life's too short to spend precious time sifting through the waffle to find something even mildly amusing.

How useful have social network tools been to my professional life?

So far, they have been useful in 2 ways.

1. Since I achieved some competency at Web 2.0 tools, my web research skills have improved enormously. Now I feel as 'in touch' with developments in my professional environment as I need to be. My lessons (particularly in ICT) are far more informed than they ever have been. I'm now really good at searching, archiving bookmarks and using blogs with tags and RSS feeds.

2. Being able to carry on very useful conversations with other members of my POD group using a plethora of asynchronous and synchronous services has convinced me of the value of these tools. Initially I was very skeptical because most of the time I see kids wasting their lives away with texts and chats. Now I realise its is not the technology that is vapid, its the information that passes through it that is. The same tools that can be used for mindless piffle can also be used to save a life or help 2 people develop a very useful relationship.

Exercise 8.1 The 30-minute walk

It takes me 30 minutes or more to walk around my 2.6 hectares of heaven. It has many features: a cool reflective pool of pure clean water, a forest of maritime pines, several fern filled gullies, some clear ground and a good area of aussie bush -mainly blackwoods, black wattles, manor and stringybark gums and an enormous brooker gum overlooking the beach I've created next to the dam.

As well as breathtaking beauty wherever you look, there are a ghosts of times past. My father, his mother and my first dog all now dead have special places for their ashes here and they still exist for me as if they were still alive.

My family bought the place from timber cutters in 1960. The timber cutters established it in 1915. Before that it was a watering hole for cattle teams on their way to the goldfields. Before that, the Kulin people maintained it for over 40,000 years.

I grew up here during weekends cutting blackberries, fixing up the old house, planting the orchard and keeping the fire going during the bitter winters. I feel I know the place so well that I could describe every blade of grass, every whispering pine and every fruit tree.

Ten years ago I demolished the old home and built another one just like it on the same spot- only bigger, with running water, electricity, a broadband connection, telephone and heating.

But I took the best timber, fittings and windows and built them into the 'new house'. Now I live here permanently, not just at weekends. Although I sit in a new house, I can still look through the same windows at the same view. It is so peaceful and nurturing, the city slickers who occasionally visit never want to leave - but we let them go anyway.

Exercise 7.2 New devices, aged care and people with disabilities

Spider Pill Walks Through You, Looking for Cancer

October 13th, 2009 by Aaron Saenz

http://singularityhub.com/2009/10/13/spider-pill-walks-through-you-looking-for-cancer/

"Getting your regular colon exam isn’t always popular. Endoscopes don’t come in comfortable sizes. In order to get a better (and less intimidating) view of your GI tract, Italian researchers at the CRIM Lab have developed a new version of a camera in a pill that you can swallow. Unlike previous camera pills, this one comes with remote controlled legs so that doctors can vary the rate at which it travels through you. The ’spider pill’ has been tested in pigs with good results and could be wiggling its way down your intestines in the next year or two."

Having the endured the surgical extraction of a kidney stone the size of 5 cent piece I can relate to micro surgery in a way that people who have not been similarly violated could never know. Small/ microscopic/nanotechnopic is all good to me. No tubes through orifaces! - That's my next billboard. I will join with my brothers and sisters in invasive surgery and together we will raise money to support the diminution of all surgical procedures. And furthermore........

New Cancer Detector Chip Works in About 30 Minutes

http://singularityhub.com/

"So there’s this period of time during a visit to the doctor’s when you’re left alone in the office. You just saw the nurse or PA, and the doctor is playing golf somewhere, so you have to wait in your little paper dress. I was once stranded in that limbo for an hour. Wouldn’t it be nice if that time could be put to good use? Researchers at the University of Toronto have developed a microchip that works with nano-materials to detect biomarkers associated with cancer. Bottom line, in about 30 minutes the new biosensor can determine if you’ve got the ‘Big C’. Having already been proven to work with prostate cancer, the device could one day even be adapted to detect HIV, or H1N1 swine flu. Now that’s a good use of my time."

This would be a great way of improving the service in our hospitals. Why are people suffering pain and uncertainty subjected to interminable periods of time waiting for results? Speeding up the diagnosis process must be able to save lives. Earlier treatment and more accurate medication must improve a sick person's chance of recovery.

How is a work-related social network developed and sustained?

Building a successful social network (particularly in Professional Development) means aligning the people with the purpose through clear and mutual aims and objectives, reward and acknowledgment for contribution, clarity and access to information and feedback, leadership, celebration of achievement, technology support and training.

This post points to two websites that illuminate how social networks can be developed and sustained.

Connectivism

Firstly, George Siemans in 'Connectivism: A Learning Theory for the Digital Age' retrieved from http://www.elearnspace.org/Articles/connectivism.htm says

"The pipe is more important than the content within the pipe. Our ability to learn what we need for tomorrow is more important than what we know today. A real challenge for any learning theory is to actuate known knowledge at the point of application. When knowledge, however, is needed, but not known, the ability to plug into sources to meet the requirements becomes a vital skill. As knowledge continues to grow and evolve, access to what is needed is more important than what the learner currently possesses."

What he means is that the quality of the connection (ie number of connections, the number of different connections, the timeliness of the knowledge) is more important than the knowledge itself.

Getting members active and addicted

Secondly, in 'Community building: Getting members active and addicted | Community Building retrieved from http://www.communityspark.com/community-building-getting-members-active-and-addicted/ Martin Reed presents several practical strategies for sustaining an online community. Some of these that I believe are most valuable in a closed system dedicated to the professional development of its members are:

Engage at every opportunity

All members should post, chat, complain, email, emote, ask, refer etc. as much as possible. Every interaction affects the quality, flexibility and integrity of the network.

Delegate community building tasks

The manager of the network need to find things for users to do. It might mean sharing experience, voting in polls, online questionnaires, contributing to blogs - anything to move users from being lurkers to being participants.

Earn and retain trust

Ensure you have strong, clear community guidelines that you enforce professionally and impartially. It’s hard to earn trust, but very easy to lose.

Get involved. Be contactable and approachable

You need to get involved in the community. Why should you expect members to get involved if you can’t be bothered to do so yourself? You need to be visible. Don’t be anonymous – be sure to share information about yourself.

The subject matter of your community and your aims and goals should determine how involved you are in your community. Regardless of how involved you are, you should always be approachable and contactable.

Be aware and follow up. Show concern.

It is not much use if you are on the fastest network in the world if you take eons to reply to anything. If a person needs to know something they usually need to know it yesterday. Understand and respond to their urgency and they'll hopefully do the same for you. The pipe will get bigger as a result.

Create a ‘dummies’ guide

No matter how easy you think your community is to use, some people will still be confused. You need to cater to these people. Ensure you have guides on how to use the community and make them easy to find! Have a section for frequently asked questions. Even better, create videos so people can see how to use the community.

Conclusion

Its interesting that all of the above discussion does not refer to the 'magic bullet' a system of piece of software that will 'build a community in a day'. All of the points raised above are just about quality professional interaction in a 21st century connected world.

How do Web 2.0 tools (blogs, wikis, podcasts and video lectures) complement such social networks?

Top 100 Tools for Learning 2009 - Centre for Learning & Performance Technologies http://www.c4lpt.co.uk/recommended/index.html

Twitter, Delicious, Google Reader, Google Docs and Youtube were voted (in order) as the top five 'Tools for Learning ' in 2009. It is interesting to note that all are open source products, all are products that search and compile knowledge according to the direction of the user rather than purport to be static 'Walled Cities' of information such as Encyclopedia Britannica or even Microsoft Expedia which is updated periodically. Even Wiki only made 17 on this list.

My point here is that the choice of tools for a network needs to be based on 'services' rather than software. It doesn't matter what the software is, it just needs to respond easily, efficiently to the needs of the network. It needs to be scalable, cross platform, cheap enough for many users and it must be able to be configured completely by the IT departments of the companies that use it.

Information

One of the most important function is establishing the project network is to compile and present the key project documents. As well as including purpose, goals, roles and timelines more supporting documents will be created and discovered as the process rolls out. A project wiki would be an important platform in order to compile and co-ordinate the key information. Wiki rules require that all information is annotated and the sources documented. The project moderator should also monitor the evolution of the wiki.

Discussion

In addition to key information, an important project process is discussion. This can occur asynchronously as blogs and forums or synchronously as video conferencing, skype sessions or chat rooms. Each technology has pros and cons. Blogs and forums ensure that the information is presented so that it can be evaluated and debated and that people can add comments and further pieces of information in the form of links, posts, images, video files etc that enrich the initial posts.

Synchronous communication is especially useful for multi location 'brainstorming'. Disadvantages are that these platforms are that not all systems allow archiving, the conversations (even if they are moderated/lead and that users agree to use 'threads' during the session) need to be 'digested' or processed in order to distill all the good interaction and eliminate lots of typos. This requires more project time (and therefore money).

Documentation

In question 1, I suggested that the CIO and IT manager need to be supported by other senior level management. One crucial manager should be the Knowledge Manager (KM). The KM's project responsibility would be to propose the information architecture for the project and then update this container with fresh information from all project sources so that all stakeholders could access the 'freshest' information.

In many cases this can be an automated process through Web 2.0 tools including Delicious (for archiving urls), log stats and other dynamic database data presented using graphical user interfaces (GUI) and Twitter (to keep users updated on the locations and activities of key project stakeholders. In other cases, the KM will need to filter and compile all project information into project knowledge that can be accessed and acted upon.

Project management

There are many project management software products and the company might have several products on its network. However, in order to manage the project well, the information needs to be available in one place on the network. The information needs to be updated and acted upon often by people who are spread all over the world. Webex is one tool that is suitable for allowing access to project management information by several stakeholders simultaneously across networks. Webex allows stakeholders to take turns in 'driving' the software in order to ensure their role is understood and documented at a very 'deep' level.

Testing and authentication

A crucial part of project management is the testing and authentication of products and systems that the company is responsible for either to support its own operations or that of their clients. Network tools to facilitate this process include polls, data analysis tools, video files depicting user experience and podcasts presenting voice interview of product testing. The results of this testing will affect the progress of the project through the milestones in the project management cycle. The presentation of testing and evaluation materials on the network can motivate company employees, ensure that project decisions are transparent and provide the opportunity for easy and repeated analysis in solving problems as part of the 'extreme programming' method of product development.

What are the issues involved with using social networks for professional development in the workplace?

Purpose, timeline and goals

It is essential that the purpose of the network be clear and understood by all members. The purpose should translate to a timeline, a set of milestones leading to goals and how each member is expected to contribute.

Management and Moderation

The network needs to be effectively managed and moderated so that the network purpose remains central to member activity. The CIO and IT manager are nominally the personalities who drive the network but a network is as only as valuable as the contributions of its users so these leaders should be supported by other management especially the company directors and board, a realistic budget that is flexible enough to respond to the challenges of the project. Additionally the network leaders should be supported by parallel levels of management especially Human Resources and Workflow architects to ensure that the time required by users to contribute to the network is acknowledged either through financial or promotional opportunities.

Membership experience needs to be monitored continuously to ensure users are satisfied and inspired to deliver the outcomes. This would be a key role for both the CIO and the IT Manager. The CIO could focus on the quality of the user interaction with the network while the IT Manager could provide quantative data (through application server logs) to measure the direction and scale of interaction. As users become more focussed and efficient with the process, they should be given more ambitious tasks and encouragement. This can be done in association with the moderator. A moderator needs to be appointed and given the time and resources to actively drive the network through a continuous monitoring, evaluation and recommendation cycle. The CIO and IT Manager should not necessarily be the moderator. Maybe a specially appointed project manager needs to do this.

Technical ability of the users

Depending on whether the company is in the business of ICT, the technology ability of users needs to be addressed. If the technical challenges of contributing to the network are onerous or unrealistic, users will be less likely to contribute and the quality of their interactions will be seriously compromised. In order to prevent this, resources should be committed to user education through training materials, coaching, mentoring and 'buddy' systems. The network software should be evaluated for usability as a key adoption requirement.

Budget

Finally, the cost of the system and its maintenance need to be considered. Some systems are so cost prohibitive that only large multinational companies can afford them. Fortunately there are also many open source systems that can be configured to deliver much the same service - even if several systems need to be cobbled together to provide a network page that is really a mashup.

privacy, technology level of members, expense, incentives

Keyword definitions

Social network

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Social_network

A social network is a social structure made of individuals (or organizations) called "nodes," which are tied (connected) by one or more specific types of interdependency, such as friendship, kinship, financial exchange, dislike, sexual relationships, or relationships of beliefs, knowledge or prestige.

Social network analysis views social relationships in terms of network theory about nodes and ties. Nodes are the individual actors within the networks, and ties are the relationships between the actors. The resulting graph-based structures are often very complex. There can be many kinds of ties between the nodes. Research in a number of academic fields has shown that social networks operate on many levels, from families up to the level of nations, and play a critical role in determining the way problems are solved, organizations are run, and the degree to which individuals succeed in achieving their goals.

In its simplest form, a social network is a map of all of the relevant nodes between all the nodes being studied. The network can also be used to measure social capital -- the value that an individual gets from the social network. These concepts are often displayed in a social network diagram, where nodes are the points and ties are the lines.

Professional development

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Professional_development

Professional development refers to skills and knowledge attained for both personal development and career advancement. Professional development encompasses all types of facilitated learning opportunities, ranging from college degrees to formal coursework, conferences and informal learning opportunities situated in practice. It has been described as intensive and collaborative, ideally incorporating an evaluative stage There are a variety of approaches to professional development, including consultation, coaching, communities of practice, lesson study, mentoring, reflective supervision and technical assistance

Web 2.0

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Web_2.0

"Web 2.0" is commonly associated with web development and web design that facilitates interactive information sharing, interoperability, user-centered design[1] and collaboration on the World Wide Web. Examples of Web 2.0 include web-based communities, hosted services, web applications, social-networking sites, video-sharing sites, wikis, blogs, mashups and folksonomies. A Web 2.0 site allows its users to interact with other users or to change website content, in contrast to non-interactive websites where users are limited to the passive viewing of information that is provided to them.

Blog

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blog

A blog (a contraction of the term "weblog") is a type of website, usually maintained by an individual with regular entries of commentary, descriptions of events, or other material such as graphics or video. Entries are commonly displayed in reverse-chronological order. "Blog" can also be used as a verb, meaning to maintain or add content to a blog.

Many blogs provide commentary or news on a particular subject; others function as more personal online diaries. A typical blog combines text, images, and links to other blogs, Web pages, and other media related to its topic. The ability for readers to leave comments in an interactive format is an important part of many blogs. Most blogs are primarily textual, although some focus on art (artlog), photographs (photoblog), sketches (sketchblog), videos (vlog), music (MP3 blog), and audio (podcasting). Micro-blogging is another type of blogging, featuring very short posts.

Microblogging

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Microblogging

Microblogging is a form of multimedia blogging that allows users to send brief text updates or micromedia such as photos or audio clips and publish them, either to be viewed by anyone or by a restricted group which can be chosen by the user. These messages can be submitted by a variety of means, including text messaging, instant messaging, email, digital audio or the web.

The content of a microblog differs from a traditional blog in that it is typically smaller in actual size and aggregate file size. A single entry could consist of a single sentence or fragment or an image or a brief, ten second video. But, still, its purpose is similar to that of a traditional blog. Users microblog about particular topics that can range from the simple, such as "what one is doing at a given moment," to the thematic, such as "sports cars," to business topics, such as particular products. Many microblogs provide short commentary on a person-to-person level, share news about a company's products and services, or provide logs of the events of one's life.

Wiki

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wiki.

A wiki is a website that uses wiki software, allowing the easy creation and editing of any number of interlinked Web pages, using a simplified markup language or a WYSIWYG text editor, within the browser. Wikis are often used to create collaborative websites, to power community websites, for personal note taking, in corporate intranets, and in knowledge management systems.

Most wikis serve a specific purpose, and off topic material is promptly removed by the user community. Such is the case of the collaborative encyclopedia Wikipedia. In contrast, open purpose wikis accept all sorts of content without rigid rules as to how the content should be organized.

Ward Cunningham, the developer of the first wiki software, WikiWikiWeb, originally described it as "the simplest online database that could possibly work." "Wiki" (pronounced [ˈwiki] or [ˈviki]) is a Hawaiian word for "fast". "Wiki" can be expanded as "What I Know Is," but this is a backronym.

Mashup (web application hybrid)

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mashup

In web development, a mashup is a web page or application that combines data or functionality from two or more external sources to create a new service. The term mashup implies easy, fast integration, frequently using open APIs and data sources to produce results that were not the original reason for producing the raw source data. An example of a mashup is the use of cartographic data to add location information to real estate data, thereby creating a new and distinct web API that was not originally provided by either source.

Assignment 2 Timeline

Last Wednesday fellow bluey Sarah and I did a Skype session and mapped out how to approach the onerous Assignment 2. Because of the time constraint, we did not see the value in creating three locations (Facebook, Twitter and Second Life) for collating our findings for Assignment 2. Instead we agreed to confine the online venues to the blue ning (http://itc501blue.ning.com/main/authorization/signIn?target=http%3A%2F%2Fitc501blue.ning.com%2F) to collect our bookmarks, and host our forum and chat. In addition, we committed to continue our weekly Skype session to provide synchronous communication. We have contacted Andrew Wight (in London) and he has agreed to meet us in the chat sessions and to contribute to the BluePod site.

We do not know each other well enough to be able to designate particular roles according to our individual abilities. We plan to make the Pod information accessible to all Pod members and to trust that each person will contribute to the best of their abilities.

Briefly, our timetable for the approximately three weeks remaining is:

Week 1. Do all the research and bookmark culling to address all aspects of the assignment. These bookmarks are posted to the BluePod forum with annotations and tagging to make access to key information quick and easy. The bookmarks are tagged according to the research question they address and the keywords most mentioned in the information.

Week 2. Focus on the evaluation of the forum posts by encouraging pod members to comment, discuss and offer contrary or further information. The comments become the agenda for the Skype and Chat sessions that week. If recommendations suggest themselves they are recorded in a new recommendations forum string.

Week 3. Draft the list of recommendations and post to the site forum for further comment and crafting. Towards the end of the final week, set a date when the final agreed recommendations are published.

Assignment 2 Introduction

Way back at the start of this unit, I introduced myself as a social networking sceptic. I could have just cut and pasted that entry into this one but it is no longer accurate.

Yes - I know I've had to be dragged kicking and screaming into Web 2.0, Classroom 2.0, Skype, MOO, Moodle, Facebook, Delicious, Ning, Twitter and a whole bookmark folder of others but NOW I don't think these 2.0 things are ALL bad.

The good bits are that you can access the latest information and conversation in just about anything via RSS, Delicious and others but the bad thing is that you can very easily let your life slip away as you burrow still deeper in the blogosphere for that last morsel of information that even your most gung ho pod mate has given up on.

The other good bit is that through the conjuring of sites like Facebook, I've been able to connect to people I've lost contact with for 30 years. I've even met some of them in the real world.

Another bad bit is that when the conjuring gets too random (as in Second Life) its made me feel like a cross dresser at a bucks' party.

Exercise 7.1 Smart screen interface case study

There are a number of types of touchscreen technology.

Resistive touchscreen

A resistive touchscreen panel is composed of several layers, the most important of which are two thin, metallic, electrically conductive layers separated by a narrow gap. When an object, such as a finger, presses down on a point on the panel's outer surface the two metallic layers become connected at that point: the panel then behaves as a pair of voltage dividers with connected outputs. This causes a change in the electrical current which is registered as a touch event and sent to the controller for processing. Resistive touchscreens can also support Multitouch.

Surface acoustic wave

Surface acoustic wave (SAW) technology uses ultrasonic waves that pass over the touchscreen panel. When the panel is touched, a portion of the wave is absorbed. This change in the ultrasonic waves registers the position of the touch event and sends this information to the controller for processing. Surface wave touchscreen panels can be damaged by outside elements. Contaminants on the surface can also interfere with the functionality of the touchscreen.

Capacitive

Capacitive sensing

A capacitive touchscreen panel consists of an insulator such as glass, coated with a transparent conductor such as indium tin oxide (ITO). As the human body is also a conductor, touching the surface of the screen results in a distortion of the local electrostatic field, measurable as a change in capacitance. Different technologies may be used to determine the location of the touch. The location can be passed to a computer running a software application which will calculate how the user's touch relates to the computer software.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Touchscreen

The example I use is electronic banking. You can either interact with your account using the internet or an Automatic Teller Machine (ATM). While the internet account means you can manage your account from any web connect computer including your home or an internet cafe anywhere in the world, you cannot get cash from the internet account. ATMs are well distributed across major world cities and can provide cash very conveniently. However, their dedicated functionality means managing account details (other than getting balances) is very clumsy and not user friendly.

Exercise 6.3: Trust and reputation: how is it achieved?

The two communities I’ve chosen are Facebook and the community created when you conduct a Webex session.

Facebook

Usability, sociability and sustainability

I’ve now been using Facebook for about 4 months, but I have still not used all its functionally. However, as I try each new function, I am impressed with how easy it is. Way back at the dawn of the web, creating webpages with images was a real chore. The flexibility to be able to import videos, still images, links while being able to comment, share and tag these bits of content is awesome.

The ease that all this is accomplished makes the Facebook experience very compelling from a socialibity and sustainability point of view. If the site is easy to use,people are deriving some benefit from visiting it and they feel that they can control access to their content and the people who visit the site, they will continue to use the site. For me, Facebook has all of these things.

Webex

Usability, sociability and sustainability

Although Webex may not be considered a community in the conventional sense, I believe that a community can be created to solve a single problem or issue: It has a purpose, people and a size defined by the number of people at the meeting. So – I would like to use Webex in this context. I was very impressed by the Webex meeting last night for a number of reasons.

Firstly, Webex’s usability was very impressive. Being able to share and present your desktop to anyone in the group is a powerful function. Being able to go beyond a ‘screenshot’ to being able to ‘drive’ an application ‘live’ is huge.

Secondly, although much of the good humour and warmth (socialbility) was due to the wonderful personality of Justine, Webex also supported this through its panel where users could vote, emote, signal that they wanted to talk etc.

When a product is both highly usable and sociable, it becomes sustainable through attractiveness of use to any community.

Exercise 6.1: Design rules and your CSU forum experience

Purpose, people and community size in online communities.

Because we are united in the same learning context (ie this subject) the purpose of the group interaction is reasonably clear. However, some people's motivation seems to be purely to 'pass the subject' whereas others have a more genuine interest in finding out more about it. Of course there are also the people who fall between these two groups. I have enjoyed that through this group, my conservatism has been challenged and I have been required to engage with a huge variety of online learning tools. The joy of it is that I have met many new and stimulating new friends both inside and outside the course.

Each new tool has had its own challenges and thrills. Besides the challenge of learning to engage with the tools, the biggest one has been to feel 'connected' to the process and people. Two experiences that I have enjoyed were using Skype to connect with a fellow POD member and using RSS to stay in touch with what other classmates were writing on their blogs (and to ensure I was not falling too far behind).

At the centre of the class is the subject forum and this has been the most useful because it is the most used and is the main meeting point. The threads make archiving the information easy and even though the messages are very short they often provide much useful information.

The POD group effectiveness has suffered greatly because of the diminishing numbers. Ideally a POD should be sustained at 6-8 members in order to provide a diversity of view and to 'share' the workload. My POD (Blue) is down to 2 members so its more like a conversation (mainly via skype) than a forum of any kind. The second assignment (which requires a full strength POD) will be impossible to do without greater numbers. There does not seem to be enough time to not only build facility with the tools but also develop relationships within the online learning environments.

Its all been a bit rushed but, I guess it needs to be if we are able to cover a vast amount of territory in a short period of time. If we had the time to develop the relationships and to master the complete functionality of those tools that all agreed were to be more effective, then the forum experience would be more enjoyable.

Exercise 6.2: Wiki and Moodle design

What is it about the design of the wiki and Moodle that you liked or disliked?

What features do wiki and Moodle have in common and what are the differences (eg a Wiki, Forum and blogtool is also groupware design feature inside a Moodle site) ?

Is the presence of likeable features also a combination of the design tips for usability, sociability and sustainability, as advocated by Preece and Kim in earlier topics?

I've had a look around the ispg.csu.edu.au/moodle moodle but I don't think the full functionality is being explored.

People are using the blog part but I use moodle very differently at my school.

In my ICT subjects, all work is delivered, created and marked online. The scoring and work comments are sent via moodle to students and the results are collated into a spreadsheet that can be exported into the marking software we use (Markbook).

All digital resources are located in a digital library and I archive all student work so that I can show the new class examples of what is required.

I hardly ever use the blog or wiki function. I can see how a wiki would be fantastic and I will start using this function next. The great thing about Wikis is that they facilitate a process of context enrichment and debate that is moderated to ensure that sources are acknowledged and the knowledge is as 'pure' as it can be. Making access to wikis open ensures that if anyone has a different view, then they are able to challenge the status quo provided they follow the same sourcing guidelines as anyone else. Although the 'content enrichment process happens across a moodle, unless the wiki function is used, the knowledge can be spread across chats, forums, assignment work and lists to such an extent that the core elements of the site are too disparate to be of great use.

Being able to use 'likeable' functions such as images, emoticons, chat and a wide range of dialog styles can personalise the learning and teaching experience a great deal and for some students this can be a big motivator. If my students were geographically isolated from the school and each each other, these features would be a big advantage is bringing students together as people and to make the site more sustainable

Because my students are all in the same physical classroom as me, it is more convenient and effective to communicate with them 'in the real world' than via the blog.

I love moodle.