Well, our group made a discovery about the home page. Apparently it doesn't want to be renamed. Sadly, we learned this the hard way. We discussed changing the name of the home page to something more descriptive, and Wikispaces acted like it was OK with changing the name of the home page. However, much our surprise, it renamed the page and then set up a redirect for the home page. The bad thing about that is that it also put a nice message at the top of the screen stating that the page was a redirect. It was quite an annoying message, and it was large, too. So, that had to go.
The difficulty is that once set up, it took some doing to get the deed undone. This made for an interesting day earlier this week. I had twenty-five messages waiting for me when I got home from school that day.
The good news was that it was fixable.
The strange part was that I was needing to start my classes that day with a disclaimer. I did this because I could only see the emails stating that there was a problem, but I couldn't get a the wiki page to fix anything. So, I would start my classes with the comment, "If I laugh hysterically or manically, here's why..." My students had mixed reactions to my troubles. Mostly they reacted better than I expected actually.
But now its all better, and I am going to get kicked off the computer. So bye.
Wednesday, April 16, 2008
Sunday, April 13, 2008
The Dreaded Upgrade
There are times that technology intrudes on our lives. I say this as a computer geek and just as a normal person. It isn't that the computer geeks try to make computers intrude. They just do it seems.
This is the reason that when I was teaching computer science, there were days that I couldn't bring myself to turn on my computer -- not even to play a video game. It was work. I wanted to leave the computer alone, and I wanted to leave the computer alone.
I say all this because my sister has been having a strange weekend this weekend. Generally, she is a chemist. Indeed, her degree and job title say that she is. Some of her co-workers do wonder, however.
She has been working with the IT folks at the, um, local pharmaceutical company, doing a rollout of a new version of some software. The software runs on some critical (and pricey) pieces of equipment. The other thing that makes the rollout unusual is that the data stored in the systems involved is mission critical data. Well, I suppose that's not unusal. Most company's data is mission critical to the company -- otherwise, why are they bothering? Well, anyway. She has been playing IT person this weekend. So, I've been hearing stories of how things have been. I must say that the problems (all too familiar) do sound different when they are someone else's problem (even my sister's). The good news is that she (and the rest of the IT folks) were done and that she was home.
This is a good thing. This was attempt number 2, and this weekend is Mom's birthday, and attempt number 1 was during our brother's birthday. So, as I said, the silly computer were intruding. The computer thought that it would be best to be upgraded during Mom's birthday. What a silly computer, but of course, it still got its way.
This is the reason that when I was teaching computer science, there were days that I couldn't bring myself to turn on my computer -- not even to play a video game. It was work. I wanted to leave the computer alone, and I wanted to leave the computer alone.
I say all this because my sister has been having a strange weekend this weekend. Generally, she is a chemist. Indeed, her degree and job title say that she is. Some of her co-workers do wonder, however.
She has been working with the IT folks at the, um, local pharmaceutical company, doing a rollout of a new version of some software. The software runs on some critical (and pricey) pieces of equipment. The other thing that makes the rollout unusual is that the data stored in the systems involved is mission critical data. Well, I suppose that's not unusal. Most company's data is mission critical to the company -- otherwise, why are they bothering? Well, anyway. She has been playing IT person this weekend. So, I've been hearing stories of how things have been. I must say that the problems (all too familiar) do sound different when they are someone else's problem (even my sister's). The good news is that she (and the rest of the IT folks) were done and that she was home.
This is a good thing. This was attempt number 2, and this weekend is Mom's birthday, and attempt number 1 was during our brother's birthday. So, as I said, the silly computer were intruding. The computer thought that it would be best to be upgraded during Mom's birthday. What a silly computer, but of course, it still got its way.
Thursday, April 3, 2008
Camtasia and Screencasting
Camtasia was an interesting program. It seemed to work in a very intuitive fashion (which is rare) and the tutorials that they provide are actually helpful. That much impressed me.
The process of doing the screen casting was about what I expected, but it did take time. The first thing that took a while was looking through the five or six tutorials that seemed interesting. I'm glad I did, but it still took time.
The process of setting up the training and having everything ready wasn't too bad, but I did end up needing to re-do a little bit. That is a bit tricky. I must say that I didn't attempt to narrate while working through the tutorial. I can see how that would be possible, but you'd really have to be able to multi-task your brain to be able to pull it off.
My part was the recording of the original video, and I put a few callout (arrows) in the one video also. I started putting titles into the same video, and I split the video where the titles would go, but after seeing the result, I'm not sure if the final project will have titles or not. Oh well.
The one surprise was that moving the project from my computer to one of my team member's was actually pretty tricky. It wasn't the program's fault, either. The program has a mechanism for saving the files as a zip, and it seemed to work just as advertised. The problem was that sending a 20, 30 or 40 meg file was making my computer (or something) unhappy. I'm pretty sure that my school (FC not IUPUI) email would have rejected or eaten files of that size, and it probably would have turned up its nose at a zip attachment (with good reason). However, the OnCourse messages seemed to be perfectly happy sending the zipped attachments. I suppose that is because some class work might need that capability, this one for example. Who knew?
Well, at any rate, my portion of the tutorial process has been handed off, and the process is moving on to the next phase. I suppose it will be interesting to see how it turns out.
The process of doing the screen casting was about what I expected, but it did take time. The first thing that took a while was looking through the five or six tutorials that seemed interesting. I'm glad I did, but it still took time.
The process of setting up the training and having everything ready wasn't too bad, but I did end up needing to re-do a little bit. That is a bit tricky. I must say that I didn't attempt to narrate while working through the tutorial. I can see how that would be possible, but you'd really have to be able to multi-task your brain to be able to pull it off.
My part was the recording of the original video, and I put a few callout (arrows) in the one video also. I started putting titles into the same video, and I split the video where the titles would go, but after seeing the result, I'm not sure if the final project will have titles or not. Oh well.
The one surprise was that moving the project from my computer to one of my team member's was actually pretty tricky. It wasn't the program's fault, either. The program has a mechanism for saving the files as a zip, and it seemed to work just as advertised. The problem was that sending a 20, 30 or 40 meg file was making my computer (or something) unhappy. I'm pretty sure that my school (FC not IUPUI) email would have rejected or eaten files of that size, and it probably would have turned up its nose at a zip attachment (with good reason). However, the OnCourse messages seemed to be perfectly happy sending the zipped attachments. I suppose that is because some class work might need that capability, this one for example. Who knew?
Well, at any rate, my portion of the tutorial process has been handed off, and the process is moving on to the next phase. I suppose it will be interesting to see how it turns out.
Monday, March 31, 2008
E-books and Internet Cafes
As I sit here contemplating technology, I'm looking at a book shelf full of books. I do wonder what the information sources will look like in a few years.
Don't get me wrong. I believe that books (paper books) will persist through my life time. I'm not saying anything about the upcoming technologies by saying this. This is a comment on the people involved -- the people age 25 and up will continue to want to hold a book in their hands for a long time. That period of time will probably be for the rest of their lives. Professionally, for me, that means that books will be sitting in libraries for a while.
Now, for the other side of that problem. The books will continue to exist, but they might not continue to exist with the same prominence that they currently enjoy. I don't think this is too much of a stretch, really. Black and white movies and silent movies are still available, but they aren't the main thing. So the paper books will eventually work their way into the "literature" section of the library with the other old stuff.
The interesting piece though is what happens next. Let's say that someone were to make a nice interface for an electronic book (or really, an electronic library) with all the things that go along with it. The purchasing, lending, leasing, reading, printing, and searching have all been worked out. Let's then say that this trinket actually catches on. Apple could do this, for example. Let's just say that they decide they want to and do it.
Then in a period of five years, all the paper books would be relegated to a different category in the library... and most libraries would be configured incorrectly. In fact, in that case, libraries would be in big trouble. An Apple computer-like site that provided books for download for purchase or rent would make a library a very difficult sell.
I suppose this gets a the question of what a library is. In one sense I think that a libary is like a Blockbuster or Family Video version of Borders. The main difference is that the library generally has better meeting facilities and the computer facilities are free. If Borders opened an Internet cafe and had a "party room" the differences would be even smaller. Consider that a public library is a government subsidized book and media rental place, with the fees charged only (or mainly) on overdue items.
Having said that, if someone does start offering e-books, Borders and all those sorts of stores will be worse off than the libraries, so that is something. In fact, that might be one of the reasons that all of the books stores sell music and DVDs also. They want to be able to sell media when the time comes -- or else they will cease to exist.
The reason that this sort of change will be difficult for librarians is that the change will mark a further change in the design of libraries. If the books are not current -- not in the main stream anymore -- but the content is available through other means, then something strange happens. Take away all the sections of the building that are dedicated to storing, moving and finding books (specfically) and huge chunks of existing library buildings just go away.
The library will become something more like an Internet Cafe than it is now. The good news is that I like coffee. In that sort of environment, the library staff will be largely the sort of staff that you'd find at an internet cafe. That would be techie types and quite possibly people serving up beverages. There will be ample opportunity for assistance, but it will be a different kind. It will look a lot like technology training, I think. The reason I think this is that Apple (or whoever else pulls off a "nice" ebook) will surely have a quality interface, with training and tutorials and references and whatever, built into their service. That is a necessary component for the ebook to be "nice."
Well, anyway, I was just trying to contemplate what a good ebook would do to a library. I think it's coming, and when it comes it will happen fast. By fast, I mean Apple iTunes fast. Well, it will be interesting to see what happens.
Don't get me wrong. I believe that books (paper books) will persist through my life time. I'm not saying anything about the upcoming technologies by saying this. This is a comment on the people involved -- the people age 25 and up will continue to want to hold a book in their hands for a long time. That period of time will probably be for the rest of their lives. Professionally, for me, that means that books will be sitting in libraries for a while.
Now, for the other side of that problem. The books will continue to exist, but they might not continue to exist with the same prominence that they currently enjoy. I don't think this is too much of a stretch, really. Black and white movies and silent movies are still available, but they aren't the main thing. So the paper books will eventually work their way into the "literature" section of the library with the other old stuff.
The interesting piece though is what happens next. Let's say that someone were to make a nice interface for an electronic book (or really, an electronic library) with all the things that go along with it. The purchasing, lending, leasing, reading, printing, and searching have all been worked out. Let's then say that this trinket actually catches on. Apple could do this, for example. Let's just say that they decide they want to and do it.
Then in a period of five years, all the paper books would be relegated to a different category in the library... and most libraries would be configured incorrectly. In fact, in that case, libraries would be in big trouble. An Apple computer-like site that provided books for download for purchase or rent would make a library a very difficult sell.
I suppose this gets a the question of what a library is. In one sense I think that a libary is like a Blockbuster or Family Video version of Borders. The main difference is that the library generally has better meeting facilities and the computer facilities are free. If Borders opened an Internet cafe and had a "party room" the differences would be even smaller. Consider that a public library is a government subsidized book and media rental place, with the fees charged only (or mainly) on overdue items.
Having said that, if someone does start offering e-books, Borders and all those sorts of stores will be worse off than the libraries, so that is something. In fact, that might be one of the reasons that all of the books stores sell music and DVDs also. They want to be able to sell media when the time comes -- or else they will cease to exist.
The reason that this sort of change will be difficult for librarians is that the change will mark a further change in the design of libraries. If the books are not current -- not in the main stream anymore -- but the content is available through other means, then something strange happens. Take away all the sections of the building that are dedicated to storing, moving and finding books (specfically) and huge chunks of existing library buildings just go away.
The library will become something more like an Internet Cafe than it is now. The good news is that I like coffee. In that sort of environment, the library staff will be largely the sort of staff that you'd find at an internet cafe. That would be techie types and quite possibly people serving up beverages. There will be ample opportunity for assistance, but it will be a different kind. It will look a lot like technology training, I think. The reason I think this is that Apple (or whoever else pulls off a "nice" ebook) will surely have a quality interface, with training and tutorials and references and whatever, built into their service. That is a necessary component for the ebook to be "nice."
Well, anyway, I was just trying to contemplate what a good ebook would do to a library. I think it's coming, and when it comes it will happen fast. By fast, I mean Apple iTunes fast. Well, it will be interesting to see what happens.
Tuesday, March 18, 2008
Slugging it out
Today I learned something with the computer at the school. The ICP teacher and I worked on a test today. The first part is something that I had done before. The first part is the part where you make the test. That I've done before. However, today I got to experience the joy of bubble sheets.
I don't think I'd used the bubble sheets as a teacher before, mostly because I generally didn't make multiple choice tests before this year. This is partly because when teaching computers (which I have tended to teach) I normally had a "hands-on" portion, and when creating code, I normally had a part of the test where students wrote code.
Also, multiple choice questions are sort of hard to write. They are wonderful to use, but they are hard to write (well, comparatively, I suppose).
So, back to the bubble sheets. I've used the "fake" bubble sheets before, but for this coming test we are using the really, real scantron sheets. The reason for this is that we are going to analyze how well students do on the test. Hopefully, they do well. It will make the analysis (and grades) much more fun. Anyway, to to do the analysis, some computer somewhere (through the web) gets copies of all sorts of stuff along with a list of state standards.
The thing that I did today was "pre-slug" the answer sheets. One of the steps is to send the answer sheets through the printer and get names and so forth printed on them. That is known as pre-slugging apparently. Who knew.
And, I might add, as I have mentioned before, printers are basically evil. The report (with ten dozen pages) went to the wrong (color laser) printer instead of the printer that the tests were in. The program assumed that I wanted to use the other one. Probably the printer tricked it. Printers are sneaky. Always keep an eye on your printer.
I don't think I'd used the bubble sheets as a teacher before, mostly because I generally didn't make multiple choice tests before this year. This is partly because when teaching computers (which I have tended to teach) I normally had a "hands-on" portion, and when creating code, I normally had a part of the test where students wrote code.
Also, multiple choice questions are sort of hard to write. They are wonderful to use, but they are hard to write (well, comparatively, I suppose).
So, back to the bubble sheets. I've used the "fake" bubble sheets before, but for this coming test we are using the really, real scantron sheets. The reason for this is that we are going to analyze how well students do on the test. Hopefully, they do well. It will make the analysis (and grades) much more fun. Anyway, to to do the analysis, some computer somewhere (through the web) gets copies of all sorts of stuff along with a list of state standards.
The thing that I did today was "pre-slug" the answer sheets. One of the steps is to send the answer sheets through the printer and get names and so forth printed on them. That is known as pre-slugging apparently. Who knew.
And, I might add, as I have mentioned before, printers are basically evil. The report (with ten dozen pages) went to the wrong (color laser) printer instead of the printer that the tests were in. The program assumed that I wanted to use the other one. Probably the printer tricked it. Printers are sneaky. Always keep an eye on your printer.
Tuesday, March 11, 2008
Google was down
Well, I have actually had two sorts of difficulties trying to post to the blog so far. The first problem is one that is persistent, and won't go away. The problem is that all blogs (personal sites) are blocked by the firewall at the school that I work for. This means that I can't post anything during the day, sadly. It would be handy, because that would provide for a little break in the day. It would at least be a change from grading papers.
The second problem I had was that Google's server was down on Saturday for a period of time. It had completed a post, and blogspot ate it. I don't know what the deal was, but that was kind of a sad thing.
However, the one thing for me to consider is that for me, as a teacher, the fact of firewalls means that there are certain things that a school librarian (and perhaps a librarian for youth even in a public library) shouldn't put on a blog exclusively. If the purpose of the blog is to serve students and teachers in a K-12 setting, and if those people do not have continuous access to a blog, it wouldn't make sense to post things to a blog to serve them.
Having said that, it might still help them after hours or when they are in a public library.
Also, since I've been the one to set up a school's firewall (not this school, but a different one), I understand why the blogs are blocked, and I don't have a problem with them being blocked. In fact, I'm rather happy they are. However, for this particular project it does make things a little more interesting. Oh well.
Oh, and hopefully this one will go through.
The second problem I had was that Google's server was down on Saturday for a period of time. It had completed a post, and blogspot ate it. I don't know what the deal was, but that was kind of a sad thing.
However, the one thing for me to consider is that for me, as a teacher, the fact of firewalls means that there are certain things that a school librarian (and perhaps a librarian for youth even in a public library) shouldn't put on a blog exclusively. If the purpose of the blog is to serve students and teachers in a K-12 setting, and if those people do not have continuous access to a blog, it wouldn't make sense to post things to a blog to serve them.
Having said that, it might still help them after hours or when they are in a public library.
Also, since I've been the one to set up a school's firewall (not this school, but a different one), I understand why the blogs are blocked, and I don't have a problem with them being blocked. In fact, I'm rather happy they are. However, for this particular project it does make things a little more interesting. Oh well.
Oh, and hopefully this one will go through.
Thursday, February 28, 2008
The other technology thing...
What technology will be pervasive in a generation?
I've pondered that question on occasion. The answers you get are pretty strange. The computer and the other communications devices will continue to grow in power, connectivity and speed. At the same time, they will get smaller and the price for what they currently do will go down. I say that last carefully because with technology, they sell you what you can't do now. That part stays on the spendy end, but even the cost of a high-end computer has gone down over time.
I suppose a person might look at an iPhone or a laptop keyboard and ask, "How can this possibly get much smaller?" Well, just wait. It will. Did you know that the chip manufactures are coming up on a physical limitation in the speed of chips? There will shortly need to be a major breakthrough in the design of computer chips to allow the speed of techonological devices to continue unabated. I'm pretty sure that breakthrough will happen in due course, and it is possible most people won't even know that it happened.
I suppose it might be some other way of getting around the problem. It could be that in a few years it will be common to have 64 processors burned onto a chip and to stick all of them into a computer at one go. You might even have 80 or so, and be guartanteed that 64 of them will work. (It will be iffy at first.) But, however it happens, the speed and power of the computer will continue to climb, and the size will continue to shrink. You might wonder how this could be. Well, I don't know exactly.
However, I do think that when my students are out teaching, they'll have a dilly of time trying separate their students from their technology during a test. And, for that matter, they'll have dilly of time separating their students from each other during a test.
Sometimes it's hard now, actually. It's hard to know the difference between a thinking student and a txting student. It will only get trickier as time goes on.
I've pondered that question on occasion. The answers you get are pretty strange. The computer and the other communications devices will continue to grow in power, connectivity and speed. At the same time, they will get smaller and the price for what they currently do will go down. I say that last carefully because with technology, they sell you what you can't do now. That part stays on the spendy end, but even the cost of a high-end computer has gone down over time.
I suppose a person might look at an iPhone or a laptop keyboard and ask, "How can this possibly get much smaller?" Well, just wait. It will. Did you know that the chip manufactures are coming up on a physical limitation in the speed of chips? There will shortly need to be a major breakthrough in the design of computer chips to allow the speed of techonological devices to continue unabated. I'm pretty sure that breakthrough will happen in due course, and it is possible most people won't even know that it happened.
I suppose it might be some other way of getting around the problem. It could be that in a few years it will be common to have 64 processors burned onto a chip and to stick all of them into a computer at one go. You might even have 80 or so, and be guartanteed that 64 of them will work. (It will be iffy at first.) But, however it happens, the speed and power of the computer will continue to climb, and the size will continue to shrink. You might wonder how this could be. Well, I don't know exactly.
However, I do think that when my students are out teaching, they'll have a dilly of time trying separate their students from their technology during a test. And, for that matter, they'll have dilly of time separating their students from each other during a test.
Sometimes it's hard now, actually. It's hard to know the difference between a thinking student and a txting student. It will only get trickier as time goes on.
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