AUSTAFE Conference
July 31, 2008
IP : Your Rights
July 25, 2008
- I paid Brian Gardner for the privelege of using his code
- I continue to attribute his contributions to the code and have not in anyway removed his construction reference in the source code anywhere only added my only inclusion as a designer and web developer
- I understand the rights of others as my contributions to the web are made under Creative Commons 3.0 or 2.5 which this site is.
- When somebody builds something then I have no issue with the look / feel being emulated….in time we all want to look different and we natuarally make changes over time
- A web site should never be static…anyone that reads my sites knows that I change the look / feel constantly
- I believe in respecting the rights and IP of those brilliant people who build stuff on the web…likewise add your name to the code and use it but ensure that your not locking people out by removing attribution to them…in fact you’ll be embraessed in years to come when people start pointing back via the Internet Archive.
The following is the email I sent back to my friend and work colleague;
Great stuff [edited]Point your son to http://creativecommons.orgI have no issue with anyone using anything except my credit card to pretend they are me so the them is of tiny consequence. I am currently in battles with a client who wont honour the IP rights of the designer who spent weeks coding a wikispace only to have her rights dishonoured by someone who wont attribute her IP.It’s all about attribution which would be good to explore with your son….about respecting the rights of the designers and not ignoring the licensing of the code never mind the pictures.I’m going to blog about this today so ask your son to read my latest post.I hope it will make some sense and when I can get the comments feature fixed he will be able to reply with you in tow
Microblogging Futures
July 5, 2008
A really profound slideshow or in their own words - ’social object’.
I like the analogy ; less social networks and more social objects.
Usefulness & Value
May 30, 2008
I often preface my posts with an image which I garnish from the undending array of 2.5 CC at FlickrCC - just one of the best cool tools I know of. Very useful….
I link to the source and in doing so acknowledge the brilliance of the creator. I’m also showing I suppose some reverence for the time and space in which the object has transcended a limited range of visual brilliance, appreciation and allowing it to inform another way to lighten the lives of others.
That’s really what I’m after when I rant about access and useability for learners within or outside of the organisational or institutional firewall of protectionism. Concentrating on the guilt and bad feelings that come from being blocked access to new and emergent ways of working using networked communication technologies only seems to heighten my anxiety further. It’s debilitating and I’m actually beyond feeling this way so why do i contiue to engage in the debate ?
What not just give up and find ways to avoid confronting this challenge ?
I acknowledge that I feel angry and dismayed that no one in management is “getting it” but then upon reflection and consideration I realise that in fact they ( management ) in fact are getting it loud and clear …….and that carefully orchestrated planning and history have contributed to that decision making process. I also acknowledge that my expressions of dismay and helplessness are not helping to inform progressive thinking ……..rather drawing upon the vitriolic and senseless mindlessness that erupts from repeat unrequieted ( is that how you spell that word ?) access to that which makes it all easier.
Readers and my colleagues know that I often lapse into fits of sardonisim….. and feeling trapped in situations also leads me to kick-out at the constraint.
Nor am I one to sit in amongst the constraint and accept that this is the way it is and just accept it like a drone. What I’m doing is expressing how I’m FEELING…….I’m feeling trapped ( it’s a feeling and not a pretty one ) HOWEVER, in expressing it I’m seeking ways to move on and experience success, supported and encouraged, connected and really achieving creation. It’s perhaps the base human expression as Jo kay suggests that makes it possible to then contemplate the way to empower oneself which in turn empowers others by example.
The problem ( I’m now thinking…..ticking away here) is less in the fact that there is a reluctance in the education sectors to readily embrace new technologies and use them as part of the education experience, but more of a sociological value as to the affect such technologies have on the other aspects of being human and alive. Take for instance online learning for part-time educators in time poor cities with chronic shortages of beauty and health. Or, consider resource rich lock-step employees trapped in isolated communities where access and useability are seventh to the local football field. Which looks more like war and why ?
Where does openess help rather than induce introspection and anxiety of self value ? maybe pushing for an open view of what’s happening inside only add’s to the anxiety ? When does a wiki not become a wiki ? Just because it’s closed and dosent exist for public view ?
Technology I propose itself is not necessarily the challenge rather the myrid of challenges it poses for base human communication as we struggle to engage in meaningful and human-rich deep and slow experiences without interuptions. Maybe the ’social’ in social networking technology is in fact an enigma and that in fact we’d be better off analysing and informing the debates from a values assessment of technology mediated interaction without it’s “noise”.
That would then render this expression of mine …mute. Best I concentrate on what it enables rather than what it refutes. Find some connectedness amongst the humdrum and show connection in action in a world immersed in security conciousness.
Whilst I’m on the topic, policy ( broad sweep of hand ) seems to me to be a resultant rather than a guide in all of these discussions and helpless expressions. Process oriented action research that informs action ie. Graham Wegner seems more useful than philisophical nuances that inform policy which then governs the manner in which we re-value interaction and devolve responsibility from.
I commiserate with Kim Flintoff and find that he’s willing to openly ( humanely) express himself and suggest perhaps that he’s also not trapped by cynicsm rather seeking connectedness to remain sane and positive.
After much mirth last night Stephan Ridgway, Robyn Jay and Julie Collareda finally broke into fits of laughter at the novelty of re-positing the ridiculousness of where rhetoric is taking our organisations as a whole as they struggle to comprehend the whole change occuring from right underneath them. Not only are humans becoming more complex but the rapidity of the connections means nothing remains un-observed.
Our resolve - It’s our ability to harness survaillant as core capital rather than bork at it’s borgness.
Open up rooms in ourspace.
Turn the machine off occasionally.
Smile more readily.
Seems worthwhile to me. What do you think ?
Connectedness
April 26, 2008
The other day there I was invited by Twitter ( Josie Fraser ) and by Gmail chat ( Mark Van Harmelen ) to join the George Siemens keynote at the 2008 Emerge Conference which as I understood had Slideshare notes ( gone down ? )
Stephen Downes comments on the ‘inward’ nature of Twitter fish bowls and I have to agree with him. Which herd ? is also a good point.
What struck me was that across the blogsphere and micro-blogosphere there is a sense of anxiousness as to the continued foray into cross-polination of inclusion permission. Psycho-geographics of participation as Josie . Nice term !
Almost as good as ‘Architectures of Participation ‘ that Kim and I tossed around with NMC and CogDog last year.
The session was interesting but mostly from a voyeurs perspective. Talk, question, answer, talk. Lots of tools and nowhere to go. I’m kind of getting the connectivism message but it’s seeming a little black and white of late….is it just me or do we need some colour in the slides ? I’m still not convinced that a staggered head does much for the future identity drillers.
Strange…..I watched the bridge between Twitter and the event on parallel screens. It’s interesting seeing the timing dynamics between the presentation chat, Twitter and the larger > video as each stage has it’s own masters and magicians. All in all well worth the 30 min drop by.
I’ve been following this participation idea through a lot with the FLNW crowd and exploring things myself a bit however, I’m pretty well content with the dynamics of openess as a political and participatory empowerment process…….. through which ‘permission’ is often not granted but almost always dynamically generated for reason.
Take for instance my up coming presentation at the Western Institute, TAFE NSW CSHT&R Faculty Forum where I’ve forcibly re-morphed ‘Technology In Delivery’ to ‘Technology in [Delivery] Teaching & Learning. CogDog threw in his tidied desktop and lucychili let me have her ’spam’ - penguins and all.
Thanks guys…..desktops have changed so why are we still using IE6 in TAFE ?
Maybe that was my desktop Macs. confuse and amaze me.
If your a Vista refugee you’ll be able to see things in ppsx. - erk. Failing that download the ppt. or if inclined to chase the pdf. around.
So where’s the learner ? Chasing their own technology……… that we choose to shut out of our organisations ? Perhaps the heavy hand of connected[delivery]ness is really an over simplified equation. Danah must be right…it’s ‘their’ technology right…wrong…..we can plan parties using email too you know. Bah !
Let them have rock n’ roll. Sure there were fatalities but none more so than self-absorbed conservatives claiming it was work of the devil only to fall prey to it’s social evil.
Like my Twitter feed in this blog/site.
Blocked but not silent in spaces where once Twitter’s feared to mention the expletive.
All in all a good day. At least now you know how much it will cost to hire me.
Virtual Knee Surgery
April 23, 2008
Courtesy of Marg Bell who’s also suffering from a broken ankle, here’s a virtual surgery toolbox - would certainly see you getting squeamish if indeed , like me, you’ve just undergone surgery.
It looks like a great resource so I’m going to start a new online category for Virtual Resources and tag the posts by topic are which may be helpful in retracing them.
I think this would be a handy resource for e-learning learners also as an introductory step into online anything. Do you know of any resources similar ?
If so drop me a comment . I’d love to hear from you.
Symposium Of Reason : Blogging In The 21st Century
March 20, 2008
[ image : telegraph.co.uk ]
[image : Derek ]
[image : gwegner]
So what would have happened to substantiate Al Upton to implement an ‘Order For Closure’ by the very organisation who employ him to realise the most important part of his teaching career ?
Perceived departmental derision ? A mis-informed RSS jury ? Plain stupidity ?
It would seem that the conversation ensuing now points at policy development likely to substantiate more cease and desist manadates destined to feed wikio-news fodder.
Quite frankly, the decision to target Al is a low act. Evil in intent some may suggest, however, I’d say enacted with little or no regard for the countless hours Al has collaboratively engaged his worldwide network.
It’s a slap in the face for the tens of thousands of readers that will have heard of the Mini Legends…..how apt in light of their present circumstance. To the countless debates with educators in a global context over what constitutes safe and legal blogging respecting the rights of children, parents, organisations and nations alike.
Yet, here we have a brilliant opportunity to demystify just exactly what RSS means, what a login and password actually prevent others from doing, what an open discourse encorages and protects as opposed to a walled garden of “civilised” intranet behaviour and most importantly a great opportunity to engage in exactly what can be done to support eduactors anywhere when faced with the same stress Al’s be put under.
I’m seeking some form of symposium to bring together those involved in this faracas and get some reason amongst what appears to be a feeding frenzy of inuendo and media shmaz. Something within ( or without ) to bring light to an otherwise darkened edict. Voices that stand up and be counted beyond a semi-considered comment of solidarity.
Who thinks Al deserves the chance to consider his own future informed, supported and referenced ( physically augmenting the virtual ) in an international context, bringing faces to the forum which would otherwise seek to derail and discredit his and ten of thousands of other networked learning educators ?
Add your name to the TALO wiki here - I’m looking for 100 voices that will join me on May 2nd 2008 in Adelaide ( May 1st in the States ) - thanks to Sheryl NussbaumBeach we have a 100 seat Elluminate room to bring you all in.
In Al’s words;
” It is my desire that commonsense based on hard evidence will lead to openness, flexibility and consistency - Al Upton ”
Lets ensure he has a wide range of opinion and surely commonsense will prevail. It appears via Al’s blog that the first steps are in place ;
These are two distinct arenas of what is currently occuring.
It is very important that my students, parents, site and employer (DECS) are in no way made to feel responsible. Support (not negativity) for us all will be more effective in determining mutually beneficial outcomes regarding student learning using 21st Century technologies. Respect, trust and empathy is what will triumph. Thank you for all that has been afforded to me here.
Cheers, Al