Thoughts from Krill

While reading The Move To Web 2.0 Increases Security Challenges all I could think about was the book Groundswell ~Winning in a World Transformed by Social Technologies, which I’ve been working at reading for awhile now. The web article, dated May 2007, focuses on the fact that businesses need to look out for security issues as they delve into using web 2.0 as part of their business. Groundswell, on the other hand, focuses on the positive benefits that businesses can reap from using web 2.0 technologies. By having message boards and/or social communities for products, businesses can have an ear on what their consumers are thinking about their products. Web 2.0 technologies give businesses a way to learn more about their customers. A business gains access to information they otherwise would have been merely guessing at.

Interestingly enough, this type of comparison can also be drawn when thinking about safety and web 2.0 tools in schools. Are there security risks in using these tools? Possibly. And, yes, it’s certainly possible to avoid using these tools and still deliver the information we want students to consume. But, can we be sure they’re actually getting the information? Or, are we just happy enough that we’ve told it to them? Another, more important question to be asking ourselves, is not if we should be using these tools, but how we should be using these tools? How can we leverage technology tools to accomplish the goals we want to accomplish?

I know there are many that feel that comparing education to business is inappropriate, but in many cases it seems to be very logical to me. This line from the article could easily apply to both!

…having [their] customers be participants and sharing information, rather than just getting information off the site.

I really love to read…I can sit down and read a good book from cover to cover and barely notice the passing of time. It seems that lately I feel too busy to sit down and read, so I began to quench my reading thirst with audiobooks. So, when the Kindle was announced, I have to admit I was skeptical. I mean, why read a book when you can listen to one? That’s what I was thinking. I even wondered if all books would go to audio??

Recently, I’ve begun to rethink those feelings. In attempting to listen to Getting Things Done and Cluetrain Manifesto, I’ve realized that there are some books that are just better when you read them rather than listen. In a book like Getting Things Done, it takes multiple relistens to ‘get it’. However, it’s difficult to maneuver to the exact part that you’re interested in hearing again. The same is true for Cluetrain Manifesto. There are many parts that I’d like to share with others, but now I have to try and remember the chapter number and the time that I heard those parts. Not that easy!

With a device like the Kindle, I could download the books that I wish to read and have the text handy for when I need to revisit a particular line or remind myself of a certain topic. I had this capability when I used a Palm, but didn’t take advantage of it at the time. I don’t see myself buying the Kindle reader, but I do think I’ll be doing some eReading in the near future. Best case scenario is an eReader for my phone so I don’t need another device!

Bottom line for me is that I have learned that some books are great as audiobooks, but others are better when I read them with my own eyes.

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Cross posted at Finding Common Ground

I have to agree with Jim Gates in his Everyone’s a Critic post over at TipLine. I mean, that’s not to say that I haven’t been tortured with a PowerPoint presentation that was too wordy, too flashy, too hard to read, etc… I hear alot of moans, groans and complaints when it comes time to do a presentation. Someone is bound to say (begrudgingly), I guess we’ll use PowerPoint. But, come on everyone uses presentation software - without PowerPoint or Keynote, what else is there to use? If no one is using PowerPoint or it’s not needed, then why did Slideshare show up? And look at this - a slideshare about blogging over at the Cool Cat Teacher Blog.

Maybe the problem is that it’s so easy to use anyone can do it…should the program force the user to complete an orientation about the most effective color schemes, font sizes and animations before the program will let them continue? Isn’t that why the program comes with built in designs - for those people that don’t realize how to create an effective presentation? Seems that like with most issues related to the use of technology, lack of training is the issue here.

I think the message we need to spread is that PowerPoint is not a teaching tool - it is presentation software. Teachers should NOT be presenters in today’s classrooms. Teachers should NOT be using PowerPoint to teach students. Students CAN be using PowerPoint if they’re preparing a presentation. The teacher should be educating those students about effective presentation techniques - think about your audience, don’t fill your slides with text, monitor your message, maintain a consistent appearance, etc…

When it comes time to prepare a presentation, I will continue to use PowerPoint and Keynote, even if it’s a presentation full of screen shots. They may be 20 slides or it may be only one
slide. Do I have to join PowerPoint Anonymous?

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Participating in the DEN Virtual Conference today…right now, in fact! I’ll be working to cross post to my DEN blog with the help of Steve Dembo!