BP6_CommentToJudy'sETCBlog

Dear Reader:

Please follow this link to comments I've made on "Judy's ETC Blog - BP_5 Myoats" blog post by Judy De Los Santos.

Judy's ETC Blog

Thank You...

:-)!

BP5_Stripgenerator

Once upon a time…

(Somewhere, someplace, a sudden hush falls upon an unsuspecting urban crowd at rush hour.  It is early Fall, and the air, laden with the soft fire of dusk, is still.  A Depression–era newsboy – A Depression-era newsboy? - his day near done, seems beleaguered from the weight of the late edition daily he carries in a burlap satchel from his right shoulder.  Invariably, he soldiers on with the dire hope he can sell enough gazettes in due time to buy himself – or his mother – or (after much internal debate and second-guessing) HIMSELF, the newest generation iPad for Christmas.  Suddenly, and almost by accident, he turns his gaze skyward as if to chastise the late-day sun for its unwelcome warmth, and sees a faint indistinguishable figure on the horizon.  Without thinking, he exclaims to the crowd-at-large while extending his index finger toward Heaven:)  “What…?  What’s THAT up in the sky??  It’s a bird…  It’s a plane…  It’s a…  A graduate student???  Ohhh, @#$%^&* me!  Let’s…  (Now clenching his fists and recklessly swinging them)  BAM!  POW!!  KAYO!!!  …give that big sissy a collective, COLLEGIATE wedgie for polluting the landscape of our fair city with ANOTHER Web 2.0 tool!!!)

The End.  Credits roll.

As I write these words, dear reader, I am not, contrary to popular belief, out fighting crime in the wee hours of the morning under an assumed alias.  Nor am I wearing some leotard that fits like a second skin – at least nothing I’m willing to admit to.  But I am wearing a CAPE.  And a SMILE.  (Just kidding.) 

Under the suggestion of my girlfriend - we’ll call her “Emily,” so as to protect the identity of the innocent – a social and behavioral researcher who, among many things, designs the “user experience,” I’m exploring Stripgenerator (www.stripgenerator.com) - a website/Web 2.0 tool that allows you to, as the name implies, generate your own (comic) strips (or storyboards).

Stripgenerator

Now for years, comic strips, as well as comic books, have been instrumental alternatives to reading in Language Arts classrooms in helping encourage reluctant readers, and/or promote visual learning in terms of dialect, characterization and plot development.

With the introduction of a tool like Stripgenerator, reading itself (as well as giving a book report, for example) just got a lot easier.  So, you ask:  “How does it work?”

Stripgenerator is, according to its website mission statement, “a free of charge project created to embrace the Internet blogging and (comic) strip creation culture, helping the people with no drawing abilities to express their opinions via (comic) strips.”

It has a very clean, simple interface, with very clean, simple “drag and drop” comic book characters to use, so anyone, regardless of artistic ability, can participate and craft their comic strip stories - no worries.  (It does not, repeat: NOT, require someone to be Stan Lee, the creator of Spider Man.)

The site differs from most in the genre, as I understand it (I’ve only a limited understanding of similar such sites), by offering a “blog” where people can post and receive comments on their artistic endeavors. This, in turn, fosters a sense of community amongst its users.

See for yourself, by watching the video introduction/tutorial at the following URL:

http://stripgenerator.com/video/

The website has artist galleries and an archive of over 200,000 comic strips available to view.

(Trust me, it’s NOT just a job for Superman!)

BP4_Schoology

Captain's Log, Stardate: 10/04.

This week finds me, dear reader, on an exploration of online education and Web 2.0 tools – whatever that means.

HECK!  (Scratching my head:)  And to think I was JUST getting used to Web 1... Ummm... ONE… POINT… something…, something…, (Something alphabetical?) One point tools. I dunno; I forget. (Lost in thought; now remembering in a brief, albeit fleeting moment of clarity:)  Ohhh…  That’s RIGHT!  Web 1.0 tools.  (Sorry; this vernacular of distance-learning is new to me.)  I guess I shouldn't lament the past.  (Now clearing throat:) AHEM!  Let's try this again.  (Brief pause.)  This week finds me, dear reader, on an exploration of online education and Web 2.0 tools.  (WHEW!)  So, like, fasten your virtual seat belts, folks, we're BOLDLY going where no man has..., etc.  YOU know the rest.  

So what are Web 2.0 tools, you ask?

If you’re reading this, you probably already know.  Or, if you’re reading this, you may NOT; after all, I did make this blog “public” – whatever that means.  (But that’s the stuff of another post.)

Web 2.0 tools, among many things I’m told, allow a user – like you and me (but preferably “you”; it seems you’re more adept at this than I) - to make a progressive shift from being a “consumer” to a “producer” of Web content - content that is, for our collective educational intents and purposes, academic in context.

Neat!  So how do they work, you ask - these Web 2.0 tools?

Well, perhaps that's best explained by way of example.

To show you these tools at work, here’s what I’ve discovered thus far (while wrestling with the aforementioned definition): an online tool that takes a social approach to education - "Schoology.com" (www.schoology.com).  (Think: John Hughes as founder of facebook.)

Schoology - YOUR Digital Classroom 

As a Web 2.0 primer, Schoology.com, according to its website mission statement, “combines social networking and learning management to easily help its users create and share academic content” for K-12 and Higher Education, and allows teachers and administrators to sign up for a free account.

See for yourself; give it a whirl...


(I know I will.)


Live long and prosper, in this Web 2.0 galaxy.

BP3_Diigo Group (revisted)

Friends:


As of 9:17 A.M. (CST), I am happy to report I am now a proud member of the "Ripples" Group (see attached) for my Diigo Action Research Project Group, required for the course Emergent Technologies in a Collaborative Culture (ETC).  (WHEW!  THAT was a MOUTHFUL to write...)

My (Newly-Revised) Action Research Project Groups

:-)!

BP3_Diigo Group

Friends:


In yet ANOTHER attempt to get myself organized, I have created a Diigo account devoted to my Action Research, which looks a lil' something like this:

My Profile

My Action Research Project Group

Neither are terribly interesting; perhaps, YOU could HELP me?

PLEASE???

BP2_iGoogleScreenShots (revisited)

Friends:


As a special BONUS to you - yes, YOU - I have included a supplemental screen shot of my iGoogle 'Home' tab, depicting Charlie Brown and Snoopy as they first appeared on October 2, 1950.


Why, you ask?


In case you didn't already know, today, October 2, 2010, marks the 60th Anniversary of the Peanuts comic strip - something I have always loved and admired, thanks to the creative genius of the late-Charles M. Schulz.


So...  That's WHY!

Home (Revisited)

Good GRIEF, indeed.


(You BLOCKHEAD!)

BP2_iGoogleScreenShots

Friends:

In an attempt to become more organized, I have created a  Personal Learning Environment (PLE) in Google which includes iGoogle tabs for each of the following:  Home, Miscellany, Full Sail Online (FSO), Action Research/Project-Based Learning (AR/PBL), and Emergent Technologies in a Collaborative Culture (ETC).

Attached are iGoogle screen shots of each tab for your viewing pleasure, with the exception of a screen shot for 'Miscellany' (which, much like myself, is still under construction). 

Thank YOU...

:-) !

Home

Full Sail Online (FSO)

Action Research/Project-Based Learning (AR/PBL)

Emergent Technologies in a Collaborative Culture (ETC)