Be in complete control of your own learning, create PLNs

As I designed and developed the activities for my performance support (PS) project, I was somewhat surprised at how gratifying it was to be able to curate and share information with a community of fellow musicians. My project "The Bass Hub" was inspirational not just because I'm a bassist but because it was something that I had wanted to do for sometime but wasn't motivated enough to take the first step. Okay I admit that this Web 2.0 course was a strong motivator but I'm so happy that I took that step.  I felt like the proverbial horse who was led to the water and while not forced to drink, I realized that water was actually good for me and thus decided to drink of my own volition.

My PS project was expansive enough to be incorporated into my personal learning network (PLN) since the central theme for my PLN was my passion for music and, by extension, my love for the bass guitar.  I enjoyed curating, sharing and communicating so much that I am now an advocate for PLNs especially if you're a budding or seasoned educator.  I like that you, as the user/learner, are in complete control of your environment.  You decide who you'll converse/associate with and you decide whether the content is worthy of your attention. You choose the tools and decide who'll be in your network.  The frequency of your interactions or consultations are also determined by you. It is just that open and as such you'll soon appreciate that only the 'sky is your limit' on creativity and innovation. I certainly hope PLNs become a more prevalent online pastime in the future.

Web 2.0 - there's just so much stuff out there!

For me, the past ten weeks have been a roller coaster ride of emotions. From anxiety, frustration and disappointment to excitement, curiosity, enjoyment and numerous 'wow' moments, the time spent in this course has truly been a rewarding educational experience. Being immersed in Web 2.0-based learning and performance concepts and tools at first took me well out of my comfort zone of usual online activity, but now I can say that it was truly worth it. I am still amazed by the number of tools that are out there in cyber land. In fact, when folks reference almost any technological idea under the sun, we often joke that "there's an app for that!"  Funnily enough, we really not that far off.

With over a million apps on Google Play and over 900,000 on Apple's App Store, you can imagine that quality will not always be the watchword. I notice too that we casually throw these figures around like they're no big deal, but according to my calculations if you use or experiment with at least 270 apps every single day of your life, it will take you roughly ten years to get through 1 million! And what's even funnier is that by the time you get through that million, there will probably be at least a million more new ones. So remember that whatever crazy electronic concept you might think of, there's probably an App for that already, or one in the making.

Also, with so many apps, I can appreciate why the Web 2.0 environment is frequently being reshaped and re-tooled. In fact, it is against this backdrop that I expect to be learning about new concepts, developments and tools long after I've completed this course. There's just so much going on out there that you wouldn't believe that just ten years ago, the Web 2.0 platform was only being conceptualized and developed.

All of this leaves me wondering what the next ten years will look like. Maybe there's an app that will predict or estimate what this will look like! The talk of a Web 3.0 or the Semantic Web has not fully taken off yet but maybe it will in the very near future. But there's also Bitcloud that wants to replace the internet and the initiative by CERN (known as the Worldwide Grid) for an unfathomably fast internet. To add to all of this, there is also the Internet of Things (IoT) and the Internet of Everything (IoE) which all makes you curious about how these platforms will change the internet's technological landscape. Again, you just have to wonder, what's going to be next?

Social media in the fight against crime

Sometimes you just gatta love social media. I think many people do have a love/hate relationship with it but when you see stories like these, you'll start loving it again.

I had to laugh at Roger Ireland’s very amusing story. Roger decided that he'd respond to a police Facebook page that posted him as a wanted man. His response: “Y’all will never catch me”. Well the postings captured the attention of concerned residents and they began tagging Ireland's family members to the Facebook posts. Of course he was caught soon thereafter and was clearly annoyed that residents had responded to the police's posts and tagged his family which led the police straight to him. Those darned posting and tagging Facebook residents, you gatta love 'em. Maybe Ireland thought that only police officers are on Facebook - very 'smart' isn't it? As the police captain aptly put it to Yahoo News, “he should have kept his mouth shut.”

Then there's Danielle Saxton who posted Facebook photos of herself in a very unique but stolen dress. Did I mention 'not smart'? The things folks do to get attention on social media! There are countless examples of people posting inappropriate or ill-advised statements, photos or videos online. With these unwise actions, often rooted in people's desire for attention, there's no wonder why the police can use social media as an effective tool in the fight against crime. Here are some recent examples where it was useful in helping the police identify and capture suspects:

•   Facebook Selfie Helps Police Identify Fraud Suspect

•   Social Media Helps Police Identify Theft Suspect

•   Social Media Helps Nab Suspected Carjacker

•   Social Media Helps Police Track Down Assault Suspect

•   Police use social media to help catch suspects

•   Social media helps Ormond Beach police catch bank fraud suspect

•   Social media monitoring helps police nab drug dealer

I must admit though, the use of social media to fight crime makes me wonder just how far the police are prepared to go. "The Crazy, Cool and Unsettling Ways Police Are Using Social Media" is an interesting report that begins to address some of these potentially complex concerns.

Robotic Prosthetics

I was searching around TED Talks, as I often do, trying to find inspirational ideas about teaching and learning in social networking environments. As I searched, I soon found myself sightly distracted but totally enthralled by Hugh Herr's story. You see Hugh was once a very talented rock climber.  In fact he was considered a child prodigy and by age 17, was one of the best in the United States. Sadly, some thirty years ago during one of his climbing expeditions, Hugh and a fellow climber were caught in a blizzard which rendered them stranded in -20 degree weather for more than three days. They both suffered severe frostbite by the time they were rescued and as a result both of Hugh's legs had to be amputated from below the knees. His colleague also lost a leg and much of the other foot.

Of course Hugh's doctors advised him that he'd never climb again but against the odds, he helped to design prosthetic limbs that helped him relive his dreams of climbing once again.  During a TED Talks presentation, Hugh explains the incredible and innovative designs of his robotic prosthetics.  He currently heads the MIT Media Lab’s Biomechatronics group and through his designs he is viewed as an architect for the next generation of bionic limbs and robotic prosthetics.

Hugh's story is so incredibly touching that I began wondering if it had any impact on social media. Though I'd expected some traction, I was surprised that by March of this year, his TED Talks presentation had received more than 2.2 million views from the TED Talks website. To date, Youtube shows that there have been over 750,000 views, 6,450 shares and almost 18,000 likes. Hugh's story is truly inspiring and I encourage you to take some time to check it out. I think you too will be amazed at where technology is headed.

So many tools and so little time for exploring

I've been searching and searching for an online platform that I could use to create an ideal user-centered and interactive experience. I would like visitors to my website to not only view the content presented, but also leave comments, request information, suggest alternative paths or websites, add content that could bring further clarity to a concept or provide feedback on my chosen format or design. Short of developing a whole new website, I would prefer a tool that would allow for all of the above, is user friendly, and easy to navigate.

During my search, I was really amazed by the many options for each aspect of my goal, but was also frustrated and overwhelmed by the sheer number of choices. To add to all this, the reality is that in order to fully appreciate what a tool has to offer you'd be better off signing up and exploring its capabilities. In fact in most cases you are required to create an account to use the service. As you can imagine, this all takes time.

The frustrations begin when you realize that one tool might be able to accomplish one or two of your objectives flawlessly but is unable to perform another, or achieve a critical nuance. If you're like me, you'll find yourself in this quandary - you like that tool '#1' can do 'X', 'Y' and 'Z' but you don't like that it cannot do 'W' and 'T' ... you really need 'W' and 'T'! On the other hand tool '#2' can do 'W' and 'T' very well but does a lame job of 'Z', and doesn't do 'X' or 'Y'. So you move on to tool '#3', but '#3' only accomplishes 'W' and does an exceptional job at it. You only wish tool '#3' was combined with '#1' and '#2' but that is simply not the case so we move to tool '#4'. Of course after signing up you realize that tool '#4' actually does a little bit of 'X' and 'Y' but really was designed to accomplish 'A', 'B' and 'C'. Can I scream for you? I'm certain you can now appreciate why I've mentioned being frustrated.

And guess what? Like a good novel or a movie, everyone likes happy endings but unfortunately for me, I'm still searching for that ideal platform. Here's a preview of the sites that I've only just recently signed up with, while trying to reach my goal: Linoit; LessonPaths; Padlet; Storify; Symbaloo; WebriQ and Weebly. As I said, some of this and a little bit of that.

What I've had to do is to combine, as best possible, a few tools to get most of my fundamental objectives accomplished as a single project. I'm still wishing for that one tool that does a better job of combining more of my requirements. If you've found one, other than designing a full-blown website, I'd be happy to know about it.

Top news aggregators

News aggregators have many different aliases. They are also known as feed readers, feed aggregators, news readers, RSS (Really Simple Syndication) readers or just aggregators. These tools are web-based applications or software that are used to collect syndicated content being transmitted via the world wide web. The content is generated by podcasts, blogs, online newspapers/magazines, video blogs, and the like and can be streamed to whatever application is able to accept its transmission.

Aggregators make bringing content from all over the web a little easier by collecting these feeds and collating them into one application or location for easy viewing. These kind of feeds became available to the public as early as 2011 as text-based feeds and later evolved into the more sophisticated platforms of today. Some of the more notable feed readers are Bloglines, Feedly, Fresca News, Feedspot, Flipboard, Digg Reader, News360, NewsBlur and Netvibes.  Even My Yahoo! has found a spot in the list of top aggregators.

Of the above, Feedly is still my top choice though I have not fully explored all the features of the others. What I have seen is that each one has its own set of nuances targeting specific audiences, so I therefore invite you to explore your options to see which ones work best for you.

Twitter analytics

Realizing that at some point I would require some metrics about my Twitter activity, I began exploring my options for capturing this kind of data. It was rather astonishing to find that acquiring Twitter analytics is big business and as such is a big deal. It appears that most of the noteworthy services that offer these metrics aren't free and where the service is free, only limited metrics are provided. In fact some of the top rated tools like Twtrland and Simply Measured offer mere 14-day free trial periods after which the user has to cough up a minimum of $18.00 per month to as much as $250.00 per month  for more superior packages. You can find some free packages from competitors like Twitalyzer, TweetReach and Twitter Counter but the data will be limited unless you upgrade to a paid service. At the time of this posting, I found just two completely free services (foller.me and TweetStats) that offer Twitter analytics but of course there may be more.

Of the top online tools, I believe that you'll find Twitonomy quite helpful for our needs. I like the data provided by, and the layout of, its free package even though it also offers paid options. Feel free to explore the numerous options out there to find the preferred tool that meets your needs.

Entertain yourself with Easter eggs.

Easters eggs in the tech world are intentional hidden features, messages or inside jokes that are embedded in websites, computer programs/games or DVDs.  It is believed that the term was coined at the Atari Corporation by "personnel who were alerted to the presence of a secret message which had been hidden by Robinett in his already widely distributed game, Adventure."

They are hardly ever static and as such may change as updates or edits are made available.  Easter eggs in the tech environment are also known as virtual easter eggs.

I've put together a few of my favorites from Google and Youtube.  Just type the following statements listed below, or click on the links provided, and be entertained.

"Do a barrel roll", "tilt" or "askew" in a Google search window or the Google gravity experiment by Mr. Doob;

How about the "let me Google that for you" (lmgtfy) site animation; (click preview to animate)

"Atari breakout" in a Google image search;

"Google pacman" is still available - its 30th anniversary was celebrated in 2010.  Click your mouse on screen arrows or use the left and right cursors to cycle through other Google Doodles of 2010.  You can also peruse many other Doodle treats in the Doodles archives.

In a Youtube search window you can type "use the force Luke", "beam me up Scotty" or my all-time favorite "do the Harlem shake" (watch with sound on) to view some hidden tricks.

If you're curious like me, Wikipedia has put together a list of Google hoaxes and easter eggs over the years. I know there are many other Easter eggs out there and I hope you can find some additional ones that also grab your attention.  Happy hunting!

Quora wants to share and grow the world's knowledge.

Thanks to this class I'm now aware of Quora. Being totally foreign to me until now, I've been enlightened about this so-called "question-and-answer" website where questions are created to get answers from people who have firsthand knowledge or experience about a topic.  It is anticipated that people with the know-how and expertise will not only find this kind of platform appealing, but will be further motivated to contribute to what is believed to be a top-notched knowledge-based global community. It's really exciting stuff that's quickly catching on.

Interestingly, because Quora is so secretive about its growth, many believe that it is not growing while others think otherwise. By the end of 2012, it was believed that Quora had attracted well over 1.5 million users but again substantiating any figure is proving to be quite the challenge.  Quora's designers appear to not be focusing on this kind of data but rather what the site has to offer to the global online community.

Here are a few random questions, presented through Forbes magazine, that can be found on Quora:

What Was The Best Experience You've Had With An Airline?

How Do You Feel About PepsiCo CEO Indra K. Nooyi's Saying That Women Can't Have It All?

Does The Shootout In Soccer Make A Mockery Of The Sport?

The company was formed in 2009 and the site was made public in June of 2010 making it relatively new on the Web 2.0 scene. It was founded by Adam D’Angelo who created it with a simple mission: to share and grow the world's knowledge.

Goodbye Edcanvas; Hello Blendspace!

I had heard about Edcanvas and thought it would be appropriate for my instructional design assignment but to my surprise, Edcanvas is no more.  Clicking on an old Edcanvas link yielded Blendspace!  Blendspace is visual learning online tool where teachers use a grid-like canvas (like Pinterest) to curate or bundle interactive lessons for their students or colleagues.  In fact, it boasts that it is the easiest way to blend your class and digital content and declares that from its site, you can create lessons in five minutes! And you know what, from my experience that's true.

Blendspace is unbelievably easy to use. Its drag-and-drop feature allows users to seamlessly incorporate digital content like MS PowerPoint slides, Youtube videos, photos, images or websites as well as your own media productions, into a lesson. With its user accounts continuing to grow (well over 150,000 users by the end of 2013), Blendspace is an excellent option for the delivery of lessons online.

View Youtube like a tv.

Lately I've found myself exploring Youtube more than ever and it's amazing how a website that was designed strictly for video sharing has become so popular. The sheer volume of videos is simply astounding and these days they cover just about any conceivable topic or idea. Against this backdrop, it was just a matter of time before Youtube itself saw a need to better categorize its content according to themes. Imagine being able to access a great compilation of Youtube videos by selecting clearly defined areas of interest and watching them live or tagging favorite items for playback at more convenient times. This concept is analogous to the content segmentation seen on live video and audio streaming devices like Amazon Fire TV, Roku devices, Google Chromecast, PlayStation 4, Apple TV, Samsung Smart Media Player and Xbox One to name the more popular ones.

Youtube Leanback was designed with the above principles in mind. Created in 2010, Leanback was described as 'Youtube designed for your tv'. It was designed for users to watch their favorite videos in full screen and in high definition where available.  The user can create a personalized 'feed' or list of preferences for continuous play of pre-selected videos. Even though I had to figure out how to scroll across the screen to select videos that don't fit in the initial menu display area (by using left and right arrows on the keyboard), I still think the interface is great and I've enjoyed using it.

Yahoo Pipes - a bit complex but worth a try.

This week the focus is on Yahoo Pipes, Mozilla's Popcorn Maker (video editing app) and MeeMoo (used to hack web applications) and it's true, they're all just a bit more complex than your average tech tool. But as with any tool on the web, exploration and practice goes a long way.  I'll be honest, until now, all of these tools were new to me and if you're like me, the first challenge is finding an instructional video or website that does a good job of describing what the technology or tool is, it's purpose and how to use it.

Fortunately, my search has yielded some pretty good sites that explain these tools but today we'll spotlight Yahoo Pipes. I really wish I had more time to fully explore the concept of creating filters on the web as Pipes does. It reminds me of the old MS Query for MS Access where the user would use commands to filter items in a database.  Pipes treats websites, particularly those with RSS feeds, like they are databases of information and allows the user, through a graphic interface, to filter and sort (curate or mashup) content.

Four engineers from Yahoo! (Pasha Sadri, Ed Ho, Jonathan Trevor and Daniel Raffel) back in 2006, built Yahoo Pipes. During a workshop presentation titled "Pipes: A Tool For Remixing the Web", Pasha himself explains the genesis of Yahoo Pipes! He further describes how it all fits together as a viable online resource tool. Very interesting though complex. I figure it's worth a try.

Flickr was down - again.

Recently, I've been exploring Flickr and was getting pretty excited about its place in my arsenal of online tools to improve my own teaching and learning experience.  For those who appreciate that a picture can paint a thousand words, then Flickr is the tool for you.

But as I attempted to log on a few days ago, I experienced something that I've never observed before with a major social networking platform - Flickr was down, and down for hours. When I saw the odd notification screen, the first thing that came to mind was that I'd picked up a virus. There was this "Bad, bad Panda!" message with a picture of a little girl pulling a stuffed toy panda. Flickr may think it's cute but it's not cool.

It turns out that this was not the first time that Flickr has experienced technical difficulties affecting users all over the world.  And it wasn't just in the US but all over the globe.  Sue Glossop posted "don't tell me it's just me lol when it's not, Flickr is down again in Australia" just two days ago from around that time. In fact over the last year, Flickr's apparently been experiencing numerous problems and has been down any number of times.

What this really made me think of is our increasing reliance on the social networking platform for just daily existence.  As we feel the gratification from the 'produsage' phenomena, sometimes we feel like we just can't do without Web 2.0 and social media.  More importantly, I feel for those of us who use these platforms for educational purposes. Students design and submit projects via a growing number of tools that use the Web 2.0 framework and are encouraged or even required to use particular tools/activities for grading. A good example of many where malfunctioning tools can cause problem is when Josiah Windler of Paraguay writes "Flickr is flickering to an end and my photos will not upload. The Ubuntu Photo Competition is using Flickr uuuggghhhhh!!!" Ouch, I feel your pain.

Can you imagine if some of the bigger names in social networking like Facebook, Twitter or LinkedIn go down? What would the world be like without these three giants? Probably much quieter! But that silence would be short-lived because some brilliant soul would create something else to begin the chatter all over again, and the cycle would continue. But in a scenario without these giants, users, designers, owners and advertisers will all lose out and that's a lot of losing. Facebook alone, for example, services well over 1.2 billion users.

While Flickr's growing user involvement is around 92 million accounts, the message is clear - no matter how many tools there are, the platform on which they run must be reliable and robust enough to handle potential online traffic. Otherwise, the tool is worthless.  Flickr is a great resource but it must seriously address infrastructural issues if it wants to remain useful and competitive in the cut-throat social networking environment.

Web 2.0 is redefining the teaching and learning experience.

No matter how much educators try to duck and dodge the realities of Web 2.0 and its plethora of associative tools, the fact is this expansion on the original world wide web is also changing the landscape of the teaching/learning environment.  I'm enlightened almost every day by the seemingly endless possibilities of knowledge acquisition and content management through the numerous resources that are available online and it's amazing how the internet is changing the way we teach and learn. Even the skeptics are understanding that instructors who fail to embrace technology including and especially Web 2.0 tools are losing out on incredible opportunities for creativity and innovation in education.  I love the way Sheryl Nussbaum-Beach expanded on the idea that technology "will never replace teachers. However, teachers who know how to use technology effectively to help their students connect and collaborate together online will replace those who do not."

That said, I was amazed by the number of tools that are actually available for educators.  Edjudo, for example, presents a very nice collection of Web 2.0 teaching tools and segments them into categories that include Audio, Video & Photo Editing, Bookmarking & Online Collaboration, Blogging, Games, Quizzes & Educational Activities and Social Networking, along with many others. In fact, the choices can be overwhelming. When I first saw Pinterest's Web 2.0 Tools for Educators I was really impressed with its collection, but I prefer Edjudo's and Wikispaces (Web 2.0 Resources) categorization and purpose of each tool.

To add to this, if educators believe that Web 2.0 is going away anytime soon, then they need to think again since this platform and the online communities therein, are actually growing in number and scope.  Some sites like AllTwitter present Social Media Stats, while others like KISSmetrics show us who likes what.  Additionally, I thought the social networking stats for 2014 also presented some interesting demographics that show the direction social networking is headed.  I was intrigued by this last set of information which presented, among other data, that 45% of Internet users aged 65+ use Facebook.  It also revealed that Pinterest and LinkedIn users are wealthier than those of other networks. Now that must get you smiling as I too am wondering if my check is in the mail since lately I've been more involved in both communities!

Google maps is simply amazing!

I've been using Google maps (GMaps) for years and I'm still fascinated by its functionality.  It is unbelievably easy to use and very comprehensive.  You can type in just about any destination or the name of a business or organization on the planet and get a map within seconds.

Another huge function is the integration of the various forms of transportation. Users can get travel times if they were to walk, cycle, drive or fly to a destination. GMaps even offers data on current traffic as a determinant for drive times.  Did you know that through the use of global positioning satellites (GPS) and wifi info, GMaps can provide you with a kind of "You are here" status or determine your location if it doesn't come up automatically once the application is started?  GMaps has also added interesting sites and photos of things to do or places to go based on your current location info and this is in addition to the use of the pegman to get street views.

GMaps is so amazing that I find it hard to pin point disadvantages or cons of the tool.  Except for the fact that there are still so many places on earth where street views are not available, and that it's not that easy to view and compare two or more maps from different locations, GMaps is the best mapping tool available out there. Sure there's Yahoo! maps (didn't even realize that Yahoo! had a map tool), Bing maps, Waze (by the way this is now owed by Google even though it's still operating independently) and Apple maps for Apple computers and smart devices but I don't believe any of these favorably compare to GMaps.

To add to all of this, Google maps also has some associative tools like BatchGeo, Google Crisis maps, Google Timelapse maps, and Google Map Maker and these are a mere sample of many other tools that are out there.

Fakebook? Really? Is it music in a 'tech' class!?

I've been a jazz bassist for many years and any jazz musician can tell you how important it is to have 'fake books' in their music collection. These books are invaluable to musicians on the whole, but especially to jazz musicians. Fake books include a category of books called real books and are all wonderful collections of sheet music usually written to include an overview of melodies (tunes), lyrics (words) and/or chord movements (music) of numerous songs, typically written on one page. Some really popular books include the: "Ultimate Jazz Fake Book", "Real Jazz Fake Book", "Performer’s Complete Fake Book" "Real Book" (3 volumes) and the "New Real Book" (3 volumes). I've actually found the popular and self proclaimed "World's Greatest Fake Book" being fully shared (.pdf version) online. Other popular books also available online in pdf include: "Jazz Fakebook" and "557 Jazz Standards swing to bop".  These last three examples provide a model of the format for all of the other music fake books.

In addition to this, there's the very powerful "Fake Book Index" that list tons of tunes and the appropriate book where the chord charts (sheet music) can be found. Did you see any song that you know and love in the index? If you did, you now know which fake book to find it in.

But I'm not writing about music today. The Fakebook tool that is associated with Web 2.0 is a completely different animal. Classtools.net describes Fakebook as a tool to create fake profiles for historical/fictional characters. The site further outlines that you can "use 'Fakebook' to chart the plot of a book, the development of a character, a series of historical events, the debates and relationships between people, and so on".  (You can find searchable archives in Fakebook from Classnet.net).

I suppose Fakebook is doing its best to maintain top search results on search engines but because this term has been associated with music for so many years, Fakebook's name as a Web 2.0 tool will face an uphill battle.  To add to the confusion, Fakebook has a Facebook page. Yes that's correct, but Facebook doesn't appear to have a Fakebook account!  I know - I'm also trying hard to keep up with the puzzle.

Now that you've been informed, remember that Fakebook still means something totally different to many folks. For me, it's still mostly about music even though I've been enlightened.  Thought you should know.

Flickr is not bad at all!

Flickr is a pretty nice online photo management, hosting and sharing website.  I thought using the 'word cloud' concept to categorize the vast number of tagged photos is a user-friendly way engage the observer. These 'tags' (use of descriptive words) are so significant to cataloging photos that users are encouraged and guided to correctly and appropriately tag uploaded photos.  Not only is tagging important to Flickr itself but it also translates into better search engine interfacing. Flickr makes it easy to add, edit and remove tags and even has an option to see all of the tags you've ever used/created in Flickr. 

I admit, I was drawn to the plethora of captivating photos on Flickr's Blog. But what I found even more intriguing was how photos that were taken by seemingly ordinary photographers, appear to be so extraordinary.  Some of these photographers have taken incredible photos from astonishing angles and others with extraordinarily amazing timing.  Just a few of the ones that caught my attention are:

·       Arpit Rawat's "Sunset at Dam", 2014

·       Grey World's "Lakeside Beach", 2014

·       Frank Kovalchek's "View from the Blue Mesa loop", 2014

·       Don Miller's "Morning Glory", 2014

·       bvi4092' "Double Rainbow over Bromley", 2014

·       Transformer18's shot in Matterhorn, Switzerland, 2010

As an update, Flickr's cofounder Caterina Fake is still thinking ahead and providing useful apps that add to the Web 2.0 arsenal of tools.  She recently launched an updated version of her own Pinwheel app that was designed to let users pin notes online to a world map.  Her latest update is called 'Findery' and it is analogous to Pinwheel on steroids. Your notes or pins can now include photos and video feeds to describe the experience.  If you love traveling, this app can be particularly useful. Check it out at Findery.com

Great - I'm now a Scoopiteer!

Since the introduction of Web 2.0 and the rise in the use of social media, there seems to be no end to the increasing number of new terminologies.  From Twitter, FaceBook, Google+, LinkedIn, Instagram and the like, to tweeting, facebooking and blogging, it's as though we're concocting a whole new language to talk to one another. Last week, I announced that I had been lurking around a few online communities and experimented with turking but never twerking! I've been tweeting for a while, used mash-up on occasion and today I've learnt that I'm now a Scoopiteer!  Say what?

It seems as if there is yet another Web 2.0 activity to talk about - content curation. As can be expected, there are any number of tools for this exercise in online knowledge management.  The list below, which is by no means exhaustive, presents some popular tools:

•  Pinterest     •  Storify     •  Scoop.it     •  Slideshare     •  Pearltrees     •  Evernote     •  YouTube

From this list, Scoop.it is gaining momentum in its market.  It turns out that some folks are also recommending noteworthy curators who use the Scoop.it platform and they are affectionately referring to them as Scoopiteers. For my first content curation project (Google tips for you!) I used Scoop.It. Though this was a tedious and time-consuming exercise, because the aim is to curate the better presentations, I enjoyed the experience.  By the way, along with the turking and lurking, I'm now happy to say that I've been 'scooping'! You see why we have to keep up with the lingo, because we'd be lost in the discussion otherwise.

Shopping via 'TwAmazon' - say what?!

When American Express (AmEx) joined forces with Twitter in 2013 it was a big deal. In fact it added fuel to the concept of social purchasing where sellers and purchasers come together in an online social community to target user interests.  With an AmEx card synced to a Twitter account, users could tweet special hashtags to shop online. How cool is that! To date there are tons of AmEx offers on Twitter that you can check out here.

But my 'big deal' today is the recent union of Twitter and Amazon that is expected to provide a whole new shopping experience for consumers. It's also simple to set up. With #AmazonCart you can now purchase almost anything online without moving from account to account to shop. Since some Twitter accounts are very public there is a concern about personal privacy, but I have to admit the concept sounds really intriguing.

As for "TwAmazon" - if Sprint can combine words like 'friends' and 'family' to get 'framily' (my dictionary says it's not a word), then I'm quite content joining 'Twitter' and 'Amazon' to get 'TwAmazon'!  It's my term and I'm sticking with it.

From 'lurking' to 'turking' - what's next?

By now, I believe we all would know what 'lurking' online is right?  Well just in case, in its simplest form, it's reading the postings of others but not participating in any of the discussions.

A mechanical turk on the other hand, is a service provided by Amazon that makes use of human intellect to perform tasks that computers currently are unable to perform.  Examples include tasks like reviewing products, completing online surveys and providing opinions on music or art.  Called Human Intelligence Tasks or HITs, the participant will be paid for services rendered.  So you would be 'turking' if you work for Amazon in this fashion.  But for goodness sake, don't confuse lurking or turking with twerking!

Intellectual Property and Copyright

For those who missed the Webinar on Thursday (06/12), you missed a great presentation.  I knew that intellectual property laws (of which copyrights form a part) were complex but I didn't realize the breadth and depth of the intricacies until now.  Our special guest, Micah Vandegrift, did an impressive job and I encourage all to view the session in its entirety!  He outlined the five 'rights' that make up copyrights as:

• the right to reproduce the work in copies (e.g. as photocopies or online);
• the right to distribute copies of the work;
• the right to prepare translations and other derivative works;
• the right to perform or display the work publicly; and
• the right to authorize others to exercise any of these rights.  (Adapted from the University of Minnesota © Info & Resources site)

Of particular interest was the concept of 'classroom use exemption' and defining what is meant by 'fair use'. I found another noteworthy source at Stanford University's four factors for measuring fair use.

Check out the recorded session in 'Week 5' from the 'Assignments' button in Blackboard.

The Terry Fox story.

I was really touched by this story.  At first I thought to myself, how could I write about something that occurred some 30+ years ago that would still inspire others today?  In that moment, not only was I was pleasantly surprised by the momentum that the Terry Fox story has gained over the years, but I was also very encouraged by the indelible mark he has left on so many people.

Terry, of British Columbia, Canada in my view, epitomizes the indomitable human spirit!  On the day of April 12, 1980 Terry began a quest that became known as his "Marathon of Hope" in the fight against cancer. You'll say, okay a marathon - what's the big deal? People run marathons just about every day.  Just so you know, over a year before this date, one of Terry's legs had to be amputated because of bone cancer.  So yes, people do run marathons just about every day, but in Terry's case he wanted to run a marathon (26 miles) every single day and he wanted do it with an artificial leg. Unbelievable!

Starting at St. John's Harbor, Newfoundland, Canada his initial intention was to raise $1 million as he ran across Canada (3,426 miles) but it quickly became a dream to raise a dollar for every Canadian. (A population of about 24 million at that time).

Though Terry was forced to end his "Marathon of Hope" on September 1st in Thunder Bay, Ontario, by this date he had run 3,339 miles in 143 days!  He had raised over $5 million and by the next year, he was alive to see his $24 million mark realized.  His story was so inspiring that a movie, produced by HBO (The Terry Fox Story) on his gallant efforts is available in full on YouTube.

Sadly Terry did not financially benefit from his own efforts and lost his battle to cancer on June 28, 1981.  A Foundation was set up in his name to ensure that his dream lives on.  To date, the Terry Fox Foundation has raised over $650 million worldwide for cancer research. One person can truly make a difference!

Can you tell that I'm concerned about the weather?

Okay even though I know I'm not the only one who seriously believes that mankind is messing with this planet's weather, I am rather disappointed that a more concerted worldwide effort is not being made to educate all societies about the impending danger. Yes, I'm back on the weather because the signs may be slow in coming to fruition but ominous nonetheless. When I think of the freaky weather occurrences I've experienced in recent times, and have wondered why they are happening, most scientists agree that humans are to blame. This planet is our home and I am concerned that people, generally, are seemingly oblivious to the warning signs about future extreme weather events.

Chairman of the United Nation's (UN) Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) Rajendra K. Pachauri at a conference in Stockholm (2013) reported that "each of the last three decades has been successively warmer at the earth's surface than any preceding decade since 1850." Qin Dahe, co-chair of the IPCC group that wrote the long-awaited 2007 global warming report summed it up this way: "our assessment of the science finds that the atmosphere and ocean have warmed, the amount of snow and ice has diminished, the global mean sea level has risen and the concentrations of greenhouse gases have increased". View more at Scientists finalize climate warming report and IPCC climate report: human impact is 'unequivocal'

All across the globe we are finding any number of reports about the problems associated with global warming or climate change, whichever you prefer to call it, and all incidents point to a serious need to address this planet's weather system. The examples below represent only a few of the many unusual events:

May 2014: In a report titled "Australia’s 2014 Heat Wave Picks Up Where 2013 Left Off" was a startling revelation: "… 12 stations across Queensland, New South Wales, and South Australia all saw temperatures rise above 118.4°F over the first three days of the New Year [2013]. The hottest temperature recorded over that stretch was 120.7°F, which occurred in Moomba, South Australia on January 2."

Feb 2014: The guardian blogs an interactive global map showing January 2014's extreme weather worldwide.

Jan 2014: Leading Scientists Explain How Climate Change Is Worsening California’s Epic Drought.

May 2013: a report by weather.com reveals that the "Arctic Ocean [is] Rapidly Accumulating Carbon Dioxide" because of the gas pumped into the atmosphere by humans.

Adding to these, Pachauri in January of this year also warns that Asia [is] under 'increasing threat' from climate change.

I think the Showtime documentary Years of Living Dangerously is a good way to begin making us more aware of the impending doom from our weather system if human beings do not change the way we interact with our environment. I hope this all leads to a new paradigm in our way of thinking about, and living on, this planet we call Earth.

Where you 'raised' to give unselfishly?

How's this for inspiration: she's an unemployed mother of seven children (three of which are toddlers) and yet just about every week, she finds time and scarce resources to give to the city's homeless.  If you don't know her story, she is Althea Guiboche who, in the city of Winnipeg, Canada is better known as 'The Bannock Lady '.  Like some of you, I too was wondering, the 'who' lady.  But yes you've read it right. Bannock is a type of unleavened flat bread or biscuit that is made with either oatmeal or barley and it's said to be quite the tasty treat.

Sometimes we go through life wishing for more of any and everything. More money, more friends, more gadgets, more children (okay maybe not the children part) but we often want more, more, more. Here's a lady who wants more so that she can give more. She doesn't actively solicit financial contributions but would prefer people to donate ingredients to make more bannock and more soup to feed more people in need.  Even after the city tried to stop her benevolent acts because they 'didn't conform to city standards', a few good-willed friends stepped in to help her cause.  She teamed up with an organization called 'chili from the heart' ran by Darlene and Craig Phillips and together they fed even more people. I was so moved by Darlene's emotional words intimating that "… the need is here … these people need help, they really need help. I mean it's easy for someone to turn around and say oh why don't they go get a job. Well how do you get a job when you've got no address, no phone number, no clothes - you've got nothing. All they want is a meal and some socks. I mean you give them a pair of socks and you'd think you've given them the world."

Interestingly, even as I see this story as such an awesome display of kindness and generosity, the Bannock Lady doesn't see what she's doing as anything special. She sums it up to "that's how I was raised". What an inspiring story! More of us need to be 'raised' that way. Follow her story at http://www.goodnewsnetwork.org/got-bannock-gives-bread-in-winnipeg-for-a-year/.

The indomitable human spirit at its best.

Today I needed to be motivated. I was down and was turned off by the countless depressing stories all over the media.  Then I thought to myself, where can I find those moving stories that would inspire me to seize the day? Stories that epitomize the better side of humanity. Certainly death, destruction and mayhem have more than their share of coverage in the media; in fact, the media thrives off it.  But where can I find those stories of the courageous, the compassionate, the resourceful, the kind hearted?  I believe you get the message.  Stories that unveil the indomitable human spirit at its best!  I realized that this might require a lot of searching, and researching but then I thought, why not start here. I expect that this might require screening and scrutinizing on a large scale but I am prepared to take on one story at a time.

I thought of what I believed was one of the world's more influential events of recent times but with research, I have been enlightened. There are actually countless personal opinions, general views and statements on world-changing events, so I thought I would bring to the fore, those that have moved me.

Today's inspirational moment will focus on the events of September 11, 2001. Though tragic, the countless stories of bravery and heroism that have been defined by this moment in time, are nothing short of awe-inspiring! From the acts of kindness on that day to the changes in the aviation and security industries and to the shock to global economies, the colossal impact on world affairs has forever changed the way we live.  Though I was reluctant to draw attention to any specific website, fearing unintentional omission of worthy examples, I am inspired by the work that has been accomplished thus far and found exploring the 911 Memorial a rewarding, uplifting and motivational experience. It was just what I needed to start my day.

What about the weather?

This might seem random for many but I can see that, for starters, my blogs will be as random as they come.

That said, folks close to me know that I often say that mankind is messing with this planet's weather. But don't just take my word for it, think of your hometown, any freaky weather phenomenon within the last five years? I'll bet while reading this you'll say, yeah - now that you've mentioned it - there's that time ...

The internet has made it so easy to find supporting evidence - thank goodness for technology. As you might expect, there are tons of websites on this topic but I'll refer you to a few that have really caught my attention. Take a look at NASA's evidence supporting climate change and NOAA's - Sea of change, you'll surely be amazed! I thought NRDC on Global Warming was extremely helpful and even suggested possible solutions to the planet's global warming concerns. Even though their 'Extreme Weather Map 2012' depicts the United States only, the figures are startling.  Finally, I really love how the Union of Concerned Scientists outline their summations. The headings read that "global warming is happening now" and "the scientific evidence is clear" that "we are the cause."  Since we have choices, together we can act now to tackle global warming (http://www.ucsusa.org/global_warming/).

Now I know there are skeptics out there who would question everything under the sun, like Skeptical Science for example, but I accept my reality and my experiences. What about you? If someone, anyone can explain, beyond doubt, why there is a marked increase in freaky weather events all over the globe, then they'll receive my undivided attention.  Until then, I'm convinced that mankind is messing with this planet's weather and we need to act now before it's too late.

Plain language?!

Yesterday I began researching an intriguing topic - writing in plain language. It wasn't long before I realized that this concept is a big deal.  So much so that the government, in 2010, made it a law.  It mandates federal agencies to use "clear Government communication that the public can understand and use." http://www.plainlanguage.gov/plLaw/index.cfm

How can this be accomplished you may ask? There are many strategies referenced all over the internet but I am drawn to Jodie Renner’s (2010) guidelines for communicating clearly and effectively in your writing.  Renner incorporates some of the ideas presented by Robert W. Harris' "When Good People Write Bad Sentences: 12 Steps to Better Writing Habits" (2004) with the following six tips:

1.      Avoid unnecessarily long sentences and excess wordiness;

2.      Use active voice instead of passive voice;

3.      Avoid redundancies and unnecessary qualifiers;

4.      Don’t use multiple negatives;

5.      Don’t use a pretentious word or phrase when an ordinary one will do; and
6.      Finally, wherever possible, write in a visually appealing style.