October 05, 2009
October 02, 2009
5 Funny Ameriquest Videos
September 03, 2009
"Course Content Delivery" - Time for a new direction
Dr. Trent Batson writes Not Your Parents' 'Course Content Delivery' in today's edition of Campus Technology. Dr. Batson makes a great case for re-examining what most colleges and universities do in the way of online coursework.
From my personal perspective: Online courses (and online components of courses) evolved as a delivery system over several generations, moving from mail (snail mail) correspondence schools, to audio cassette lectures, to courses on video, etc. - and to more sophisticated package systems that allow multiple interactions with a student working in an online environment. The earliest models fit very nicely into a traditional, assembly line system system where an individual progressed at a pre-determined pace with a structured start and end point. Unfortunately, the assembly line model for both K-12 and higher-ed are showing cracks around the edges as a system needing a serious overhaul.
The following quote provides a great summary of Dr. Batson's direction for a new era of digital interaction:
Continue reading ""Course Content Delivery" - Time for a new direction" ...
September 02, 2009
Students - "Guppies in an Ocean Full of Sharks"
It should be no surprise that I am an advocate for appropriate use of technology in learning communities. Over the last several years (with the explosion of easy-to-start-up social networking tools) I have witnessed a change in attitude within the teaching profession to embrace more of these gadgets. Resistance to embrace technology seems to have shifted from fear to more tangible factors like physical resources, training, and time constraints. This TeacherTube Top 100 Most Viewed Video emphasizes that technology is not the enemy, but ignorance (or completely shunning technology) remains a problem and a detriment to students.
Vicki Davis, author-in-chief of The Cool Cat Teacher Blog created this video. I recommend her blog and entrepreneurial spirit to anyone interested in instructional technology.
My favorite quote from the end of this video, "...technology is our friend. Ignorance is our enemy. Instead we should fear more the releasing of millions of ignorant students into the shark infested waters of the Internet. They are but guppies in an ocean full of sharks.
September 01, 2009
CoverItLive Volleyball - Belmont vs Western Kentucky
Making the List
This morning I received an email letting me know that Chasing the Dragon's Tale is included on the list of 100 Best Blogs and Websites for Innovative Academics. I am flattered (even at #82) and note numerous other education blogs that I hold in esteem. Thanks to the folks at Accredited Online Universities for including me on their list.
Disclaimer: This post does not imply an endorsement of Accredited Online Universities or the various underlying linked institutions.
Teacher or Educator?
The video asks, are you a teacher or an educator? First of all, presenting this in video form gets my attention...someone did a significant amount of work to produce a thought-provoking piece and I sincerely appreciate that effort. I am more than a little concerned that the video implies tha teaching and educating are somehow exclusive categories of a process and that perhaps, one is good and the other is bad. Entering a profession that involves the interaction between a student and a subject requires a level of commitment and inspiration that I would define as a calling...and I am reticent to judge anyone who is so called.
In my years (and years) in the classroom, I have witnessed some of the the best and some of the worst examples of learning environments that involve this profession. I have experienced great teachers and value what I gained from them. I have experienced great educators and value what I gained from them as well. Granted, I consider the best of this profession to be great teachers and great educators.
What I believe is missing in this formula is great students.
Continue reading "Teacher or Educator?" ...
July 10, 2009
Erasing the Past - Lanier High (Macon, GA) Demolition
I attended Lanier Senior High School for Boys in Macon, GA and was a junior the year that the main building was destroyed in an arson fire. There are lot of great memories of that dysfunctional place that are a real part of me: band, required ROTC, one incredible Foreign Relations teacher, amazing half-time shows, the first SugarBear band, ranger days, band, the first black student, band, great friends, band, and the first girls taking AP classes (there IS a pattern in that list, I am certain of that). There are sad memories as well..the firing of a math teacher when he was outed, the racial bigotry that lingered, and playing Taps one last time as the demolition of the old building commenced.
One of my classmates sent me a link to a Macon Telegraph video yesterday. The last of Lanier Senior High School's buildings (now Macon Central ), the old gym and JROTC area, are being demolished. Symbolically, I am fine with the demolition of a facility that was part of Macon's sordid, segregationist past. There is part of me that would have preferred that instead of erasing this old symbol, named for the boy poet of the confederacy (Sydney Lanier), that some historical acknowledgment of the good and bad of that historical era remain in some tangible form. Perhaps, this demolition is part of a healing process. If that is indeed the case, then expunging the old facilities and what they represented is the right thing to do...oh, but the stories those walls could tell.
June 09, 2009
If I am Sick, I go to My Insurance Company
I am pondering a conversation with a doctor/friend (unnamed) about the business of medical professional practice...she wants desparately to deliver good health care to her patients, but unfortunately doesn't work for her patients. She works for several insurance companies. It is true:
- She can prescribe a medication that she feels best suited to address an illness and have that decision over-ridden by an insurance company, 'That drug is too expensive, we won't cover that at the same level we cover a (supposedly) generic equivalent'...the patient is forced to trust the company rather than the doctor..and/or pay more
- She runs a risk/threat of higher premiums every time she makes a decision involving surgery...even minor surgery. Every patient pays more, indirectly, for those premiums.
- She pays a full time staff of two whose sole job is to deal with the paperwork and headaches generated by the insurance companies...none of that expense improves the quality of delivvered medical services...and the patient pays for that staff.
- She has patients who have to wait until a new premium cycle begins to re-visit her because of restrictions in insurance coverage...time that can result in worsening conditions, and the patient pays in poorer health
- If a patient wants to pay cash for services, she cannot tell that patient what the costs will be without referring to insurance regulations/requirements/contracts first.
- She plays a constant balancing act with testing labs...too few tests and malpractice liability exposure increases, too many tests and the insurance company may deny/delay claim payments. The patient pays more either way.
In the meantime, if I need to have a physical exam, my doctor tells me that my insurance will cover it and it will only be six months before the earliest possible scheduled appointment...and I count myself 'blessed' to have medical insurance that I can afford.
April 12, 2009
Social Media and Networking "Collectors"
There is an interesting subculture among social media and online networking sites that warrants exploration. If you are a member of sites like Twitter, LinkedIn, Ecademy, or Facebook you probably have encountered some of the characters in the subculture. Until a better descriptor evolves, I will call the group "The Collectors".
Disclaimer
Before I describe the characteristics of this subculture, I want to be clear that there are individuals who are seriously engaged with a large number of friends/followers/constituents and 'fans' because of celebrity/organization status, their contributions to 'interesting-ness' within their online communities, or their proven professional status as an expert. I do not consider the majority of these individuals collectors.
The Rationale Behind Connecting/Collecting
Collectors seem to be obsessed with acquiring the most friends/followers or network connections (depending upon the terminology within a particular online site). I know many of these individuals from several years of participation and research within online communities. Their rationale for connecting (their term) varies but tends to follow one of several patterns:
- The individual with the most connections is somehow the best person you should connect to (quantity trumps quality)
- The perception that an individual's ranking (by quantity of connections) equates to brand value within the community (quantity equals name recognition)
- Competitive team power is derived from the size of one's list of connections (my team is bigger than your team)
- Huge following numbers can translate into increased 'sucker-link' traffic to other sites and financial gain (playing the percentages)
- Social Network Gamers who could actually care less about the intended purpose for a site but simply get a thrill by figuring out how to game the highest scores/rankings/numbers.
Continue reading "Social Media and Networking "Collectors"" ...
March 05, 2009
Coverage of the Social Media Panel at Belmont University
Great questions and well conceived answers were the order of the evening for Belmont University's panel discussion, Facebook to Twitter: Rights, Rules and Realities. This YouTube video of the late evening news package is the work of WKRN News 2's Tiani Jones. The actual video coverage of the panel discussion can be found on a student blog, Practicum Pioneers, linked here (from that page click OnDemand and then click on the Captioned Video frame). |
The event, moderated by Dr. Sybril Bennett, lasted about an hour and included a number of learning opportunities:
- Belmont students used the event to experiment with mogulus.com and CoverItLive.com to broadcast text and video as well as interact with an external audience
- Convocation attendees heard legal professionals and higher education officials talk about cases and experiences with social media that were eye-opening for many
- Several college administrators from area universities observed both the panel and the student broadcast work and left feeling that similar events are needed at their respective universities.
- We all learned that there are challenges in being part of the production of a special event AND being part of the electronic coverage of the same event
Special thanks to Tiani Jones and NewsChannel2 for the coverage of the event.
February 27, 2009
Social Media Panel to Discuss Rights, Rules, and Responsibilities
We are convinced that Facebook isn't finished with its efforts to revise the Terms of Service...and the "From Facebook to Twitter: Rules, Rights and Realities of Social Networks" panel discussion Monday, March 2, 2009 at 7:00PM will probably raise more questions than can be answered in an hour...but we would like to make sure that you know this event is open to the public. Belmont students will be there (full disclosure: many just need convocation credit).
Login to your facebook.com account and let us know if you will be there. It might just keep you from standing rather than sitting comfortably in the Maddox Grand Atrium at the Curb Event Center.
Even if you cannot make the event, Belmont Media Studies students are polling and making plans to broadcast the event using Mogulus and CoverItLive. I will make sure that details for access get posted here. Belmont's own Multimediai Maven, Dr. Sybril Bennett, will moderate the panel of attorneys, social media advocates, and higher-ed leaders.
Garage parking is free at Belmont and the garage is attached to the Curb Event Center (See Campus Map).
February 25, 2009
Alumni Art Exhibit - Homecoming 2009
If you happen to be anywhere near Belmont University's campus this week, be sure to stop by the Leu Center for the Visual Arts (the Art Department) and walk through the "Art from Anywhere" exhibit. This first time show for university alumni is part of Belmont's 2009 Homecoming week. Margaret Elliott, a 2005 Belmont graduate is featured in this short video. Margaret talks about one particular class that influenced her unique painting style. Other artists featured in this year's show are: Bob Schatz ('77), Matt Chenoweth ('07), and Ann Street (Ward Belmont '45). |
February 19, 2009
Shamed back into Blogging
It had to happen sooner or later. One of my fan club (of four) asked when I would start blogging again. I have no excuse. There is much going on and I need to jump in an play with the social media tools that we are experimenting with in the classroom.
I am a bit weary of the gloom-and-doom coming from the print industry although I sympathize with so many great people who have been displaced by this century's declines. This is an exciting time for entrepreneurial journalism. Delivery systems are evolving every day now and there are opportunities for critical thinkers to meet and match market demands with relatively low start-up costs. New business models are bound to evolve around changing patterns of users and advertisers...those conversations are happening already.
We are at an odd time when it comes to generational expectations for the delivery of news and information. I hear more and more often that experienced, print journalists are re-learning to play and experiment with new media. I encourage that mix of maturity and child-like curiosity from both older and younger generations...and I have to admit some disbelief that resistance to 'play' may be greater among the young. We all have learning to do. We all need to take a more active role and more responsibility for our own, personal learning.
I am back. I am learning. Let's talk!
January 14, 2009
It is just Tennessee Politics...
...but shame on both Tennessee political parties.
Here are the facts:
50 Tennessee House Republicans* voted for a Republican candidate to become Speaker of the House.
49 Tennessee House Democrats voted for a Republican candidate to become Speaker of the House.
Not surprising from the above two facts, a Tennessee Republican was elected Speaker of the House and thus gaining control of both legislative bodies since Civil War Reconstruction (we might revisit that period in Republican legislation success later)..
But Something Went Awry
In the eyes of House Republicans, something went wrong. Rep. Kent Williams (R*) voted for himself instead of the 'nominee of the Republican caucus', Jason Mumford (R), thus electing a man who chose to vote for himself rather than in lockstep with his party. In fairness, one might note that Representative Mumford voted for himself (not that there was any personal ambition involved), following the rest of the Republican caucus Representatives.
Continue reading "It is just Tennessee Politics..." ...
