Archive for September, 2010
after 15 years, we had to put our oldest dog to sleep today.
I stopped by the guitar store to order a cheap amp, and picked up a few picks to replace my DIY corner-of-unrequested-MasterCard “pick”
the renovation project continues. today, we tore out a bunch of drywall, and removed some interior framing. glad it’s not our house…
my shiny new (used) fender strat squier. it’s missing the whammy bar, and I don’t have an amp (yet) but I’m getting used to the fingering. the frets are MUCH further apart than on my trusty ukulele…
the ICT building, en route to some caffeine at the Good Earth Cafe.
GMail’s new Priority Inbox sounds interesting – a special inbox with just the messages that are important to you, likely from people you care about. There’s likely some magic special sauce in the Priority algorithm, but a simple facsimile can be created using a Smart Mailbox in a standard email app.
I have a group in my address book:
It currently has 96 people in it. People that I would stop what I’m doing to read a message from.
Then, in my mail app, I created a Smart Mailbox with a simple rule:
Done. A special Priority Inbox, without having to use GMail. There are probably some tweaks I could add, and some conditions to refine it, but it’s a pretty decent start. Any messages from the folks in my Extended Family & Friends group get popped in here automagically, without having to sort out the bacon and noise.
I made a quick detour to the cliff overlooking the Bow River to grab a shot of the valley before Things Start To Change.
Bush, V. (1945). As We May Think. The Atlantic Magazine. (12)
on overload:
There is a growing mountain of research. But there is increased evidence that we are being bogged down today as specialization extends. The investigator is staggered by the findings and conclusions of thousands of other workers—conclusions which he cannot find time to grasp, much less to remember, as they appear. Yet specialization becomes increasingly necessary for progress, and the effort to bridge between disciplines is correspondingly superficial.
on the shallows:
Mendel’s concept of the laws of genetics was lost to the world for a generation because his publication did not reach the few who were capable of grasping and extending it; and this sort of catastrophe is undoubtedly being repeated all about us, as truly significant attainments become lost in the mass of the inconsequential.
on the need for effective access and selection of information:
There may be millions of fine thoughts, and the account of the experience on which they are based, all encased within stone walls of acceptable architectural form; but if the scholar can get at only one a week by diligent search, his syntheses are not likely to keep up with the current scene.
The entire article is fascinating, as a look from 1945 toward a future of machines capable of typing for us, and of dry photography that would let a person take photos on a roll capable of holding 100 exposures.
Unlimited Magazine just ran an article by Emily Senger on the massively open online course experience. It’s a good overview of open online learning, and is definitely worth reading – if only for the 6 paragraphs featuring yours truly… They also spent some of the article talking with people that actually taught the course.
George Siemens, along with colleague Stephen Downes, tried out the open course concept in fall 2008 through the University of Manitoba in a course called Connectivism and Connective Knowledge, or CCK08 for short. The course would allow 25 students to register, pay and receive credit for the course. All of the course content, including discussion boards, course readings, podcasts and any other teaching materials, was open to anyone who had an internet connection and created a user profile.
and the closer, by your humble narrator:
“It comes down to the motivation,” Norman says. “Are you (an) intrinsically motivated person who does things because you’re interested? Or do you do things because you want the gold star. If you’re motivated by the gold star, then this probably isn’t interesting to you.”
The September 2010 issue of Unlimited Magazine is dedicated to education and learning, and the changing natures of both.
the main hall of Scurfield Hall, home of the Haskayne School of Business, and some of the best caffeine on campus.