Tuesday, 26 February 2008
Today's interesting links!
Pew internet research:
"Teens and Social Media: The use of social media gains a greater foothold in teen life as they embrace the conversational nature of interactive online media."
http://www.pewinternet.org/PPF/ r/230/report_ display.asp
Designing communities presentation
by Christina Wodtke:
http://www.slideshare.net/cwodtke/ designing- communities10150 7
Free stock photos
http://www.sxc.hu/
Wikis in plain English
http://www.commoncraft.com/video-wikis-plain-english
(The other videos by the same people are excellent explanations of Web 2.0 concepts as well)
Talent
http://www.talent.ac.uk/
the online community for adult literacy, numeracy and ESOL teachers and anyone interested in good practice in the teaching and learning of adults and young people with language, literacy and numeracy needs.Articles by Helen Beetham on the topic of models:
- http://www.elt.ac.uk/ELT%20documents/EFFECTS/Vision.pdf
- http://www.eres.ac.uk/source/docs/pub-ou-47.pdf
Labels: internet research, links, models, online communities, photos, Web 2.0, wikis
posted by Helen Whitehead 7:50 AM
Friday, 22 February 2008
The digital divide...
What digital divide? There is very much a divide on the basis of age - the older generation have grown up in a "keep yourself to yourself" era of treasured privacy, but younger people now plaster their identity all over cyberspace and aren't so concerned with privacy (rightly or wrongly).
There is much celebrity culture in young people's lives as well as the internet. Their social lives are organised on Facebook and replayed on Youtube: it can seem that everything about the young is entirely public and they hide nothing.
It's been called "conspicuous living" at a time when materialistic "conspicuous consumption" is falling.
However, there's a downside: as these youngsters start applying for University places or for jobs, they might regret the personal details they have splashed online. And it's quite possible they will put off potential employers or colleges.
Only the other day someone was telling me that they had "googled" a potential employee they were interviewing. The person had a common name so the company couldn't be sure whether they had found any relevant details - so there was luckily nothing to stop this particular person being offered the job.
It's becoming more and more important to manage online identity and image.
Some companies promise to remove incorrect, inappropriate, hurtful or slanderous material about clients from the web. I think that's not completely possible. One has to assume that what's on the Web can be found. There are steps, however, that one can take to
manage one's online identity.
My top tip is not to lie, but to use a slightly different name or nickname for personal web activity: if you're "Beth Woodbridge" on Facebook with thousands of photos of you drunk in University bars, then apply for jobs as "Elizabeth Woodbridge" and make sure that there is a professional looking online presence at that name - a personal website or online portfolio.Labels: Facebook, online identity
posted by Helen Whitehead 3:48 PM
Saturday, 16 February 2008
Putting a blog feed on Facebook
There are so many Facebook apps that I now turn down or ignore most of the Quizzes or role-playing invitations I get on Facebook. However here's FlogBlog - an application that's actually useful - it provides a feed to your existing blog via Facebook. A good way to integrate Blogger or Wordpress (or any other blog with a feed) and Facebook.Labels: blog facebook integration, blogging, blogs, Facebook
posted by Helen Whitehead 1:07 PM
Wednesday, 13 February 2008
Last few places still left on our online writing course Season of Inspiration
My latest writing course starts next Monday 18th February 2008 for 9 weeks.
Season of Inspiration is back again with our trademark supportive, friendly, online writing community and all-new inspiration!
Yet again we will be dipping into a variety of sources of inspiration, from nature to music to landscape. From mesostic poems to mystery stories, there'll be formats and genres to experiment with. We aim to provide inspiration for writing that'll see you through the rest of 2008. We offer support, exercises and creative bolstering. Come whether you're bursting with ideas to try out or whether you want to rediscover your creativity. Designed so that you can work at your own level (whether you're starting out as a writer or seeking inspiration for your next publication) with the support and encouragement of a writing community and two tutors. This is the online equivalent of a writers' workshop, not a lonely self-study course. Students are welcome from anywhere in the world (the course is run in English).
Co-tutors: Helen Whitehead (Nottingham, UK) and Sharon Rundle (Hunter Valley, Australia), both editors of Kids on the Net.
Cost: UKP£150 / USD$300 / AUS $370
Please register immediately for one of the last few places at info@kidsonthenet.com
The course takes place in Moodle.
More information on the course website at http://www.newmediawriting.comLabels: online writing courses, online writing school, season of inspiration, Sharon Rundle, trAce online writing school
Link: posted by Helen Whitehead 12:06 PM
Monday, 11 February 2008
Digital Radio - am I onto a losing thing?
The BBC reports today on the closure of two digital radio stations, The Jazz and Planet Rock from GCap Media. They state that "DAB Digital radio is being portrayed in some quarters as the 21st century's version of Betamax, the video format that lost out to VHS in the 1970s." Consumers seem to be turning more to the Internet for radio. However, you can't connect to the internet from your car ... but "only a minuscule number of cars in the UK have a DAB radio installed."
My car is one of those with a DAB radio installed - it's a SEAT Ibiza and it came with a DAB radio as its special feature. However, we can't get digital radio inside our house (because we're behind a ridge). So I have mixed feelings about whether DAB radio is worth it. But I certainly don't want to be stuck with the radio equivalent of a Betamax video!Labels: digital radio, media, technology
posted by Helen Whitehead 9:21 PM
Thursday, 7 February 2008
Call for papers: ALT-C 2008: Rethinking the digital divide
ALT-c 2008 conference: 9-11 September 2008, Leeds, UK
First call for papers and abstracts
The online submission system for ALT-C 2008 is now open:
http://www.alt.ac.uk/altc2008/papers.html
Please read the submission guidelines for Research Papers and for Abstracts - http://www.alt.ac.uk/guidelines_papers.html
- and download the Research Paper Template if you wish to submit a research paper.
Submit your proposal on the new submission system at https://alt.conference-services.net/
Key dates:
Submissions open 14 December 2007
Submissions close 28 February 2008
Presenters’ registration deadline: 6 June 2008 Early bird registration deadline: 30 June 2008 Registrations close: 15 August 2008
Keynote speakers:
David Cavallo, Chief Learning Architect for One Laptop per Child, and Head of the Future of Learning Research Group at MIT Media Lab; Dr Itiel Dror, Senior Lecturer in Cognitive Neuroscience at the University of Southampton; Hans Rosling, Professor of International Health, Karolinska Institute, Sweden, and Director of the Gapminder Foundation.
http://www.alt.ac.uk/altc2008/Labels: ALT, ALTC2008, conferences
posted by Helen Whitehead 3:06 PM
Friday, 1 February 2008
British Council arts and literature
The recent rumpus about the British Council in Russia reminds me what a good job they do promoting British writing and arts (and culture) around the world.
The British Council Arts and Literature services include some very comprehensive websites and web-based resources: including events:
Animating Literature: http://literature.britishcouncil.org/
A portal to news, information and discussion for readers, writers, teachers, students and literature professionals. Access the best UK and international online resources on UK literature. Information about authors, prizes, teaching and learning literature and creative writing, literary translation and reading.EnCompass - the Global Book Club http://www.encompassculture.com/
with a reader in residence and the usual slew of resourcesContemporary writers with information about a selection of British writers
http://newwriting.britishcouncil.org/
the website is a companion to the publication New Writing 15, the British Council's annual anthology of the finest contemporary writing in fiction, non-fiction and poetryhttp://magicpencil.britishcouncil.org/ a children’s book illustrators exhibition website with workshop materials online and webboard and chat.
Labels: arts, British Council, literature
posted by Helen Whitehead 3:42 PM
