#23: Learning never ends (but the time has come. . . )

Listen to our podcast [2:10]:

Wow! How time flies when you're having fun. That's the power of play.

Even though learning never ends, we've come to the 23rd thing. Just in case you were worried, these 23 Things aren't disappearing, so you can come back at any time and catch up, or add a comment to any of our entries, or explore some more. Because we have feeds to all of your blogs (and we hope you do too), we invite you to keep playing, writing, commenting and sharing. In fact, you can go to the Blogger Template and change the title of your blog (or add a subtitle) so it reflects the ongoing nature of learning 2.0. If you never quite got around to sharing the name of your blog with us, you can still let us know (by commenting on Thing 4.) We know we have some lurkers out there; you don't have to hide!

So now it's time to take stock and reflect on what you've learned over the past 10 weeks. Even if you skipped some of the 23 Things, we're really interested in what you've learned about your own learning during our time together.

Discovery Resources:

1. Go back to Thing #2 and review the Seven and 1/2 Habits of Highly Successful Lifelong Learners. Read your notes (is it still in your 23 Things folder?) or re-read the post you wrote for Thing #4.
   


2. Review all of the 23 Things. There's a list in the very first blog post (linked in the sidebar on the left). Think about which ones you enjoyed and which ones you didn't like or just passed over.



3. Read Will Richardson's "Why is it so Hard for Educators to Focus on Their Own Learning?" from his blog Webblogg-ed. Don't forget to read the really interesing comments at the end.

And now, for our final activities.

Did you play and learn? We've played (and worked) and learned a lot. A lot of a lot. So much so that we were challenged by the Goldilocks dilemma throughout our trek with you. You know, that conundrum of whether it's too much, too little, or just right?

So, did you find anything "just right"?

We want to know! We will be gathering information from here and there, from those of you we know, from those we sort of know, and from those of you who choose to remain anonymous. Please consider informing us of your impressions and/or suggestions through one or more venues:

• Anonymous survey responses (use link below)
• Your blog entries (most but not all of yours indicate names)
• Comments on this blog entry (another anonymous option)
• Email us at 23Things@gcmail.maricopa.edu (both Karen and Christine receive the message) or email one or the other of us!
  

Thanks for taking the trek with us and for letting us know what you think.

Discovery Activities:

1. Complete our survey, please.
   
2. Write a blog entry about what you've learned about your own learning during the past 10 weeks.

So we've come to the end of our travels in the world of Web 2.0, but we know we will keep on learning, and we hope you will too. Happy trails!

Christine and Karen

#22: Audiobooks online - without pulling out a credit card!

Listen to this podcast [2:01] --->

Any books on tape fans out there? Modern listeners (and marketers) call them audiobooks, so we're no longer tied to a specified delivery format. Some of us listen on CDs now, and some of us with iPods or another type of MP3 player may have already ventured into downloading audiobooks for listening on more portable devices. If you are among the latter, perhaps free audiobook downloading is something you already do, but maybe we'll introduce you to some new-to-you sites worth exploring.

BTW: you don’t have to have a portable player to listen to audiobooks, you can also listen to them from a computer - and/or burn the audio files to a CD. Some libraries are making available online audiobooks through companies like NetLibrary and OverDrive. Sadly, though, these audio files don't work with iPods! The reason for non-compatibility with iPods has to do with digital rights management (DRM) - and that Microsoft created the DRM protection for audio files without (yet?) making it available to Apple.


Discovery Resources

• LibriVox - public domain titles recorded by volunteers with a whole Web 2.0 community driving it!
  
• Gutenberg: The Audio Books Project - Yessirree, those electronic book pioneers are dabbling in audio, not just plain text files! Audio titles are integrated into the full catalog; just look for the icon on your search results; however, if you're interested in just browsing...
  • Human-read by author only listing,
    
  • Computer-generated audio - again, browse-by-author-only (finite list for now; Project Gutenberg is exploring how to create a way for users to create computer-generated audio on-demand)
    
• Audiobooks for Free.com - First image you notice is PayPal?!? No, that is the correct url. In spite of the name, it looks like they're trying to make a buck (notice the DOT com?) - but persist! You will need to "join" before being able to download, but they do not require you to register your email address (and this will be the last account we of 23 Things @ GCC will ask you to create!).
  
• OverDrive - if the no -iPod-compatibility issue doesn't impact you, this link brings you to a search page where you can search for Arizona libraries making available titles through OverDrive downloading or search for titles (and then check if any of your local libraries provide access).
  NOTE: you do need to download a media software application to listen to OverDrive titles.
  FURTHER NOTE: unlike the sites listed above, not all titles are in the public domain (i.e. without copyright nor digital rights concerns) because libraries are paying for or subscribing to them. So look for Janet Evanovich instead of settling (?) for Jane Austen!
• Check out this great blog post (found by searching Technorati). The end of the entry includes a far more extensive list of audiobook links than included here.
  

Discovery Exercise

1. Visit LibriVox. Notice the equal treatment on Listening and Reading? From the get-go, this site broadcasts its participatory nature.
   
2. Click the LibriVox Catalog link to search or browse for familiar titles (bearing in mind that all are in the public domain).
3. Once you've identified something that appeals to you, choose either of the first two mp3 files - the one that best suits your connection speed). Audio streaming should kick in at first click; downloading requires right-clicking. Listen online or try downloading a file.
   
4. Blog about your listening experience and about the ideas fueling and sustaining LibriVox. Would you consider recording a contribution to the cause?
   

Technorati Tags mp3,audiobooks,LibriVox,listening,audio

#21: Can you hear me now?

It may seem that this Thing is out of place. I mean all those videos you found in your Discovery Activity for Thing 20 had sounds with them -- raucous music or a soft puppy yip or two. But sound isn't the same thing as a podcast -- they are cousins, maybe even siblings, but not twins.

A technical tidbit: Podcasts are just audio files (generally in a special format called .mp3) to which you can subscribe using RSS (remember that from Thing 8?). If you subscribe to a podcast, you don't have to remember to check for new files; you're notified automatically. Our audio snippets at the beginning of each Thing aren't technically "podcasts" because we didn't make them available that way, but we could have done so (and might in the future). Our audio snippets were created with and hosted on Odeo.

Podcasting, in the words of the late great Ed Sullivan, is big. Really, really big. You can learn about podcasting in general from EduCause's 7 Things 2-pager on podcasting, or from Carnegie Mellon's white paper on podcasting. You can find everything you need to know about how to do podcasting on our own 23-Thinger Alisa Cooper's wiki, "Coop's Word: Technology Use In & Out of the Classroom." If you're interested in where we're going in Maricopa, take a look at Veronica Diaz's blog post on iTunesU at Maricopa.

So in this Thing, we're just going to dip one big toe into the world of audio.

A bit of techy talk here: In order to listen to an audio file (like our comments at the beginning of each thing), you either need a computer with speakers (external or built-in) or earphones (that fit over your ears) or earbuds (tiny little things that fit inside your ears). But you already knew that, right? Or have we been whistling in the wind for the past 8 weeks? If you want to listen on-the-go, you need an mp3 player that you can clip on your belt or stick in your pocket. Those players usually have some kind of a docking station or cord that allows you to automatically download your files to them (and recharge the player's batteries at the same time.) But you know that you can also listen to an audio file just by clicking on the little embedded player on these blog posts. We're keeping it simple today.

Mp3 players aren't expensive -- you can find quite a few at less than $50, and you can find podcasts to load on to them for free. Did I mention that there are scads of free podcasts?


Discovery Resources:

In Thing #20, we introduced a number of search engines for finding videos, but many of them also find podcasts. You should see some familiar options: Most Recent, Most Popular, specific categories, etc. Just like with video, you can find your podcasts "raw or refined." Here are some places to look:

• Yahoo! Podcasts (I like their simple explanation of podcasting in the banner at the top of their page.)


• Podscope (which says it searches the audio itself; it doesn't rely on tags)


• Podcast.net (uses categories and keywords, much like searching a library database)


• NPR's Podcast Directory (these are professionally produced radio shows)


• Podcast Alley (select a specific genre to narrow your search choices)

Discovery Activity:

1. Explore various categories of podcasts using a couple of different search engines and listen to some podcasts at random. Make sure to listen to some that are serious and some that are fun!


2. Subscribe to a podcast using RSS, or download a podcast to your mp3 player.


3. Write a blog entry that reflects on what you found (or didn't find).
   

Did you know that more and more podcasting sites (like evoca and Gabcast) allow you to record a podcast from your cell phone? Everyone can be a podcaster now and just phone it in.

#20: Hollywood, Bollywood, and Old Broadway

Not.

Actually, this Thing is about video, but that doesn’t mean that you’ll see your name in lights (except if you’re playing around with Flickr stuff), or strut down the red carpet for the Academy Awards in that gorgeous gown, or earn beaucoup bucks as the latest STAR. Don’t draft your acceptance speech just yet. Yup. We know you could’ve been a contender, but that’s not the point of this Thing!

The bad news is that PRINT has serious competition these days, and the really bad news is that the competition is winning. Just take a look at CNN.com. I have to really search for the news in text; the page is just riddled with those little camera icons, and much to my dismay, occasionally I see video as the default with a little link that says TEXT, as if it were some poor relation, somewhat shabby and out of date. Sniff, sniff.

So much for the bad news. The good news is that every day incredibly clever people are creating captivating video and uploading it to the web to share with us for free. And the REALLY great news is that many of these incredibly clever people are our students! Nudged on by good teachers, these students might be inspired to explain or demonstrate complex ideas in innovative ways that help other folks learn. If not, a lot of the video is just plain fun.

The point of this Thing is to find these videos, not create them (although your garden-variety cell phone or digital camera can do video these days). Techcrunch says there are two options for finding videos: raw or refined.

The granddaddy of all video-sharing sites is YouTube, but it's difficult to separate the wheat from the [umm] chaff. Luckily, YouTube enlists its users in ranking and rating the user-submitted videos. I found a minute about a yellow lab puppy uploaded by edpryan last October 26th on the first page of the Featured Videos. It has 4 1/2 stars and has been viewed more than 11,000 times. It's cute, but my Jack is just as cute -- just a bit bigger now :-)

If you're looking for user-developed "instructional videos," check out TeacherTube. I found this one-minute project from a Google Teacher Academy and "Technology Fear Factor in Education" by CoolCatTeacher Vicki Davis. Clever. [Just a few hints: The URLs for these videos are ginormous, but the links are available as a TinyURL built right into the page. Use that, especially if you want to email a link to a friend. Note that you can also embed a video player in your blog posts or in a web page.]

Then there are video search engines or video aggregators like blinkx, Google Video, AltaVista Video and Yahoo! Video. Note that many of these sites have "channels" or Advanced Search capabilities that allow you to restrict your searches to a particular kind of video, a specific source, or a topic. And HOT OFF THE PRESS -- on Wednesday, WeShow appeared, billing itself as a search tool to find "the best videos everywhere." Modest, aren't they? Or subscribe to Open Culture which keeps tabs on multimedia available free on the web that has (in their view) educational and cultural value.

Discovery Activity:

Explore a couple of video sites by looking at the Most Popular or Most Discussed videos. Or check out the Most Recent. Who knows what you'll find:

1. Using one of the video search engines or video aggregators, look for clips on both serious and not-so-serious topics. Don't forget to play as you explore!
   
2. Some sites allow you to subscribe to feeds for new videos or specific topics. Look around the pages for the familiar RSS icon or the word "Subscription."


3. Blog about what you find. Remember that you can embed a video player in your Blog post either by using the Edit HTML button or by using Blogger in Draft.

Isn't this fun? So much to discover, so little time!

#19: Winners of Web 2.0

Well actually, we the users are the real winners of Web 2.0, but for this Thing we'll take a look at a listing of the best sites offering us Web 2.0 tools.

Listen to this podcast [1:55] --->

Maybe we thought we were cutting edge here, exploring our 23 Things -- but honey, we've only touched the tippity top of the iceberg of what sites are available.

Visit Go2Web20.net to see a listing of more than a thousand sites offering the benefits of the new Read/Write Web. [Thanks, Karen S., for this link - I think.] The site touts itself as "a directory of web 2.0 applications and services." Whether or not the site is comprehensive, the sheer number is mindboggling (not to mention the visual bombardment of seeing all those logos!).

So a "best of" list is a good place for us newbies to start. SEOmoz has the list for us: the 2007 Web 2.0 Awards. Browse the list - you'll see some familiar sites, and you might wonder why other familiar ones didn't make the list. This short version makes for faster viewing of the list, but you'll miss the blurbs and interview links on the main award page (not to mention the Honorable Mentions...).

Discovery Exercise:

1. Select any free site/tool from the list of Web 2.0 Awards winners and nominees. Over two hundred sites are listed in all, so you could narrow yourself to looking at just the winners or you could simply choose one of the 41 categories that interests you.
   
2. Explore the site you selected.
   
3. Post a blog entry about the site you selected. What are your impressions? Greatest thing since sliced bread or tomorrow's 8-track tape? Could you see any uses for teaching and/or learning? for your personal life?

-----

P.S. Links to web pages mentioned in the podcast:

• The Webby Awards, specifically the Best Practices list of nominees
• Business 2.0 Magazine's "The Next Net 25" article (March 3, 2006: 3:30 PM EST)
• SEOmoz's selection criteria for award nominees
• Web 2.o Awards Zeitgeist
  

P.P.S. SEO stands for Search Engine Optimization.

#18: Word processing without purchasing software?

And you can access your documents whereever you have Internet access??

And it's free?

Yes, Web 2.0 explorers, this is the new world in which we are living and working and playing.

Listen to this podcast [2:30] -->

Web-based word processing and spreadsheet applications are readily available and powerful collaboration tools. Users can create and share documents without having to transfer or email files to others; further, users need not be concerned about what software (and version) their collaborators have installed.

Online word processing tools like this do their best to have similar tool bars to the omnipresent MS Word. So, for the most part, using these tools are practically identical to the way you create, type, and edit documents using the Word program on your computer. Plus, these tools warehouse earlier versions of your document indicating time, date, and username -- just like on a wiki!

So why not use a wiki instead, you might ask?

Users can share access to documents/pages for simultaneous use, leaving their "mark" for what changes or additions were made when; nobody needs to transfer files; access can be public or private; accessibility is centralized in a single online location. Yes, all these are features common to both wikis and to online word processing applications. However, web-based word processing allows for printed documents and for file format options for sharing or storing elsewhere. These tools simulate programs normally installed as software applications for producing tangible documents - for printing physical manifestations of work completed electronically. While wiki pages can be printed just like any html documents, the formatting options for printing are rather limited.

And at the root, the genesis of these marvels of Web 2.0 distinguish them (even as the evolving uses of them may blur these distinctions). The creative intention behind wikis centered on collaborative databases of information - virtual collections of interlinked documents residing on the Internet. The intention of web-based applications like Google Docs and Zoho Writer centers on production, with the old fashioned physical sense that implies. In fact, another term for these applications is online productivity tools.

Discovery Resources

If you are curious to see "published" documents created by web-based word processors, take a look at these:

• created using Zoho Writer
• created using Google Docs

Each of the above are html pages so you cannot really get a sense of simulated word processing until you use the applications yourself. So, on to the part of the Thing where you do your own tinkering!

Discovery Exercise
As has been my habit, I'm offering options that vary depending on you deep you like plunging in the deep muddy of Web 2.0.

Just Curious Depth

1. You already have a Google account if you created your blog using Blogger, so you're halfway there! Visit Google Docs (or from a Google search page, click more and select Documents).
2. Sign in with your gmail account name.
3. Create a document - or a spreadsheet, if you're more of an Excel aficionado.
4. Publish your document on the web or to your blog. Note: If you create a spreadsheet, you can only publish to the web.
5. If publishing to your blog, edit your post to add something about when or why you might use this instead of posting from your blog initially. If you publishing to the web, provide a link to your document in a blog post and let us know what you think of online productivity tools like this.
   

Deep End

1. Follow the above steps 1 through 4.
2. Go to Zoho Writer to sign up for an account.
3. Create the same kind of document you created at Google Docs and publish it, too.
4. Open a second window or tab so you can be logged in at both Google and Zoho at the same time. Compare views of your revisions. Similarities, differences?
   
5. Create or edit a blog entry comparing Google and Zoho for word processing or for spreadsheets. Which do you prefer? Tell us why!

Really Deep End

1. Complete the above Deep End tasks.
2. Invite 23Things (@gcmail.maricopa.edu) to collaborate on a document you've created - or invite a 23Things @ GCC buddy or any friend to collaboratively work on your document. Note: your collaborator will also need an account with the tool you use; otherwise, access will be read only (not read/write).
   

-----

BTW: the first draft of this blog entry was created in Zoho Writer. I "published" it to my blog (as a draft) having checked the options "With tags" and "Post as draft" - and it transformed the Zoho tags to coded links to Technorati. Amazing!

Technorati Tag: collaboration
N.B.: two-word terms don't work unless you run them together as one word -- even if you put quotation marks around a phrase, the code will only search for the first word. Fixing this is beyond my current html knowledge.

#17: Tee, hee, hee -- what wiki variety

Listen to our podcast [2:00]:

Wikipedia gets most of the media attention these days*, but in our explorations, we have found lots of other kinds of wikis, including the following:

• Wikibooks (a collection of open-content textbooks)


• WikiTexts (a different collection of open-content textbooks)


• The Flu Wiki and The Lostpedia (a genre of Fan wikis


• Nine Cool Things You Didn’t Know You Could Do With Wikipedia

GCC launched a wiki pilot last year. You can read it without an account. If you'd like to play around by editing or adding new material, let me know and I'll create an account for you. GCC's wiki uses a different piece of software, Confluence. If you explore enough different wiki sites, eventually you'll be able to recognize the different kinds of wiki software.

Discovery Activity

1. Explore the 23 Things wiki. This wiki has an editing password to reduce the amount of spam we have to deal with. It is learning2.0


2. Feel free to edit any page. That's the whole point of a wiki! You can add information, re-organize material that's there, change anything (especially if there's an error).


3. [Optional] Create a new wiki page in the 23 Things wiki.


4. Write a blog post about anything related to wikis. Share ways in which you think you could use a wiki for personal and professional activities.
   

Most wikis have some kind of notification mechanism that can alert you by email when a page has been changed. Scroll down to the bottom of the home page and click on notifications to set up an email alert. The RSS option is located on the bottom right of the page. (You know how to use that, right?)

Tags are important parts of wikis too. Use the [tiny, tiny] + sign on the bottom left of each page to add tags to each wiki page. You can add tags even when the author didn't.

* If you are interested in the controversy surrounding Wikipedia, we are building a collection of resources about Wikipedia itself in the GCC wiki. You can also read the Britannica Blog's Web 2.0 forum, although remember that they an interest in encylcopedias.