PBWiki I still like you better

So I took a look at WikiSpaces this week and found it very similar to PBWiki in most of the functionality. The editing, inviting, linking pages and files, etc etc etc all looked very similar. Though I must admit that WikiSpaces seems to have more flexibility in changing the themes, colors, look and feel, logo type things. I do not think the free version of PBWiki is all that flexible in "look" issues.

Okay - now for the big guns.... the free version of WikiSpaces has the dreaded ads that you have to pay to turn off - now $5 a month ain't bad if there is some compelling reason to do it - I think the PBWiki upgrades are most costly than that - but I wonder if $5 really accomplishes what you want? I didnt go down that road to determine...

I also really missed my sidebar - I like my sidebar - I use my sidebar - I need my sidebar - the WikiSpaces navigation on the left is okay but it just seemed like if you had a really big wiki that list would get cumbersome.

So ultimately I think I like my PBWiki better still but it might be worth looking at what $5 a month would get you if you are ready to start giving up the "free"dom.

Interestingly enough, my son's high school Media Center uses WikiSpaces for their "Assignments and Pathfinders" here is a link if anyone is interested --> http://hvcentral.wikispaces.com/

Brown and Duguid

Brown and Duguid bring up several interesting points in this week's reading. One of the implications for the educational system that I see if the re-training of the American ideal of a college education for outbound high-schooler's. The reality of getting your education online is a very different reality than people have ever experienced. Parents are in no way prepared to even think of that possibility for their child and the high school's are probably not well versed enough in what is available for students that could and would thrive in that environment. It is easy to see a "fit" for adults returning to school after years in the workplace, convenience alone makes online schooling viable. But what about 18 year olds that have struggled to fit in the school environment already? Could they be a candidate to get a degree against the odds? How about the kid who really would like to go to college but for some circumstance (home issues, health issues, etc) just cant get to the campus they would like to attend? There are a myriad of reasons that a graduating senior may not go to college, but is your average high school guidance counselor prepared to think out of the box to find solutions for kids who could be successful in the digital environment? I really doubt that they are - but would love to be proved wrong!

honestly - Magnolia is not intuitive enough

Even though I am completely new to social bookmarking/tagging etc and the first time I ever tried Delicious was this week (Steve - you aren't reading this right? I found my "new to me" other ways!!) I can quickly tell I prefer Delicious over Magnolia. I signed up for Magnolia and honestly was at a loss - there is just no easy way to start. Okay, I gotta admit, I like the Magnolia graphic, it is peppy and my favorite color scheme but beyond that - not so much... I found a group that is in a class a little like 598 and using Magnolia, in case anyone is interested in what they are doing at San Jose State -> http://slisweb.sjsu.edu/classes/coursedesc.htm but beyond that I am bouncing around and not getting anywhere. It could be I am not concentrating, or it could be that it just isn't as easy to get going, I don't know! I must admit, I didn't add the buttons to my toolbars etc, as I already have more than enough junk going on for my personal, spare aesthetic tastes, but really it should be self explanatory what to do! So after its 15 minutes of fame I am giving up. Did I give it a fair shot? probably not. But in today's busy world with the myriad of choices at our fingertips I have to learned to move on if something just isn't clicking with me! So I am moving on and hoping that another classmate can better describe a product that I just didn't get!

Shelfari - my thoughts

Okay before I start let me make it perfectly clear that I know I am "different" than most when it comes to visual vs. text... I prefer the written word to pictures almost all the time, a picture does not always paint a thousand words for me! For whatever reason all the new *visual* stuff like visual dictionaries, visual displays of search returns, etc etc etc just confuse the heck out of me - give me a good old list any day!

Shelfari is designed to display your book collection virtually. I use (not very regularly) GoodReads currently so I understood the premise before signing up. Shelfari is definitely made for those people who like a visual representation of the topic. There is a customizable bookshelf that can display the covers of your virtual library. There are lots of ways to share your books and ideas with others, discussion groups, friends, etc. Each process seems very easy to set up, even for me! The only thing I had some trouble with is figuring out how to add new books. I found the button to do it, figured out the search, but did not get the feedback I was hoping for that I had correctly selected the books. Some of the cool things that I noticed were.... there is a tag cloud (like in delicious) for linking to book ideas, it seems very easy to move your books around to different shelves, there are tons of book reviews, there is an area that you can ask for recommendations, etc.

Overall - if you like the big visuals this is the one for you. If you are a more text based person then give GoodReads a try!

Information Overload got you down?

Try using an RSS aggregator to mitigate the problem! Used properly RSS aggregators can really help individuals facing information overload. By creating your own feed of the information you want to read you can eliminate, by never even seeing, things you do not have any interest in and focusing your limited attention to those items you *do* want to see. I think it takes some time and experience to determine how much and what you want to be fed every day but the ability to tailor your inputs to the number and type you can handle is a very powerful tool.

Looking to learn a new language?

Try Livemocha --> http://www.livemocha.com/

According to their own documentation...Livemocha is an exciting e-learning Web 2.0 startup founded by a group of experienced and successful entrepreneurs based in the Seattle area. Livemocha addresses a $20 billion worldwide language learning market fueled by rapid globalization, immigration and travel. Livemocha is a first of its kind web based language learning solution integrating online instructional content with a global community of language learners.

Basically - you sign up and can take lessons in a foreign language - then they will help you find a partner to practice with so you become more proficient. I thought it was very interesting. Maybe I will learn Italian in my spare time?! Oh right, I don't have spare time.

Enjoy!

Slogged thru the rest of Feed

While I did not particularly enjoy reading Feed, it was an interesting study in possibilities. How close are we to that society? Close but no cigar yet...The idea is there though. The notion of having data constantly updating and feeding to you is a reality - the receiving device just isn't implanted in our head yet. It is not that big of a stretch when you see a trio of kids walking down the street texting each other instead of actually *talking* to each other. And really, the consumerism is already there as well, just not in the same technological framework.

Most striking? That still has to be the inability to write any longer. Again, not that far from reality! My teenage son can barely print anymore much less write in cursive.Those skills are just no longer promoted in school because their reality is most things are turned in electronically.

As an aside, my 6 year old daughter asked me the other day to buy something or another (don't recall...) and I said they were all out. Her easy answer... "just go to dot com and buy it, you can get anything there." I can only imagine the society she will be a grown-up in!