The Guidepost

I have begun the "Guidepost". This page is meant to serve as a "to do" page for the cohort. My plan is to provide step by step directions on at least a weekly basis.

I will also provide tips as needed. This is where we will encounter "tabs" for the first time. I think I'll hold the concept of 'folksonomy" for a little later after we have had more time with tagging and tag clouds. This would probably be the best time to contrast folksonomies with taxonomies.

In Week 1 of the guidepost I provide a link to a concept map of hammers as a class of hand tools and show functionalities, exemplars and critical attributes of hammers. The idea is to get a sense of what functionalities are and transfer that sense to categories of web based tools. One of the tasks in writing in the reflection section is to identify the functionalities of the tool.

I sent an email to Mike and Jason regarding functionalities which I hope illuminates my thinking. (see below).

"Choosing software needs to be a function of the learning processes required to support the curriculum. The problem is approached first by looking at software categories and tapping the best software in each category based upon the functionalities of the exemplars in each of those categories.

For example, if it is determined that some kind of blogging activity will materially improve the learning in a course or courses, a blogging app would be chosen for use throughout the school by teachers and students. We would not, for instance, install Audacity on all machines if podcasting as a learning activity or functionality is not part of the school’s plans for learning.

In order for teachers and others to determine what functionalities they value as learning tools and thus what web based tool categories to examine, they must themselves, personally experience the learning process using tools from the categories and reflecting upon their functionalities and how, they as learners, interacted with the tools as they learned. We are therefore a long way from publishing any list of “must use” software.

Let me give you a personal example. I have for sometime used “Jing”, a screencasting tool, to produce short video training clips. There is no doubt in my mind that I must have that capability and that it will serve me well doing the kinds of things that I do. Yesterday, I came across a new screencasting tool called “screenr”. Based upon a few test runs with screenr, I will probably swap out Jing from my tool box. My point is that at the app level things are very fluid. The important determination is that I can’t get by without the functionalities presented by screencasting.

What are the categories of software of which I speak? After considerable research, I settled on fourteen major web based tool categories. One of them is “Online Productivity” which is the jumping off point in out cohort journey. Others will follow. One of our goals, based upon what I have pointed out above, is too, by experiencing the tools in their respective tool categories, come to grips with a universe of functionalities from which we make important decisions about efficacy, utility, and ultimately which would be transformative of the curriculum."

More about functionalities later.