Birth of a Salesman

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Web 2.0 Technology – The third dimension of communication

There has never been a time where electronic communication has been as pervasive as it is right now. Although, it is not a new concept, the advent of the Internet and increased Internet capability have really set the ground work for a communication explosion.  At the forefront of the communication explosion is the concept of Web 2.0 Internet sites. So what is Web 2.0? According to Wikipedia Web 2.0 is, “…is commonly associated with web applications that facilitate interactive information sharing, interoperability, user-centered design, and collaboration on the World Wide Web.”  Some of the characteristics of the Web 2.0 website are the promotion of organic growth, integration of multimedia components, integrated communication tools, and highly customizable layout.

As a result there is a growing movement to create richer, more interactive, electronic experiences. Consequently, the way that we teach students cannot remain the same. Teaching and learning have to also reflect the norms and traditions of the culture. The following curriculum will encourage students to explore Web 2.0 technology through the use of seven cognitive learning tools, that will not only focus on learning information about Web 2.0 technology, but to help develop a thorough understanding of the subject and a strong conceptual framework to utilize these tools to as effectively as possible.

What is the Cognitive Tools difference?

Cognitive tools help the learner to construct knowledge by taking we know and exploring new ideas about what we know, and assimilating it back into our knowledge structure. The following curriculum will explore seven cognitive tools that will help the learner develop a deeper understanding of Web 2.0 technology.  Each week a different cognitive tool will be explored and there will be a complementary activity to promote the understanding of that tool.

Seven Cognitive Tools:

·         Perceiving

·         Patterning

·         Abstracting

·         Embodied Thinking

·         Modeling

·         Playing

·         Synthesis

Lessons:

Module 1: Perceiving

What do we think we know?

The term Web 2.0 has become quite passé, but does it actually mean? There are various definitions, understandings, and potential uses for this technology; but what is the truth?

·        For this lesson the student will explain their own understanding of Web 2.0 technology.

o    Include the benefits of this technology.

o   This assignment is about establishing a baseline of what you know on the topic. If you are completely unfamiliar with the concept, take a wild guess? What does it sound like? There are no wrong answers

·        Visit five web sites that are classified as Web 2.0 and document the urls. Document what the things that you like best about these sites.

·        Think of a creative use for Web 2.0 site. Describe the features of the site. Feel free to be as creative as possible. Remember, there is an app for about anything that you can think of, so nothing is off limits.

Module 2: Patterning

To better recognize opportunities to incorporate Web 2.0 technology into a solution, it is important to identify the aspects of web site that are uniquely Web 2.0.

·         In this lesson you will, use the list that you documented from last week’s assignment to compare and contrast the features, the use o f the site, and the audience.

·         Summarize your findings:

o   Write-up on what why you felt certain features or choices were made in the designing stages of the site.

o   Include in your summary, any patterns that you recognize and what direction  you feel the technology is heading.

Module3: Abstracting

Analyze the core functionality of the identified websites from the previous lesson. Choose one word to describe the core essence of the site. After summarizing the site in one word, identify the features of the site that address the primary purpose of the site. Document any additional features that you believe would have enhance the core functionality of the site

Module 4: Embodied Thinking

·         Create a sculpture that represents your topic using household materials like clay, paper mache, aluminum foil, etc.  

·         Try to utilize materials that contribute to the overall sensation, or character of your topic.

·         Take a picture of your sculpture and upload it to your site.

Module 5: Modeling

·         Create a functional model of the Web 2.0 site. His can be developed in Powerpoint, HTML, or any other development tool provided that the output is exported to an industry standard format.

o   Functional model should reflect the color palette that you wish to utilize

o   Semi-functional placeholders for content

o   End-user navigation should also be well thought out and semi-functional

·         Write a brief description of the site and how the site structure contribute to the overall goal of the site,

Module 6: Playing

·         Engage in a group activity that demonstrates how social networks work, grow, and our utilize in our society.

·         Students will work in groups to develop the best use of the social network to achieve their goal.

·         Solution will be submitted to the teacher to determine the best worker of the problem.

Module 7: Synthesizing

·         Develop final presentation of Web 2.0 site.

·         Write a paper to describe what contribution (if any) the class assignments played in helping to define the vision of the site.

·         Point any enhancements that were the result of one the exercises.

Elevator PitchFrom the time we are babies we are utilizing our five senses to learn about the world. We want to grab the things that appeal to our visual senses, we place objects in our mouth to taste them, and we bang on them to hear how they sound. It is during our early childhood when are at our most playful, as we are discovering about ourselves and the world we live in, and then, we begin formal education. We trade- in our play time for straight lines, nursery rhymes for classroom lectures. It is time to return to what works, a return to the very instincts that we developed as children. In this curriculum we will utilize seven cognitive tools that help foster deeper understanding of Web 2.0 technology.

Twitter Pitch

There comes a time when conventional wisdom is jest outdated. Explore a technical curriculum that forces you to go deeper.

Module 7: What's the Big Idea?

What's the Big Idea.

This module examined Playing and Transforming.  From the outset the concept of Playing reminded me of Modeling. However, as I got into the reading it became more apparent that the fundamental differences hinged on expectations or lack there of. In modeling, you are trying to test how something will perform in reality. So you making assumptions and testing your assumptions. With playing you are exploring without expectation, you allow experimentation to reveal unsuspected truths. As I heard the personality descriptions of the inventors who exercised this thinking tool, it reminded me of myself. Today, I interrupted a presentation on an Avaya VOIP phone, because I couldn't stop playing with the features. In the end, I may frustrated the Instructor, but I walked out there knowing how to use all of the phones features and even showed the Instructor how to change the ring tones on the phone.

Transformations, the creative process of changing ones  approach to resolving problems. In diagnosing difficult problems, sometimes the only thing that we can change is ourselves and how we are looking at a thing. The text illustrates several examples where people were able to resolve difficult problems by simply changing their approach to the problem. The most graphic description being that of the MSU students who were able to detect subtle difference in urine by using sound

Module 7: Zoom In

I applied this Painted effect to my picture studying for this class. To do this I had to learn to use an application called FotoFlexer. Playing with the available settings helped me understand how to achieve the result I was looking for.

Module 7: How I Love Thee

Objectives:

• Develop a game to demonstrate the basic functionality of social networks.
• Engage students in activities to stimulate creative uses of social networks.
• Provide necessary skill set for working in information society

Game Setup:

What is required:

Approximately 30 Profile Cards

Approximately 15 Goal cards

Instructions:

Teacher distributes profile cards that contain personal information about fictional characters. Each card contains information that is commonly tracked by social networking sites; such as: Age, Location, Religion, Interests, Number of friends, etc.

Teacher distributes the class into groups of four.  The teacher chooses a random Goal card. A Goal card describes a  scenario that has a problem that needs to be resolved. The Goal card also contains the recommended solution to the problem. For example, Scenario 1: Raise money for the school dance. Solution 1: Create a Group on Facebook, Setup an event and invite all of the friends in your group, Recruit Kidd Rocker to perform at the dance, he is a member of the Jesus Rocks Church. Jonathan James(Profile Card) is a member of that church. The group to include most of the recommended strategy wins the exercise. The winner is decided after the groups explain their approach and rationale behind their strategy.

Interdisciplinary Applications:

Communications, Social Studies, Business

Module 6: The Big Idea

Module 6 covered both Dimensional Thinking and Modelling. Simply put dimensional thinking about the process of taking something that you know and applying it to a bigger scale, different proportion, or different dimension. In the simplest forms, this made a lot of sense to me. The book provided reducing the serving size of a recipe as an example. In my own life, I use dimensional thinking to anticipate the actions of others. For instance, if person responded a particular way, I will usually reflect on those telling situations to predict what their actions will be in the future. Maybe not entirely fair, but honest. However the reading at times seemed hard to follow when dimensional thinking was applied to moving from 2D to 3D.

Modelling, is something that I am quite familiar with being that I worked developing courseware. On the common deliverable for this kind of product is a functional model, to give the client a general look and feel  of something before investing substantial amounts of time and/or money into something that doesn't meet their needs. One of the fundamental differences between dimensional thinking and modelling is that Modelling requires intense observation of a real system or situation. Another fundamental difference is when they needed, models give you a physical, theoretical, or mathematical example of something that can not be easily experienced. Dimensional thinking seems to be less preparatory, and directed to achieving a particular task. While modelling seems to be bigger piece of the planning process. The book mentioned that dimensional thinking is often used in the process of producing a model.

Module 6: Zoom In - The Eagle and the Fox.

I did my zoom in using a site called Toon Doo. The comic is based on an Aesop fable where a fox and an eagle decide to live together, and the eagle eats the fox's cubs when the fox is gone. Later that day when the eagle was out scavenging the remains of a sacrifical animal, he brings some scraps how to his youngs. Unbeknownst to him, a twig that carried was carrying a spark from the sacrificial fire. This ignites the eagles nest, and it falls to the ground with Eagles young. The Fox then eats the Eagle's young. The moral of the story... Do unto others, as you have them do unto you. Here is my comic:

Module 5: The Big Idea

To synthesize my thoughts about this topic, I had a lot of fun and learned a lot. Since this module was also my group topic, I had to think way beyond the scope of the assignment to develop a much deeper understanding to help assist in creating something that could in turn be a beneficial for the class. Our group is experiencing many challenges collectively, so working them requires empathy to continue to push through our problems and contribute in the way that we can.

I think this assignment has made me look deeper at the work that I do everyday. I used to find it somewhat annoying that people marvelled over of the things that I do with technology. Partially, because a part of me felt that the praise was in a part a cop out for people to avoid their own technical development. I think this assignment in conjunction with trying to do a skills transfer with a co-worker has helped to see that I have been over simplifying what is required to do the work that I do. Because this kind of work is automatic for me, it is difficult for me to see the challenges inherent in this work. However, when I step back from it and visualize the work that is involved, the understanding of systems are interconnected, and how to achieve a desired outcome; there is a lot to it.

So there you have it. A deeper realization of my own embodied thinking and empathy for those who don't see the world with bluetooth glasses.

Module 5: Embodied Thinking Assignment

Every day I put in 8-12 hours working developing and supporting the technical environment for the MSU's software implementation. Having to manage many systems simultaneously,in a work environment that is less technical than I am accustomed to is made me much aware of strengths in working with technology. My topic is Web 2.0 technology, which I utilize to support our training rollout. The way that I become accustomed to dealing with the many systems together in a coordinated manner is a lot like surfing. Since I can't surf the water or Web 2.0 technology, I thought I create a picture to help my audience envision, how I feel in my element.

Sure I could have created a better quality picture, but bad quality pictures are much funnier.

Module 4: What's the big idea?

Abstracting:

Sometime our eyes can present the biggest challenge to resolving a problem, or seeing alternative options. The principle of abstracting is about reducing what we see to the most basic elements. The process involves examining and reexamining what is essential.
After arriving at the least common denominator, you are forced to examine the essence of the problem, the art, the writing.


Analogizing:

There are scientific laws that govern everything we do. This tools allows us to examine the rules that govern one system, and apply it to another. In the case of Hellen Keller, it was used as a tool to gain insight into the things that she could not know about. Due to her blindness she could never perceive color the way that someone with sight would. However, she was familiar with the differences between the texture of surfaces, which served as a analogy for color. However, when you consider that color is bi-product of an object's ability to reflect light. One could argue that her analogy is more honest than our truth.

Module 4: Zoom-In

I feel like a slave to time as I go through my day. For this module I wanted to take some pictures that reflected the impact this little device has on my day.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/54046258@N07/sets/72157625220900806/

What's the big idea - Week 3

Recognizing patterns in art, language, and in everyday activities  requires multi-sensory observation. However, it is something that with practice becomes easier to apply in your life. I have always used patterns to assist in my learning comprehension. This has largely due to the amount of time that it requires for me to process information. Recognizing patterns helps me to fill-in the blanks. The reading for this week also expanded my view of patterns, for instance using patterns to interpret  and create music. I found this very interesting because as a music enthusiast I can often predict the direction of music that I never heard before. After reading the assigned reading I associated that ability to pickup on the musical pattern.

As an example of musical collaboration based on rhythmic patterns of music, the book used examples from the musical tradition of West Africa, and its influence on American Jazz. However, I would like to extend that influence to Hip-Hop music. As a lifelong fan of rap music, I think that it has received a bad rap (non pun intended). Largely, because outsiders don't understand that it's true beauty lies in the process of its creation and not the creation in and of itself. In its purest form it is rhythmic, spontaneous, witty, and creative, but that doesn't fully translate to a record or top 40 hit as well as it communicated in a circle on a street corner, in a bathroom of a skating rink, or subway tunnel. When people who don't know each other can come together, and weave together poetry, spontaneous anecdotes, and their own unique style of delivery it is something special, and at the root of it all is the ability to recognize, combine, and form patterns.

Zoom In: Real World Hidden Pictures

Here is my picture in its everyday context:

But wait, what is this I see:

See the resemblance?

Experiencing Your Topic

What's the Big Idea? - Week 2

Observing and Thinking

1. Define and give examples of thinking skills:
1. Observing - This chapter was taking the time to notice the details in an object, and in doing so seeing that object differently. The book provided a picture that look like abstract art at first glance, but actuallly contained an image of a bird. I tried to keep this concept in the forefront of my mind when taking pictures for the Veja Du exercise.
2. Imaging - This thinking skill described the ability of an individual to visualize a problem and resolve the problem in the mind as if they were working with something physical. The book gave several examples of scientist, artist, and writers who were able to visualize their work in its entirety.
2. How do these thinking skills affect my creativity?
1. Observation: I am inspired by the complexity of simple things. There is commonality that everyone can relate to when describing simple things, and when you can find something new about simple things, it makes it interesting.
2. Imaging: I utilize creativity very similar to example provided in the book. It is definitely something that I tap into in a professional capacity. I work as a technical trainer, and I work extensively with training deleivery tools, and I am able to understand how to use and integrate different systems in my mind. I also like to write poetry and when I am inspired to writem the poem is feels like it is revealed to me, yet it exists in my mind as a complete entity.
3. My ability to teach creatively is impacted in these ways:
1. Observation: I use observation in the classroom to pay attention to comments that made, body language, the level of interaction. All of these things give me information as an instructor to adjust the message that I am sending so that I can communicate more effectively. In the future, I plan to use the Observation tool as a method of engage the class participants and encourage discussion.
2. Imaging: After reading the chapter, I identified with the feeling of frustration shared among highly visual people. In my job I often struggle with explaining a solution that I am working on, because it usually involves more than the immediate problem. When I am trying to resolve an issue, I typically thinking 5- 7 consequential problems as well. What I got from this book that I think would help me, is understanding that everyone doesn't process problems visually. Many of my coworkers would prefer an algebraic approach. Testing and controling every variable. From now on I plan to be more descriptive whn explaining a solution to help create the picture that I have in my mind. Additionally, this skill can be used to help other think creatively by using strong pictures help illustrate learning point in the classroom. Since many people are visual thinkers, pictures would them understand.

Veja Du - Week 2

http://www.flickr.com/photos/54046258@N07/

What’s the big idea? - Week 1

Defining and Examples of Thinking Skills:
Please excuse my robotic approach to this task, but I don't want to miss anything.
Observing: Just watching that which is going on around you. I personally do a lot of this, and I perceptive about changes in what I observe.


Imaging: Your ability to visualize your feelings and emotions. For instance, one of the things that makes me a good cook is that I visualize the taste that should go together by assign ing a color in my mind to the taste. This seems like a good way to teach abstract ideas to children.Similar to Alphabet characters.

Abstract Thinking: Creating ideas or theories that are not easily represented in reality.I struggle with this kind of thinking becasue I have the desire to ground everything in reality. So I think I can best utilize Abstract Thinking in a Transformational way. Where I use analogy or imaging to explain abstract ideas.

Recognizing Patterns: Discovering Gravity. Noticing that objects that are different sizes fall at the same speed.Recognizing patterns is a good teaching tool because to give your audience clear methods of identfying and reconciling their own answers. By simply helping them to identify patterns for themselves.

Forming Patterns: Combining two or more consistent operations and creating new ideas. E.g. Cameras involve the understanding light and how it travels combined with capturing the image on film.

Analogizing: Using what you know something to draw comparisons and assumptions to a similar idea.

Body thinking: Smelling, Tasting, Seeing

Empathesizing: Looking from another perspective
Dimensional Thinking: Studying principles of aerodynamics and designing a car that is less resistant to wind.
Modeling: Structured exercise designed to simulate real life.
Playing: Involves role playing and having fun with real life situations. Playing is a creative exercise.
Transforming: The process of moving from one thinking tool to another. Moving from modeling to playing.
Synthesizing: Integrating multiple thinking tools to produce a deeper perception or thought. This differs from transformation, because process is not changing into a different process along a linear plane. Synthesis happens with the integration of multiple processes simultaneously.

Having these tools in you arensenal, gives many ways of reaching people

Veja Du - Week 1

For my Veja Du assignment I thought I'd examine something I look at everyday, but pay very little attention to, my mirror.

Here is the link to my Flickr photostream: http://www.flickr.com/photos/54046258@N07/