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July 31, 2006
Coheed and Cambria
I'm trying to figure out if I like Coheed and Cambria or not. Modern day Rush? Emo guys with literary imaginations instead of being hung up on their (non)girlfirends? Pretentious? Rockin'? Cool art?
These are the mysteries that occupy me on a Monday. I really need to do some real work.
Posted by Nakia at 12:28 PM | Comments (1)
July 28, 2006
American Hardcore
This looks cool:
(note: It's not porn. It's about music, you perverts).
Posted by Nakia at 01:13 PM | Comments (0)
July 27, 2006
Sports Guy Question
I just got finished catching up with Bill Simmons on ESPN.com. Not literally, of course. I was catching up on the columns I've missed over the past month or so. I am a semi-regular reader of Simmons; I don't check his stuff every day, but I do binge and read 8-12 columns at a time when I think about checking his site. I even read the NBA draft columns, which make no sense to me whatsoever. Having caught up with The Sports Guy, I have three questions:
1. Is it possible to really be a columnest anymore, since everyone has a damnned blog and can do the same thing you are doing?
2. Is Bill Simmons just the Everyman white guy of my generation (steeped in pop-culture, loves sports, has trips to Vegas, rags on his friends) or have the white guys of my generation just adopted Simmons' style? It may just be a chicken or an egg situation, but this question bugs me.
3. Why don't my college friends and I have a weekend getaway? I blame Winston. Actually, I blame the fact that all of us went on to some sort of post-gradaute education and school and money kept us from going to Vegas or the mountains or wherever for guy time. We would all be free of that now, if Harper hadn't returned to law school. Dammit Harper! Or maybe there was guy time and I just didn't get invited. Wait a minute. . .
Posted by Nakia at 12:23 PM | Comments (3)
July 25, 2006
On Line Course -- The First Article
I thought it would be a good idea to give my students in this on-line course an initial article to read and discuss in common before turning them loose to generate their own content and disucss whatever each student brought to the table. I was looking for something that got at the central themes of the course -- democracy, schools, teaching -- in an accessible manner. The article would present some interesting ideas that would prompt some discussion.
I think I may use "Teaching Against Idiocy" by Robert Parker (Phi Delta Kappan, January 2005, 344-351). Jenna, I believed, mentioned this article in my summer 670 class. I offers that schools should be about countering idiocy in socoety. Idiocy is defined in its oroginal, Greek sense -- as someone who is selfish and uninterested in communal affairs. The opposite of the idiot is the citizen. Parker goes on to aruge that public schools are the primary places to combat idiocy and cultivate citizens. He then gives ways in which schools can undertake that mission. Although Parker's argument is not especially new, his approach through the use of idiocy is a novel one. I think it will make a good starting point for the course.
Posted by Nakia at 10:14 AM | Comments (0)
July 21, 2006
On-Line Course -- Key questions
I spent considerable time yesterday experimenting with WebCT. It certainly has the capabilities to provide me with the space for communication. It has a messageboard feature that is highly cusomizable. There is a chat feature as well which I plan to use for Virtual Office Hours. There are plenty of methods for grouping and delivering content -- more than enough to accomplish the student generated content approach I'm attempting. There are even methods for assessment; I can construct tests and quizzes and have the students complete them online. I doubt I will be using that feature in a graduate course, but it's nice that it's there.
So, goal #3 is easily accomplished by WebCT. As I get more practice with the program, I'll be able to use it to do more stuff. Now I am trying to figure out the relationship between goals 1 & 2 (list of resources and guiding questions). Slowly but surely, I have been compiling a list of websites and other print materials which can be used by my students to construct their own knowledge. I was then going to give them four or five guiding questions or assignments. They would use those resources as well as others to complete those assignments, then they would comment on each other's assignments. This would allow them to learn from each other, be assessed by each other, and hopefully create an on-line classroom community.
I was grouping the questions according to the disciplines involved in the Schooling in American Society course. These disciplines -- history, philosophy, law, and sociology -- are the foundations disciplines. They are also part of the conceptual framework of the Riley College of Education and are part of the course description in the catalog. So far, here is what I've got:
History: Find and research two historical events/people/movements/practices that you regard as vital to the development of public education in the United States. For each of those things, post a 3-4 paragraph description that gives the important aspects of the event/person/movement/practice, why that thing is vital to the development of American education, and why you chose that thing out of all the possible things you could have chosen. Be sure to also cite any references you consulted in developing your post.
Philosophy: Two parts. 1. Epistemology: What does it mean to know something? Why is this question important for educators to consider? What are some ways knowledge is treated in schools? How is knolwedge asssessed? What does that say about the type of knolwedge that is valued? What is you opinion of all this? Answer these questions in a post of 3-4 paragraphs.
2. Ethics: What are the core ethical principles or obligations an educator should follow? In a post of 2-3 paragraphs, give at least one of these core principles or obligations, your interpretation of that principle or obligation, why you think it's important, an example of an educational situation where the principle or obligation is tested, and your solution to that dilemma.
Sociology: What role do schools play, if any, in the construction and maintenance of the U.S. social system? You should consider both positive and negative aspects of our social system in your post. (What are the positive and negative aspects, you ask? Well, you tell us! Which aspects of our social and educational system are postive and which are negative?). You should also consider the sociological perspectives of functionalism, conflcit theory/Marxism, and interpretivism. Remember to include references
Law: Find and research one legal case and/or concept that is relevant to educators, children, or parents. Post a 3-4 paragraph description of the case or concept. Be sure to include why you think it is relevant, the impact you feel it has on educators, and whether or not you agree with how the case or concept has been interpreted. (An example of a case would be Swann v. Mecklenburg, a Supreme Court decision. An example of a concept would be freedom of speech or due process). Remember to include references.
Final Exam: Having read, posted, and discussed all this, you will hopefully have seen how all these areas and questions overlap. You are now ready for the final question: What is the purpose of American education? What ought to be the purpose of American education? Is there a difference between the is and the ought? Why? What can be done to eliminate that difference?
Posted by Nakia at 08:58 AM | Comments (2)
July 19, 2006
On-Line Course -- Student Generated Content
I have reached some decisions about the on-line course. The largest one is that I want all the course content to be student generated. That means I am not going to tell them what they need to know; instead, they are going to determine what is relevant, useful, and important for themselves and each other given the large topical framework of the course.
The typical course, on-line or otherwise, is very teacher centered. The teacher assigns and distributes content (the "stuff" students ought to know) and students read, absorb, and otherwise engage content. Students then (hopefully) share their new content knowledge with other students as they discuss material. Content is assessed by the teacher in a variety of formal and informal ways.
Basicly, I want to radically alter that linear process. Students will be given the parameters of the course. Given the subject matter I am dealing with and the catalog description of 670, those parameters can be very broad. Then, they will be given some guiding questions that will help them search for, generate, and present content. They will then engage the content presented by each other. One of the key questions to each student should be "Why did you think this was important enough to research and bring to our attention?" The teacher will ask questions about the material researched and presented, but will not have any sort of privledged position. Everyone will assess each other.
There are four key things I will provide as the instructor: 1) A list of resources, print and electronic, that can be used by students. The list wil hopefully be extensive, but certainly not exhaustive. Students will understand that they can and should range beyond the resources given. 2) Helpful questions to frame the research and presentation (more on this later) 3) Constant feedback on the material presented (this feedback should come frome other students as well) and 4) An electronic space where presentation and communication can take place.
Given those four key things, I now have a "to-do list". Prior to the course, I need to:
1. Develop that list of resources.
2. Develop those helpful questions.
3. Develop that electronic space.
More on these later, as I need to think more about them, particularly #1.
Posted by Nakia at 09:29 AM | Comments (2)
July 18, 2006
Did my eyes deceive me?
At lunch (McHales) I was watching Sportscenter while eating my teryaki chicken sandwich. The sound was off and I wasn't paying that much attention, but it look like David Ortiz STOLE A BASE in last night's game versus the Royals. Did this really happen? Why? The Sox only won by a run, so things looked pretty tight. And how bad does the Royals catcher feel that he gave up a stolen base to David "Best Clutch Hitter Ever but Slower than Your Grandma" Ortiz.
Posted by Nakia at 02:34 PM | Comments (0)
July 17, 2006
Southern Songs
I just watched the The Greatest Southern Rock Songs on CMT. I don't really give much creedence to this network in any way. It's owned by Viacom. They never, ever talked about Johnny Cash until after he died. And Brett Michaels showed up on this particular special. Yet, I watched this countdown, because I am a huge sucker for any sort of countdown that remotely coincides with anything I am interested in.
I won't say the countdown is a load of crap, but one can't help but wonder. I knew "Sweet Home Alabama" would be at the top of it before it even started. I knew there would probably be at least three Lynryd Skynyrd songs, it was just a guess as to which other song would be on there besides "Freebird" and the aforementioned "Alabama" (is "Gimme Three Steps" really better than "Simple Man" or "Tuesday's Gone"? You gotta be kidding me.) The Allman Brother's Band songs were almost obligatory and obvious, although I was glad to see they made it on there twice. And then there was a bunch of random stuff. "Hold On Loosely"? I know .38 Special rose from the Skynyrd ashes, but that song sucks. As does "Fooled Around and Fell in Love". Blech.
What about some CCR or Tom Petty? The later is from Florida and wrote "Southern Accents" fer crying out loud. And I know CCR is from California, but so is Little Feet and "Dixie Chicken" made the list. No love for "Born on the Bayou" or "Long as I Can See the Light"?
How about some songs about the South?
I'd have to include Drivin' and Cryin's "Honysuckle Blue" on any list I made. And it's not Southen Rock, but Ray Charles' "Georgia on My Mind" says something fine about this part of the country. Ryan Adams has a bunch, when he's not being a NYC boy. "Jacksonville City Nights" is a country album about Jacksonville, NC. "My Sweet Carolina" just kills me everytime I hear it; I can see him sitting in some shitty apartment in Manhattan, wishing he was back in North Carolina. And while "Midnight RIder" and "Ramblin' Man" are great, give me "Jessica" for Allman Brother's jammin, or "Southbound" for some boogie, or even "Blue Sky" if you want some Dickie Betts vocals.
Any other additions?
Posted by Nakia at 07:14 PM | Comments (8)
July 13, 2006
So Much Power!
I just walked down to the Instructional Technology Center to ask about Adobe Acrobat. I am going to try and make some PDF's to use with my on-line and other courses. I don't really know how to do this yet, but from what I gather, it's not too hard.
The ITC gave me the entire Adobe Creative Suite. So now I have Acrobat, InDesign, Illustrator, Photoshop, and whatever else. So much computing power!
Of course I know how to use about .05% of it. And I currently only need about 12% of that power. Still, it's good to know that if I wanted to make sophisticated, graphics-intensive documents for my courses, I could.
Posted by Nakia at 12:00 PM | Comments (3)
July 12, 2006
Some gaming comments
After many fits and starts, it looks like I've finally found a group of folks to game with. A former grad student, his roomate, and my old high school friend, Jason, (who now lives in Tega Cay) and I have had two successful sessions so far. I hope to add a player or two, but everything currently working out with the smaller group.
We've been playing in a hombrew world I've been sporadically working on for awhile. The world is Old West meets Arabian Adventures meets Stephen King. There is gunpowder and magic and goblins and dwarves; a lot of the world is still mirky, but my players are helping to fill in the gaps.
Our first two sessions were played using the Risus rules. I reallyt like Risus for a lot of reasons -- the simplicity, mainly. It makes character creation easy (a big help for NPC's) and lets story and concept dictate abilities, instead of the other way around. I have found, however, that it's difficult for a lot of people (myself included) to translate cliches into abilities. Either cliches are abilities (one player had "Sneaky" at three dice) or don't go far enough in actually describing what the character can or cannot do. I've also gotten a little frustrated by combat. The ebb and flow of Risus combat is different from D&D. With "damage" potentially dealt on defense and offense, combat feels very different. There is also the narrative emphasis versus the supporting mechanics. Although a player can describe any action, there is one mechanic for resolving every action. I'm finding this a bit unsatisfying. I know different mechanics for resolving different types of actions make the game more complex, but they also make the different actions feel different, at least to me.
That's why we are going to switch to a D20 system that's basicly Grim Tales. While complex, I think it will allow the different abilites of the characters to feel different and give us more of a mechanical framework for conflcit resolution.
Posted by Nakia at 09:16 AM | Comments (1)
July 10, 2006
Hyperpedagogy
As I work on developing my on-line course, I'm investigating the literature on both theorectical and practical aspects of on-line pedagogy. I've had this Dwight and Garrison article on my desk for awhile now and just got around to reading it. I should have read it a long time ago, because it promises to be very fruitful.
Here's the reference:
Dwight, Jim and Jim Garrison. (2003) A manifesto for instructional technology: hyperpedagogy. Teachers College Record: 105 (5), 699-728.
Dwight and Garrison put forth a manifesto, a call to action based on the possibilities hypertext organization presents for teaching and learning. Because hypertext decenters the author/teacher, it presents possibilites for revolutionary change in pedagogy. This change will only happen, hwoever, if we are able to overcome our structuralist metaphysics. Those metaphysics, with the concepts of fixed essences and an unavoidable telos, need to be replaced with a post-structualist one based on transaction.
Dwight and Garrison see most curriculum design and theory as being based in this structualist metaphysics. Citing the work of Ralph Tyler, they demonstrate how must curriculum theory attempts to be content neutral, describing only a method. Such method is centered on clear objectives, determined by the teacher or designer. Their major criticism of Tyler is that he simply perpetuates the ancient metaphysics of presence, with its dichotmies of fact/value, content/method, and means/ends. This curriculum theory places the designer at the center, presumably because he/she knows the telos. This leaves the student as a passive rider on the curriculum train.
Tyler is criticized using Kleibard and Dewey. One of Dewey's central philsophical projects was to destroy metaphysical dulaisms. Dwight and Garrison demonstrate how means and ends are inextricably connected; thus, what is to be learned emerges from the how of the learning, just as the how is influenced by original conceptions of the what. Students ought to be involved in the development of the what and the how. Such involvement is essential for democratic involvement and individual growth.
Hypertext is de-centered, flexible, and requires that indivdiuals be involved in the both reading and authorship of the text. Hypertext, with the possibilites for linking one text to many, many others obviates the notion of a static authoritarian text isolated from other events. It represents the elimination of dualisms and distinctions of author/text and student/teacher.
One thing Dwight and Garrison do not do is speak about hyperpedaogogy and the possibility of community. The social is a vital part of learning for Dewey. I wonder how hyperpedagogy changes, eliminates, or shifts the idea of community and its role in learning. That's an open question I'm exploring further, but it's an interesting lacunae in the article.
The article also brought up some interesting challenges for the on-line course.
1. Is it possible or desirable to create a course where there are no initial objectives given by the instructor? The teacher and students co-construct the learning goals initially, then change those goals as the course and learning progress.
2. What are the best mediums for promoting hyperpedagogy? A messageboard, where students can post thoughts and replies, seems the obvious choice. But are there others? Could I create a mini-wiki for my course? That's an interesting idea. . . I need to check into the technology for that.
3. There's still the community aspect. Can a classroom community be carved out in an on-line space? Does the possibility of infinite connections that hyperpedagogy presents dilute the possibility of genuine community?
Posted by Nakia at 11:44 AM | Comments (2)
July 05, 2006
Ka-Boom
Sarah remarked yesterday that we weren't going to see any fireworks this year. The Rock Hill display was on Saturday and we certainly had no plans to drive into Charlotte for their big uptown fireworks show. We were home from the Bryson house by 7:30 or so, watched The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou, and were generally chilling out when loud explosions rocked our street. I peeked outside to see out neighbors shooting what seemed to be metric tons of colored high explosive into the sky.
Our negihbors are friendly folks who obviously had a lot of people visiting for the 4th. A camper was parked in their back ghbors were safe and careful; they even cleaned up everything when they were done. That's more than I can say for the rest yard and three or four cars were parked along the street. A crowd was gathered on their front lawn, while a couple of guys were in the center of our cul-de-sac lighting fuses and getting away. These were serious fireworks, rivaling the professional display sponsored by the ciry for the Come See Me festival back in April. Sarah and I sat in our camp chairs on the front porch and watched the show. It was pretty impressive, but I could not help but wonder and the general wisdom of selling such high powered fireworks to anyone and everyone. Is their another state (besides this great state of South Carolina) that let's people buy any and every type of pyrotechnic and rocket known to man. I would not have been surprised if our neighbors pulled out an honest-to-god mortar and started firing.
Our neiighbors were safe and careful; they even cleaned up everything when they were done. That's more than I can say for the rest of the people on our street. I drove though piles of Black Cat debris and over expended rockets on my way to work this morning. It's all further proof that I am getting old, as I complain about the noise and trash. Next I'll be spraying the neighborhood kids with my water hose and shouting "get off of my lawn!" I'm not quite there yet, as we did enjoy the show our nieghbors put on; we didn't even have to leave our porch!
Posted by Nakia at 09:02 AM | Comments (4)