I just realized

that people commented on my blog throughout this experience. I had notifications turned off. Bummer.

Reflection on things...13 to be exact

First of all...Lisa, thank you for organizing 13 things and for allowing faculty and staff to participate. I have had numerous conversations about the weekly assignments with others and those have added immensely to my learning. I didn't dive in as much as other people did but I did let myself play around enough to see if any of these tools could benefit me in any way. I think a few can.

To see a Wordle of my blog, click here.

I really like the idea of screencasting. I plan to work with some specific functional areas to see how we can use this to our advantage. I plan on using Creative Commons for some work I've done and to access new and original items. I will continue to push the limits of Google Docs to see how they can allow for even better collaboration.

I have enjoyed this exploration and appreciate that I can do it on my own time, at my own pace. I even set up a google calendar reminder each week so I would remember to do it. Much of what I have learned about and on the internet has been by myself so it was nice to still have that feeling of self-discovery with a little guidance behind it.

What funny names...

for websites. I just used a site called ScreenToast to record myself demonstrating something on my computer. You can see it here. I think it is amazing to see all that you can do through the internet now. You used to need sophisticated equipment to do what is now so simple and free through a single website. ScreenToast takes the most difficult parts of putting together screen-based videos and includes them in one easy to use package.

I have often thought it would be nice to use videos like this to show students how to use many of the online resources here at Coe. Moodle, my.coe, and registration are good examples of internal sites/processes that students may need a brief overview on before they are able to use them confidently. Many of these resources take only a minute or two of orientation to get used to them. More than many of the other technologies we've learned about, I think screencasting could be very useful on campus.

Reading is Fun

This 13 Things project has been a lot of fun especially because I have rediscovered some of the tools I once used or briefly used in the past. Google Reader is one of them. I remember adding feeds many years ago, using it for about a week, then going back to checking the individual sites. I think I have continued to visit sites because I like the pictures and context in which information is presented. I can see how it's nice to use feeds to put together your own virtual newspaper with all the information you want automatically updated for you. I tend to favor convenience over time spent but for some reason I still like to click on websites.

As a student, I think the time saved and convenience of feeds would be very appealing. In today's "headline world" (as I like to call it, focusing on attention getting headlines, sometimes at the cost of the story) stories can easily be passed over so being able to push out stories automatically and as they happen can help get some coverage. Knowing that many students get their news via their phones, I think feeds work well on a small screen and give them the option of reading more if they are interested.

Coe's Creative Commons

I chose to explore Creative Commons by typing in Coe College and seeing what popped up. SpinXpress had the most diverse results with a bunch of photos and a few videos. However, one thing allows Creative Commons to work well and it's something we learned early on in this 13 things adventure: tagging. While I consider myself to have above average ability to filter out search results online I realize that tagging helps me even more. The fact that so much can be tagged makes ideas like Creative Commons (CC) possible and accessible to everyone.

For that reason, I think students could find tons of good and reliable information and resources through a site like CC. I know in graduate school I frequently ran into copyright issues and if CC would have been available I could have saved a few hours.

On a larger scale, I think the lessons/philosophies that CC uses are worth exploring. The ability to share, within reason, and with certain limits blends trust and respect. I think we could all use a little more trust and respect.

My Goodreads

I was invited by a friend to join Goodreads (username: hickstr@gmail.com) a few years ago so we could share books we enjoyed and recommend others. I think I logged in twice. Luckily, I still had my membership confirmation email that gave me my username. I like the idea of these book sharing sites but due to the low priority I put on reading I rarely move through books fast enough to warrant an online sharing service. I do, however, keep a list of books I would like to read in Google tasks. As I mentioned one sentence prior, this list seems to grow much faster than I can check books off of it.

I do like the ability to see what others are reading and how what I have read can create other suggestions. In an educational setting, the one part that I really like is how suggestions are aggregated and given by the site instead of an instructor or mentor. I think this allows for a little more exploration and self-directed learning. Multiple reviews also help readers find out if certain books have the content they desire and what sections are/n't worth reading.

How To Tell People They Sound Racist

I chose this video because it has a profound impact on me when I saw it the first time. The ability of the author to clearly and meaningfully articulate the difference between what people say/do and who they are is rare to see. His passion shows and it's fun to watch people with passion.

I have used online videos in my work with students. When I worked with the leadership program at Coe many of our sessions were supplemented by online videos about the FISH! Philosophy and Ben Zander. The ability to find a vast array of videos quickly to demonstrate different ideas is simply amazing. Now that tv networks are posting clips of shows it's very easy to be current and use new material on a weekly basis.

I have uploaded a few videos for different reasons. One is of my wife's family cottage in order to share it with my family (and for posterity) and another was a video I made with students for Pres Ball a few years ago (it's still on youtube). With both videos, I was able to reach the intended audience quickly and easily.

This is Delicious!

I am using my Yahoo! account to login to Delicious and my username is THicks24.

I've wondered about Delicious in the past but never made the jump into using it. I have used StumbleUpon and ended up exploring more than anything. I recently lost all my bookmarks on my browser and wish I would have saved them in "the cloud". I usually discover new websites through other social media (Facebook, face-to-face conversations) so I'm excited to see what I find through Delicious.

Lastly, I like a minimal browser interface/toolbar and I'm still getting used to having the add-on taking up space. It's much easier to use than adding sites manually though so I may end up keeping it around...

@TomRHicks

is how to reach me on Twitter. I'm following a couple of breweries, Mo Rocca from CBS Sunday Morning and Wait, Wait, Don't Tell Me, CoeBRAI, Lonnie Zingula, and Lance Armstrong. Lance is very active on Twitter and it's neat to see his comments during the Tour De France, which just finished it's third stage today.

I've only ever wanted to us Twitter to follow others and be entertained. I stayed away from it for a while before I finally jumped in last summer. I rarely check it but will spend some more time on it during the Tour. I know it has been used to track trends and news and those are the only two ways I can think of it being used in an educational setting. It's purely social to me so I struggle to see how much educational value it has. I do think it would be interesting to analyze the type and frequency of individuals' comments though.

I've recently stated that I think Twitter will be dead or irrelevant in two years due to its meteoric rise, supersaturation in our culture, and lack of purpose (outside of being social). I still believe this but also think that some other Web 2.0 tool will capture our imagination before that two years is up and Twitter will be relegated to a niche product again.

Flickr Do!

I started using Flickr several years ago in order to share photos and friends with family more easily. Since Facebook has developed their photo storage and sharing Flickr has become less necessary for my personal use. Instead, I have started to post photos to my account for the Sutliff Cider Company. I work there on weekends in the tasting room and manage their website where I have a slideshow posted from the Flickr photos. I feel the slideshow is a much more effective and attractive way to show the photos as compared to just having a grid of photos on the site.

Our New Sign!

Our New Sign!
Originally uploaded by hickstr

Here is the new sign for the Sutliff Cider Company, my weekend escape from campus. Check us out at www.sutliffcider.com for our hours and events (I'm also the webmaster for the site :).

Comments please

Being able to comment openly on the web has transformed the way many sites and industries orient themselves to the public. Governments and school districts post possible changes for public opinion. Individuals look for feedback on possible purchases. Newspapers debate whether the comments; negative, positive, and ignorant, deserve attention on their sites. In the correct context commenting can be fruitful and freeing so I feel that it is important for online communities

Just as most research journals are moving online to allow for easier dissemination and commentary I feel that benefits students who may be writing online too. The ability to have a community aid in the instruction of peers can be very powerful if done well.

I have chosen to follow three of the colleagues with whom I work most closely. Mostly out of interest and comfort. We rarely have the chance to spend much time together out of the office or see each other through our writing so it's fun to interact with them on the web. As for my tags, most just refer to key terms in each of my posts in order to help keep them organized.

Wiki Work

I haven't found much use for wiki's in my work except if I'm looking for a quick answer to something that I don't need a reference for. For example, when booking music for campus I often times check out a wiki page about a band to see if they are active or have changed members.

Personally, I've had it on my list to create a page in Wikipedia for my dad. He was a world-ranked boxer in the early 1970's and my goal is to create a page for him and send it to him as a birthday present. Considering his birthday is now two weeks away, I don't think I'm going to get to it this year.

Google Docs = really good friend

Over the past year (even before Coe's Google conversion) I started using Google Docs and Calendar for on-campus projects. I originally used Calendar because it was easier to add and edit events while it also allowed me to share it with others. This came in handy because the Student Activities Committee (SAC) has at least one, if not two or three, events each week. The students and I were able to post all the information for the event (performer's hotel info, phone number, location, etc.) in one central place where the entire group could access and edit.

Now, with the ability to attach Google Documents to events, we can sign contracts electronically and attach them to the events without ever having to print out a piece of paper. It also saves on time too. It's great to have all that you need in one document that is attached to one event on a calendar that everyone can see and edit.

Our latest foray into Google Docs has involved creating forms. The form feature is great because it has an easy to use interface that allows us to develop online forms (mostly for feedback purposes in our case) in a quick manner. The best part is that all of the information gets dumped into a spreadsheet that we can all manipulate!

Overall, the integration of the different Google Apps is killer for what I do on a daily basis.

What isn't interesting about Web 2.0?

Who would have ever imagined that high school reunions would slowly start to die after 2010 due to Facebook? Who would have thought that flu outbreaks could be tracked by analyzing what people are searching for on the web? And I don't think anyone could have imagined that we would interact with our idols, enemies, politicians, and celebrities directly through a bird-themed website.

Web 2.0 is upon us and what interests me most is the speed in which information can be distributed while being interactive/collaborative at the same time. For example, I read the blog The Consumerist on a daily basis and due to their ability to reach a large population on the Internet many people get their consumer horror stories resolved quickly via many Web 2.0 avenues such as YouTube and Twitter due to other readers' tips and advice. This is a prime example of how people can connect over similar interests or passions to make life better for everyone as a whole. Now, that's not the case for every blog but that's an entirely different discussion.

I enjoy connecting with others so I use Web 2.0 to gather news and information that I can use to share with my friends, colleagues, and family.

First post

How unoriginal is that title? From my experience though, I think at least 50% of new blogs have that as the title of their first post. Just sayin...

To be honest, I deleted Lisa's email detailing this program because I assumed it was an interesting workshop that was mainly geared toward faculty using specific technology in the classroom. Not until a colleague asked me if I signed up to win an iPad did I fish it out of the archive and read it fully. Lisa, please accept my apology.

While the iPad is a very nice incentive, working through these tasks with some other colleagues will be the best reward (and I'm sure that's an objective Lisa would like to meet). I look forward to this program and stretching my brain a bit.