Honoring UAF93 . . .

Click on the link above . . .

personal technology--mp3 player

The story of how I came to own one--and why I waited so long--is on my other blog (click link above). But here are the digital immigrant confessions . . .

what I already knew
how to download music
how to create playlists
that shuffle is a universal play option
that the usb ports in my new PC are powered (but don't try charging the player on the upstairs computer . . .)
that, when all else fails (or sooner), consult the manual
that my new toy could be a hazard to my perfect hearing :-)

what I had to learn
how to use a joystick controller (I know that speaks volumes about what else I have yet to experience . . . but I'm going for truth here)
how to turn my player off and on
that mp3 player menus work a lot like cell phone and digital camera menus and that I'm still a neophyte in mastering any of these
that iPod has a corner on the docking station and speaker market and finding the right, affordable model for my player is going to be a challenge
that I really do need earphones I can trust to stay in place
that I've been missing out much too long on this source of music therapy/pleasure!!!!

personal technology--the car

I'm sure my status as a digital immigrant will be much too obvious here. But here goes, all the same.

I bought a new car two weeks ago. If I were a digital native, the manual would still be virgin territory. While I can't say I've read it cover to cover (manuals aren't meant to be read that way--even I know that!), I can say that I did look up the location of the control to the rear window wiper (a technology new to me) and that, even armed with that assistance, I'm still very puzzled . . .

My new car is in the shop today--leather seating upgrade--and I'm in a loaner, different model but same colors (even the leather) and similar controls. But I've already consulted that car's manual too, not trusting myself to learn simply by playing/doing . . .

There is hope for this digital immigrant though. While it took me four days to muster enough nerve to have my opening conversation with OnStar, I'm totally in love with this technological advance! I actually trusted its disembodied voice to tell me, turn by turn (and were there ever a lot of turns!) how to get to a beach I'd never visited! Well, I did, momentarily, tell it I'd find my own way after it complained when I left the route (just following the beach traffic signs in a place where I knew my way) and asked me if I needed it to recalculate. Momentarily. Truth was that I was well off my printed-out Mapquest route by then and the highway maps from my old car had not yet made their way into my new one . . . and I didn't know how to get where I was going . . . most especially in the pouring down rain.

OnStar talked me home as well--a different route but just as efficient as the first.

I have yet to read the OnStar manual (did read the getting started flyer) or load/explore the CD . . . But, I'm hooked all the same!!!!

Now to find the control for the rear window wiper (and, more importantly, to understand why and when I would use this feature???) . . .

inquiry 2008-09

Experimenting again . . .

My "other" blog was birthed as an attempt to use a blog as the vehicle for presenting a multigenre project for a writing course I was taking. Multigenre naturally evolved into multimedia, something I could not have accomplished by pen(cil) and paper alone. The funny thing was how long it took me to realize that my blog could not be an exact replica of the pieces I had already crafted--first in my writer's notebook and then in Word. One entry is a scan--just had to bring Contrails across the digital divide. But, over time, I have grown very comfortable with the blog, with its limitations and its possibilities.

And now . . .

I used to think best on paper, with pencil in hand. There are still moments . . . when, convert that I've become, I still revert.

But it seems practical, this next year, as I focus on what it means to be digitally literate as a reader and a writer, that I do my thinking here, in this digital world.

To that end, I will post my professional readings (both summaries and reactions) and the progress of my inquiry (at present still groping for the question) here in my virtual sandbox.

Tracking my thinking . . .

Going public . . .

Ouch!

My Fatal Flaw

Well, you know me! I'm going to try to wiki with my students. I've already set up my site, but immediately got overwhelmed with the unfamilair technology and ran to something I know I can do well. Blog. But eventually I'll get back into the wiki site, set it up, and give it to my students. Naturally, I won't know half of what a wiki is capable of until my students get hold of it. That's exactly how I learned how to use think.com: I gave it to my students and then learned solely in order to keep up with them! If I waited until I was completely comfortable to give a wiki to students, then I would never do it! No, the best thing for me to do is to hit the road running, and learn as I go. Which is why you will probably see wikis in my near future! But then again, this overwhelming compulsion to dive right into something is also why you'll probably also see me freaking out when I discover my students know more about wikis than I do! But NOT FOR LONG!!! :)

Response

I am not too timid about most things, but the newness of this idea makes me hesitant. I love the opportunities provided through technology, but it always leaves me with lots more questions than answers. I don't necessarily see it as a bad thing to just watch, read, and absorb. (at first). However, in order to learn and grow we will have to leave our comfort zone to dive into something new. The concept is appealing, but I admit it will take me awhile to feel at ease with it.

what this page is about

We're winding up this year's study group. Our focus has been on writing but, as always, I'm trying to sneak in a little of the technology too. Last year we used Think.com, an online learning community, to communicate and showcase our literacy learnings. This year (well, maybe just this month!?) we're exploring/using our school websites (new this year) and wikis and blogs. Next year?!? All things are possible, virtually speaking. After all, it's April and we have all the way to August to do our dreaming.

So that's why the sandbox (borrowed that idea from my wiki provider)--a safe place to experiment with new tools and maybe even new ways of thinking about the teaching of literacy.