new year new blog

This blog will remain available for the sake of nostalgia and research, but the 2011-12 show is over.

If you want to watch/join this year's work in progress, please click here.

For general information on Open Source Learning please follow @prestonlearning on Twitter or visit www.prestonlearning.com or opensourcelearning.us.  Both sites are currently in development, so if you click and don't see much please say hi on Twitter or let us know how to notify you in a comment to this post (we'll add you to the mailing list right away and delete the comment so your email doesn't stay public).

Thanks for visiting!

this is it

Hey everyone,
The parking lots and stands are full of proud parents carrying flowers and stuffed animals.  People who don't normally wear socks are wearing ties.  The opening strains of "Pomp & Circumstance" are wafting up from the field.  This is the last official post to the 2011-2012 course blog.

It's hard to express-- especially for a wordy guy who's been talking your ears off all year-- how proud I am of you.  Thank you for all your contributions.  I wish each and every single one of you great success and I look forward to seeing you on in the alumni forum (you'll receive an invitation at the email address you listed on the course evaluation).

Sapere Aude.  
Dr. Preston 

need laptops for period 2 & 3 final presentations

If we're going to make the "open house" approach work tomorrow, we're going to need at least five laptops in periods 2 and 3.  Please plan on bringing yours, or, if you'd like, please sign up in advance by commenting to this post.  Period 2 had the idea-- thanks again, Jake!-- but only Ryan signed up.

last assignmnent: your course blog analytics

Please post a comment to this post with the following information from your course blog (available on your blogger overview):

• number of page views
• number of posts
• number of comments

June 4: happy finals week

Good luck to everyone on your finals-- looking forward to period 6 project presentations today!

love for the lurkers

I was just looking something up on the course blog when I noticed--to my great surprise, at nearly 1 AM Sunday morning-- there are nine other visitors.  On the odd chance those visitors are students, you have a chance to claim 100 points of Project Infinity credit by commenting to this post before 10 AM PDT Sunday (6.3) with a brief explanation of your favorite literary quote of all time.  If you're a visitor but not a student, comment with a quote anyway.  You'll receive double the credit; of course, it won't do you any direct good, but it will give students a reason to comment in an effort to impress you--and if they do, you can reward them with a portion or all of your points.

June 1

JOURNAL TOPIC: [extra credit--last chance this year-- for everyone if you can agree on a song, hum it in unison, capture the video and post it to someone's course blog.  If you pull it off, email projectinfinity@gmail.com or log into project infinity to claim your credit.]

I just did a search on duckduckgo for "famous last lines of novels"-- and smiled at the first result, because you've read every book on the list! (quotes after the jump)  On this, the auspicious last day of your journal*, what are YOUR famous last words?

[*If you are not on campus today, please stop by to complete your journal on Monday 6.4]

AGENDA:
1. Journal
2. Finishing touches on presentations-- and remember to sign up for tech support and food!  (sign-up sheets are taped to the left side of the white board)

LIFEWORK:
1. Fine-tune your presentations with love.
2. Prepare your food with love.

See you next week.

May 31

JOURNAL TOPIC: [today's tunes: Gorillas, Gorillaz, and Guerillas]

I sat down to write a topic just now about what I've read in your journals over the last week-- many of you have feelings about parting ways with friends, family and the community structure you've known for a long time-- but then I signed into blogger and noticed that the course blog now has >86,000 page views.  This reminded me of Howard Rheingold's book Virtual Community; the term is now common and defined by Wikipedia as, "A social network of individuals who interact through specific media, potentially crossing geographical and political boundaries in order to pursue mutual interests or goals."  This year we've created a learning community that transcends traditional limitations and stereotypes, and I'm creating an alumni/"friends of the course" platform so that all of us can stay connected to whatever extent we choose.  Alumni networks are extremely common and effective for universities-- I found this job through a contact on the UCLA alumni network-- and a resource like this can be just as effective for you.  All you'll have to do is register for access to author talks, collegiate/professional forums, and...?  This is my question: what other features/benefits do you think this virtual community should include?  How do you imagine using such a tool to take some very important next steps in your lives?

AGENDA:
1. Journal
2. Projects & fascinating conversation

HW/Mission/Coursework/DFTYRBD (Diversion From Things You'd Rather Be Doing):
If you feel like you're finished with your project, your project is probably mediocre.  Ask at least three of your colleagues for suggestions on how to make it better.  Summarize the conversation and post to your blog, however you choose to act on their advice.

help a friend with her research

International researcher and friend of the course Jasmin has asked each of us to take three minutes and complete her online survey, which you can find HERE.  Thanks!

wasting time is new divide in digital era

According to this article in yesterday's NY Times,


In the 1990s, the term “digital divide” emerged to describe technology’s haves and have-nots. It inspired many efforts to get the latest computing tools into the hands of all Americans, particularly low-income families.

Those efforts have indeed shrunk the divide. But they have created an unintended side effect, one that is surprising and troubling to researchers and policy makers and that the government now wants to fix.

As access to devices has spread, children in poorer families are spending considerably more time than children from more well-off families using their television and gadgets to watch shows and videos, play games and connect on social networking sites, studies show.

This growing time-wasting gap, policy makers and researchers say, is more a reflection of the ability of parents to monitor and limit how children use technology than of access to it. 

Thoughts?

May 30

JOURNAL TOPIC: [today's tunes: by request]

For these last few days, your journal is actually YOUR JOURNAL.  Take notes on the conversation in your head.

"Those first few songs I wrote, I was just taking notes at a fantastic rock concert going on inside my head."
-Jim Morrison

***NOTE: Today I will be hosting orientation for next year's course in the room at lunch.  Anyone who wants to play is welcome.  If your group needs a place to meet please see me.

AGENDA:
1. Journal
2. Schedule for the rest of this week & next

HW:
In education there are many words and phrases whose contexts and connotations have spoiled their use outside the classroom (e.g., it's hard to imagine a military or corporate leader asking a team member-- without sarcasm or irony-- why s/he was "tardy").    Tonight you probably have things to do on your project.  This is imaginative, innovative, next-level stuff: what can we call it besides "homework"?  Please offer your suggestion in a comment to this post.

a sophomoric approach to assessment

I just posted to the sophomore honors blog, and now some of them will be in a position to shower you with credit-enhancing tributes on the project infinity site.

May 29

JOURNAL TOPIC: 
The beginning of your last week of K-12 education is a natural time for reflection.  So, consider the person you were at the beginning of 10th grade and the beginning of this school year.  Are you the same person today?  What role has learning in general (and this course in specific) played in your growth over time?

AGENDA:
1. Journal
2. Assessment
3. Thinking about final presentations

HW:
Keep calm and carry on.

trouble posting slideshow 2.0 from iMovie to blog

This question just in; if you have answers or suggestions please comment to this post.  Thanks!

So I have made my slideshow 2.0 on iMovie and it was really easy to make and it's a great program. But.... I cannot get it to upload on my blog. Help? I have tried exporting it but it keeps saying there is an error when I go to upload. 

Kaley

Per. 2

twitter hashtag for today's socratic seminar

Just in case you didn't have a device in class and want to contribute, I'm @prestonlearning on Twitter and the hashtag for today's seminar is #dpdiglitsem

May 25

JOURNAL TOPIC: [today's tunes: "Purple Rain" by Prince]


This week the topic is (still) you. When you began this course of study you became the heroic protagonist of your own story, and now the story is what you're doing. Tell it.  Specifically, for today, how would you teach the next generation to use the Internet & open education resources to create the most value for themselves and others?  How would you explain to a traditionalist why this is a good thing and not a threat or something to be afraid of?

AGENDA:
1. Journal
2. Socratic seminar

HW:
This weekend is the big push on your project.  Make it happen.

May 24

JOURNAL TOPIC: [today's tunes: "Beyond Belief" by Elvis Costello; "Message in a Bottle" by The Police]

This week the topic is (still) you. When you began this course of study you became the heroic protagonist of your own story, and now the story is what you're doing. Tell it.  Specifically, for today, what new experiences and skills did you acquire in this course that will help you in the future?  What artifacts have you created that show what you've learned?  How does all this prepare you for whatever's next, and how does it show the value you represent to a network or a community?

AGENDA:
1. Journal
2. Imagine/write/talk/think/build/AND MAKE SURE YOU'RE WHERE YOU WANT/NEED TO BE IN YOUR PROJECT TIMELINE

HW:
1. Prepare for tomorrow's Socratic seminar by finding and reading three online resources about digital literacy.
2. Read these quotes
3. Comment to this post with answers to the following questions: a) what is digital literacy? b) are you digitally literate? c) why should adults trust you to create your own educational paths without being afraid that you won't learn anything if you're not constantly tested to standards? and d) what is your vision of the digital future and your place in it?

60 seniors suspended for biking to school

Absurd.  So glad to hear that parents, board members, and common sense ultimately prevailed.

Story here.

May 23

JOURNAL TOPIC: [today's tunes: "My Old School" by Steely Dan; "Don't Stop" by Fleetwood Mac]

This week the topic is (still) you. When you began this course of study you became the heroic protagonist of your own story, and now the story is what you're doing. Tell it.  Specifically, for today, what are you looking forward to after graduation and what will you miss?

AGENDA:
1. Journal
2. Imagine/write/create/post/code/read/build/collaborate/question/reflect/revise

HW:
1. Continue #2
2. Post the rest of your working schedule to your blog.  Consider this a Hamlet-esque performative utterance; how/when will you be finished with this, what will the end product look like, and what will you be presenting during dead/finals weeks?

recording of today's talk with howard rheingold

Thanks to everyone who participated this morning.  Here is a link to the recording.