Why I started a new blog ....

Lily raised an interesting point in class ... how many of us started new blogs for this course, even if we already maintain other blogs. I realize that some, or perhaps most, of the class didn't already have blogs, but I actually have two other ones.

Why then, did I start this blog as a separate space?

Well, to be honest, I think it's because I didn't want everyone in this class to be forced to weed through my personal blog updates in search of things relevant to the course. I've had my personal blog since May 2005 and, while my activity on it varies from constant to rarely, I'm fairly sure that I will post more frequently on that space than I probably will on this one.

With that being said, I'm not ashamed of my other blogs ... heck, I wouldn't post anything that I'm not willing to share with the world. You can see my other two blogs by clicking on my profile information on the left of this page.

Someone asked me why I keep a personal blog. At first, I started it as a creative outlet. Now, it is just kind of a place where I can be creative, post some photos I like, and share other things with my friends. I link to my blog in my signature of several message board communities, such as Cruise Critic. It's funny ... I ran into a lady on a cruise once who not only recognized me from my blog, but she also confessed to me that she had actually read through the entire thing (we are talking over 500 posts at that point). Nothing on my personal blog is too special, but I found it fascinating that it was interesting enough for someone else to spend that kind of time on it.

Week 1 Questions ....

1. Much of what we read about for social computing and Web 2.0 talks about how it is user-driven and somewhat organic in its nature. With that in mind, is it important to make a conscious effort to include those specific tools within public education, or will those tools emerge naturally through acceptance and use? Does social computing lose something if it becomes an assignment or prescribed process and is not completely voluntary (blogs for this class, etc).

This question is one part of a question I thought of last semester in EDCI 660 when Scott tried to turn our class into a learning community or a community of practice. I spent the entire semester wondering … can communities be formed from brute force, or is it something that must just emerge because of the needs/desires of its members. Perhaps key words might be useful and effective.

2. In the reading from Six Degrees about the power grid, examples are used to demonstrate how people can become dependent on networks, such as the electric grid. This idea made me reflect on how dependent we are with the cellular network … what was once a luxury has become a necessity to many people (how will we know where/when to meet up, etc). When does a network hit critical mass such that it topples from a luxury to something you assume everyone has? In a public school classroom, we generally can’t assume that every student has a computer or internet access, but we generally assume that they all have electricity and phones. Will this be a key to these tools’ widespread use in education … when they have reached proliferation?

Third time's a charm ....

Well, this is my third blog created on Blogger ... though this one may actually have a purpose. ;) I kid, I kid.

Anyway, this is where I will be posting for EDCI 627: Social Computing, which I'm taking in the Spring of 2009. Outside participation is, of course, always welcome.