PC Security & Maintenance...

I've been fixing and supporting computers professionally for about 15 years. So it was unlikely that I was going to find a topic set in the Atomic Learning site for PC Security and Maintenance that was new to me. Nonetheless...

Which tutorial did you choose?

I chose the File Backup Options section.

What was one thing you learned that you will definitely be sharing with others?

The Comparing Backup Options tutorial did a really thorough job of describing backup operations: full, partial, incremental, etc.. I could definitely recommend this (type of) tutorial to teachers or administrators that don't really have a grasp on the nuances of backing up data. The information is a little dated, but the core concepts still ring true.

People tend to not think about backing up their data until they experience a loss (or potential loss). The MacOSX operating system has a great built in tool that makes it seamless and invisible to backup the entire system on an hourly basis. Just two days ago, I restored my entire system (OS, applications, and user data...totally 350GB) using this Time Machine utility after having to re-format my hard drive. Time Machine just requires an external hard drive, and it really takes care of the rest. You can restore individual files or folders, but you can also restore the entire drive from backup. That 350GB restore operation took approximately 6 hours, but the system is working flawlessly now.

I also use the cloud-based Carbonite service to back up my user documents and photographs off site in case of a total catastrophe. That comprises about 30GB of my most precious data.

Was there any information that surprised you?

I had never heard of Karen's Backup Replicator, which seems like a slightly better tool than the built-in backup tool in Windows. I know that the built-in Windows Backup tool will fail if it reaches a file that's open or has some other sort of lock placed upon it. Therefore, it's not the most reliable tool.

RSS Feed experience

This post will describe my experience using an RSS reader for the first time. I decided to use Google's Reader because everything is linked in through my Gmail account.

Here are images of my Reader screen throughout the couple of weeks:

I added a comment to the NXT Step blog (the topic is LEGO NXT Robotics) about a particular project that was demoed with a YouTube video. The project is a robotic beer bottle opener, and my comment expressed my appreciation for the project, but lamented that it may have only limited use for me teaching my Robotics class.

Tracking these blogs and RSS feeds through Google Reader over the last several days has been a mixed experience. I am used to having a comprehensive set of bookmark links for blogs that I care to read. I use the bookmarks when I get a free moment between tasks at work, or when I'm waiting for something (often while installing software, or reimaging someone's computer). As for the UI, I'm acclimated to Google's design aesthetic via Gmail and Google Search. I'm not sure I care for the bright-white/sanitized design that Reader presents. I think I care for the heterogeneous designs of each individual site. The differences in design between sights also provide subtle visual cues as to the shifts in sites or topics, which is something you don't get from using an RSS reader.

On the other hand, it is nice to have a central repository of all the sites you want to read, from any computer. I have to update my bookmark set between computers, which can be a bit of a hassle (and frankly, doesn't get done a lot of the time).

I think RSS readers may be useful to students who are beginning research projects. Having them locate and connect to dynamic online resources (including blogs, podcasts, and other types of updated media) would be beneficial to them over a long period of researching and writing about a particular topic. It would also give them a sense of the diverse topography of source material: primary sources like BBC and NPR, and more grass-roots sources like blogs and podcasts.

In terms of content, through the use of these feeds, I learned about several interesting Lego NXT robot designs, using online gaming structures in learning (especially earning badges), and listened to a couple weeks worth of This American Life radio podcast episodes.

Thoughts on social networking...

I have not engaged in social networking until very recently. I had seen several missteps by teaching colleagues with regards to FaceBook, and I have been very wary of it (and other social networking services) as a result. I was/am also concerned about the time-drain that these services can create.

That said, I was a member on Tribe.net years ago, back when it was a thriving social community for music and culture. I only joined FaceBook last month in order to begin promoting and moving my Internet radio stations to the social media platform. Although I have a FaceBook account now, it contains only an extremely limited amount of information, and I don't use it that often to interact with people. Between work, grad school, and an extremely mobile 9 month old daughter, I just don't have the time. Or rather, I prefer to do a lot of other things with my time.

Professionally, I still see FaceBook and Twitter as a distraction, and that's something I just don't need. I now have a Linked In profile because I am searching for a new job; the school I currently work for is closing in June.

I've engaged Twitter as a necessary pursuit as well. I'm a little overwhelmed by the amount of information that comes over it, even though I only follow a handful of people. I have very divergent interests represented on Twitter (technology, music, my friends, and now this course), and so the pace feels a bit frenetic. Perhaps I'll get a handle on it as the course progresses.

As for students using social media in a learning context, my readings from the second session tell me that this is probably best left to the college level. Perhaps grades 11 and 12 in a controlled environment. While it's true that it's difficult to get authentic communication flowing in a walled garden situation, for Middle School students, this is most certainly the optimal choice. I'm not convinced that you can have primary-age students using FaceBook or Twitter in a classroom setting and have them be productive. You have to focus their attention and energy to the task at hand, and the walled garden approach can do that.

At Windrush School, some teachers utilize an in-house Moodle system to augment discussion in the classroom with an online forum. With this system, the teacher can monitor and guide student discourse to make sure it is germane and within the bounds of the school's communication mores.

Google Calendar

Here is my Google Calendar. I'm not currently teaching a course, but I use the calendar extensively at work to keep track of appointments, upcoming tasks, and other sundry items.

I figured out how to embed it here in Blogger by going to Google Web Elements, choosing Calendar, and using the public XML link of my Google Calendar. Here's an article to reference: article link. The web elements tool gives you an embedding code that will work in any type of web page or blog post where you can insert straight HTML code. Also, the calendar widget is interactive!

Web pages vs. blogs

Web 2.0 innovations brought collaborations and more dynamic content to the web. Web (1.0) pages were static, and required a knowledge of either Hyper Text Markup Language (HTML) or a WYSIWYG editor such as Adobe/Macromedia's Dreamweaver application. In the Web 2.0 paradigm, free tools are available via the web for anyone to create a website (or blog) and publish dynamic, updated content with relative ease. The net balance is a richer, wider, and more updated web.