CogBlogged from ‘February, 2011’

cc licensed flickr photo shared by x-ray delta one This image is not exactly relevant, but was so bizarre I could not resist- who would not want a “Dual Head-mounted listening Device”? It looks like the perfect audio set up to enjoy radio ds106. I’ve been spending a chunk of time combing through the projects people did for the Web 2.0 Storytelling assignment 3 of ds106. Like I wrote before, this is really a bag of gold for me, as I am sifting for examples to add to the 50+ Ways site. I know for many people, likely the UMW students, the whole blogging may be a new experience. What is really great is I have not seen any two blogs that have the same template, and as we go, they are even getting more individualized with plugins, widgets, etc. Not meant as criticisms, having combed through about 30 or [...]

cc licensed flickr photo shared by John Kannenberg A few weeks ago we had author Kevin Kelly appear as a guest on the Connect@NMC webinars to talk about his book “What Technology Wants” (a full archive is available). In his work, Kelly uses a broad umbrella to include what is technology, and suggests an ecosystem/evolution perspective to look at what he calls “the Technium”. In one section, he makes a strong case that, unlike dinosaurs, the quagga, Tasmanian Tiger, etc invented tools never go extinct. He described this in 2006 as Immortal Technologies: One of my hypothesis is that species of technology, unlike species in biology, do not go extinct. When I really look at supposed extinct species of technology, I find they still survive in some fashion. A close examination of by-gone technologies shows that somewhere on the planet someone is still producing it. A technique or artifact may [...]

cc licensed flickr photo shared by Jacob Whittaker Last year I used for the first time a nifty AppleScript that allows you to embed a code in the notes of your Keynote presentation that will trigger a twitter message with the text you want. Sure it is canned, but if you are wanting to trigger a response tied to your talk, or just want to have updates done in case your audience is too lazy to tweet for you, it was perfect. This script no longer works, see below. Well, until the “oauthpocalypse“, when Twitter changed the way third party apps could use the service. Before, this could be done by sharing your username and twitter password, which of course is a dicey operation if you believe in black helicopters (they do exist, and yes, it was not wise). Twitter shifted to the more secure Oauth method – the thing [...]

This morning’s RSS buzz, or rippling murmur, is the web video from upstart LMS Instructure announcing the open-sourceness of their Canvas platform, and with it, a literal parody of Apple’s then ground breaking 1984 video: As a frequently off target metaphor users, I step blindly into pot calling kettle black, but is the 1984 really the parallel? Sure Blackboard has a large corner, but they are hardly that dominant, and frankly, seem to be teetering unaware of the sign taped on their back “Kick Me, I am Obsolete”. I did like the use of flame throwers in the Instructure video, even the fun out takes at the end, looking like they had some fun there. But if you want a real message, listen to this clip from perhaps the most memorable NMC presentation we hosted when doing our conferences in Second Life. This was Jim Groom and Tom Woodward titled [...]