About+the+Project

//This project originated as a class project for [|High Tech Learning] which is part of my graduate work in the Masters of Library Science program at Indiana University. This page is dedicated to answering some specific requirements of the project.//

This wiki has a three-fold purpose:
 * First, it is a personal portfolio that I am using to create a series of products to teach about intellectual freedom.
 * Second, it is a tool for librarians, educators, human rights advocates, and others to explore the concepts and issues raised by the intersection of technology and culture.
 * Third, it is a platform for addressing what is next in the evolution of the Internet and how to ensure the results will be accessible to anyone who wishes to participate.

Because I believe very strongly in the power of collaboration and sharing ideas to create something unique, it is my hope that what I have put down will serve as a 'springboard' for discussions that will not necessarily come to an end. As one of the learners in the project, I am hopeful that I will gain understanding of how others view social technology and through this understanding become better equipped to teach about intellectual freedom and technology. For people who explore the wiki, I hope the questions asked and the resources included will motivate deep thinking and reflection.

As we have seen, the Internet is not a static arena. Any discussion of its use and potential will be equally dynamic. The learners participating in this wiki will be helping each other answer the questions our discussions raise. I expect the focus of the discussions to change as new technologies emerge, but the basic issues will remain.

I am particularly excited about being part of a community of learners/adventurers/educators who embrace the still emerging Web technologies represented by applications like Second Life.

The project will be successful if people build on the content on the wiki; either directly to a page or through the discussion tab. Another measure of success is if people take the information here and use it in their own lives; either personally or professionally, or both. As a teacher, I will feel successful if I motivate someone to act on an interest or idea that was introduced or re-ignited by something posted on the wiki. I will be personally successful if I am able to leave something positive and useful to be built on.

//I know I will really have been successful when Aubergine stops falling off stairs// :)

Technology Elements highlighted for the project:
 * The wiki
 * Second Life learning environments
 * Online collaboration tools
 * Mind42 mindmap which includes Google talk and text options for real time collaboration. The collaboration is a bit clunky to use but it is possible to edit simultaneously. Collaborators must be invited by the creator of the mindmap.
 * Voicethread to facilitate ongoing discussions on particular topics. Collaborators must be invited by the creator to view and edit a private voicethread. With an account and a public voicethread users can search the voicethread and comment without being specifically invited.
 * Delicious for social bookmarking. For easy collaboration, users must have their own account and add Aubergine to their network.
 * Original digital photographs and snapshots from Second Life
 * Video slide presentation (Aubergine creating and scripting an object as an example of a display item)

//** (If you have any suggestions for things I should try please use the discussion tab to let me know!) **//

Are these technology elements effective? What issues did I (do I) have with them?

__The wiki:__ I am a huge fan of using a wiki and have become fairly comfortable with wikispaces technology and applications. Over the course of this project, I started using the wiki as a brainstorming editing platform rather than just putting my finished products on the page. The forgiving nature of the wiki encourages anyone using it to "try things out." As an editor, it does not have all the features available in a Microsoft text document, for example, but it is dynamic. As my ideas grew and changed, I found the wiki very supportive of my thought evolutions. The wiki reflects my learning experience. My foray into understanding social technology, how it can be applied in learning situations, and what is most effective when, has been mirrored in the work I am doing with the wiki. Although I have yet to collaborate on the wiki with anyone (except for Aubergine!), the wiki tools encourage me to think constantly about collaboration and networking. That is not a trait I have found in text editing. Because the success of a wiki is dependent on the user community, I found it a unique application for my project.

A wiki //Please, grant me the serenity to accept the pages I cannot edit, The courage to edit the pages I can, And the wisdom to know the difference// —[|The Wiki Prayer]

A significant stumbling block to easily adopting a wiki as a collaboration tool is, ironically, also the trait that makes it successful: the "collective edit." In [|Wide Open Spaces: Wikis, Ready or Not] Brian Lamb addresses "the standard objection" to wiki use. It is challenging to allow someone to edit one's work. From one perspective, wiki editing has a bigger impact than in a text document in that once you publish your page, you are completely vulnerable to the scrutiny of other collaborators. It is difficult to put your best work forth knowing that it can be altered. Though a writer does the same thing when she sends her work to the editor, the relative anonymity of publishing on the Web adds to user unease. It is one thing when an 'expert' marks up your draft, but with a wiki, collaborators have an equal voice. Collaborators are all equally responsible for the end product. Working with a wiki is an exercise in building community, a skill that is often elusive in group work. It requires putting a great amount of trust in the idea of the collective good. This is difficult at best. For overall success of a wiki, the intended audience must be motivated to actively participate. The subject matter in the wiki can motivate people, but it is also important to structure the pages so that the audience will want to read further and feel compelled to add or edit content.

There are some protections built in to the wikispaces model so that if a user does either inadvertently or maliciously damage the work it can be reclaimed. The history tab tacks edits to different pages and a dedicated person could reconstruct previous work. In some situations it might be appropriate to limit who can edit pages although that changes the unique interactive qualities of a wiki. According to Heather James in Lambs' [|Wide Open Spaces: Wikis, Ready or Not], in order for "wikis to fulfill their promise, the participants need to be in control of the content." Wikis will always yield some tension between what to edit, how much to edit, who should edit, and how. However, the necessary negotiations contribute another layer of learning for the participants.

Beyond the conceptual issues in using a wiki, there are some technical hurdles. Though the interface is very user-friendly, it does take a certain technological comfort level to 'dive in.' It is not necessary to understand HTML code to use most of the features, but to use the more advanced features it helps to be familiar with basic coding. As with any Web 2.0 technology the more you use a wiki, the more comfortable you become and you begin to understand the 'behind the scenes' workings involved. There are, however, some quirks with wikispaces that appear every so often. Formatting images exactly how you want them to appear is a challenge as is getting the text around the images. When I have been completely stuck, I found the wiki forums to be very helpful. I can post a question or problem and people from the user community posts suggestions that, in my situation, have accurately addressed the problem.

__Online Collaboration Tools__: To make the wiki successful, I wanted to add elements that required some degree of interaction. Understanding that not everyone who goes through the wiki will participate on the same level, I wanted products that would be useful on several different levels. I also wanted features that engage different senses. I was (am) concerned that some of the information is too textual so I am looking for applications that incorporate voice and audio.

I like using voicethread as a collaboration tool. I think having an image to focus on helps organize one's thoughts. Comments feel spontaneous and fresh. It is an interesting way to engage learners in that they can only listen, respond to a previous comment or simply add their own. It combines visual and auditory elements making it appealing to a variety of learners. Being able to manipulate the image with 'doodling' and dragging while you are commenting provides additional ways to get your point across. It's also fun.

This is the first time I have used an interactive mindmap. I tried several sources and chose Mind42 as the one that allowed for the most collaboration. It is possible to have a group chat and edit together although I am still unclear how the chat dialog gets saved and used in the map. Using the mindmap helps organize thought patterns and I think it will be interesting to see what other people add and how the map changes the more people use it.

I decided to experiment with Delicious, the social bookmarking site, after reading about a math teacher who used it with one of his classes ([|Applied Math 40S]). I added the Delicious widget hoping to have people who already have a Delicious account add Aubergine to their networks. For people without an account, I have yet to figure out an easy way for them to add resources. I also found I could not have the widget appear exactly how I'd like. Here is an example when if I new more about coding, I might be able to do what I'd like. For now, I have to settle for what the standard options allow.

One drawback to the three tools I chose is that to really participate, a user has to have an account for each tool. While many people do not hesitate to join an online service, some do. I do not have a solution, but I have tried to make it possible to use the tools several different ways without having to open an account.

Despite the drawbacks, online collaboration tools with in a wiki and the wiki itself yield tremendous potential for increasing the impact and scope of one person's idea. As Renée Fountain states in her [|Wiki Pedagogy], wikis focus on the potential of the learning community. Fountain adds, Wikis:
 * maximize interplay
 * are democratic
 * encourage voluntary collaboration
 * promote negotiation
 * enable durable feedback

I would argue successful social technologies mirror these attributes.

__Digital photos and presentation:__ In order to make the wiki more visually appealing I added snapshots Aubergine took while touring different areas in Second Life. I chose ones that highlighted the creativity of design in the areas and displays. My intention was to also use them to illustrate a particular point or idea. In planning the building presentation, I first used the Second Life snapshot option but found it did not capture the editing details like the grid lines and script windows I want to include. I used screen shots instead. I used Paint.net to re-size and adjust the photos and Movie Maker to put the presentation together. The only trouble I had was finding the right method to publish the presentation. I wanted viewers to be able to read the text in the photos. Blip.tv offered the highest quality visually, but the sound is not a strong as I would like. To get it to display correctly on the wiki, I ended up converting it to a flash format after trying several other options. The photos for the voicethread are snapshots Aubergine took that I cropped to get better emphasis with Paint.net. Aubergine and I have become fairly adept at taking snapshots, learning how to position ourselves in relationship to the focal point the same way I do with my digital camera. One advantage Aubergine has over me is that she can fly and has taken some interesting photos from a bird's-eye-view.

I plan to add new voicethreads and presentations periodically. I would also like to have a few podcasts on intellectual freedom that people could download. I have yet to figure that one out!

__Second Life:__ Using Second Life as a learning environment highlights innovative ideas. Established in 2003, education uses for Second Life seem to have really started taking off in the last two years with real life universities creating presences as well as libraries and non-profit organizations. Organizations like ISTE (International Society for Technology in Education) and the Alliance Library Systems (Virtual Alliance Library in Second Life) are still experimenting with how they can best use Second Life as a medium for reaching out to their constituents and further share their message. Nonprofit Commons maintains a wiki for groups interested in the potential applications for Second Life in the nonprofit sector.

These groups, and others, are making exhibits that include links to real life information. In talking to one educator Aubergine met, she referred to Second Life as another layer of literacy that she wanted her students to be familiar with. Other people I have met see Second Life as an opportunity. It if full of unknown potential that seems to excite educators and librarians. As educators think about what education looks like in the 21st century, many are realizing that to stay relevant it is necessary to be willing to experiment with new technologies as they come along. Second Life provides opportunities for professional networking and collaboration across real life geographical boundaries. It provides new avenues for distance education and other non-traditional students.

Second Life has many issues. It requires a fairly robust system and a high speed connection to run. These requirements automatically make it non-accessible for some people. There is also a steep learning curve even when you can install the Second Life program. Users must be motivated to make it through the initial frustrations of trying to master a new 'language.' To really want to master the system, users will need to see the benefits of participating in a virtual world. It therefore, behooves the resource organizers to determine what exhibits, displays, and activities will meet the needs of other Second Life residents. This mirrors the challenges of real life service. I have found the same questions being asked in Second Life that librarians and educators are already asking.

Second Life will not appeal to everyone, but the people who are embracing it are pioneers. They are exploring new ways to bring information to their constituents. It is important to be able to see the next step in technology and how it can be exploited for positive uses. Second Life pioneers are doing just that.