Comments for Monica Bulger's thoughts about digital literacy

Comment on Affinity-based browsing by Monica

Monica — Tue, 02 Mar 2010 05:20:18 +0000

Note: Bertil and I chatted about possible programs and he suggested Glue. If you know of other programs that relate to this post, let us know.

Comment on Affinity-based browsing by Bertil Hatt

Bertil Hatt — Tue, 02 Mar 2010 04:30:43 +0000

There are many Firefox extension that allow you to do exactly that. Most work using co-occurence bi-graphs (the same system as Amazon).

Comment on Adoption fatigue by Christine Madsen

Christine Madsen — Wed, 17 Feb 2010 10:38:47 +0000

I think you are right, Monica. As is Straub. It is a bit of a Sisyphean struggle, but that isn’t a bad thing. I would like to think we get a bit better with each uphill climb.

As for whether we are tiring of all of this new stuff, I think we are but that has probably been the case with most technologies for a few thousand years. New things come along, everyone jumps on the bandwagon and after a while either the technology dies, or is improved, but either way it only sticks around for those it is actually helping. I’ve noticed a pretty large dropoff in tweets lately as people sort of settle into what it is good for and what it isn’t.

I think that Google Buzz might be a separate case, though, as I think it really crossed a privacy line that I didn’t even think Google could cross.

Comment on Studies in Educational Technology by Monica

Monica — Thu, 11 Feb 2010 16:35:07 +0000

Agreed!

Comment on Studies in Educational Technology by Matt

Matt — Sat, 06 Feb 2010 19:47:32 +0000

Good post. If only the rigor we apply to taxes and cancer research were consistently applied to educational technology!

Comment on Lost without a trail by Monica Bulger’s thoughts about digital literacy » Studies in Educational Technology

Sat, 06 Feb 2010 18:35:48 +0000

[...] for reading recommendations in the area of Educational Technology, and I started thinking about the trail I followed (a la, Vannevar Bush) to arrive at my current notions of the [...]

Comment on Studies in Educational Technology by Rob Cromwell

Rob Cromwell — Sat, 06 Feb 2010 17:33:56 +0000

These are excellent! I’m going to head down the library right now. Especially interested in the Gee title. Thanks!

Comment on Welcome, iPad by Monica

Monica — Thu, 28 Jan 2010 17:09:15 +0000

I want to argue that serendipity is limited by whatever is in the catalog, and that access may be prioritized over quality in criteria for inclusion. I also want to use browsing bookshelves in the library as an example of research serendipity — finding the exact section of interest and then perusing the shelves. But I see problems with both arguments.
Also, I’ve found Amazon’s suggestions for texts I’d like pretty serendipitous…Netflix as well. Not always, and not usually, but enough to make me pause before arguing that we’re completely losing it. So, serendipity may be different digitally, but not non-existent.
There’s a certain quiet in my mind when I’m wandering bookshelves, though, and I feel the opposite when looking for texts online — frantic is a better description, rushed, urgent, only because there’s so much to search through. This is a different argument, though, but important when considering serendipitous moments. I can’t really experience the luxury of seeing connections or the space to find them if I’m overwhelmed by information. With bookshelves, I can see the end of the space. I know the scope of my options. With online texts and music stores, Google Books for example, or Apple iTunes, the options seem endless.

Comment on Welcome, iPad by Bertil Hatt

Bertil Hatt — Thu, 28 Jan 2010 00:55:47 +0000

You are not loosing serendipity, but you can have random, or thoughtful serendipty, and you can have it all the time: when you are bored (and your iPad notices you don’t flip the pages as you used to) when you are finished, when you just bought one (not ideal on that device) but more importanlty, when you are far away from a bookshop.
I live atop of the most beautiful bookstore in the world: I don’t have to put on shoes to go there, and trust me I’m there all the time:
http://galignani.com/en/galignani.php

But even I can tell you: that device will make me read and buy more books. Ask any Kindle reader. I’ll probably spend more time making presentations on it—but still. Ether is the best bookstore.

Comment on Is digital media the ruin of logical thinking? by Monica

Monica — Sun, 17 Jan 2010 03:57:59 +0000

Great point about Clay Shirky! I wonder how the public nature of our writing is affecting our efforts toward clarity and conciseness, as Bertil mentioned in his response on Facebook.

I’m grateful that we can have these conversations, too!