learning on the run: Comments

Comment on "Lessig - Colbert Remix"

Mon, 26 Jan 2009 11:37:39 -0500

Thanks for sharing. On a linguistic note, it shows how when you play the same phrase repeatedly, you end up with something resembling music.

Oh and it was very socially relevant.

- ELIZABETH J PYATT

Comment on "Copyright Discussion"

Sat, 17 Jan 2009 11:21:43 -0500

Lessig chose the wrong show to appear on. Jon Steward would have been a far better interviewer of Lessig.

Colbert's interview style is far to aggressive and confrontational: he is prone to disarming opponents with wild, irrational arguments and luring his guests into making emotional and/or embarrassing comments.

On the other hand, Steward tends to ask questions and a make comments that further the conversation. I'm not saying Steward is a pushover or is witless: Steward does provide opposition when the conversation starts to move in a direction he doesn't approve of, however, his arguments are rational and his satire is normally limited to brief, one line comments (after which he is brings the conversation back on task).

Very few people will interview better on Colbert's show and Lessig showed that he had not done his homework, '...[on that other show--what's it called? the Daily Show?]'

I was quite surprised by Lessig's performance: Lessig normally seems very well spoken and knowledgeable, however, I've never seen him in an interview or debate. I have to wonder if his polish is limited merely to presentations and the written word.

- RICHARD JOSEPH MARSHALL

Comment on "Copyright Discussion"

Tue, 13 Jan 2009 22:32:16 -0500

I am really regretting not asking you to edit that conversation for content :)

- ASHLEY NICOLE WADE

Comment on "Copyright Discussion"

Tue, 13 Jan 2009 21:03:32 -0500

I am the Richard who the Ashley spoke of in the above chat and I feel very strongly about copyright and copyleft. I may comment more at a later time.

George Bernard Shaw:
'If you have an apple and I have an apple and we exchange these apples then you and I will still each have one apple. But if you have an idea and I have an idea and we exchange these ideas, then each of us will have two ideas.'

Think about the following:

Have you ever tried to play a PC game or use other software that is over 10 years old? How many vendors sell or support 10 year old software? How many vendors would sue you for distributing, supporting, and/or altering said software so it would work?

Do you like go see 'Macbeth', 'Twelfth Knight', 'A Comedy of Errors', 'Richard III', or any of Shakespeare's other plays? Can you imagine one of his decedents suing people over the right to perform the bard's works some 400 years after they were created? What if it was only 100 years after they were created?

Have you ever printed out a copy of a famous work of art (like 'the Last Supper' by da Vinci or 'Starry Night' by van Gogh), frame it, and hang it up: or even use such a work as a desktop, cellphone, or website background or on a credit/debit card? Have you failed to pay the artist for his or her creativity?

'Steamboat Willie' was made in 1928 and will be under copyright, under current law, until at least 2023; still under copyright almost a century after it was created. How does this help Walt?

Given I live until I'm 65, this blog post that I'm writing today at 27 will not enter the public domain until 2116.

Where are my royalties Jeff?

- RICHARD JOSEPH MARSHALL

Comment on "Copyright Discussion"

Tue, 13 Jan 2009 20:21:28 -0500

There is a difference between file sharing and expanding on the ideas of others. But I think a new business model is emerging where file sharing will be part of the mix, e.g. "let the kids share our music because we make our money off of the shows." I think if you follow the money trail you see which side people are on. As this paradigm shifts, people will change sides.

Culturally I don't know how you'd be able to survive if you could not build on the ideas of others.

- Jeff Swain

Comment on "Copyright Discussion"

Tue, 13 Jan 2009 10:55:57 -0500

There's a very thin edge here, and a very slippery slope.

As an artist, if I create something, I want it to be protected - in the sense that if anyone is going to make money off of my brain, I want it to be me. That being said, I can see Lessig's point of being able to build on the work of others, or at least a redacted version of it.

Let's be realistic - if people didn't use seminal ideas from others, and have the ingenuity, creativity and broad-mindedness to take something and expand it, where would we be? what would we have (and not just in a materialistic sense)?

What if Beethoven hadn't used thematic ideas from Mozart, or Mozart from Bach, or Bach from any of his predecessors? Indeed, we would have very limited amounts of music to work with. Jazz is a great example - it is a "remix" of other forms of music.

I don't think that what Lessig is espousing is correct, but we do need to look critically at how information is shared and used. We are making criminals of kids for file sharing, but then again, in that case, I would agree that it's law. file sharing of music is to avoid purchase (read - paying for the creativity of the artist)

However, I don't think that if you want to use an idea of mine as a take-off point for another blog entry that I should be compensated for that. If I didn't think of that possibility or option, well, my bad fortune.

- MARK THOMAS HECKEL

Comment on "Why Your Blog Matters"

Wed, 07 Jan 2009 20:28:49 -0500

I read ... every time you write I read. Does count if we've already hired you ;-)

- Cole W. Camplese

Comment on "Math 021 and e-Testing Pilot Summary for Fall 2008"

Mon, 05 Jan 2009 13:03:07 -0500

We need to see the assessment results from VQW, including the academic performance of students in these sections vs. the other sections in the fall -- or even the numbers from last fall.

THis is great work that leverages the strength of being ITS.

- John T. Harwood

Comment on "Math 021 and e-Testing Pilot Summary for Fall 2008"

Mon, 22 Dec 2008 11:00:11 -0500

It's much easier to see where we stand, where we are going, and what we've learned with a summary like this.

- ALLAN SHAWN GYORKE

Comment on "What is a Community?"

Fri, 12 Dec 2008 07:27:19 -0500

Hi Jeff ... thanks for the response! I like this, "It makes it possible for me to feel just as close with other members of my community who are spread around the globe as I feel with the people my office adjoins." Couldn't be more true!

Can you do me one favor? Can you add your response as a comment to the original video so they are all linked in one place? I did a screencast that shows how to do this ... watch that at:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dV_AvGyxiYQ

- Cole W. Camplese

Comment on "A Tale of Two Portfolio Implementations"

Wed, 12 Nov 2008 12:31:12 -0500

Jeff, Thanks for taking the time to blog about this session. I am interested in learning/seeing more on the health an nutrition faculty/student portfolio project, if content available.

- Kim Winck

Comment on "A Tale of Two Portfolio Implementations"

Wed, 12 Nov 2008 10:56:26 -0500

Jeff, the second approach is what we are really driving towards. I am interested in reflection across a career (and hopefully a lifetime), not for a single course. I'd really like to learn more about the project and perhaps see some of the outcomes.

- Cole W. Camplese

Comment on "The Rise of Image as Language"

Wed, 18 Jun 2008 08:27:09 -0500

Plenty of new opportunities to explore this thinking. I hope you are seeing the potential here for us to share these thoughts more broadly. I am curious how a very "traditional" educator would react to the approach if she came across this post. I wonder if she would see the depth of opportunity here? I am curious how deeply we'd need to dive into a context to make this a relevant approach to new faculty?

It leaves me thinking about how much more dynamic the classroom could be - either distance or resident. New thoughts are nice to see.

- Cole W. Camplese

Comment on "We are Storytellers at Heart"

Fri, 13 Jun 2008 12:47:31 -0500

As human beings, I couldnt agree more. As educators, I think we still have a ways to go to get there. But we're on the right track for sure. And as the need to engage and bring personal meaning to the message becomes a more and more prevalent, I think we'll continue to make advances on the (digital) storytelling front.

Sounds like its been an excellent conference!

- CHRIS STUBBS

Comment on "AUC 2008: Post 1 A General Overview"

Wed, 21 May 2008 18:54:09 -0500

I appreciate your observations and insight on the conference, as I was staying home working...on ANGEL! Now, as I recall, you *were* sort of trying to drag me there...at least for next year. Let me guess: if you get ten new people to attend the conference, you get a pink Cadillac.

I would like to think in our finer moments our own "marketing" is not in-your-face, "look how wonderful we are--we do and do for you," but rather more in the spirit of the Symposium and the community hub sites, where we truly do want to hear about what people are doing with our services, how we can help them achieve their goals, and how they can inform us and help us better fit their needs.

I think you are right that the CMS should be stable and available first and foremost. (Our customers seem to like that sort of thing.) Partnering with entities who make emerging social technologies available is probably more sensible than ALI trying to "be" all those tools themselves.

Anyhow, I hope the between-session face-to-face networking made the conference worthwhile overall.

- MARY ELIZABETH JANZEN

Comment on "Digital Norms ("World's Collide, Jerry. Worlds Collide!")"

Mon, 28 Apr 2008 10:48:51 -0500

Interesting; I wrote something parallel to this just this very weekend, ever trying to get back to the concept of who I am, digitally or otherwise. As always, I enjoy your posts; always food for thought, and sometimes eerily parallel to my own thoughts.

You might want to worry about that last observation.

- rb smail

Comment on "Digital Norms ("World's Collide, Jerry. Worlds Collide!")"

Mon, 28 Apr 2008 10:47:16 -0500

I completely agree here. Managing our identity online seems to be becoming more and more important as we think about our professional and personal lives. I also find it really hard to feel like I'm self-censoring and at times that does make it difficult. I've found myself wanting to say a lot of things that I've held back because it might be considered a 'professional' rant and I don't want it to be misconstrued as such. I do wonder sometimes, how much our personalities are becoming fragmented by things just like that, though. I know that I personally have blogs where I *can* rant without feeling like it might become part of my 'professional' identity, and I have many different avatars as well - each giving me the chance to be someone 'new'. It's interesting to think about.

- SHANNON RITTER

Comment on "A Funny Thing Happened On My Way To Becoming Paperless"

Tue, 22 Apr 2008 08:44:22 -0500

That's a great point. I find that I use paper to write down reminders or to-do's so things don't get lost in the digital avalanche. I even keep a journal to write down ideas. (I know you do as well). But for the actual creation process I must be 99% electronic.

- Jeff Swain

Comment on "A Funny Thing Happened On My Way To Becoming Paperless"

Tue, 22 Apr 2008 07:39:39 -0500

I did the same thing after the Symposium -- clean my office I recycled probably 3 years worth of paper. I would love to go paperless, but I find myself needing to print stuff just to get to it. The avalanche of digital to-dos (mostly in the form of email) rolls at me too quickly. If I stop and print notes things seem to get done ... otherwise I tend to only file them away.

- Cole W. Camplese

Comment on "My Multiple Selves"

Tue, 15 Apr 2008 16:39:39 -0500

You three aren't the only ones.

That's all I've got to add. ;)

No, not really: I feel like I've been doing this for awhile because I have multiple accounts in different spaces and I try to always be aware of my audiences and what's appropriate for which space.

I think that most current students have also grown up in this kind of multi-audience environment. Perhaps we're just playing catch-up.

- Anne Petersen