Mashpedia

Isn't the semester over? That's right it is, but I think this site is wicked cool, and ties in what Drs. Burton and Zappala were trying to teach us.

Mashpedia is a website devoted to connecting as many different sources together on any given subject. For kicks and giggles, I looked up the classic comic book character, the Hulk. The site brought up the wikipedia article, images, tweets, blog posts, books, and other sources. Intrigued, I looked up Jaymay; here is the link.

How cool is this site! Instead of going to traditional sources like Google or Wikipedia, Mashpedia connects all those sources. In their About page, the authors point out the site is for learning and redefining how we learn.

Where have we heard that?

Final Reflection Post and New Beginnings

For those who are new reader of this blog, let me catch you up: at the start of this semester, I began a Digital Civilization class. In it, we students would explore late Western History using a digital lense. We were asked to redefine ourselves along the way. I started this adventure in Digital Civilization with a post detailing how my learning paradigm would shift and my PLN would explode of the map. Well, I can tell you without a shadow of a doubt that this class shook my learning to the core. I learned so many new tools throughout the semester. I can now Skype without problems on my end (which is important for my job teaching English to students across the world!). I use Diigo all the time now to remember sites and citations I will need for future classroom settings. I now view history in a different light, because the professors who taught the class challenged us to change perspective.

This class was different in that most of the reading done was interesting. I learned plenty from my own readings and bookmarks, but I learned exponentially more from my classmates. Their blog posts throughout the semester have been above par. I refer you to these nominations for my favorites. This is a wildly inventive class, and shows some humility on the part of Drs. Burton and Zappala. They gave the class the reins and I am grateful we took to the concept. Social learning is vastly important for the new digital age.

Now, the beginnings. I am not certain if I will maintain this blog as much as my other. I am inviting you all to follow Mike Lemon. On this blog, I post portions of my creative writing, including poetry, flash stories and concepts. I need your feedback in building my portfolio, because.................................................(wait for it)...................... I'm going to grad school! I decided that the layover in high school teaching would not benefit me or my future family. Therefore, I will be applying for graduate schools here and in Texas. I am pursuing either both a Masters and Doctorate.

Thank you to my classmates for a wonderful semester. You are all truly future leaders in your fields. Let's keep in touch through the Web and MeetUp. Also, let's pressure Burton and Zappala to teach this class again! Others need it as much as we do.

Nominations (Much Too Late)

In celebration of the all too familiar "my dog ate my homework" topos, I present to you my excuse for being late for this blog post.
Tuesday, November 30
Upon talking with my African American professor, I realize that the day of reckoning was nigh at hand; my term paper was due in seven days. My research lacking, I resorted to self pity and stress, then willed myself to a nap.
Wednesday, December 1
I am rushing to get a full rough draft into my Shakespeare professor, with the irony being we did peer editing solely on the first paragraph. Knowing I had nominations at hand, I also realized that I had to pull an all nighter at work. I found time for a nap.
Thursday, Dec. 2
I am not good at making decisions. Instead of attending class, I text Kristen and tell her I can't make it. I crash until one in the afternoon. Later that evening, I meet with my group and start editing for the conference that is to be held in a week. I then ship off to work.
Friday, Dec. 3
I am writing most of the morning, then have an afternoon and evening filled date that involves Korean food, socks, rock concert, a Christmas party, and the vintage French film "The Mad Adventures of Rabbi Jakob."
Saturday, Dec. 4
Work, meet with group and edit some more, realize that life would be easier if I switched back to an English major (more on this in another post), college football, writing on two term papers, Scrabble and sleep.
Sunday, Dec. 5
I know I should nominate some people by now, but instead I work on term papers and think about grad school (I swear a post is coming about my educational future).
Monday, yesterday
I'm writing all day; no time for a nap. I watch a documentary on Black Masculinity and Jack Johnson, then go to work.
Tuesday, Today
I am writing down useless information, vying for sympathy from the masses, but expecting none. One term paper is due in eight hours and lacks three pages, but nonetheless, here are some nominations for Best Bloggers:
Overall Cohesion: Kristen Technology in Exile

• This was not a required nomination, but I think from every blog I've read in this class, Kristen has kept hers on one topic: Digital Civilization and Tibet. There is a cohesion there that Drs. Burton and Zappala encourage for good bloggers.

Historical Content: Sarah Willis Pacemaker

• Talk about a powerful blog post. She not only brought in the history behind the pacemaker, she shared her personal history. While I blogged about roadways, she brought in something more powerful. A wonderful example of connecting the history to oneself.

Self Directed Learning: Ariel Future Shock & Facebook Etiquette

• Ariel does a nice job bringing in different sources for this idea. I had read a few articles about this subject, but more along the lines of employment and job security. She takes the idea of future shock to another level, and I found it enjoyable to read.

Computing Concepts: Madeline Coloring Art on Photoshop

• Madeline consitently creates some fo the best computing posts; she incorporates screenshots, step by steps, and finished products into wildly simple instructions. I chose this post in particular because I believe she used it to accomplish another project for this class; namely, the creation of a coloring book for Gulliver's Travels.

Best Overall Design: Sean Uma Pitada de Tolices

• Wow, what a beautiful design for your blog. If you are looking for conciseness, easy user interface and clear directions as to where to go, check out what he is doing with this blog.

Historical Context for Final Project

Originally, we had Civil Disobedience as the Historical Background for our project, Digital Literacy without Borders. However, because of the touchiness of the Tibetan-Chinese situation, we as a group decided to change the Historical Context for our project.

We decided to see the way frontiers change or influence culture. What happens when a person removes himself from the center? Is there cultural evolution (or devolution) occurring? What can a community do to preserve their culture?

I would answer these questions here, but I feel it more apt to direct you to our site. With the permission of my group, I rewrote the section "Historical Context." Feel free to comment on it. Is it understandable? Did I miss the mark? What's the airspeed velocity of an unladen swallow?

Web 2.0

1. Last night, after several failed attempts on our part, Sean, Kristen, Parker, and I sat around a kitchen table in Provo, UT, and conducted a thirty minute interview with Norbu Jinda, the director of a TCV (Tibetan Children's Village) in India. On several points during the interview, a group mate would look at another with amazement in his or her eyes. That amazement spoke (among other things), "Can you believe this? We are talking to a man in India."
2. A few months ago, I quit my job as a shift manager at Little Caesars to begin a new employment opportunity. I now teach English to students scattered in South Korea and Japan, from a center in Provo. How do I do this? Through Skype, as well as other programs. I did not think it possible, but I feel a connection with these kids who are half way across the world.
3. There is a blog I follow with delight. Written by a college English professor, it details her struggles with teaching and understanding students, as well as her thoughts on knowledge. I have commented a few times on her posts, and was much surprised to see her and others respond to my thoughts. I even braved (thanks to the encouraging words of my professors, Drs. Burton and Zappala) to link a post of my own into my comments on her blog. This professor, whom I have never met, commented positively to my ideas.

How are these three opportunites and connections possible? Simply put, the Internet is changing. When I was younger, the things for kids to do was join chatrooms; parents were in an uproar. Still, I remember the amazement of talking with someone from England, without paying exhorbant landline fees. Now, I stay connected with friends in Mozambique through Facebook and Skype. I can see their pictures, read their ideas, and comment. The Web has evolved at a speed equivalent to Moore's Law. And it is still changing, accomadating to man's need. I read this article on CNN about the next Facebook; does anyone remember MySpace? I did not have time to watch or read the materials prepared for this lesson, so I did my own research.
This is not the first time I have embedded a video by Michael Wesch. He is an Anthropology professor at Kansas State University. In this video, Dr. Wesch explores the Web 2.0. I hope you pay attention to his insights at the end. They tie in nicely with the goals laid out by Digital Literacy Without Borders, and our desire to see how the evolving web connects and influences culture.

Mass Media: Some Anecdotes

As many of you know, I teach Korean and Japanese students English over the Internet. It has provided plenty of laughs, but also opportunities to see just how "different" our cultures are. For one of my sessions, I talk one on one with fifteen year old middle school students, and we fly through the material. That way, we can talk about other things. I was teaching "Leo" (his English name. He chose it, not me!) and asked him the following question

me: So Leo, what kind of music are you listening to right now?

Leo: Hmmm, have you ever heard of Eminem?

me: (slight pause) Just a little, yes.

(Some more conversation happened, including a challenge issued from me for Leo to check out Outkast. Laughter also pervaded the conversation, but we move to this next point.)

me: Leo, what do you like to watch on TV?

Leo: Cartoons...

me: Oh, you mean like Korean anime -what's it called -manhwa? I like that stuff.

Leo: (laughs) no, I like Spongebob

me: (shocked) Spongebob?!! Me, too!

As I ended my Skype call with him, I couldn't help but think Leo is more American than I am. The shattering of my nationalistic center and ego was further when I attended Dr. Hickman's lecture on the Beatles' influence on America. He submitted an interesting thought to the audience. He said the Beatles weren't the flagship of a British Invasion. On the contrary, they were indoctrinated in American culture. He pointed out that being from Liverpool allowed them access to the latest American rock and roll records. When John, Paul, George and Ringo made it to the Ed Sullivan show in '64, they were British only in nationality. In reality, they projected to Americans an image of themselves.

I have thought of these two incidents in terms of mass media. I think sometimes we focus so much on the differences between "us and them," but the truth of the matter is media is slowly bringing the world together. In his book Cosmopolitanism: Ethics in a World of Strangers,(2006) Kwame Anthony Appiah discusses that man is essentially the same, with each culture adding a uniqueness to the world. He says "People everywhere, buy and sell, eat, read the papers, watch movies, sleep, go to church or mosque, laugh, marry, commit adultery, go to funerals, die. Most of the time, once someone has translated the language you don't know, or explained some little unfamiliar symbol or custom, you'll have no more (and, of course, no less) trouble understanding why they do than you do making sense of your neighbors back home" (94). What then, is the language we must understand or have explained?

I suggest it is the digital language. I love when I look up videos on youtube, just to find comments left by people from around the world. I posted earlier about the relationship I have with Norbu, the Tibetan school administrator my group will be interviewing. I said then -and reiterate now -that the two things we have in common is education and digital means to communicate. But there is so much more we have in common: appetites, the ability to be tired, the emotions of love, pain and regret, etc.

Have any of you had these experiences of recognition? Leave your stories in the comments and I'll highlight a few in the upcoming posts.

Final Project: Questions

Our project is to bring awareness of digital literacy's impact on Tibetan exiles in India. I'd like to thank Parker for this posted goals. As part of our project, we will be interviewing Norbu, one of Kristen's contacts there, but he is scared (intimidated, maybe) by the interview. To assuage his fears, we are preparing 10 questions each for Norbu, although with overlap, there will probably only be 25-30 questions.

The issue I am facing with asking these questions is language barrier. From my experience teaching ESL students, it is hard to ask questions. Often times, the problem lies in my wording; my questions have to be as simple as possible. This language barrier only highlights a common thread in Digital Literacy Without Borders; in today's world, the lingua franca is continuously becoming education and digital media. What do I have in common with Norbu? A love for education, and an Internet connection.

On that note, here are some questions going through my head. You can check out the others on our website.

Tell me about the Tibetan culture. What is it?

How have computers and the Internet changed your culture?

How are students educated in your community?

How do they learn with computers?

How do you view Tibet, your native land?

How do you use your computer to talk with fellow Tibetans?

Do you have a question for Norbu? Leave it in the comments, and maybe we will ask him.