A tag cloud is pretty easy to put into a blogger blog. This post explains very clearly how to go about it
http://phy3blog.googlepages.com/Beta-Blogger-Label-Cloud.html
My overall PhD title is "The uses of mobile devices in informal science learning", however I think Fun and Frolics with mobile devices is rather more descriptive of what I do. I am looking at how Geocachers engage with their physical and social contexts using their devices, and with each other through the active online community network.
Geocaching involves taking mobile devices with GPS (global positioning systems) out and using the technology to locate caches. Caches are like hidden treasure, hidden by other geocachers. Not all caches are physical objects; some are virtual caches, some are multi-caches where one cache leads to the next by enabling you to solve a piece of a riddle, some are "earthcaches" which have a strong learning focus. To bag an earthcache, you need to demonstrate that you have learned something about the geological processes that formed that part of the landscape, as specified by the person who set the cache. Geocaching attracts thousands of participants world wide, and their enthusiasm makes them ideal and very willing participants in my research.
To read more about Geocaching, check out this wiki
http://wiki.geocaching.com.au/wiki/Main_Page
Visit the main geocaching website at http://www.geocaching.com to see examples of how you locate caches near you, load the coordinates into your GPS device and head off out. You can also read about other people's experiences of caching.
Thursday, June 28, 2007
Monday, June 25, 2007
Welcome to Gill
It's great to have Gill as my guest blogger...love the picture - you must be geocaching!....and already I am shamed by the lack of facilities on my site....I want one of those cloud thingymajiggs Gill!
Anyhow, Gill is the first of hopefully many guest bloggers in the future. Gill is working toward a PhD in our department, Institute of Educational Technology at the Open University. She is also an active member of our OpenLearn reading group which is currently involved in discussing readings relating to methodological approaches that we can use in examining eLearning. I know In her own researchGill is very interested in Mobile Learning and Blogging.
Gill perhaps you would like to answer a few questions.
Would you like to talk a little bit about your research work?
Have you any favourite links you would like post?
Can you tell us a bit about tagging?
Anyhow, Gill is the first of hopefully many guest bloggers in the future. Gill is working toward a PhD in our department, Institute of Educational Technology at the Open University. She is also an active member of our OpenLearn reading group which is currently involved in discussing readings relating to methodological approaches that we can use in examining eLearning. I know In her own researchGill is very interested in Mobile Learning and Blogging.
Gill perhaps you would like to answer a few questions.
Would you like to talk a little bit about your research work?
Have you any favourite links you would like post?
Can you tell us a bit about tagging?
Thursday, June 21, 2007
Guest Blogger
Steve has invited me to be his guest blogger for the week. It feels like quite a responsibility; I'm now wondering if I have anything worthwhile to contribute.
I logged in for the first time today and discovered that Steve's blog uses exactly the same template as I use for my own blogspot blog which makes it rather like a home-from-home.
Except, of course, that this blog does not have a tag cloud or snapshot (to display a mini version of links). I just looked into creating a tag cloud for this blog, and discovered that is doesn't use any tags.
Still, Steve can always add snapshots to this blog by visiting here http://www.snap.com/
I logged in for the first time today and discovered that Steve's blog uses exactly the same template as I use for my own blogspot blog which makes it rather like a home-from-home.
Except, of course, that this blog does not have a tag cloud or snapshot (to display a mini version of links). I just looked into creating a tag cloud for this blog, and discovered that is doesn't use any tags.
Still, Steve can always add snapshots to this blog by visiting here http://www.snap.com/
Monday, June 18, 2007
Automation - ein hundert vier and zwanzig
As part of my work in OpenLearn I am exploring a potential project to help pre-university students to develop their Mathematics skills. I am looking at a possible project with the Physics department at the University of Bristol. The people there are exploring ways to help equip people for the course in advance and have identified the need for some to be able to develop ability in the application of their Maths skills.
Another problem that they identified with students was the ability to quickly follow a mathematical line of argument, whether this be in rearranging equations, solving a problem etc. It was not that the students did not understand the mathematics but they could not keep speed with the process...a kind of taking time to read and understand, so by the time they had mentally grasped one bit the lecturer had moved on by several steps.
I liken this to my knowledge of translating and understanding spoken German, especially when it comes to numbers. I pretty much can construct any German number, and given time, if it is slowly spoken, understand a number. The problem comes when I hear a number in general conversation, by the time I have worked out what the number means the person talking has moved on with the conversation and I have totally lost the thread. For me understanding the number is not automatic. The word automatic was also used by Prof K and Dr P when relating to some of students' experience.
I recently read something about this automation in a book about activity theory and we discussed it briefly in our reading group. At the time I said that I considered it to refer to those processes that involved a lot of physical skills, such as the high degree of muscular tuning and control necessary for playing an instrument. I related the example from the BBC documentary were Waugh (forgotton his first name) learns a one-handed Chopin piece and reads a book aloud whilst playing the piece with his other hand.
To be continued.....
Another problem that they identified with students was the ability to quickly follow a mathematical line of argument, whether this be in rearranging equations, solving a problem etc. It was not that the students did not understand the mathematics but they could not keep speed with the process...a kind of taking time to read and understand, so by the time they had mentally grasped one bit the lecturer had moved on by several steps.
I liken this to my knowledge of translating and understanding spoken German, especially when it comes to numbers. I pretty much can construct any German number, and given time, if it is slowly spoken, understand a number. The problem comes when I hear a number in general conversation, by the time I have worked out what the number means the person talking has moved on with the conversation and I have totally lost the thread. For me understanding the number is not automatic. The word automatic was also used by Prof K and Dr P when relating to some of students' experience.
I recently read something about this automation in a book about activity theory and we discussed it briefly in our reading group. At the time I said that I considered it to refer to those processes that involved a lot of physical skills, such as the high degree of muscular tuning and control necessary for playing an instrument. I related the example from the BBC documentary were Waugh (forgotton his first name) learns a one-handed Chopin piece and reads a book aloud whilst playing the piece with his other hand.
To be continued.....
Tuesday, June 05, 2007
Generating Analytical Memos by Free Writing
Following on from a wonderful exercise in Engaging Minds and having read and heard about speed writing as a way of getting ideas I have engaged with the exercise below. I have re-adapted part of the writing task in Engaging Minds to begin to help me think about ways of drawing together the various ideas from an examination of the chapter that I am writing in my PhD.
Now that I am nearing the completion of this draft chapter I will need to bring the various threads and themes together.
Activity: Write freely for 5 minutes about the threads and themes that you think are emerging. There is no need to look back, correct, pause and worry about sentence structure.
Relax.
Don’t rush…but do not stop and edit.
There appear to be several emerging themes that I can connect with ideas of embodied mind and the development of mathematical understanding through metaphor and examples. Students, I believe are more likely to reach understanding by examples although Vinner stresses the need for a mix of example and definition. Which comes first the chicken or the egg…. the examples or the definition…how does the concept get formed…is there every such a thing as a concept being fully formed or does it simply evolve and change in our minds as we evolve and change as individuals. Certainly when I taught basic mathematics to students I saw things that I had never seen before, and learned a lot more about mathematics. When I went on to do research into mathematics education and interact with the mathematics community I learned anew and saw afresh and began to ask questions about the nature of mathematical knowledge, know how and ability.
The path schema emerges fairly strongly from the data…but several others also do so. I think of the nature of physical movement, and how this is represented within the graphs…the personal nature of it all.
(191 words in five minutes)
I will need to continue this tomorrow and hope that ideas will come from it. If you wish to interact please leave your comments. These could help stimulate my thoughts further.
Now that I am nearing the completion of this draft chapter I will need to bring the various threads and themes together.
Activity: Write freely for 5 minutes about the threads and themes that you think are emerging. There is no need to look back, correct, pause and worry about sentence structure.
Relax.
Don’t rush…but do not stop and edit.
There appear to be several emerging themes that I can connect with ideas of embodied mind and the development of mathematical understanding through metaphor and examples. Students, I believe are more likely to reach understanding by examples although Vinner stresses the need for a mix of example and definition. Which comes first the chicken or the egg…. the examples or the definition…how does the concept get formed…is there every such a thing as a concept being fully formed or does it simply evolve and change in our minds as we evolve and change as individuals. Certainly when I taught basic mathematics to students I saw things that I had never seen before, and learned a lot more about mathematics. When I went on to do research into mathematics education and interact with the mathematics community I learned anew and saw afresh and began to ask questions about the nature of mathematical knowledge, know how and ability.
The path schema emerges fairly strongly from the data…but several others also do so. I think of the nature of physical movement, and how this is represented within the graphs…the personal nature of it all.
(191 words in five minutes)
I will need to continue this tomorrow and hope that ideas will come from it. If you wish to interact please leave your comments. These could help stimulate my thoughts further.
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