Wiki this...

So I'm supposed to edit a wiki... and my school blocked that ability!!! Thank you Indiana Wesleyan University and whoever was vandalizing wiki pages that led to me losing my privilege! But... I did make an effort to edit a page and if I was successful, this would have been the information I added.

The page was about Dairy Products: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dairy_product

I would have added that there is an organization, the Future Farmers of America, that has a competition specifically over judging Dairy Products and Production. This event is called a "CDE" or Career Development Event. The competition includes a multiple choice test over milk facts and production. There are also questions that need to be solved mathematically using special formulas. The rest of the competition is on judging. The competitor rotates around a room completing each sections and recording their answers. One section is over milk. There are 10 samples that must be tasted. For each sample the competitor must determine if there is a defect (acid, bitter, feed, foreign, garlic/onion, malty, oxidized, rancid, salty, unclean, flat, no defect) and then assign the defect a score based on its severity. The score ranges from 1-10 with 1 being most severe. Another section is identifying cheeses (blue, brick, brie, cheddar both mild and sharp, colby, cream, edam/gouda, monterey, mozzarella, munster, processed American, provolone, swiss ). There are 10 samples and the competitor is allowed to taste each and identify it correctly. Another section is determining between natural and artificial dairy products. Milker Units is another section. The competitor must examine equipment used in a Dairy facility (without touching it) and identify its defects and their severity. There is also a section where you observe 6 slides that have different amounts of sediment and the competitor must record a score depending on the amount present. The last section covers the California Mastitis Test. The competitor must run this test on eight samples of milk and record the scores depending on the severity of the results.

Happy to...

When I approached educator and blogger, David Warlick, (2 cents worth blog I posted in my previous blog) to answer a few questions; he sent me a message with the subject: "Happy to..."
Despite preparing for speaking arrangements in multiple states, he took the time to jot down his responses to my questions. This is what he wrote:

1. Why did you get into blogging?
Initially, it was about publishing, as a consultant. But I quickly
learned that blogging has more to do with conversation than it does
with publishing. Today, I blog so that I can learn. Many of my blog
posts are questions, and my readers, the smarter part of my greater
brain, suggest answers. I learn from that.


2. What is it about 2.0 that attracted you to blog about it?
As I said before, blogging is about conversation. In fact most Web
2.0 applications are about conversation in some since. I have long
believed that teaching and learning in the 21st century are about a
new kind of conversation between the teacher and the students, between
learners, between the classroom and the home, between the school and
the community, between curriculum and the world it magnifies.

Conversational and participatory information tools help to facilitate
these new conversation.


3. Why is it important to keep your blog updated?
Without readers, my blog does not help me learn. Without new content,
I'll lose my readers....


4. What do you do to drive viewers to your blog?
I simply try to remain relevant to my readers. I don't do anything
other than that.


5. Do you blog for the financial gain or for the passion?
Mostly passion. I do not advertise on my blog, though I do post
Google Ads on another web tool I've built. It's paying for my son's
college. That said, I do get invitations to speak from people who
have read my blog, and that bring financial gain. Most of my revenue
comes from speaking engagements.


6. Could you briefly explain The Landmark Project?
The Landmark Project is the name of my company -- when I need the name
of a company. I became a consultant in 1995, when the Internet was
still very much a wilderness for teachers. I wanted The Landmark
Project to provide landmarks on the new infoscape that teachers could
use to find value there.


7. Are there any causes or not for profit organizations you are
involved with?
Main cause is modernizing classrooms. I do donate to iEarn.

My other causes:
I believe all people should be equal, gas prices should be $4 a
gallon, an extensive national rail system should return, we should be
exploring the universe and feeding all people, Barack Obama will
become mythical, fast food should disappear, and chocolate should grow
on trees.




8. What are the top three blogs that you follow?
Lifehacker
Stephen's Web
The Next Web


9. Leaving high school and starting college, what was your dream?

I always wanted to be Johnny Quest's father ;-)

I always wanted to become a scientist. I didn't think I was smart
enough. Now I know I am/was. But I know now that it is all exciting,
science, history, math, and everything else. It's a truly wondrous
world we live in.



10. Are you happy? Do you believe you can achieve happiness through
your work?

Hmmm! What brings me happiness now is what I seem to accomplish in my
work. Teachers tell me that I have changed the way that they think
about their job. What also makes me happy is my wife, who is also my
business manager, and my children, who are mostly out of the house now.

I've been an educator for 33 years. I'm approaching the end of that
career. What will be making me happy 10 years from now will be
entirely different. I'll be tinkering with digital photography, or
composing music, or playing in a rock band, or maintaining a large
garden, or any combination of those.

I was encouraged by his willingness and openness to entertaining my questions. I am also again reminded by how great it is to meet new people, to learn new things, and see things in a new light. Again, I'd like to thank Mr. Warlick for his participation and for sharing his knowledge with me.

Really Simple...

Since the beginning of the semester I have been dealing a lot more with the web than usual. I have started two blogs and acquired an RSS aggregator. Now, I am by no means computer savvy but this stuff isn't that difficult. I use NewsGator-FeedDemon; and I like it. I was able to delete some of the folders it came with and I created some of my own. I now have each of my classes and blogs I follow in their own folder so I can keep up with them easily. It's pretty great! One folder that it came with was titled "Daily" and it gives you quotes and words of the day. I like it. I also get updated on entertainment stuff. It just makes the time I spend on the computer more efficient. Instead of having to search for information, it sends it to me. If I choose, I could still go to the original page, or I can read it right there in my reader. It makes life easier. Some of the most recent blogs I have subscribed to deal with Web 2.0, Technology, and Prosumerism.

http://davidwarlick.com/2cents

http://astartupaday.wordpress.com

http://www.dmwmedia.com

http://blog.makezine.com/

http://www.techcrunch.com

http://www.wikinomics.com/blog

Web 2.0

If you are anything like me, you're thinking "Web 2.0?!" I didn't even realize there was a Web 1.0, I just thought it was The Web. Luckily I am taking a class that is going to broaden my knowledge on such topics so that someday I can contribute to our information based society through my knowledge of the ever changing technology that embodies our media. woo. Anyway, I was encouraged to choose a topic within the area of Web 2.0 to follow throughout this semester so here it is... drum roll please.... ...... ...... ..... THE PROSUMER!!!! (ahhh)

So there you have it folks. The professional/producer has had a love affair with the consumer and brought forth the "Prosumer." There seems to be some debate over whether this thing is a market segment or if it is independent of the mainstream economy. So I hope to discover what it is to merge a Producer and Consumer, a Professional and Consumer, the influences this new breed can have on companies, and it's influence on my future in the media industry.