Application...

I am interested in the non-profit organization Services for Vision and Hearing Impaired. I think this is a valuable organization that does not get the credit or attention it deserves for the great service it provides. That being said... I think it would be a good idea to create a Facebook application to raise awareness of this organization!

The application would be to add a "Service Animal" to your Facebook. After adding the initial app, you would have many ways of customizing it to your own preference. The first option you have is what service you want the animal to complete:

Visual Assistance:
Dog: German Shepherd, Labrador Retrievers, Golden Retrievers
Miniature Horse:
Name
Design harness
Determine alert system (dog noises=notifications; ie. 1 bark=wall post)

Hearing Assistance:
Dog: (choose from all breeds)
Name
Design harness
Determine alert system (different visual affects= notifications; ie. paw prints flashing over poke section=poke)

The user also has the choice to interact further with their service animal by playing or feeding it although it is not required for the survival of the animal or functioning of the application.


I would hope this application would be fun for the users and bring a subtle awareness as well. There are many people in need of what Services for the Vision and Hearing Impaired offers; maybe not the user themselves, but I'm confident that everyone knows someone that has a difficulty, from age or disease, and those are the people this organization aims to serve.

Pacers beat Cavaliers

Last Tuesday, February 10th, I embarked on journey to Indianapolis. My class split up into two groups that traveled in "party buses" from Marion, IN to the capital. After a hour and a half trip we got to a parking garage and went up and up and up. After we parked our group crammed into the elevator and stopped at every floor until we found the right one. From there we walked into the Conseco Field House, home of the Indiana Pacers (NBA). After proving that we were weapon free we filed into a conference room where we waited for Mr. Rob Laycock to meet with us. He is the Director of Interactive Marketing and took the time to talk with us for a bit. He explained what his job was. What he would like to see happen, comparing the Pacers' website to that of the fan site of the Suns' "Planet Orange." He talked about Web 2.0 and how it allows for his marketing to be useful. With that he explained the difficulties of relating that technology a board of 50 year old men. He encouraged us in whatever we do, to do it well. To be persistent and competent. He was a very fast paced man; a 'what you see is what you get kind of a guy.' We then had the opportunity to submit our resumes and take his business card which will help our networking abilities. I was grateful for this experience because it exposed me to the type of a person it takes to be in this business. The character required, the mindset. I was impressed by how gracious he was with his time; he fit a lot of information and experience into a very short conversation. So after this meeting, we went to a dandy place called Scotty's Brewhouse where we had some fine eats. Then we caught the Pacers vx Cavaliers game and got free T-shirts because we are in college! (Tuesday nights are college nights!!) And what an intense game that was!! After a few terrible calls, the Pacers came out victories, which was very disappointing for me since I was born and raised in OH and support the Cavs. Anyway, that was over and we hopped back in our 'party' buses and started on our journey back to the campus of Indiana Wesleyan University where we would not soon forget the a Fantastic Field Trip of '09.

Laundry Day...

Some of my frustrations with getting started with Flickr:
1. I had to create a yahoo account. Whatever. No big deal.
2. You have a limit per month of what you can upload!!

So I'm not always the most creative person.. and I've been thinking and thinking about this assignment and it finally hit me! I can make a story about washing my sheets (in preparation for my new mattress topper!!). So I take great time, energy, effort, blood, sweat, and tears... you get me? All to have to cut back in order to stay under the LIMIT Flickr puts on its members. Unless of course, I want to spend some of the few monies I have on "upgrading." I think not. And then after narrowing my selection three times... it still uploads them in the wrong order! And some of the photos within were messed up. So I had to make a separate set to put them in the right order!

But in the end, I prevailed... and here is my visual story:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/35238890@N02/sets/72157613585238360/

Mmmm.. Delicious...

Bookmarking. I can do it... and so should you! Here's my link: http://delicious.com/missalexandra

Some say it's a better search tool than other engines.. I guess I'll find out. It's really not as hard as you would think!

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