Moving Home

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This blog is moving to http://www.elearnenable.blogspot.com.

Microsoft Windows Live Services - Yesss Please.

My computer crashed about 7 months ago and I lost a lot of stuff I had downloaded. Well anyway, as part of this USQ MEdTech we needed some way to communicate and since Skype is banned in the UAE, I had to look at using something else. I had just started using Windows MSN prior to the crash so I said what the hell and redownloaded it.

As soon as I had, windows live messanger poped up and said that 1 of my friends was online and I had 20 something unread messages in my inbox. This got a thumbs up straight away. Anyway, I started chatting away and realised that I could send audio and cam feed. I was liking it better and better.

Later, I was working on my wife's laptop and realised I needed to print something but that it was not connected to the printer. No bothers, I opened a shared folder from her MSN on her computer to my MSN with the computer that was connected to the printer. Hey presto, file printed. That saved me buying another printer.

Now, I just find out that they do Microsoft TV (like YouTube) and give 1GB of hosted storage free so I uploaded some .pdfs. I'm wondering now how I get to search other public folders and if they'll do tags and networks like Del.icio.us.

Anyway, the point of this is that although I'm having problems navigating to the various sections of the interface at the moment (they seem to change appearance everytime I log in)and also that the various tools are in Beta, I really like the look of all these combined aspects. I can't wait to see what they do next.

Backpack Software

So there I was rambling on about a place were we could upload our books, .pdfs, etc. and what should I find but Backpack.

Ask and you shall receive.

Now I wish I had loads of money, a big house and all the rest of that stuff. I'm waiting...

Virtual Thefts

The other day in second life I was in somebody's home and I picked up a Sherlock Holmes book and started to read it. I was going to log off but hadn't finished reading the book so I took a copy. Later I was wondering if this constituted theft!

Now, I've just come across an article about theft in the social-networking site Habbo Hotel leading to police action. And I also recall an article about a bank in Second Life,Ginko Financial, where the owner of the bank scarpered with millions of Linden dollars - which equated to $750,000 dollars but the police couldn't do anything because it wasn't a real bank.

Now, it seems that one increasingly needs to have a knowledge of law in virtual spaces.

Google Jockeying

Well,

I was at a USQ elluminate meeting the other day and was busy throwing out URLs into the backchannel as one does. (I have to try to appear clever someway since it doesn't happen in real life). Anyway, catspyjamas (people have some weird names these days. Just as well children don't get to pick their own names)said that I was a right google jockey. This passed me by at the time but I later yahooed it (I don't google!) This brought me to the educause article and some other sites.

Well I'm thinking that this could be quite useful when teaching and indeed at the CLTI2007 conference I realised that this was what was happening, through multiple jockey's.

Anyway Pros Vs Cons

Pros
Students focused
Additional material generated
Move from broadcast media to collaborative

Cons
Diversion of attention
2nd projector required
Jockey's skill
Internet connection speed.