Comments for bavatuesdays http://bavatuesdays.com a "b" blog Fri, 25 Jul 2008 10:59:12 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.6 Comment on BitTorrent: An Educational Autopsy of the Hydra by Geoff Martin http://bavatuesdays.com/bittorrent-an-educational-autopsy-of-the-hydra/#comment-75201 Geoff Martin Fri, 25 Jul 2008 09:50:44 +0000 http://bavatuesdays.com/?p=1048#comment-75201 The BBC in the UK has been using P2P in its iPlayer technology very effectively for about a year now. All BBC broadcasts are freely downloadable via the iPlayer P2P network for seven days after airing. I imagine other broadcasters elsewhere are doing the same. I guess my point here is that not all big corporations are anti peer-to-peer. Given time this technology will start to be used widely and we're already seeing the beginnings of this. The BBC in the UK has been using P2P in its iPlayer technology very effectively for about a year now. All BBC broadcasts are freely downloadable via the iPlayer P2P network for seven days after airing. I imagine other broadcasters elsewhere are doing the same.

I guess my point here is that not all big corporations are anti peer-to-peer. Given time this technology will start to be used widely and we’re already seeing the beginnings of this.

]]> Comment on Course Mangement Systems as the Gentrification of EdTech by Martin http://bavatuesdays.com/course-mangement-systems-as-the-gentrification-of-edtech/#comment-75199 Martin Fri, 25 Jul 2008 07:18:49 +0000 http://bavatuesdays.com/?p=1090#comment-75199 Ok, Jim, I'll take you up on your challenge and defend the honour of the scientific/natural metaphor. There are two arguments in your response as I see it: the gentrification as bad social force one, and the problems with natural metaphors one. To take the gentrification one first. I don't think it was just upper and middle class people who benefitted. Certainly in UK systems it wasn't just that we had different communities living in inner cities - we had largely derelict areas where no-one was living. Turning disused warehouses into yuppie flats may not sound like a drive for social justice, but sometimes the incidental effects of selfish actions (on the part of the property developers) can be beneficial. This has rejuvinated city centres. But you are correct in that sometimes self-sustaining communities have been undermined. In Cardiff we have had the bay area developed recently (you'll have seen it in Doctor Who if you watch that). It used to be mostly derelict, but there was also a lively multi-cultural community in Bute area near it. This wasn't quite what it used to be with the decline of the docks industry, but nevertheless it is still an area that adds character to Cardiff as a whole. The redevelopment has put up restaurants, a great theatre, bars, flats, etc. It's a great place to go (especially for families). But one feels as though the original community is now being squeezed out, or isolated. So overall, I'm not sure if it's a good or bad thing - the bay area has benefitted the whole of Cardiff (not just upper and middle classes who might live there), but I'm sure if you asked some of the residents they might say it had lost its soul. Then again some would say they liked living near it. My point is that gentrification is one of those things that it's hard to defend, and one can have romantic notions about the communities that exist in inner cities, but it is a complex picture. Even if gentrification is driven by purely selfish, capitalist motives, it may have good consequences. And to bring us back to CMSs (I'd almost forgotten) the same is true here - BB etc may not have the interests of education at heart, but their presence _could_ be a necessary step towards getting educators to engage with technology. It becomes a negative influence if they then gain so much power that they prevent further development (as with the BB patent case). Now, onto natural metaphors - you'll probably know I like a metaphor from nature, be it talking about ecosystems, evolutionary approaches to the creation of content or succession. I'm afraid I just don't buy this scientific metaphors are dangerous argument. All metaphors are dangerous if you take them too literally. There is nothing special about scientific ones. For example, take 'war' as a metaphor (which you could argue is a social one) - a war on cancer would imply certain actions from government, probably good ones. A 'war on terrorism', or even 'war on drugs' is too simplistic, combative and overlooks some of the social context. It ends up being ultimately self-defeating IMO. So the same metaphor may have different outcomes when applied to different settings. A metaphor is essentially a psychological mapping from one domain (the known, metaphor one) to another (the target, less well known one). In any metaphor you only map across certain elements - if I say 'John is a bear' you would imply certain bear like characteristics to John - maybe he is strong, big and hairy. You wouldn't assume he hibernates through the winter. Metaphors are dangerous when people (particularly politicians) map across the wrong elements. All metaphors are prone to this - one could argue that Stalinist Russia was based on an incorrect mapping of society as village community for example. Why can I never just leave a comment on your blog that says 'Nice post'? @Brian - come on man, fight me! Ok, Jim, I’ll take you up on your challenge and defend the honour of the scientific/natural metaphor.
There are two arguments in your response as I see it: the gentrification as bad social force one, and the problems with natural metaphors one.
To take the gentrification one first. I don’t think it was just upper and middle class people who benefitted. Certainly in UK systems it wasn’t just that we had different communities living in inner cities - we had largely derelict areas where no-one was living. Turning disused warehouses into yuppie flats may not sound like a drive for social justice, but sometimes the incidental effects of selfish actions (on the part of the property developers) can be beneficial. This has rejuvinated city centres. But you are correct in that sometimes self-sustaining communities have been undermined.
In Cardiff we have had the bay area developed recently (you’ll have seen it in Doctor Who if you watch that). It used to be mostly derelict, but there was also a lively multi-cultural community in Bute area near it. This wasn’t quite what it used to be with the decline of the docks industry, but nevertheless it is still an area that adds character to Cardiff as a whole. The redevelopment has put up restaurants, a great theatre, bars, flats, etc. It’s a great place to go (especially for families). But one feels as though the original community is now being squeezed out, or isolated. So overall, I’m not sure if it’s a good or bad thing - the bay area has benefitted the whole of Cardiff (not just upper and middle classes who might live there), but I’m sure if you asked some of the residents they might say it had lost its soul. Then again some would say they liked living near it.
My point is that gentrification is one of those things that it’s hard to defend, and one can have romantic notions about the communities that exist in inner cities, but it is a complex picture. Even if gentrification is driven by purely selfish, capitalist motives, it may have good consequences. And to bring us back to CMSs (I’d almost forgotten) the same is true here - BB etc may not have the interests of education at heart, but their presence _could_ be a necessary step towards getting educators to engage with technology. It becomes a negative influence if they then gain so much power that they prevent further development (as with the BB patent case).
Now, onto natural metaphors - you’ll probably know I like a metaphor from nature, be it talking about ecosystems, evolutionary approaches to the creation of content or succession. I’m afraid I just don’t buy this scientific metaphors are dangerous argument. All metaphors are dangerous if you take them too literally. There is nothing special about scientific ones. For example, take ‘war’ as a metaphor (which you could argue is a social one) - a war on cancer would imply certain actions from government, probably good ones. A ‘war on terrorism’, or even ‘war on drugs’ is too simplistic, combative and overlooks some of the social context. It ends up being ultimately self-defeating IMO. So the same metaphor may have different outcomes when applied to different settings.
A metaphor is essentially a psychological mapping from one domain (the known, metaphor one) to another (the target, less well known one). In any metaphor you only map across certain elements - if I say ‘John is a bear’ you would imply certain bear like characteristics to John - maybe he is strong, big and hairy. You wouldn’t assume he hibernates through the winter. Metaphors are dangerous when people (particularly politicians) map across the wrong elements. All metaphors are prone to this - one could argue that Stalinist Russia was based on an incorrect mapping of society as village community for example.
Why can I never just leave a comment on your blog that says ‘Nice post’?

@Brian - come on man, fight me!

]]> Comment on Reading Capital, Part 2: Blogs, Feeds, and Aggregation by Chris http://bavatuesdays.com/reading-capital-part-2-blogs-feeds-and-aggregation/#comment-75193 Chris Fri, 25 Jul 2008 01:49:28 +0000 http://bavatuesdays.com/?p=1054#comment-75193 Filtering a feed on Blogspot.com is also easy. Here's the format: A search on a label in Blogspot generates this URL: http://xxx.blogspot.com/search/label/labelname To filter a feed, just replace "/search/label" with "/feeds/posts/default/-/" like this: http://xxx.blogspot.com/feeds/posts/default/-/labelname That's it. Source:http://labnol.blogspot.com/2007/08/offer-rss-feeds-for-blogger-search.html Filtering a feed on Blogspot.com is also easy. Here’s the format:

A search on a label in Blogspot generates this URL:
http://xxx.blogspot.com/search/label/labelname

To filter a feed, just replace “/search/label” with “/feeds/posts/default/-/” like this:

http://xxx.blogspot.com/feeds/posts/default/-/labelname

That’s it.

Source:http://labnol.blogspot.com/2007/08/offer-rss-feeds-for-blogger-search.html

]]> Comment on Course Mangement Systems as the Gentrification of EdTech by Brian http://bavatuesdays.com/course-mangement-systems-as-the-gentrification-of-edtech/#comment-75189 Brian Thu, 24 Jul 2008 23:11:17 +0000 http://bavatuesdays.com/?p=1090#comment-75189 No, honestly, it's cowardice. I'd like to push back a bit on Martin's point, but he's so damned articulate I dare not do it in a half-baked fashion. The science thing similarly would require a bit more time and lucidity than I have on hand these days. And with that, I run away... No, honestly, it’s cowardice. I’d like to push back a bit on Martin’s point, but he’s so damned articulate I dare not do it in a half-baked fashion. The science thing similarly would require a bit more time and lucidity than I have on hand these days.

And with that, I run away…

]]> Comment on Course Mangement Systems as the Gentrification of EdTech by Reverend http://bavatuesdays.com/course-mangement-systems-as-the-gentrification-of-edtech/#comment-75188 Reverend Thu, 24 Jul 2008 22:41:59 +0000 http://bavatuesdays.com/?p=1090#comment-75188 Brian, I have this strange feeling you are sparing me the sword. I know I'm over-the-top, and could use a good come uppance from someone who is far more gifted in metaphor, subtlety and complexity. I may have no self-control, but I can say at least this: I do know my betters! Brian,

I have this strange feeling you are sparing me the sword. I know I’m over-the-top, and could use a good come uppance from someone who is far more gifted in metaphor, subtlety and complexity. I may have no self-control, but I can say at least this: I do know my betters!

]]> Comment on Course Mangement Systems as the Gentrification of EdTech by Brian http://bavatuesdays.com/course-mangement-systems-as-the-gentrification-of-edtech/#comment-75187 Brian Thu, 24 Jul 2008 22:30:43 +0000 http://bavatuesdays.com/?p=1090#comment-75187 I love the metaphor work here, and will take a cowardly turn away from the gentrification and scientific model debates... But I will say those 5th and 6th paragraphs articulate beautifully a recent history I've been thinking a lot about lately. Kudos for a post that launches that topic with characteristic Bava bravado... I love the metaphor work here, and will take a cowardly turn away from the gentrification and scientific model debates…

But I will say those 5th and 6th paragraphs articulate beautifully a recent history I’ve been thinking a lot about lately. Kudos for a post that launches that topic with characteristic Bava bravado…

]]> Comment on Course Mangement Systems as the Gentrification of EdTech by Reverend http://bavatuesdays.com/course-mangement-systems-as-the-gentrification-of-edtech/#comment-75186 Reverend Thu, 24 Jul 2008 21:07:14 +0000 http://bavatuesdays.com/?p=1090#comment-75186 @Lucychili, I can always count on you for an example of how this stuff is happening, and that's what I like about you. You have the action, I just mouth off. @Alan, I'm working on the Sex and the City post now. Check your reader about 3 am. @Matt, You;re too kind, but we both know I can;t write worth a damn. The blog was made for me cause you don;t need proof and you can disregard spellin, punctuation, and every other rule out there. In fact, it is why I feel so comfortable with the form :) @Vincent, I think that's a really good point. Thinking of form as a self-imposed limitation is one way to imagine this. And given my background in literature, I love the analogy. I think the idea of an agreed upon, communal form for writing within bounds make a lot of sense, I just wish there was a logic behind it besides the questions of profit and scale that dictates CMSs. Point being, and agreed upon artisitc tradition like the Sonnet has an agreed upon space to work within. I'm not sure the CMS is so muh an agreed upon space, as one we inherited due to a design we became stuck with. But I don;t know, I like the figure and I have to think about it. It's a good one. @Lucychili,
I can always count on you for an example of how this stuff is happening, and that’s what I like about you. You have the action, I just mouth off.

@Alan,
I’m working on the Sex and the City post now. Check your reader about 3 am.

@Matt,
You;re too kind, but we both know I can;t write worth a damn. The blog was made for me cause you don;t need proof and you can disregard spellin, punctuation, and every other rule out there. In fact, it is why I feel so comfortable with the form :)

@Vincent,
I think that’s a really good point. Thinking of form as a self-imposed limitation is one way to imagine this. And given my background in literature, I love the analogy. I think the idea of an agreed upon, communal form for writing within bounds make a lot of sense, I just wish there was a logic behind it besides the questions of profit and scale that dictates CMSs. Point being, and agreed upon artisitc tradition like the Sonnet has an agreed upon space to work within. I’m not sure the CMS is so muh an agreed upon space, as one we inherited due to a design we became stuck with. But I don;t know, I like the figure and I have to think about it. It’s a good one.

]]> Comment on Course Mangement Systems as the Gentrification of EdTech by Vincent Baxter http://bavatuesdays.com/course-mangement-systems-as-the-gentrification-of-edtech/#comment-75182 Vincent Baxter Thu, 24 Jul 2008 17:04:47 +0000 http://bavatuesdays.com/?p=1090#comment-75182 They're also marketed as Learning Management Systems (LMS). Is there an art to teaching/learning using a CMS/LMS? To build a new analogy, I am thinking specifically of poets who write into form. The most post-modern poetic expression is, perhaps, free verse. Does that mean that sestina, sonnet, or haiku are in some way archaic or worth less? Sometimes when we bound our praxis in specific ways (i.e. working within the parameters of blackboard/angel or write poetry into form) we stretch ourselves in ways we hadn't realized possible. They’re also marketed as Learning Management Systems (LMS).
Is there an art to teaching/learning using a CMS/LMS? To build a new analogy, I am thinking specifically of poets who write into form. The most post-modern poetic expression is, perhaps, free verse. Does that mean that sestina, sonnet, or haiku are in some way archaic or worth less? Sometimes when we bound our praxis in specific ways (i.e. working within the parameters of blackboard/angel or write poetry into form) we stretch ourselves in ways we hadn’t realized possible.
]]> Comment on Course Mangement Systems as the Gentrification of EdTech by Matt http://bavatuesdays.com/course-mangement-systems-as-the-gentrification-of-edtech/#comment-75181 Matt Thu, 24 Jul 2008 15:56:57 +0000 http://bavatuesdays.com/?p=1090#comment-75181 Get this man a book deal! Get this man a book deal!
]]> Comment on CPU Quota Exceeded: Bluehost admits the problem by Richard Blair http://bavatuesdays.com/cpu-quota-exceeded-bluehost-admits-the-problem/#comment-75180 Richard Blair Thu, 24 Jul 2008 15:49:30 +0000 http://bavatuesdays.com/cpu-quota-exceeded-bluehost-admits-the-problem/#comment-75180 Stumbled onto this posting when I was searching for "matt heaton" "bluehost" on google trying to find a direct phone number for him. As of yesterday, I was still experiencing the CPU exceeded errors, in fact, my site was down nearly half the day yesterday because of this. Spent 1/2 hour on the phone with a tech who kept telling me the problem was on my end (even though I've changed nothing on my site, from an operational perspective, for weeks). I'm a network administrator myself. All of the "answers" the tech was giving me were crap (I had the logs up in front of me when we were speaking and I knew more than the tech), and I finally got fed up and asked for second level support. The second guy I spoke with admitted there was problem, that my site wasn't exceeding CPU usage, and that they were upgrading their CPU usage monitoring software across all 700 boxes. He unlocked the site, and I haven't had a problem since. Bluehost tech support has degraded significantly over the past six months. If you get a tech who can't quickly answer your questions, don't fart around. Ask for second level support immediately. Stumbled onto this posting when I was searching for “matt heaton” “bluehost” on google trying to find a direct phone number for him.

As of yesterday, I was still experiencing the CPU exceeded errors, in fact, my site was down nearly half the day yesterday because of this. Spent 1/2 hour on the phone with a tech who kept telling me the problem was on my end (even though I’ve changed nothing on my site, from an operational perspective, for weeks).

I’m a network administrator myself. All of the “answers” the tech was giving me were crap (I had the logs up in front of me when we were speaking and I knew more than the tech), and I finally got fed up and asked for second level support. The second guy I spoke with admitted there was problem, that my site wasn’t exceeding CPU usage, and that they were upgrading their CPU usage monitoring software across all 700 boxes. He unlocked the site, and I haven’t had a problem since.

Bluehost tech support has degraded significantly over the past six months. If you get a tech who can’t quickly answer your questions, don’t fart around. Ask for second level support immediately.

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