- Purpose: working - The badge system represents a significant accomplishment. Given it is wanting to award an equivalent to the PhD Candidacy it is unproven and unrecognized within any community.
- Graphical Design: introductory - The mono-color badge design is very simplistic with little branding or curriculum recognition. The graphical themes are very simplistic and have no relation to the broader community within it exists.
- Organization: notable - The badge system is well organized and progress to completion is easily understood. The organization and progression is well supported by the graphics of each badge. The images of the whole badge system ease understandability and being awarded each badge demonstrates an individual accomplishment toward the final goal of OnPhD candidacy.
- Criteria: notable - the criteria of each badge allows is to be considered an accomplishment within itself. Each badge could also be used within a different badge or learning system with similar goals. The criteria of each badge is timeless and would apply equally well at a future time.
- Technical Integration: introductory - the badge system has been implemented within a 3rd party badge issuing system and only has integration within the related curriculum system through the final badge within the whole system. The big risk here is the 3rd party badge issuer may not exist into the future.
- System Integration: notable - The open and networked PhD badge system and related criteria aligns very well with the candidacy requirements found within the traditional PhD. The badging approach also integrates well the open and digital badging approaches. The choice to use both wikiversity and P2Pu was conscious due to their alignment with open and networked learning. The meta-badge issued for completing the challenge will be issued by P2Pu, further deepening the badge system integration with the learning platform.
- Assertion: introductory - the issued badge(s) resolve back to URLs that can be confirmed within the issuer and the evidence URL's are baked into the badge.
- Endorsement: working - the issued badges are endorsed by the OnPhD community. Both Wikiversity and P2Pu have implied endorsement of the OnPhD candidacy badge system. More official endorsement will be sought once one or two candidacies have been completed from this challenge.
- Validity: introductory - Validity of learning is determined in how the badge evidence aligns with each badges criteria. It is to early in the badge system design to determine depth of learning for the badge earners as there are too few people who have earned the badge(s). Once a number of people have completed the OnPhD candidacy challenge, validity will be determined.
- Development Team: working - team has two main developers, both with strong technological and pedagogical backgrounds. Development of badge criteria included input from other strong subject matter experts.
Showing posts with label openphd. Show all posts
Showing posts with label openphd. Show all posts
Thursday, May 02, 2013
A critical look at the OnPhD Candidacy badge system
As a heutagogue I currently have three main learning activities; Creating challenges into the P2Pu school of badges, learning all I can about open and digital badges, and in developing the Open and Networked PhD. These three currently come together in my building of both the P2Pu challenge on Badge System Design and in developing and completing the OnPhD candidacy challenge. I am using the badge system I have designed for the OnPhD candidacy as the badge system I am using as I work through the badge system design challenge. For a good description on the OnPhD candidacy badge system follow the embedded link. Below is my critical review of this badge system, with my assessment of where each criteria is against the badge system design rubrics performance levels;
Monday, January 21, 2013
Agile Learning and OpenBadges
I spend a lot of my personal time deepening my understanding of self-directed learning and its direct application. I'd rather walk-the-walk than talk-the-talk... and pedagogically you learn much more by walking-the-walk. Over the last eight months I have focused a lot of my learning on badge systems as a method for recognizing learning and achievement, and as an alternative method of accreditation. I have been exploring, what I consider, the four different approaches to badge systems and have utilized my Agile Learning Design (ALD) approach to direct my learning. Over the last eight months I have learned a considerable amount about this subject. And given there is yet to be a person or school that focuses on teaching about badges systems I really didn't have a choice but do it myself.
ENVISION
During the envisioning step of the ALD methodology you focus on a creative effort which defines what you know of a subject domain. Even if what you know starts with a single word or just the name of the subject you can still start exploring the subject and build a creative effort that defines your current knowing of the subject. With open badges I was able to read a few of the sites dedicated resources and was able to put together a concept map, and this really got me started and allowed me to set a direction for my learning.
During the middle six months of 2012 I immersed myself in learning about digital badges and open badges. I wrote extensively and participated in many online events and created many online resources. All of this deepened my learning. The ALD approach helped focus my learning and assisted in identifying gaps in my knowledge. I followed an iterative learning approach and studied concepts as identified in my concept map and as they became apparent through my reading, investigation and peer feedback. My learning journey occurred as follows;
PLAN
The first few steps of my learning journey were planning my approach and setting the context and learner perspective. The importance of this is described in the planning step of ALD.
My next step in deepening my understanding was to build learning resources. These resources covered many of the topics I had identified in my concept map and during my planning. Each resource I created added depth to my understanding of open badges.
Once the first iteration build of my learning resources was complete I sought feedback by having others use the resources. In truth, I was continually asking for feedback. As soon as a resource was built I would publish it to the internet and seek input. All very iterative, all very lean. As you can see the above resources were all published at different times and as I published I would engage my learning community and ask for input. With some resources the feedback would initiate a change for others the resource remained the same, sometimes the change would come as how the new resource was hosted or the context around the learning was changed.
DEPLOY
The final step within this iteration of learning was to deploy the final versions of the learning resources. I chose to wrap the video resources in popcorn.js and to build a small portal to organize all the resources. This allowed further enhancement to the resources by focusing in on key learnings and also providing a listing of the embedded URL's as follow on learning resources. To view this portal visit the dedicated Bowen Institute of Technology website; http://badges.bit.bc.ca/
NEXT STEPS
I feel I learned a lot over the last nine months regarding digital badges and open badges. The next steps to deepen and continue my learning will be;
ENVISION
During the envisioning step of the ALD methodology you focus on a creative effort which defines what you know of a subject domain. Even if what you know starts with a single word or just the name of the subject you can still start exploring the subject and build a creative effort that defines your current knowing of the subject. With open badges I was able to read a few of the sites dedicated resources and was able to put together a concept map, and this really got me started and allowed me to set a direction for my learning.
 |
| My first concept map capturing my early understanding of open badges. |
During the middle six months of 2012 I immersed myself in learning about digital badges and open badges. I wrote extensively and participated in many online events and created many online resources. All of this deepened my learning. The ALD approach helped focus my learning and assisted in identifying gaps in my knowledge. I followed an iterative learning approach and studied concepts as identified in my concept map and as they became apparent through my reading, investigation and peer feedback. My learning journey occurred as follows;
PLAN
The first few steps of my learning journey were planning my approach and setting the context and learner perspective. The importance of this is described in the planning step of ALD.
- Context and User Roles: This step was really important for setting the context and learner roles to define how I was looking at the learning I was about to embark upon. It really helped me understand who the learner was, and to what depth and direction I was to take my learning.
- Learning Themes: What did I want to get out of my learning and how would I anchor my learning.
My next step in deepening my understanding was to build learning resources. These resources covered many of the topics I had identified in my concept map and during my planning. Each resource I created added depth to my understanding of open badges.
- Getting Started: What are the general concepts within open badges and what are the main technologies to be understood. What does it take to implement badges using these technologies.
- Badge taxonomies: I began to realize that badge systems design was a big part of all this. And it seemed to me the first step of all this was in the taxonomies surrounding badge systems. So I explored further.
- Badge systems design: There came a point where I had deepened my knowledge of open badges where I wanted to create my own badge system. This seemed like the natural next step for me. This took me into understanding the criteria and evidence attributes of the badge and how the criteria would fit within a badge system.
- Create learning resources: Wow! So after all of that learning I begin to build learning resources. This deepens my learning and creates artifacts that will hopefully assist others with their learning. Fortunately I was in the situation where Mozilla provided an incentive to build these resources.
- Introduction
suggested readings
more suggested readings
first look at the meta-data
open badges on P2Pu - Claiming a badge
claiming your first badge - Technical prerequisites
JavaScript
the technology stack
server infrastructure - Issuer Technologies
technical prerequisites
a look at the json message
the different servers - Wikiversity Case Study
scenario and badge system design
manually issuing the badge
claiming the badge
- Introduction
Once the first iteration build of my learning resources was complete I sought feedback by having others use the resources. In truth, I was continually asking for feedback. As soon as a resource was built I would publish it to the internet and seek input. All very iterative, all very lean. As you can see the above resources were all published at different times and as I published I would engage my learning community and ask for input. With some resources the feedback would initiate a change for others the resource remained the same, sometimes the change would come as how the new resource was hosted or the context around the learning was changed.
DEPLOY
The final step within this iteration of learning was to deploy the final versions of the learning resources. I chose to wrap the video resources in popcorn.js and to build a small portal to organize all the resources. This allowed further enhancement to the resources by focusing in on key learnings and also providing a listing of the embedded URL's as follow on learning resources. To view this portal visit the dedicated Bowen Institute of Technology website; http://badges.bit.bc.ca/
NEXT STEPS
I feel I learned a lot over the last nine months regarding digital badges and open badges. The next steps to deepen and continue my learning will be;
- to assist others who are learning about digital badges, mostly through the following activities;
- facilitate online workshops whenever possible
- continue building out P2Pu School of Badges
- answer questions regardless of where they come from
- continue to engage the community as time permits
- to loop around back to the start of the ALD where I revisit my learning themes and do another deep dive into my concept map.
- to Plan, Build, Stabalize and Deploy another iteration of learning resources
Tuesday, January 15, 2013
OnPhD: Describe your learning history
I am in the process of declaring my Open and Networked PhD (OnPhD) candidacy. After some discussion with a few like minded people, and the input from a couple of existing PhD's, it was agreed that declaring candidacy for a PhD was important. The idea of creating a P2Pu challenge for declaring OnPhD candidacy seemed like a great way to get started.
This is the blog post describing completion of the first task of the OnPhD candidacy challenge.
Informal and formal learning
Publishing and research projects
This is the blog post describing completion of the first task of the OnPhD candidacy challenge.
Informal and formal learning
Publishing and research projects
- http://criticaltechnology.blogspot.ca/
I publish frequently on my blog, the main themes of my writing include;- agile software development and software architecture
- agile learner design / agile instructional design (my self-directed instructional design methodology)
- open access accreditation and open access assessment
- Pedagogy and emerging pedagogical approach innovations
- http://wikieducator.org/User:Prawstho
- http://wikieducator.org/images/0/01/PeterRawsthorne.OERProgram.pdf
- http://wikieducator.org/WikiEducator:Quality_Assurance_Framework
- http://criticaltechnology.blogspot.ca/search/label/AID
Saturday, November 24, 2012
OER + OAA² Slide Stack
As an outlier, I still believe the current innovations within education are off target. I think all the disruption is good, but the real innovation is in breaking the emancipation of learning from the institution.
This isn't to say that institutions aren't still good places to learn, its just an institutional approach should no longer be considered the first or only approach to learning.
This isn't to say that institutions aren't still good places to learn, its just an institutional approach should no longer be considered the first or only approach to learning.
Wednesday, October 10, 2012
credentials, population and education
So after some research, some thought and a weeks reflection I believe I have come up with the data set I need to begin my discussion about where, I believe, the focus of badges should be. The data I require comes from the follow three sources;
- tertiary education levels - I want to know the education levels being achieved / persued throughout the world.
- global population - I want to determine the approximate number of people being educated beyond a grade 10 level.
- credentialing - how saturated with credentialing the different segments from the above two data sources have become.
Friday, February 03, 2012
Rackspace Step 4.2: I used rackspace email instead
- What is the dependency between my DNS and MX records and what do I need to be aware of as I install and configure the mail server. Is there a preferred order in doing these?
- Does rackspace have fanatical support on the care and feeding of my postfix mail server?
- If something goes wrong with my mail server, who is going to help and how long would it take to fix?
- How much time would I spend in administering this postfix mail server on a monthly basis?
- How would I know if the mail server was hacked and I became a spam server? Being black listed is NOT a good idea.
Rackspace Step 6: Configuring Apache
After getting everything done DNS and hosting wise to point your domain names at your rackspace server then you can start to set up virtual hosting. The process of setting up multiple virtual hosts is very straight forward. It does take a little reading to get your head into it and I suggest a few searches using the terms "virtual hosting apache ubuntu". It is also a good idea to include your OS in the search terms, for each Linux OS has different idiosyncrasies. And in the end I found the rackspace knowledge center post to be the best.
The last step of configuring the apache server to host multiple sites under one ip address is to run "sudo /etc/init.d/apache2 restart". This command restarts apache and provides you errors and warnings if your configuration is incorrect. I would strongly suggest these get cleaned away before you consider yourself finished. Most often the warnings don't stop apache from successfully running your sites. But they could be an indication of a performance issue. From a security, stability and performance perspective it is good to get all errors and warnings cleared away. And searches on the warnings in your favorite search engine should quickly find a solution.
Monday, October 17, 2011
Rackspace Step 5: Updating the DNS
It's been a while since I posted on my work with moving all my sites over the rackspace, it's been summer and the start of the school year for my kids. The task I intermittently focused on through the summer was to move my domain name hosting over to rackspace. Its great that rackspace also provides a DNS based cloud service, and I like the management console available to manage your DNS.
Moving DNS servers may not be so simple
Usually you would think that changing DNS servers would be a simple, and it should be. Depending on where you start and who "controls" the ability to update, things may not go as smoothly as you would like. I mention this because without a good move of your DNS your site may disappear from the internet for a period of time. What I want to say is, "When moving your DNS it is important that you monitor the move closely". This is what happened to me and a similar series of events could happen to you;
Suggested Reading
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Domain_Name_System
http://www.rackspace.com/cloud/blog/2009/06/04/dns-the-overlooked-cloud-service/
http://www.rackspace.com/knowledge_center/index.php/Managing_DNS
Moving DNS servers may not be so simple
Usually you would think that changing DNS servers would be a simple, and it should be. Depending on where you start and who "controls" the ability to update, things may not go as smoothly as you would like. I mention this because without a good move of your DNS your site may disappear from the internet for a period of time. What I want to say is, "When moving your DNS it is important that you monitor the move closely". This is what happened to me and a similar series of events could happen to you;
- I logged into my previous providers domain hosting console and changed the domain name server for the domain I was moving. I was prompted the save was successful.
- I went back to the console to see what name servers were assigned to the domain, it was still the old names. I figured this was OK because name server changes need to be updated through-out the internet to truly complete.
- A couple days later I logged into the domain hosting console to check the name associated with the name server of the domain. It was still set to the old name server. Naturally, I tried again to update it myself. And again I got a confirmation of the change.
- I got busy and a few days later I checked the names again and my DNS was still pointing at the old name server. I wrote an email to tech support, sent it off and waited.
- Almost immediately, I got confirmation of my query and was assigned a tracking number for the issue. A few days later nothing, so I phoned... I did speak to someone and they confirmed they had made the change, to the correct domain name. I was adamant about this and they confirmed the correct domain name.
- The next morning I logged into my domain hosting console and discovered they had made the name server changes to the incorrect domain.
Suggested Reading
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Domain_Name_System
http://www.rackspace.com/cloud/blog/2009/06/04/dns-the-overlooked-cloud-service/
http://www.rackspace.com/knowledge_center/index.php/Managing_DNS
Tuesday, May 10, 2011
Book Review: Programming Collective Intelligence
I hesitated when I started reading the chapter describing search and how to build a search engine, I felt it was included just as filler for the book (a few chapters to add 100 pages or so). And I figured their are already too many books on how to build search engines. I am glad I pushed through, for once I started reading I began to see the point of describing and building a search engine. Descriptions (with source code) of how collective intelligence algorithms can be integrated into search were introduced. This is a huge and important topic when you think about social search and the use of the social graph is contributing and impact collective intelligence could have on search.
As I got into the later chapters I began to realize just how comprehensive the coverage of programming collective intelligence the book provides. I was particularly interested in the support vector machine and genetic programming. Even, though I do not commonly find myself programming in any depth I found the descriptions of these rather heady subjects well described and easy to understand. I also appreciated the closing chapters of the book where a review of the different algorithms is provided, how they are best utilized and their strengths and weaknesses. References to all the third party libraries was put into a single appendix as were all the mathematical formula.
Going through this book cover to cover, reading the examples and diving into a few (or all) of the exercises gives the reader a very good understanding of how much data and intelligent services are already available via API's on the Internet. Programming against these services and creating new services is a big part of the Internet as a research, knowledge and learning environment. Anyone interested in developing these new services, consuming these existing ones or interested in the mathematics behind collective intelligence, I strongly recommend this book.
Thursday, April 28, 2011
Thanks to WSIS for hosting this OER debate
I have listened and read David Wiley and Stephen Downes go "head-to-head" on this and similar topics in the past. And thanks to both of them for their boldness and thoroughness. After years of struggling with the issue of copyright and educational resources I believe it has never been so clear to me as it is now. Lurking upon and commenting within this debate has been an excellent personal learning experience. And is very well aligned with some of my current writings on the subject; http://criticaltechnology.blogspot.com/search/label/fair-dealing.
What has emerged for me is as follows;
- There are two distinct views within this debate and I believe they have different and opposing interests.
- Independent Learner (adult or otherwise): I consider this collective of individuals as the largest block of OER consumers and creators. In my opinion, from an educational resource consumer perspective, they can almost completely ignore copyright due to fair-dealing / fair-use (All they need to do is honour the BY). And > 70% want to contribute with a NC license. I appreciate Stephens reference to flickr on this. The independent learner (whether self-directed or institutionalized) is the target group for OER creation and consumption. All mass collaboration projects are examples of this, and its success. - I feel this group was under represented in this debate.
- Institutional Faculty, Staff and Employees: This group is restrained by their being associated with large institutions (whether public, private, commercial, academic, govt; they are NOT independent learners) And they have to work within the guidelines (and legalities) of their institutions and cannot claim fair-use / fair-dealing. And cannot publicly encourage their students to claim fair-dealing / fair-use.
- both institutions and individuals should be left to decide the licensing scheme they would like to use by choosing one that would best support their values and mission. Dictating the licensing scheme keeps people from contributing to OER.
- we still need to be very weary of commercial interests impacting access to educational resources, cause they will come at it from many different directions. This Michael Geist post titled, "Q.Do Digital Locks Trump Educational Fair Dealing? A. Yes." pretty much sums it up for me. And is why I voted NO for OER to favour commercial use. http://www.michaelgeist.ca/content/view/5479/125/
Suggestion: Next time a similar debate is run please invite a few copyright lawyers with differing views (include fair dealing / fair use perspectives) and invite a selection of independent learners from different age groups.
Monday, April 25, 2011
Ignore copyright, its research and private study
With the fair-use and fair-dealing exceptions to copyright the independent learner can simplify their perspective when considering using copyrighted material for their research and private study. Other than attribution an independent learner can ignore copyright and use all available materials to learn with reckless abandon. These rather bold statements are based on common sense and not being able to find any case law that would lead me to a different conclusion. In Canada (and many other commonwealth countries) we have fair-dealing. Fair dealing allows limited and non-commercial copying for the purposes of research or private study, criticism, review, and news reporting.
With extensive searches for case law on fair dealing I was unable to find any legal challenges where a self-directed independent learner was being sued because they used copyrighted material for their research, private study or review. To support my position I believe it is important to answer three questions and make four important observations;
Questions:
Request for information:
With extensive searches for case law on fair dealing I was unable to find any legal challenges where a self-directed independent learner was being sued because they used copyrighted material for their research, private study or review. To support my position I believe it is important to answer three questions and make four important observations;
Questions:
- What is research? I particularly like this description of research for it includes the importance of communicating to others as being a part of research.
- What is private study? After review of a number of definitions of private study I found them mostly to be very similar. It is quite clear that private study is an independent activity that includes reading, reviewing materials, writing and reflection.
- What is review? There are many forms of review and they are all well described in the following Wikipedia article. What I particularly like about this Wikipedia article is that it includes many different forms of materials that can be reviewed.
Research is the systematic process of collecting and analyzing information to increase our understanding of the phenomenon under study. It is the function of the researcher to contribute to the understanding of the phenomenon and to communicate that understanding to others. - Leedy, P. D., & Ormrod, J. E. (2005). Practical research: Planning and design (8th ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall.I also like the definition from the intellectual property office in the UK for it also stresses the importance of providing sufficient acknowledgment. And aligns well with my previous statement about attribution.
http://www.ipo.gov.uk/types/copy/c-other/c-exception/c-exception-research.htm
...in private study during term (not counting time in lectures, classes or supervisions). You should try to work out a regular plan for your week which leaves you several periods free for concentrated reading and writing. Work out in advance what you can reasonably expect to read in the time available, and when you need to stop reading and begin to organise your thoughts and write. - selected text from the definition of Private Study, Department of ASNC Anglo-Saxon, Norse & Celtic, University of Cambridge.
Observations:A review is an evaluation of a publication, such as a movie (a movie review), video game, musical composition (music review of a composition or recording), book (book review); a piece of hardware like a car, home appliance, or computer; or an event or performance, such as a live music concert, a play, musical theater show or dance show. - Review. (n.d.). In Wikipedia. Retrieved April 25, 2011, from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Review
- Learning is a social activity, and there is no shortage of research and evidence in support of this. Learning with reflection, particularly public reflection deepens learning beyond similar activities without the public reflection.
- A well learned and skilled population gives a nation competitive advantage in the global economy. Therefore, I cannot see a court challenge finding against a person using any / all available material (copyrighted or otherwise) when they are learning. Particularly, when they are open about their use and are mindful of the six principal criteria for evaluating fair dealing.
- Within a personal learning context and given fair-dealings / fair-use, licensing then becomes about protecting the institutions. And no institution (online or otherwise), or its employees or faculty, are going to suggest to its learner community (students) to ignore copyright and claim fair-use / fair-dealing. This suggestion, made broadly, would be a violation of fair-use / fair-dealing. It is also why the institutions advocate so strongly in favour of copyright (I'll hedge because their lawyers have advised them as such).
- We really need some case law on this! Given none exists I'll hedge this falls in favour of the independent personal learner, and all copyright holders who have considered legal action against an independent personal learner and sought legal advice have been advised against taking action due to fair-dealings / fair-use.
Request for information:
- If you are an intellectual property or copyright lawyer I would appreciate your commenting on this post from the legal perspective.
- If you know of an intellectual property or copyright lawyer, please forward this post and request they make comment.
- If you know of any case law regarding an individual self-directed learner within a fair-dealing or fair-use suit please forward it along.
Thursday, April 14, 2011
Tagging for community of practice
I updated the audio associated with this slideshare. This presentation does a deep dive on using tagging within a community of practice (CoP). It includes explores the creation of folksonomies and how to use tagging to engage and build a CoP. The presentation includes a couple of formative activities to assist in your learning.
Wednesday, April 13, 2011
A home recording studio
I am preparing to record my first musical piece on the pipe and tabor using the home music studio. The piece will be twinkle twinkle little star. To start, I believe it would be useful to describe the technology within the home studio and why we decided on the setup we have.
Requirements:
We had a generic set of music and audio recording requirements. Where the system would mostly be used for my daughter in her music recording and composition and for my recording of podcasts, screencasts and music recording. Our requirements were as follows;
We found ourselves an inexpensive desktop machine running Windows XP with a big HD and lots of RAM and a reasonable monitor and video card. We added a wireless card so we could attach the household wireless network without stringing any wires around the house. We chose a M-Audio FastTrack Pro as the main "hub" to attach all the components within our requirements. A strong benefit of choosing the M-Audio is it came packaged with Ableton Live a Digital Audio Workstation that provides all of the features (and more) than we require. After installing Ableton Live we were prompted to install the free upgrade, this included over 100 instruments. We also included an Audio-Technica microphone kit with both an instrument microphone and voice microphone. This mix of the M-Audio FastTrack Pro combined with Ableton Live, the Audio-Technica microphones and some MIDI and microphone cables provide us with all we need. And in the last six months my daughter has composed a number of pieces and managed to get an interview on a local coop radio station.
Recommendations:
If you do go down a similar path with this hardware and software configuration I strongly recommend you invest time in understanding the relationship between the system settings for your audio devices, your internal soundcard, the m-audio device and the Ableton Live software. Once you figure out how to configure these to work together with the USB connected m-audio device you will be able to better manage how all the devices work together. I know this seems like an obvious statement, but once I had a deeper understanding how these worked (beyond just getting it working) I was much better at utilizing all the individual components and was able to use other software within the whole setup.
Audacity:
All my effort in putting this system together and understanding its configuration has paid dividends. With my working on a #nophd I am now back to creating podcasts, screencasts and slidecasts and my tool of choice is audacity for audio recording. It is a great opensource audio editor which I am already familiar. I really like the crispness and clarity recording through the new microphone configuration, it is much cleaner than using an internal microphone or an inexpensive headset microphone. Soon the decision will come if I use audacity or ableton live to record my musical efforts... expect a new post soon on this music recording topic.
Requirements:
 |
| MIDI ports and cabling |
- Works well with our existing Yamaha MIDI keyboard
- Records acoustic instruments, including voice
- Allows for multi-track music composition and includes a good suite of built in instruments
- Total costs less than $1000.00
We found ourselves an inexpensive desktop machine running Windows XP with a big HD and lots of RAM and a reasonable monitor and video card. We added a wireless card so we could attach the household wireless network without stringing any wires around the house. We chose a M-Audio FastTrack Pro as the main "hub" to attach all the components within our requirements. A strong benefit of choosing the M-Audio is it came packaged with Ableton Live a Digital Audio Workstation that provides all of the features (and more) than we require. After installing Ableton Live we were prompted to install the free upgrade, this included over 100 instruments. We also included an Audio-Technica microphone kit with both an instrument microphone and voice microphone. This mix of the M-Audio FastTrack Pro combined with Ableton Live, the Audio-Technica microphones and some MIDI and microphone cables provide us with all we need. And in the last six months my daughter has composed a number of pieces and managed to get an interview on a local coop radio station.
 |
| M-Audio Fasttrack Pro and the mix of devices it can attach. |
Recommendations:
If you do go down a similar path with this hardware and software configuration I strongly recommend you invest time in understanding the relationship between the system settings for your audio devices, your internal soundcard, the m-audio device and the Ableton Live software. Once you figure out how to configure these to work together with the USB connected m-audio device you will be able to better manage how all the devices work together. I know this seems like an obvious statement, but once I had a deeper understanding how these worked (beyond just getting it working) I was much better at utilizing all the individual components and was able to use other software within the whole setup.
 |
| Audacity audio recording window |
All my effort in putting this system together and understanding its configuration has paid dividends. With my working on a #nophd I am now back to creating podcasts, screencasts and slidecasts and my tool of choice is audacity for audio recording. It is a great opensource audio editor which I am already familiar. I really like the crispness and clarity recording through the new microphone configuration, it is much cleaner than using an internal microphone or an inexpensive headset microphone. Soon the decision will come if I use audacity or ableton live to record my musical efforts... expect a new post soon on this music recording topic.
Thursday, April 07, 2011
Raskspace Step 4.1: Email Forwarding Server
 |
| High-level postfix and supporting services architecure |
- the mail server
- data storage
- forwarding to POP and IMAP
- security
- spam filtering
- other optional services
Given my architectural background I find images very useful in prompting questions, deepening my understanding and putting together an architecture. I have also come to the realization that what I am looking for is more of an email forwarding server. I am wanting to host half a dozen domain names with two to five email boxes per domain. Each email box will have a primary email and a couple of email aliases. All the email coming to these mail boxes will be forwarded to peoples respective gmail accounts. Given this forwarding I should be able to remove all of the services responsible for the POP and IMAP integration. This means I do not need the Courier half of the above diagram. I believe the architecture I am going to end up with is going to look like a simplified version of the above diagram.
 |
| Implementation without having Courier. |
- the mail server
- data storage
- security
- spam filtering
Tuesday, April 05, 2011
Rackspace Step 4.0: The Mail Server
- http://cloudservers.rackspacecloud.com/index.php/Mail_Server_-_Overview
- https://help.ubuntu.com/community/MailServer
- http://articles.slicehost.com/2010/3/1/barebones-postfix-install-for-ubuntu
- https://help.ubuntu.com/community/PostfixBasicSetupHowto
- https://help.ubuntu.com/community/Postfix
Monday, April 04, 2011
Rackspace Step 3: Creating the LAMP Server
In the past there was usually a number of steps to set up an Ubuntu cloud based LAMP server. This can also be done using a single command. However you install the AMP on your Ubuntu (Linux) Server one important thing to remember is to install the php-mysql package after mysql. Usually installation takes the following steps;
After running the apt-get command you will need to reboot the server to finish the install and preform a couple of tests to check everything is working. First test would be to point your browser at the ip address of your new server; if apache was installed correctly you should get the following web page;
- Install Apache
- Install MySQL
- Install PhP
# sudo apt-get install lamp-server^
After running the apt-get command you will need to reboot the server to finish the install and preform a couple of tests to check everything is working. First test would be to point your browser at the ip address of your new server; if apache was installed correctly you should get the following web page;
Once you have confirmation of the apache web server working you should then check the php and mysql features are also working. Creating a simple html / php script will help with this;
<html>Save a similar section of code with your MySQL username and password to a file with the .php extension in the root directory of your web server (should be /var/www) and point your browser at this new file. If all goes well you should get the following lines displayed in your browser. Congratulations, you have a running LAMP server (In a coming post I will talk about securing PhP and mySQL).
<body>
The Apache2 server works!</br>
<?php
print "PhP5 is working!</br>";
$usr = "username";
$pwd = "password";
$hst = "localhost";
$dbms = mysql_connect($hst, $usr, $pwd) or die("Unable to connect to MySQL");
print "Connected to MySQL!</br>";
mysql_close($dbms);
?>
</body>
</html>
Again, this would be an opportune time to do a complete backup of your LAMP server so you have an image to restore from as you continue in setting up your new server.The Apache2 server works!
PhP5 is working!
Connected to MySQL!
Rackspace Step 2: Securing the new server
The first step in setting up the new server should always be securing the server the best you can before you continue. An overview of this process can be found in the following video by Chad Keck.
A step-by-step description of this process can also be found on the Rackspace Cloud Server Knowledge Base. In summary the process of securing the new Ubuntu server included the following main steps (I've included a few links for your reading, particularly for configuring ssh and the firewall);
If all is good it would also be a good time to backup the server so you have a secured image to restore from as you continue down setting up the server.
A step-by-step description of this process can also be found on the Rackspace Cloud Server Knowledge Base. In summary the process of securing the new Ubuntu server included the following main steps (I've included a few links for your reading, particularly for configuring ssh and the firewall);
- Give the root account a new password
- Create a new administrator account and give it the correct permissions
- Update Ubuntu
- Lock down SSH connectivity
- http://cloudservers.rackspacecloud.com/index.php/Ubuntu_-_Setup#Basic_Firewall
- http://cloudservers.rackspacecloud.com/index.php/Introduction_to_iptables
- Firewall configuration
- Configure Ubuntu to reload these new configuration when it reboots
- Set the local timezone
If all is good it would also be a good time to backup the server so you have a secured image to restore from as you continue down setting up the server.
Sunday, April 03, 2011
Rackspace Step 1: Creating an account
I started to migrate all my sites to rackspace today. I've been a netnation user for many years and it has come to the point where they couldn't support want I wanted to do. I need to build some RESTful APIs and needed access to some of the server configuration files... after a number of support calls they said they couldn't do what I wanted.
I already have a number of clients who I've moved over to rackspace so it was time to do the same for myself. This process took a while for I needed to move a couple more clients off my netnation instances and clean up some old blogs that I wanted to keep around. All that is done, so I begin the move.
A great way to get started with creating a cloud server is to watch this introductory video;
The features that stood out for me from this introductory video is how you can do the following with a rackspace cloud server;
An important issue came up right off the start. I had set up a client using my preferred username and after contacting rackspace support told me I couldn't change the primary username for a rackspace account. I should have known better. A lesson well learned, never use a personal login name for a client. In the end its all for the better for I am going to use another preferred username and make it more robust by putting leets in both my username and password. A more secure solution.
After completing my account setup I created an API Key so I could access my rackspace instance from my android phone. This is a nice feature that would allow me to either soft or hard reboot the server, allow me to resize a server (most likely due to performance needs) or delete the server completely. I'm looking forward to more features becoming available with the android app; the ability to backup and recover. After that a nice ssh app for the android and all would be good...
I already have a number of clients who I've moved over to rackspace so it was time to do the same for myself. This process took a while for I needed to move a couple more clients off my netnation instances and clean up some old blogs that I wanted to keep around. All that is done, so I begin the move.
A great way to get started with creating a cloud server is to watch this introductory video;
The features that stood out for me from this introductory video is how you can do the following with a rackspace cloud server;
- create a new server instance from a backup, allowing you to create a "template" image that you can use for subsequent cloud servers.
- the ability to rescue a server from another server instance by mounting the "damaged" servers file system.
- rebuild a server by restoring it from a backup without losing the servers existing IP address.
 |
| Rackspace android app |
After completing my account setup I created an API Key so I could access my rackspace instance from my android phone. This is a nice feature that would allow me to either soft or hard reboot the server, allow me to resize a server (most likely due to performance needs) or delete the server completely. I'm looking forward to more features becoming available with the android app; the ability to backup and recover. After that a nice ssh app for the android and all would be good...
Tuesday, March 15, 2011
What do the teens think of OER
This project is in the idea formation stage for me. I need to get it out into the open so I can discuss it further and have people critique my beliefs / ideas. If you come across this blog post please make comments, give feedback. It will improve my view and deepen my understanding. Thank-you.
Background:Big question for me here is approach... is this best researched via an ethnographic or action research approach? Or is my approach described above, adequate? How could I best gather some data on this or initiate a movement where teens voices from around the world are being recognized?
I believe some emerging efforts around Open Educational Resources (OER) and related copyright and accreditation issues are born out of a traditional view of the educational world. I believe some influential groups within the OER movement is taking something that is currently open and free and wanting to pull it back into the restraints (and business model) of the institution. The institutions need to "control" the content and accreditation process or they will increasingly lose relevance. The OER movement is currently active around issues of copyright and accreditation under the guise of making a better "educational" future. What they seem to be doing is taking continued control of the "educational" future, whether consciously or not is IMHO irrelevant. The people who are going to be most impacted by these changes are the current K12 students and younger (in all corners of the world). Their voice isn't included in many of these OER and related issue discussions. I believe we need to include their voice by gaining greater understanding of their thoughts around OER, copyright issues, accreditation and how they want to learn, and how they are learning. I believe this is a critical pedagogical issue, and we need to engage those who will be most impacted.
Another important piece of background information is I am parent to three children; Ana Rose (15), Lucas (5) and Kai (4). I have expressed concerns about public education, in particular higher education. I see OER as an amazing opportunity and I want it to remain free, open and focused on the needs of students, regardless of ethnicity and socio-economic position. I don't want my children restrained by an old paradigm.
Thesis:
Teens don't care about OER, copyright issues and accreditation (particularly, when it comes to learning). Learning should be free and with the internet they have access to all they need. Given fair-use and fair-dealings all content is already open for educational use. Accreditation will be replaced by good reputation management and success doesn't require a credential.
Approach:
I'd like to begin a movement of smart mobs that discuss this and related topics. The data gathering would occur using a world cafe and / or open space approach with the use of video capture of (and by) the participants, participant blogging, wikis and related discussion tools, photographs of drawings and a good tagging strategy. I'd like to find a way where the teens are doing this data gathering on their own, asking themselves the right questions and making these results available to those making decisions / recommendations.
Saturday, March 12, 2011
Progressive Video; Platform and Pedagogy
15 months back I described the design / creation of a progressive video assessment system. The AIM Language Professional (ALP) web site has now gone live and therefore so has the technology platform which implements progressive video assessment. We have also recently submitted this project to be considered for the CNIE-RCIE Award of Excellence and Innovation in Instructional Design, wish us all the best.
The Platform
The platform for building and hosting this product is Drupal 6.x using Kaltura for hosting and streaming the video. After a fairly rigorous selection process the project chose Drupal for a number of reasons;
Kaltura was chosen for video hosting for its openness, ability to integrate well with Drupal, and easy pricing model.
The Pedagogy
The AIM language professional site was designed to use existing (yet emerging) pedagogical approaches by following both progressive inquiry and connectivism. These two approaches are very well suited to encouraging a learner by their progressing through learning modules while being supported by the network of peers present within the site.
The progressive inquiry model is designed to facilitate engagement in an in-depth process of inquiry and expert-like working with knowledge that are essential for productive participation. The model moves between different activities of discovering and presenting new knowledge, critical reflection, deepening research and activities, and engaging a distributed network of expertise.
The connectivism model is grounded in forming connections where learning is a process of connecting specialized nodes or information sources. Aim Language Professional allows a person to create and connect to many different nodes of either their or others’ making. These nodes include; writing, reflection, video, discussion, quizzes, exams, gesture database, notes, messages and posts.
The use of these two pedagogical approaches occur in the following areas within the site;
The platform for building and hosting this product is Drupal 6.x using Kaltura for hosting and streaming the video. After a fairly rigorous selection process the project chose Drupal for a number of reasons;
- its content management features
- its community and discussion features
- its mature developer community and related support
- the ability to find a very good contract development company
- its ease to integrate with video hosting and streaming providers
- its ability to implement a great user experience
- its open source
The Pedagogy
The AIM language professional site was designed to use existing (yet emerging) pedagogical approaches by following both progressive inquiry and connectivism. These two approaches are very well suited to encouraging a learner by their progressing through learning modules while being supported by the network of peers present within the site.
The progressive inquiry model is designed to facilitate engagement in an in-depth process of inquiry and expert-like working with knowledge that are essential for productive participation. The model moves between different activities of discovering and presenting new knowledge, critical reflection, deepening research and activities, and engaging a distributed network of expertise.
The connectivism model is grounded in forming connections where learning is a process of connecting specialized nodes or information sources. Aim Language Professional allows a person to create and connect to many different nodes of either their or others’ making. These nodes include; writing, reflection, video, discussion, quizzes, exams, gesture database, notes, messages and posts.
The use of these two pedagogical approaches occur in the following areas within the site;
- Learning organizer – this aspect of the ALP allows the learner to organize all their work into a single online portal that they can easily manage. The innovation occurs in how comprehensive and accessible the knowledge gathering toolset facilitates learning, reflection and mentor/peer based learning.
- Mentorship and peer review – the use of learner uploaded video with peer mentorship makes innovative use of video-upload services and the discussion that can occur around the video for assessment purposes.
- Remote observation of classroom – the video also allows for remote (asynchronous) observation of the classroom for rapid assessment feedback to the learner.
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