Avatar reflection

So once you've finished your Avatar task head over to the class "drop" (mrrobinson class only) and upload your file/link/whatever. Just click on the "Add" tab (with the big green plus sign in a circle) at the top left of the page and make the appropriate selection. We only have 100MB of space (what you think we're made of money?!). We'll talk about optimising images for inclusion in documents later. Maybe. If I could be bothered. You know how it is. Right?
SO with all of that is out of the way we'd like you to complete the "avatar reflection questions" here. Once again gathering baseline data as a conversation starter. We'll reflect on the findings together.
Don't forget to comment if you have any questions, feedback or just to make me feel wanted.

Avatar research

"You're mission Ethan, should you choose to accept it is..." (Mission Impossible? C'mon people work with me!)

We got a bit sidetracked last lesson, (which is fine, there were some great questions being asked) but we need to get things back on track. That means sinking your teeth into the Avatar research task. There's a link to the task sheet in a previous post, but I will put it in for you again here. (On a scale of one to ten how nice am I? You can answer that in the comments.)
View 9it-avatar-research-pdf
Go grab it, have a read then get cracking.

You may find the following "advanced web search" tutorials on Atomic Learning helpful with your research. I would also encourage the use of a data grid but as the task says, it's up to you. If you can't remember the school user name and password for Atomic Learning ask your teacher or at HelpDesk.

When your avatar task is complete, as a reward for your hard work you will receive an invitation to class social network.

Great Friday discussions

Wow!
Got into some interesting and importantly relevant topics that nobody really planned on discussing.
We talked about

1. The Macquarie worker caught looking at nude photos on live TV
2. The Federal Governments Internet Filter (articles from each side here and here)
3. iiNet's landmark case win and
4. Anonymizing proxy servers.
I hope I answered the question about anonymous proxy sites to everyone's satisfaction. It can get a bit confusing. If you want to do some background reading or refresh your memory Wikipedia (I love Wikipedia!) has a comprehensive article on proxy servers. Click down to "Anonymizing proxy server" if you're after the specifics.

Thanks everyone for your fantastic contributions.
Don't forget to check out the Avatar activity from the previous post, (we'll be working on that next week,) and as promised I will set up a social network for the class to experiment with.

It's still IT baby!

I am nothing if not adaptable.
So, "Welcome class of 2010!"
Here's what's planned for today...
As an extension of the conversation we began a couple of days ago you're going to dig into a few more questions with your group.

1. What sites do you like to visit? (anything in common between people or the sites?)
   
2. Are they blocked at school? Why do you think that might be?
3. What do you think makes a good website?
4. How do you learn about new stuff? (hardware, software, applications, services etc)

Once everyone has had a say you're going to get an opportunity to "show your stuff". Feedback is that most of you have some "mad skills" already and don't want to be preached to. So here's the challenge...
Avatars - check out the document below and get cracking!
View 9it-avatar-research-pdf

Not quite done yet

Shout out thank you to everyone who assisted with presentations. The feedback has been very positive. Some groups didn't get through everybody so next time we meet it's first item on the agenda. If you did present Monday, don't forget to write that blog post reflecting on the experience, what you've learned and what you may do differently next time.
Here's something I came across a couple of days ago. I would encourage you to watch the whole thing but if you fast forward to 4:26 you will see other students presenting their project findings just like you.

Presentation of your life

Today is the day people.
A theme for us has been effective feedback. Not wishy-washy, "Aww! Wasn't that nice! You're just awesome!" feedback.
That's rubbish.
We're talking real feedback. Timely, specific comments aimed at helping people learn and grow.
So here's the deal

1. Your research team splits up so each person is a "representative" in a larger presentation group and head off to separate areas.


2. For each presentation you view, you are required to fill out the student presentation feedback form (click here to view). Fill it out as accurately as possible (spelling of names etc). I am putting a ban on the word "good". Learning to give good feedback is as important as learning how to receive it.


3. At the end of all presentations start a blog post reflecting on your experience. What was it like to present? Which presentation interested you the most and why? How did you feel about giving feedback to the other presenters? As always feel free to use the sentence starters to you know, get you started.

There’s a bit to get through so we have to be as efficient and effective as possible. Stay focused. Enjoy.