Changing Horizons

Changing Horizons (.net)

// August 12th, 2009 // 201No Comments »http%3A%2F%2Fwww.changinghorizons.net%2F2009%2F08%2Fchanging-horizons-net%2FChanging+Horizons+%28.net%292009-08-12+19%3A46%3A21Martinhttp%3A%2F%2Fwww.changinghorizons.net%2F%3Fp%3D201 // Life

Originally uploaded by snakebite

I never seem to be happy with anything that I make and feel the need to constantly refine it – mainly the websites that I develop. One thing that I have been strangely happy and content with is the name of this blog. I have never considered re-naming it. I think Changing Horizons really sums up the way in which we can never be certain of how the world (in particular literacy) will evolve and how we should respond. This obviously poses huge questions and conflicts for those working in education about how the curriculum should evolve and respond in turn. One of things I enjoy when I attend conferences is the discussion and debate about such issues. I hope this blog acts as a catalyst for further discussion and debate.

Since I like the name so much I have decided to buy a new domain name to host the blog as an independent site.  All previous permalinks from the old site will be automatically redirected here (that took a while to sort out). To access this site you can visit:

http://www.changinghorizons.net

Circle, Circle, Dot, Dot…

// August 7th, 2009 // 1772 Comments »http%3A%2F%2Fwww.changinghorizons.net%2F2009%2F08%2Fcooties%2FCircle%2C+Circle%2C+Dot%2C+Dot...2009-08-07+12%3A15%3A22Martinhttp%3A%2F%2Fwww.multiliteracies.co.uk%2Fblog%2F%3Fp%3D177 // Life

Circle, Circle, Dot, Dot… Now you have the Cootie Shot!

Anybody outside of the US ever heard of that phrase? I hadn’t until recently but it’s actually a huge part of North American children’s popular culture. It’s a ‘vaccine’ for the condition of Cooties, a fictional disease perceived to infect others, particularly members of the opposite sex through body contact, proximity or touching a person’s possessions (definition from Wikipedia). It’s probably best compared to the ‘lurgi’ in the United Kingdom.

I don’t know how to quite describe the Cooties thing. Children inventing a new disease to fit in with their play and construction of their worlds. If children are playing in their own worlds why not invent these real life factors too? They have even invented their own cure (the ritual above) and some children also sell cootie shots – talk about trying to take part in the global economy. From this single idea many other areas of literacy have begun to bleed in.

The video below shows a video produced to raise awareness of Cooties…

Interesting… but what if children made their video when they actually believed cooties was real? Children raising awareness of an issue that they perceive to be completely true. That would be very interesting indeed…

To HD or to not HD?

// August 3rd, 2009 // 1671 Comment »http%3A%2F%2Fwww.changinghorizons.net%2F2009%2F08%2Fto-hd-or-to-not-hd%2FTo+HD+or+to+not+HD%3F2009-08-03+22%3A23%3A00Martinhttp%3A%2F%2Fwww.multiliteracies.co.uk%2Fblog%2F%3Fp%3D167 // Life

I’m debating whether or not to order Sky HD. I’ve blogged quite a bit on the HD front recently and how it’s starting to create a viewing revolution. Although I’ve got blu-ray and a lot of HD discs I feel I am missing out with HDTV. Maybe I should listen to Antony Hopkins advice in the above video? Actually I’m unsure if this is advice and question whether he’s got Sky HD (since he lives in the US) – but that’s a whole different advertising argument.

I find it strange that the person who uploaded the video above didn’t upload it in HD. While I’m busy making my decision here’s a HD video I used a few months ago in class – while teaching explanation texts and electricity (about how this whole show actually works).

This isn’t even full HD quality and it still looks amazing!

Futurelab

// August 3rd, 2009 // 158No Comments »http%3A%2F%2Fwww.changinghorizons.net%2F2009%2F08%2Ffuturelab%2FFuturelab2009-08-03+19%3A31%3A43Martinhttp%3A%2F%2Fwww.multiliteracies.co.uk%2Fblog%2F%3Fp%3D158 // Literacy, Work

A few months ago I recieved an email asking if I would be interested in visiting Futurelab to discuss the use of digital literacies in the primary classroom.  For those of you who haven’t heard of Futurelab (you should have!) it’s an independent non-for-profit organisation interested in transforming how people learn through innovative practices mostly with digital technologies. They’ve developed a range of projects including the recent Beyond Current Horizons and Enquiring Minds projects – both of which are well worth a read.

Futurelab is a really cool place to be (that’s the best word to describe it I think). I was invited to discuss the Digital Pariticaption project with Cassie Hague and Sarah Payton. I had a brilliant day talking with Cassie and Sarah about digital literacies, critical literacies, then moving onto multiliteracies and its importance for the current educational context. It was great to speak with two likeminded people about issues that are really important to me. They were also excellent hosts and really made me feel welcome, especially with an amazing lunch. I’m really looking forward to hearing more about this project when data is collected and keeping in touch with Cassie and Sarah via Twitter.

If you haven’t read any of Futurelab’s work, you should…

http://www.futurelab.org.uk

‘I miss the ocean…’

// July 30th, 2009 // 146No Comments »http%3A%2F%2Fwww.changinghorizons.net%2F2009%2F07%2Fsave-the-oceans%2F%27I+miss+the+ocean...%272009-07-30+19%3A11%3A22Martinhttp%3A%2F%2Fwww.multiliteracies.co.uk%2Fblog%2F%3Fp%3D146 // Life, Literacy, Technology

“I never thought fish swimming in a glass bowl could be so emotional”

The title of this post and the above quote come from the video sharing website YouTube in response to the high definition video above that appeared on the site and has become ‘viral’ over the past week. My guess is that the video has become so popular because it really demonstrates the potential of HD broadcasting. Today BSkyB announced that subscribers to their HD service have doubled over the past year and that the service has moved ‘centre-stage’ to their business plan. It shows that HD is becoming more widespread and popular, especially since YouTube now allows uploads in HD – just like the video above.

As well as the sheer wonder of the sea-life in the video I also find the way the people in front of the tank behave and interact. Not least the toddler playing with the rope barrier and then noticing the diver in the aquarium. It’s great how video can capture such moments and the HD quality makes it feel like you are standing there too (you must make the video fullscreen when you’re watching).

The soundtrack really adds an extra depth (no pun intended) and stirs an emotional response. Therefore users of YouTube have responded to the video through the comment feature below the video. The comments range from appreciation of the video production to serious debates about conservation and saving the oceans. It’s brilliant how Web 2.0 can be used as a platform to explore issues such as this and really make the issues in themselves ‘viral’ and open up discussion in a shared and open manner to a mass audience. At the time of writing this there have been over 2000 comments written in response to the upload and it has been viewed over a million times…

Save the oceans.

Multiliteracies from MultiMartin

// July 25th, 2009 // 139No Comments »http%3A%2F%2Fwww.changinghorizons.net%2F2009%2F07%2Fconference-paper%2FMultiliteracies+from+MultiMartin2009-07-25+12%3A19%3A26Martinhttp%3A%2F%2Fwww.multiliteracies.co.uk%2Fblog%2F%3Fp%3D139 // Literacy, Work

I have finally got around to uploading the paper I presented at the UKLA Conference earlier in the month. It was presented as part of a symposium about integrating digital worlds in the classroom with Lynda Graham, Angela Colvert and Jackie Marsh.

The paper explores some of the work that Orange Class has completed over the past year in relation to film making, animation as a critical practice and the use of Twitter as a means of evaluation and reflection. All of the examples are linked to the work of key literacy figures and call upon theories of multiliteracies, multimodality, critical literacy and popular culture.

DOWNLOAD THE PAPER

Wiki Whirlpool

// July 25th, 2009 // 129No Comments »http%3A%2F%2Fwww.changinghorizons.net%2F2009%2F07%2Fwiki-whirlpool%2FWiki+Whirlpool2009-07-24+23%3A24%3A13Martinhttp%3A%2F%2Fwww.multiliteracies.co.uk%2Fblog%2F2009%2F07%2Fwiki-whirlpool%2F // Technology

whirlpool, originally uploaded by Lake Li Sun.

I’ve just lost an hour of my life. Why? Because I went to check something quickly on wikipedia (I can’t even remember what it was). After reading the initial article (not in the traditional manner of course) I clicked on a link within the article, which linked me to another article, and then another and another (you get the idea). I ended up reading stuff that had no relevance to what I initially intended to find out, although obviously interesting. Wiki’s are such a huge collaboration tool for collective intelligence and shared knowledge it’s literally impossible to find something that doesn’t interest you. It was actually quite hard to pull myself out of the wiki-whirlpool in the end and start to do something else.

I’ve never actually written a wiki article before, maybe I should. Or maybe I should try and plan a project around it next year?

Flickr Feelings

// July 21st, 2009 // 1147 Comments »http%3A%2F%2Fwww.changinghorizons.net%2F2009%2F07%2Fflickr-feelings%2FFlickr+Feelings2009-07-21+21%3A52%3A55Martinhttp%3A%2F%2Fwww.multiliteracies.co.uk%2Fblog%2F2009%2F07%2Fpanther-beach-fireworks%2F // Life, Literacy

Panther beach fireworks , originally uploaded by snakebite2.

While I was at the UKLA Conference I went to listen to a symposium led by Julia Davies about the photo sharing community Flickr. It was fascinating to listen to Julia, Sigrid and David Barton talk about the different ways that people engage with the website. The gaming and play aspect is something that I’d never considered before, which led me to think about my own engagement with Flickr and what it means to me.

When I look at Flickr I always get slightly envious of the photography skills on show and could never hope to equal some of the shots that appear on the site. Besides that I mainly visit the site as a visitor and have only uploaded about 10 photos to date. I tend to enter the site and search for photos that help me to relax and take me to a place where I want to be. Flickr offers me escapism from the real world. I have a huge thing for sunsets and blue skies, especially on beaches, and if I find a photo showing a combination of these it makes me feel happy and relaxed. I can just imagine myself sat on the beach in the photo above with a cool summer’s breeze, watching the fireworks and listening to the sea. Bliss.

From Seriously Solitary to MMORPG

// July 20th, 2009 // 1081 Comment »http%3A%2F%2Fwww.changinghorizons.net%2F2009%2F07%2Fsolitary-mmorpg%2FFrom+Seriously+Solitary+to+MMORPG2009-07-20+15%3A33%3A14Martinhttp%3A%2F%2Fwww.multiliteracies.co.uk%2Fblog%2F%3Fp%3D108 // Life

I’ve never been sure whether I’m a gamer or not. When I was younger I never completed games on the Sega Megadrive or PC because I preferred to build things. I didn’t like games that came to an end. I spent hours on Rollercoaster Tycoon which was one of my favourite pastimes and involved me creating hugely elaborate theme parks based on those that I’d visited in the real world. I don’t tick the boxes of a gamer who sits in front of a Playstation for hours to kill as many aliens as possible. I’ve been more of a maker in virtual worlds. I’d never realised this until I was interviewed by Lynda Graham about my digital history. She suggests that my life in virtual worlds is as a seriously solitary maker.

She has a point. I have an xbox and have not completed a game on it yet – I barely even get halfway. I spent my time making things (mainly websites). However over the past year I have been playing World of  Warcraft the MMORPG (massively multiplayer online role-playing game) and have been hooked. So once again I question whether I am a gamer. World of Warcraft is more of a living breathing virtual world than a one-off game  as it cannot be paused and it cannot be completed. There is always something to do and the world is constantly evolving and expanding. It seems to be the middle ground of me engaging with virtual worlds and gaming.

World of Warcraft is rich in new literacy practices as there are so many other players online around the world at the same time. It also includes a small element of design as you create your own characters and purchase equipment for them (above is a picture of the latest character I have created). Maybe I am a lightweight gamer? Or maybe I should stop thinking about it and just enjoy the ride.

UKLA Conference

// July 19th, 2009 // 92No Comments »http%3A%2F%2Fwww.changinghorizons.net%2F2009%2F07%2Fukla-conference%2FUKLA+Conference2009-07-19+17%3A12%3A15Martinhttp%3A%2F%2Fwww.multiliteracies.co.uk%2Fblog%2F%3Fp%3D92 // Life, Literacy

Last week I spent four days in Greenwich while I attended the UKLA conference and focus day on writing. It was great to see so many people attending the conference and a chance to meet up with old friends is always welcome. I enjoyed catching up with Guy, Julia and Jackie as well as Lynda and Angela (who incidently has a new blog).  I also had another chance to get to know Angela Thomas and chat about the fantastic work she is doing in second life (which I must start to use more). I was in complete awe when when I got to meet Courtney Cazden (one of the inventors of multiliteracies) as well as the amazing Elaine Millard, who is genuinely one of the loveliest ladies I have ever met. It was great also to meet with Bill Lord who I’ve spoken to frequently on Twitter about educational issues and new technologies and his collegues at Birmingham City University. I also convinced David who I work with on the Multiliteracies Learning Initiative to attend the conference so it was great to see someone from the North East there too.

The symposium went very well and the room was packed. It was real honour to speak in front of so many distinguished members of the literacy community about the fantastic work that Orange Class has produced.  The keynotes and parallel sessions were very interesting and there seemed to be a lot about digital literacy coming through, which is encouraging. It does confuse me however at the lack of emphasis on multiliteracies as a means of transforming education and the curriculum. It covers so many different types of literacies in the world – cultural, social and professional to name a few but just doesn’t seem to be mentioned that much.

Also while in Greenwich I had the most amazing Jack Daniel’s flavoured steak at a tiny cuban bar and finally got to ride the Docklands Light Railway (on a hilarious journey with Julia and Kate). I’m looking forward to Winchester already!