What I love most about MacWorld

Adobe was not at this years MacWorld and Apple will not be at the next. If MacWorld survives the loss of these anchors the best part will hopefully remain. My favorite part of MacWorld are the displays around the edge and in the obscure corners of MacWorld. That is where you find passionate developers like Jessie Youngblood and Steven Abbagnaro of Tooble. These are the folks who have the new ideas and the fresh products the ones you don't read about on the A-list blogs or in the trades. Tooble is a cool product and will meet a need I have to use YouTube Videos in classroom presentations.

Technorati Tags: Apple, MacWorld, Tooble, ssloansjca

Microsoft Windows Azure

Microsoft's new OS for cloud computing

According to Wikipedia, "Windows Azure is the name of the upcoming cloud-based operating system ("cloud" is a metaphor for the Internet) being developed by Microsoft, announced by Ray Ozzie at the Microsoft PDC on October 27, 2008.

Microsoft's Web site for Azure says, "The Azure Services Platform provides a wide range of internet services that can be consumed from both on-premises environments or the internet."

Google, and the range of Google applications, have long pointed out that the future of software is the cloud. Empowered by always on portable connected devices, like the iPhone and the Android mobile device platform. Phones and portable computers are merging into a mobile computing platform that is neither a mere phone nor a laptop computer and is more than both. Wired together, using high speed telcom technologies like 3G, and using real-time Web technologies like Jabber and Extensible Messaging and Presence Protocol (XMPP). The Web is becoming more synchronous and cloud computing is a huge part of that.

Installing software is increasingly becoming a thing of the past. There will be no need. Our applications will be in the cloud! All users will need to do is to be there. The good news is they will be. They already are.

It will be interesting to see where Microsoft goes with Azure. Educators need to watch this type of technology. It will likely be mainstream by the time today's freshmen graduate. If we are not there, where will our students be? We gotta get our heads beyond e-mail and Web pages and into and wrapped around; the cloud.

Technorati Tags: Windows, Microsoft, azure, android, iPhone, Cloud Computing, j-school, ssloansjca

Quiet Summer Friday on Campus

Technorati Tags: San Jose State University, SJSU, CSU, California State University, San Jose, ssloansjca

My Spring 2008 New Media Class

My Spring Class was great!

I really enjoyed this, the biggest class I have ever taught. These students were a pleasure to teach. The really stretched themselves and went beyond their comfort zones. I am going to be awarding a lot of good grades because these folks delivered. I am really proud to know and have taught them. We had a good time. This is a fine bunch of young people!

For our final I bought pizza and drinks for the whole class, except for one student who is a Vegan and so I got her a Vegan dish. I learned a lot from them. For example, I plan to go back to that Vegan restaurant when I return from vacation (which starts tomorrow.) On Friday my wife and I will be in Seattle for the birth of our sixth grandchild!

These are the video and audio blogs of students in this class:

• Christina Baumann
  • Video Blog
  • Related RSS Feed
• Joreen Bones
  • Video Blog
  • Related RSS Feed
• Erin Cabreros
  • Video Blog
  • Related RSS Feed
• Anita Campbell
  • Video Blog
  • Related RSS Feed
• Candy Cervantez
  • Video Blog
  • Related RSS Feed
• Virginia Chavez
  • Video Blog
  • Related RSS Feed
• Cheng Fang Chiang
  • Video Blog
  • Related RSS Feed
• Elizabeth Foley
  • Video Blog
  • Related RSS Feed
• Andrea Frainier
  • Video Blog
  • Related RSS Feed
• Justine Geiszler
  • Video Blog
  • Related RSS Feed
• Sinh Le
  • Audio Blog
  • Related RSS Feed
• Katie Lichty
  • Video Blog
  • Related RSS Feed
• Rachael Lin
  • Video Blog
  • Related RSS Feed
• Courtney Lorusso
  • Video Blog
  • Related RSS Feed
• Lyell Marks
  • Video Blog
  • Related RSS Feed
• Suzzette Medina
  • Video Blog
  • Related RSS Feed
• Matthew Mountford
  • Video Blog
  • Related RSS Feed
• David Nguyen
  • Video Blog
  • Related RSS Feed
• Patricia Plascencia
  • Video Blog
  • Related RSS Feed
• Steve Ragan
  • Video Blog
  • Related RSS Feed
• Leslie Richman
  • Video Blog
  • Related RSS Feed
• Jennifer Sabaten
  • Video Blog
  • Related RSS Feed
• David Salisbury
  • Video Blog
  • Related RSS Feed
• Patrick Tam
  • Video Blog
  • Related RSS Feed

Technorati Tags: San Jose State University, SJSU, J-school, CSU, California State University, San Jose, ssloansjca

Leap Day Blossoms

Spring comes in Winter
It may still be Winter, but as far as the blossoms at SJSU are concerned; it is Spring. All over the campus trees are exploding in wonderful colors. There are flowers of many shapes and sizes. This is my most favorite time of year on our campus. The dollar may be crashing along with the stock market, we may be hip deep in a war that is bleeding us dry and oil may be setting new price records every day, but here at San José State University it is a wonderful day to go for a walk and stop, smell and photograph the flowers.

Technorati Tags: San Jose State University, SJSU, CSU, California State University, San Jose, ssloansjca

Student's talk about Ryan Sholin Visit

[Click here to read student feedback]

Technorati Tags: San Jose State University, Ryan Sholin, SJSU, CSU, California State University, San Jose, ssloansjca, j-school

A Great Technology Workshop at SJSU

Three day CFDS workshop wraps up
Yesterday was the last day of the three day technology workshop for SJSU faculty I have been attending. I was very impressed both with the quality of the presentations and the great pedagogical applications the faculty attending the workshop either are, or are planning, to make of this technology. This focus on assessable learning outcomes was likely the most important part of the workshop. It forced us to think of how we will apply the techniques to improve the learning of our students. It has been a concentrated few days! I think Mary Fran Breiling and the staff at the Center for Faculty Development and Support deserve recognition for their fine work. Here is how I am planning to apply what I have learned.

One of the other attendees also has been blogging about this workshop.

Technorati Tags: San Jose State University, SJSU, CSU, California State University, San Jose, ssloansjca

Good Night, and Good Luck

Edward R. Murrow
My wife Sue and I just watched the prescient 2005 movie Good Night, and Good Luck. This movie is about Edward R. Murrow's battle with Joe McCarthy. Despite the fact that the movie is set in the 1950's it seems quite timely given our so-called battle against terrorism that has led to suspension of privacy and including, especially, the so-called Patriot Act. The movie opens and closes with Murrow's speech in 1958 to the Radio and Television News Director's Association convention in Chicago. The speech makes timely reading today.

This instrument can teach, it can illuminate; yes, and it can even inspire. But it can do so only to the extent that humans are determined to use it to those ends. Otherwise it is merely wires and lights in a box.

I recommend this movie to all students of Journalism, Political Science and to all students of our times. To all America, good night and good luck.

Technorati Tags: Journalism, ssloansjca

The best video podcast I have ever seen

If you do not take video podcasting seriously, think again!
This is the best video podcast episode I have ever seen. It is lovely and succeeds on so many levels. This episode of the Grape Radio Podcast shows what happens when folks who are working in this medium take their medium seriously and make a commitment to quality. In a word, it is lovely. This video podcast episode tells a story elegantly, throughly, romantically and accurately. It is a fine example of new media journalism, as fine as I have ever seen.

Technorati Tags: Podcasting, ssloansjca

Stacy Bond: Producing for the Ear

If you are a podcaster, you must listen to this podcast!
This Podcast Academy podcast by Stacy Bond from the Portable Media Expo may be the most important podcast for podcasters to listen to that I have heard in a long time. Podcasting is just a way to deliver content. This podcast talks about creating great and compelling audio, how to produce podcasts for the ear.

It is no longer enough to have a podcast to get an audience. There is some great compelling content that you are competing against. You need to listen to this podcast by Stacy Bond the Executive Director of Audioluxe. You need to at least consider what she is saying, even if you choose to ignore it, even if are doing video. This is a great podcast for podcasters, in my opinion. Set aside an hour and listen to it at least once!

Technorati Tags: Podcasting, ssloansjca

Kemp in Merc

Jeremy Kemp Gets SJMN Recognition
It is great to see when one of San Jose State's really talented faculty gets due recognition. Today, when I was looking at the on-line edition of the San Jose Mercury News I saw just such a thing. SJSU faculty member Jeremy Kemp was highlighted in a story by Kara Andrade. Andrade said, " On any given day, Kemp logs into Second Life from his laptop and finds his students struggling with the building of virtual objects, such as flying carpets, and helps them learn online skills. He often chats with his students using the Second Life voice tool, which helps him tune into his students' frustrations."

Kemp does not just use Second Life. Kemp, along with Daniel Livingstone of the School of Computing University of Paisley, Scotland is one of the two developers of Sloodle. According to Joe Miller, VP Platform, of Linden Lab, which created Second Life, "One of the things that I’m most excited about is a mashup between Second Life and the learning management system, Moodle. Its called Sloodle."

The writer for the Mercury News did a great job covering Kemp's class, but she just touched the surface.

This is going to be huge for higher education. We are extremely lucky to have one of this technology's leading innovators right here at San Jose State University! Kemp deserves a lot of recognition for his great work.

Technorati Tags: San Jose State University, SJSU, Second Life, Jeremy Kemp, Daniel Livingstone, CSU, San Jose, California State University, Moodle, Sloodle, ssloansjca

Did you know?

You have to see this!

Chairs, boat and clouds

A nice day on the coast
Yesterday Sue and I drove along the coast. It was a very nice day to see the sea. I really liked how the shapes of the clouds, the chairs and the boat played with each other along Tomales Bay.

Technorati Tags: ssloansjca

Social Media Club Event Rocked!

Your Assignment: Jeremiah Owyang's Blog
Last night I went to the Social Media Club's meeting at NBC 11 in San Jose. The event's focus was on Business Blogging. The panel of speakers at the meeting were:

• Tony Bove - author, journalist, publisher, blogger, musician, consultant, technophile, Wordpress Guru, blogger
• Elisa Camahort - Blogher co-founder, author, marketing executive, consultant, vegan, blogger
• Jeremiah Owyang - PodTech web strategist, innovator, consultant, Ustreamer, blogger
• Lisa Padilla - BlogTalkRadio VP Marketing, podcaster, technophile, narrowcaster, blogger

All of the speakers were impressive. Mike McGrath moderated the panel. He did a great job. Two of my former students were there. Kyle Hansen and Jessica Drnek are interns this summer at NBC11. They are working on NBC11's Hometown Project, a website that breaks down the neighborhoods of their broadcast area. (According to Drnek, the skills they got through the class professor Cynthia McCune and I taught and the emerging technology club at SJSU helped them land these internships.) The panel was great and after the panel I was able to spend a good amount of time speaking to other meeting attendees and presenters including McGrath (who turned me on to Infotopia), Elisa Camahort and Jeremiah Owyang. Owyang works at Podtech with another former student and friend, Robert Scoble.

Owyang turned me on to Ustream, a technology I am planning to explore for my class and to investigate for possible pedagogical applications in higher education. I will get back to this blog on that. Meantime, you have to check out Owyang's blog! It is great. He covers his subject well and I was especially impressed with his citizen journalism category. I urge folks to check it out!

[Owyang's Post With Video Here]

Technorati Tags: San Jose State University, Social Media Club, Scoble, Jeremiah Owyang, SJSU, CSU, California State University, San Jose, ssloansjca

Recommended Listening: Gayl Murphy

Recommended listening: Interviewing Techniques
This podcast, from the Podcast Academy, is for all podcasters and applies equally well to broadcast journalists and even print journalists and journalism students. This audio podcast is by Gayl Murphy, the title is Killer Interviewing Tactics: Get The Most from Your Guests. This is from last year's Podcast and Portable Media Expo. According to the description of the show:

Murphy has the experience to back up what she says, having over 14,000 interviews to her credit. Most of these have been with celebrities from the entertainment world but the principles that make a good interview - and a good interviewer - are the same no matter who the subject may be.

Gayl Murphy is a veteran interviewer [bio] and author of the book, Interview Tactics! How To Survive The Media Without Getting Clobbered!

Technorati Tags: podcasts, Podcasting, J-School, Journalism, Web 2.0, Gayl Murphy, ssloansjca

Jellyfish Lullaby

Last weekend we went to the aquarium
I was very impressed. I created this short movie that contains some of my impressions. It is available above in Quicktime format or it can be viewed here on YouTube.

Technorati Tags: jellyfish, video, ssloansjca, Monterey Bay Aquarium

Two great students at the Help Desk

Help Desk Leads Are Irreplaceable
These two inspired, intelligent and dedicated young student employees are critical to, and dedicated to, the functioning of the Help Desk at SJSU. They are the student leads at the Help Desk. I have no idea what I would do without them. Aditi and Pranav are from India. They and the other Help Desk students from India have taught me so much about their country I have never been to. They make me want to go.

I am so proud of Pranav and Aditi and the other help desk staff, like they are my own family. The Help Desk has become so big and our mission has expanded greatly since we moved to Clark Hall. I am thankful that these students work at SJSU and appreciate them so much. Their parents have much to proud of. They must be great people to have such fine kids.  Knowing them is a real pleasure.

Technorati Tags: San Jose State University, SJSU, Campus Life, sjsuhelpdesk, CSU, California State University, San Jose, ssloansjca

I am back

A day on the road
I did not intend to do the drive all in a day, but I did. It is around 700 miles from San Jose to Boise. I made a couple of stops on the way out (including a stop at Scooters of Boise) but I was on the road by around 11am mountain time (ten pacific time.) I had not slept well the night before, anticipating the drive. But, once I got going I drove like an astronaut (except for the diapers part.) The first part of the drive is on non-freeway highways, like US 95. This road is two lane trough some pretty rugged (some would call it desolate) country. Once you get to Winnemucca Nevada it is freeway the whole way.

I was home before 11pm Thursday, including some stops to prevent highway tunnel vision, that is not bad. At first the cats did not want to have anything to do with me, but now I cannot keep Pixel out of my lap. The best part is seeing Susie again. It is good to be home.

About the journey, Robyn Davidson in her wonderful book "Tracks" said, "journeys never end they merely change form." So looking back on this journey I wonder, is it over? Are true journeys really ever over or do they so become a part of us that they change us and everything that comes after is a continuation of them.

More on the Long Tail

Important terms for this conversation:

• Disintermediation: "Cutting out the middleman."
• The Long Tail: "Products that are in low demand or have low sales volume can collectively make up a market share that rivals or exceeds the relatively few current bestsellers and blockbusters."

Topics of conversation:

• Amazon and the death of the corner bookstore
• iTunes and the death of the music store business
• Craigs List and the death of classified revenue.

Related Commercial Moment
"We have every movie ever made, in every language, any time, night or day," "Qwest - Bandwidth - Roy's Motel Cafe (1999)".

Places to Go, People to Know:

• The Long Tail Dot Com
• About The Long Tail
• The Long Tail Wired Story
• The Long Tail Book
• Chris Anderson: Wikipedia, Biography

Technorati Tags: Chris Anderson, The Long Tail, Longtail, Long Tail, Web 2.0, ssloansjca

The Long Tail

Technorati Tags: Chris Anderson, The Long Tail, Longtail, Long Tail, Web 2.0, ssloansjca