Curating Online with Tumblr

Jenna Wortham writes in the New York Times,

The Internet is awash in content — and a whole lot of it is junk, spam or inane status updates. How do you begin to navigate through the zillions of news articles, Web sites, tweets and other stuff online to find content that matters to you?

You need digital curators.

More and more, bloggers are becoming online "curators." They no longer just generate content--they aggregate it based on their particular theme, agenda or taste.

Mindy McAdams even suggests that curation is a form of online journalism. I really recommend taking a look at her piece on this, as well as Jeff Jarvis' writings about curation on his excellent blog Buzz Machine.

Far be it from me to miss out on this exciting new trend. Globaloria needs a curated space of its own!

A perfect tool for virtual curating is a platform called Tumblr. I'd really like for you all to experiment with Tumblr by setting up your own account and trying your luck as an information aggregator. Just visit www.tumblr.com and poke around. I'm conducting my own experiment with Tumblr for Globaloria!

You can access the Globaloria Tumblr in the links section along the right hand side of the screen, or in the Tumblr feed just below the links. I strongly recommend you add it the new Globaloria Tumblr account to your Google Reader so you're sure not to miss out on updates.

What makes Tumblr different from Blogger is that it situates the multimedia component of blogging as the centerpiece of each post. While you're certainly able to compose text-heavy postings, Tumblr makes it especially easy and fun to share links, quotes, videos and images from the Internet with a mere click of the mouse. Better yet, Tumblr and Twitter are affiliated and I have found Tumblr to be a great gateway to the Twitter culture, which is becoming increasingly relevant in Web 2.0 culture.

As I explore the Internet day-to-day, I will Tumble interesting content I find that I think you'll all enjoy, and over time refine a curated space dedicated to the vision of Globaloria! I'm really excited about this forum for expression and hope you'll share your perspectives on it with me.

Your GB,
Rachel

Learning with Surveys

In response to my introduction post, WV Design Diva (a.k.a. Monica Larson, a new partner from Shepherd University) asked me to share a little more about myself.

After some deliberation, I decided to spare the Globaloria blogosphere my lofty memoir and get down to the nitty-gritty with a survey I made on the free survey creator, Bzoink. You can find out all about me in the graphic below, but more importantly, I'm offering this survey to everyone in the Globaloria community.

Click "Take this Survey" at the bottom of the questionnaire and fill one out for your own blog. After you're done answering the questions, Bzoink will give you a code that you can copy and paste into your blogger composition pad and publish. If you don't have a blog yet, I'll help you get set up at the Globaloria Summer Academy 1.

I can't wait to read all of your answers!

Globaloria Survey Created by rachelwwworkshop and taken 2 times on Bzoink
Basics
What is your full name?:	Rachel Danielle Rosenfelt
What school/organization are you affiliated with?:	World Wide Workshop Foundation
What is your position?:	Assistant Programs Coordinator
How many years have you been working with Globaloria?:	This is my first!
What inspired you to join the Globaloria team?:	My belief in the power of digital media to change the world. This positive change begins with education.
About You
Where are you from originally?:	Albuquerque, New Mexico
Where have you always wanted to go?:	The Amalfi Coast in Italy, Berlin and Buenos Aires
What is your sign?:	I was born on November 22nd, so I'm the border between Sagittarius and Scorpio. I think I'm more of a Scorpio, personally.
What do you like to do in your free time?:	I love to read and write and explore all the amazing communities online.
What are you most proud of?:	Having the courage to travel Central America with nothing but a backpack alone for 4 months when I was 21.
If you could wish for anything, what would it be?:	I'd wish for everyone to have equal opportunities to follow their passions and compete in any field they chose to pursue.
If you could meet anyone, alive or dead, who would it be and why?:	The Beatles--around 1962, just before they became famous.
Who is your hero?:	My mom. And Madonna.
Favorites
Movie:	The Professional by Luc Besson
Book:	The Collected Fictions, Jorge Luis Borges
TV Show:	The X-Files. Even in reruns, it's television gold.
Actor/Actress:	Leonardo DiCaprio. I was eleven when Titanic came out. Sue me.
Musician/Band:	Sam Cooke, all of Motown, especially the Supremes and Marvin Gaye and Elvis Presley.
Quote:	"Do I contradict myself? Very well, then I contradict myself, I am large, I contain multitudes." - Walt Whitman
For Fun
If you could have any superpower, what would it be?:	Teleportation. I'd live in a cabin in the New Mexico mountains, pop into work in New York City every morning, grab Mexican food in Oaxaca for lunch, visit friends and family all over the world, sit down to some Thai food for dinner in Bangkok and be beneath the desert stars by nightfall. Plus, it would be really easy to sneak into movies for free.
If you had a time machine, what historical period would you visit?:	Ancient Greece
Do you have a special talent?:	I can make my face look like I'm a cast member in the original Planet of the Apes. It's uncanny.
What talent do you wish you had?:	I wish I was a master cello player.
If you could trade spaces with anyone, who would it be?:	Oprah. She is in a position to influence the world for good, empower women all over the country, create and fund positive initiatives, and do this all without having to hold an official public office.
You've been totally Bzoink*d! Take This Survey | Search Surveys | Create a Survey

There are many services online that help to make your blog a diverse, fun and active multimedia platform. I encourage all of you to experiment with quizzes, polls and survey creators on free websites like Bzoink and others.

Your GB,
Rachel

Games For Change: Globaloria is a Model

David Kirkpatrick from Fortune Magazine published today a piece following a conference last week in NYC called “Games for Change.”

Globaloria is mentioned a bit at the end of this piece!

http://money.cnn.com/2008/06/06/technology/games_change.fortune/?postversion=2008060606

Governor's Press Release: Globaloria Preparing Students for Digital World

Jan. 29, 2008

GLOBALORIA EDUCATION PROGRAM
PREPARING WV STUDENTS FOR DIGITAL WORLD

Contact: Lara Ramsburg, 304-558-2000

CHARLESTON, W.Va. - Students across the Mountain State are learning how to become active citizens in today’s increasingly connected and digital world through Globaloria, an innovative educational program that launched last summer with funding from the State of West Virginia and the Claude Worthington Benedum Foundation. Today, Verizon West Virginia also demonstrated its support and vision with a grant to continue expanding the program in 2008.

The Globaloria program, established in 2006 by the World Wide Workshop Foundation, uses the latest World Wide Web and social media technology to empower young people to learn how to create interactive games and simulations, collaborate online and solve problems together. Its activities help students sharpen their communication and critical-thinking skills for leadership online and offline, bringing them closer to the participatory and collaborative nature of work in the 21st century.

In July 2007, the Office of Governor Joe Manchin invited the World Wide Workshop Foundation to partner with the State of West Virginia and Benedum Foundation to launch Globaloria. Since then, 14 educators and 65 students from six schools across the state have been learning Internet media technology and game-development skills.

West Virginia First Lady Gayle Manchin said, “I am so pleased and appreciative of Verizon joining this collaboration. Everyone on this team- Benedum, Verizon, World Wide Workshop -- brings great expertise and commitment to the table, and I am so grateful on behalf of the state of West Virginia. I am so proud to see all that is already happening through the Globaloria project in West Virginia in its short time of operations. It is 21st-Century-Skills being exemplified, and as we can all see in the field when we visit, the students are excited and engaged.”

Dr. Idit Caperton, president and founder of the World Wide Workshop Foundation, said Globaloria and its virtual learning platforms challenge students more than typical curriculum.

“Through project-based teamwork and a great deal of self-learning in a virtual space, students with no prior experience in computer programming or using Web 2.0 tools, become wiki producers and digital designers of web-based software applications for social change and educational purposes,” Caperton said. “These valuable skills prepare young people to become leaders in the digital and global marketplace .”

Globaloria’s emphasis on technology and education matches closely with Verizon’s goal to support the use of technology to improve literacy and K-12 education. Verizon West Virginia’s grant will help to further expand the program in 2008, said B. Keith Fulton, president of Verizon West Virginia.

“Globaloria gives West Virginia students a unique opportunity to develop critical 21st-century job skills,” Fulton said. “Verizon looks forward to working with our partners to expand this engaging, online learning environment for our state.”

Jim Denova, vice president of the Benedum Foundation, said, “The Benedum Foundation is very pleased to have invested in this first-year demonstration of Globaloria in West Virginia. We are always looking for innovation in education, and Globaloria is proving to be an effective instructional tool that has broad application to a number of educational settings, whether they are high schools, colleges, or community-based after-school programs.”

Program officials are currently accepting applications for more educators and students in WV high schools, community colleges and universities to join this spring, with plans to double the size of the program by end of 2008. The Globaloria program works best when implemented as a daily activity at school or a college, Caperton said. It also provides opportunities for alumni internships and employment via the Internet.

Dr. Lee Kraus, Globaloria-WV Program Manager, said, “Our participating students and educators become skilled users of the latest technology; they learn to be active contributors, collaborators, designers and programmers of the Internet. Simultaneously, they develop life and professional skills needed to be productive and globally aware – prepared to take on leadership roles in the innovation economy and the fast-changing, digital world we live in.”

For more information about the program, contact info@worldwideworkshop.org.

RTC Presentations Make the News

The local media provided coverage of the RTC presentations.

Finding students who enjoy attending a class may be a rarity. The exception is students who signed up for Game Design, taught by Denise Stalnaker at the Randolph Technical Center, who say they looked forward to their class almost every day.

Go and read the full article here. The article also appeared on the front page of the daily paper on January 16th.