Thursday, June 30, 2011
Livescribe Releases Sound Stickers App
11.70.xC3 is available / 11.70.xC3 está disponível
This article is written in English and Portuguese
Este artigo está escrito em Inglês e Português
English version:
My articles backlog keeps increasing, but there are things I can't miss. One of them is the availability of another fixpack of Informix.
The latest one is 11.70.xC3. I spot it on FixCentral a couple of days ago and PDF documentation is already available. InfoCenter is also updated.
As usual there are big news and smaller ones. It really depends on your needs and cares. The follwoing is a straight copy/paste from its release notes:
The possibility of configuring read ahead automatically is great. Let's be honest: How many of us ever really mastered the traditional configuration? Personally I can tell you that a few years ago I tried it in a very controlled environment and I gave up. I could not spot any difference in my tests and over the years I've seen contradictory statements on how it should be setup. So it's a great pleasure to see it can be automatic now.
Server response in a low memory situation is also a great new feature. In cases where I have more than one instance on the same server I insist on setting up SHMTOTAL so that I can isolate any issue caused by excessive memory consumption. This prevents the situation from affecting other instances.
But even so it was usual to see undesirable behaviors on the instance consuming too much memory. And this is easy to understand, because to fix something (rollback, monitor etc.) you still need memory. If you've run out of it, your ability to solve it is constrained.
What IBM did now is give you the ability to reserve some memory, to deal with lack of memory. Seems pretty obvious right? But IBM did more. When you hit the pre-configured thresholds the engine can automatically run some tasks that will allow it to free some memory. So, again, more automation, easier to use in embedded scenarios and more robustness
Connection manager suffered some big changes. Sincerely I need more time to figure them out, but the idea is that a unique connection manager can be used to deal with different needs (high availability, grid, server sets and ER. The configuration file has changed.
As usual, OAT has been changed to accommodate the server side improvements. Several new options are available to deal with log file rotation, low memory conditions setup, lock monitoring (inspired on a plugin initially created by me which is available on the IIUG software repository) and a new plugin to handle TimeSeries.
Several new SQL functions were introduced. This is something that could be solved (most of them could be easily created), but that hurt the new users experience and portability efforts. I would like to see much more in this area...
One interesting new feature is the possibility to configure ER between servers with different codesets. This opens some interesting possibilities for example if you need to convert the codeset of a large database.
Timeseries was also improved, revealing it's one very important aspect of the latests releases.
Finally several security related changes, like improvements for servers in "non-root" installations and for instances configured with mapped users.
I usually concentrate only on the server side improvements, but this time I want to mention a trivial, but long desired change in Client SDK: It now includes dbaccess, the simple but very handy tool. Of course people would like to see a fancy GUI tool on Windows (or even other environments using Java), but that would be much harder, and would certainly increase the footprint.
This is a quick solution for a long lasting problem: the client did not include any query tool. I would vote for the inclusion of other traditional "server side" tools like dbschema and dbload.
Versão Portuguesa
O meu atraso na escrita de artigos continua a aumentar, mas há algumas coisas que não posso deixar passar. Uma delas é a disponibilidade de outro fixpack Informix.
O último é o 11.70.xC3. Encontrei-o há dois dias no site FixCentral e a documentação em PDF já está disponível. O InfoCenter também já está actualizado
Como de costume há grandes novidades e pequenas novidades. Tudo depende das necessidades e preocupações de cada um. O seguinte é a tradução tão fiel quanto possível das novidades especificadas nas notas deste fixpack:
A possibilidade de configurar o read ahead automaticamente parece-me óptima! Sejamos honestos: Quantos de nós conseguiram realmente dominar a configuração tradicional? Pessoalmente posso dizer que há alguns anos atrás tentei num ambiente bastante controlado e desisti. Não consegui identificar diferenças sensíveis nos meus testes, e ao longo dos anos vi indicações contraditórias sobre como isto deveria ser configurado. Por isso é com muita satisfação que vejo que agora pode ser automatizado.
Poder configurar a reacção do servidor em situações de escassez de memória é outra excelente melhoria. Em ambientes onde tenha mais que uma instância por servidor, eu insisto em definir o SHMTOTAL, para que possa isolar qualquer problema causado por excesso de consumo de memória. Isto previne que a situação afecte as outras instâncias (ou no limite a própria máquina). Mas mesmo assim era habitual vermos comportamentos não desejados numa instância que consumisse muita memória. E isto é fácil de entender, porque para corrigir alguma coisa (efectuar um rollback, monitorizar etc.) é necessária memória. Se já a esgotámos, a capacidade de resolver o problema é afectada.
O que a IBM fez agora foi dar-nos a capacidade de reservar alguma memória para lidar com a falta de memória. Parece bastante óbvio, certo? Mas a IBM fez mais. Quando atingimos os limites pré-configurados, o motor pode automaticamente executar algumas tarefas que lhe permitirão libertar memória. Portanto, mais uma vez, mais automatização o que torna mais fácil usar o Informix em ambientes embebidos e aumenta a robustez.
O Connection Manager sofreu grandes alterações. Sinceramente necessito de mais tempo para as analisar, mas a ideia é que um único connection manager pode ser usado para lidar com diferentes necessidades (alta disponibilidade, grid, server sets, e Enterprise Replication). O formato do ficheiro de configuração foi alterado.
Como vem sendo habitual, o Open Admin Tool (OAT) foi alterado para acomodar as melhorias introduzidas no servidor. Novas opções estão disponíveis para lidar com rotação de ficheiros de log, configuração de condições de escassez de memória, monitorização de locks (inspirado num plugin inicialmente criado por mim e disponível no repositório do IIUG) e um novo plugin para lidar com TimeSeries.
Várias novas funções SQL foram introduzidas. Isto é algo que poderia ser resolvido pelo utilizador (a maioria destas podia ser facilmente criada), mas isso dificultava a vida a novos utilizadores e tinha impacto na portabilidade de aplicações. Gostaria de ver muito mais evolução neste aspecto...
Uma funcionalidade interessante é a possibilidade de configurar Enterprise Replication (ER) entre bases de dados que utilizem diferentes mapas de caracteres.
Isto abre possibilidades interessanes se por exemplo necessitar-mos de converter um mapa de caracteres de uma base de dados grande.
O TimeSeries também foi melhorado, revelando que é um dos aspectos mais importantes das últimas versões.
Finalmente, algumas mudanças na área de segurança, como melhorias em servidores instalados como "non-root" e para instâncias configuradas com utilizadores mapeados.
Habitualmente concentro-me apenas nas melhorias do lado do servidor, mas desta vez tenho de mencionar um mudança trivial, mas há muito desejada no Client SDK: Passou a incluir o dbaccess, a ferramenta simples, mas muito útil de interrogação da base de dados. Claro que todos gostaríamos de ver uma ferramenta gráfica nos ambientes Windows (ou mesmo em todos os ambientes, baseado em Java por exemplo), mas a verdade é que isso necessitaria de um esforço muito maior e iria aumentar significativamente a dimensão do cliente.
Isto é uma solução rápida para um problema que existia há muito tempo: o cliente não incluía nenhuma ferramenta de interrogação da base de dados. Eu votaria a favor da inclusão de outras ferramentas "tradicionais" do servidor como o dbschema e dbload.
Este artigo está escrito em Inglês e Português
English version:
My articles backlog keeps increasing, but there are things I can't miss. One of them is the availability of another fixpack of Informix.
The latest one is 11.70.xC3. I spot it on FixCentral a couple of days ago and PDF documentation is already available. InfoCenter is also updated.
As usual there are big news and smaller ones. It really depends on your needs and cares. The follwoing is a straight copy/paste from its release notes:
- Administration
- Automatic read-ahead operations
- Configuring the server response to low memory
- Reserving memory for critical activities
- Connection Manager enhancements
- Enhancements to the OpenAdmin Tool
- Embeddability
- Managing message logs in embedded and enterprise environments
- Developing
- Built-in SQL compatibility functions for string manipulation and trigonometric support
- High availability clusters and Enterprise Replication
- Automatically connecting to a grid
- Code set conversion for Enterprise Replication
- Enhancements to the Informix Replication plug-in for OAT
- Security
- Non-root installations support shared-memory and stream-pipe connections
- Retaining numbers for audit log files
- Restrict operating system properties for mapped users
- Time Series data
- Simplified handling of time series data
- Informix TimeSeries plug-in for OAT
The possibility of configuring read ahead automatically is great. Let's be honest: How many of us ever really mastered the traditional configuration? Personally I can tell you that a few years ago I tried it in a very controlled environment and I gave up. I could not spot any difference in my tests and over the years I've seen contradictory statements on how it should be setup. So it's a great pleasure to see it can be automatic now.
Server response in a low memory situation is also a great new feature. In cases where I have more than one instance on the same server I insist on setting up SHMTOTAL so that I can isolate any issue caused by excessive memory consumption. This prevents the situation from affecting other instances.
But even so it was usual to see undesirable behaviors on the instance consuming too much memory. And this is easy to understand, because to fix something (rollback, monitor etc.) you still need memory. If you've run out of it, your ability to solve it is constrained.
What IBM did now is give you the ability to reserve some memory, to deal with lack of memory. Seems pretty obvious right? But IBM did more. When you hit the pre-configured thresholds the engine can automatically run some tasks that will allow it to free some memory. So, again, more automation, easier to use in embedded scenarios and more robustness
Connection manager suffered some big changes. Sincerely I need more time to figure them out, but the idea is that a unique connection manager can be used to deal with different needs (high availability, grid, server sets and ER. The configuration file has changed.
As usual, OAT has been changed to accommodate the server side improvements. Several new options are available to deal with log file rotation, low memory conditions setup, lock monitoring (inspired on a plugin initially created by me which is available on the IIUG software repository) and a new plugin to handle TimeSeries.
Several new SQL functions were introduced. This is something that could be solved (most of them could be easily created), but that hurt the new users experience and portability efforts. I would like to see much more in this area...
One interesting new feature is the possibility to configure ER between servers with different codesets. This opens some interesting possibilities for example if you need to convert the codeset of a large database.
Timeseries was also improved, revealing it's one very important aspect of the latests releases.
Finally several security related changes, like improvements for servers in "non-root" installations and for instances configured with mapped users.
I usually concentrate only on the server side improvements, but this time I want to mention a trivial, but long desired change in Client SDK: It now includes dbaccess, the simple but very handy tool. Of course people would like to see a fancy GUI tool on Windows (or even other environments using Java), but that would be much harder, and would certainly increase the footprint.
This is a quick solution for a long lasting problem: the client did not include any query tool. I would vote for the inclusion of other traditional "server side" tools like dbschema and dbload.
Versão Portuguesa
O meu atraso na escrita de artigos continua a aumentar, mas há algumas coisas que não posso deixar passar. Uma delas é a disponibilidade de outro fixpack Informix.
O último é o 11.70.xC3. Encontrei-o há dois dias no site FixCentral e a documentação em PDF já está disponível. O InfoCenter também já está actualizado
Como de costume há grandes novidades e pequenas novidades. Tudo depende das necessidades e preocupações de cada um. O seguinte é a tradução tão fiel quanto possível das novidades especificadas nas notas deste fixpack:
- Administração
- Operações automáticas de read-ahead
- Configuração da reacção do servidor a situações de escassez de memória
- Reservar memória para actividades criticas
- Melhorias no Connection Manager
- Melhorias no OpenAdmin Tool
- Funcionalidades de inclusão da base de dados em ambientes fechados
- Gestão de logs de mensagens em ambientes embebidos e empresariais
- Desenvolvimento
- Funções SQL de compatibilidade e manipulação de strings e suporte trigonométrico
- Clusters de alta disponibilidade e Enterprise Replication
- Conexão automática a uma grid
- Conversão de mapas de caracteres para Enterprise Replication
- Melhorias no plugin de replicação Informix para o OAT
- Segurança
- Instalações Non-root suportam conexões shared-memory e stream-pipe
- Retenção de números para os logs de audit
- Restrição de propriedades de sistema operativo para utilzadores mapeados
- Dados Time Series
- Gestão simplificada de dados Time Series
- Plugin do OAT para Informix TimeSeries
A possibilidade de configurar o read ahead automaticamente parece-me óptima! Sejamos honestos: Quantos de nós conseguiram realmente dominar a configuração tradicional? Pessoalmente posso dizer que há alguns anos atrás tentei num ambiente bastante controlado e desisti. Não consegui identificar diferenças sensíveis nos meus testes, e ao longo dos anos vi indicações contraditórias sobre como isto deveria ser configurado. Por isso é com muita satisfação que vejo que agora pode ser automatizado.
Poder configurar a reacção do servidor em situações de escassez de memória é outra excelente melhoria. Em ambientes onde tenha mais que uma instância por servidor, eu insisto em definir o SHMTOTAL, para que possa isolar qualquer problema causado por excesso de consumo de memória. Isto previne que a situação afecte as outras instâncias (ou no limite a própria máquina). Mas mesmo assim era habitual vermos comportamentos não desejados numa instância que consumisse muita memória. E isto é fácil de entender, porque para corrigir alguma coisa (efectuar um rollback, monitorizar etc.) é necessária memória. Se já a esgotámos, a capacidade de resolver o problema é afectada.
O que a IBM fez agora foi dar-nos a capacidade de reservar alguma memória para lidar com a falta de memória. Parece bastante óbvio, certo? Mas a IBM fez mais. Quando atingimos os limites pré-configurados, o motor pode automaticamente executar algumas tarefas que lhe permitirão libertar memória. Portanto, mais uma vez, mais automatização o que torna mais fácil usar o Informix em ambientes embebidos e aumenta a robustez.
O Connection Manager sofreu grandes alterações. Sinceramente necessito de mais tempo para as analisar, mas a ideia é que um único connection manager pode ser usado para lidar com diferentes necessidades (alta disponibilidade, grid, server sets, e Enterprise Replication). O formato do ficheiro de configuração foi alterado.
Como vem sendo habitual, o Open Admin Tool (OAT) foi alterado para acomodar as melhorias introduzidas no servidor. Novas opções estão disponíveis para lidar com rotação de ficheiros de log, configuração de condições de escassez de memória, monitorização de locks (inspirado num plugin inicialmente criado por mim e disponível no repositório do IIUG) e um novo plugin para lidar com TimeSeries.
Várias novas funções SQL foram introduzidas. Isto é algo que poderia ser resolvido pelo utilizador (a maioria destas podia ser facilmente criada), mas isso dificultava a vida a novos utilizadores e tinha impacto na portabilidade de aplicações. Gostaria de ver muito mais evolução neste aspecto...
Uma funcionalidade interessante é a possibilidade de configurar Enterprise Replication (ER) entre bases de dados que utilizem diferentes mapas de caracteres.
Isto abre possibilidades interessanes se por exemplo necessitar-mos de converter um mapa de caracteres de uma base de dados grande.
O TimeSeries também foi melhorado, revelando que é um dos aspectos mais importantes das últimas versões.
Finalmente, algumas mudanças na área de segurança, como melhorias em servidores instalados como "non-root" e para instâncias configuradas com utilizadores mapeados.
Habitualmente concentro-me apenas nas melhorias do lado do servidor, mas desta vez tenho de mencionar um mudança trivial, mas há muito desejada no Client SDK: Passou a incluir o dbaccess, a ferramenta simples, mas muito útil de interrogação da base de dados. Claro que todos gostaríamos de ver uma ferramenta gráfica nos ambientes Windows (ou mesmo em todos os ambientes, baseado em Java por exemplo), mas a verdade é que isso necessitaria de um esforço muito maior e iria aumentar significativamente a dimensão do cliente.
Isto é uma solução rápida para um problema que existia há muito tempo: o cliente não incluía nenhuma ferramenta de interrogação da base de dados. Eu votaria a favor da inclusão de outras ferramentas "tradicionais" do servidor como o dbschema e dbload.
Saturday, June 25, 2011
Visit With Me ISTE 2011
PAPERSHOW Teacher’s Edition™ Ideal Tool for Special Education Co-Teaching Classrooms
CONTACT:
Brian S. Friedlander, Ph.D.
(908) 852-3460
brian (@) assistivetek.com
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
PAPERSHOW Teacher’s Edition™ Ideal Tool for Special Education Co-Teaching Classrooms
International Society for Technology in Education (ISTE) Conference
The interactive writing solution is the Key to Effective Learning
PHILADELPHIA–June 26, 2011–AssistiveTek, LLC, top reseller of PaperShow For Teachers is excited to showcase the PAPERSHOW Teacher’s Edition™ , the key to effective learning, for the second time at the 2011 International Society for Technology in Education (ISTE) Conference, June 26-29 in booth 128.
The PAPERSHOW Teacher’s Edition is the ideal tool for use in special education and inclusion classrooms, helping teachers to create more visually appealing interactive presentations. With PAPERSHOW Teacher’s Edition™ teachers have access to a range of tools including, including an interactive calculator, magnifying glass, two measurement tools, lined paper for students learning to write and 72 different colors.
An essential tool for both the classroom and virtual teaching, PAPERSHOW consists of three elements: a wireless Bluetooth pen, a USB Key and interactive paper that work together to allow one to create a digital flip chart or annotate a Keynote or PowerPoint Presentation live. After a PAPERSHOW session, one can save it and then immediately print and/or email it to participants.
The PAPERSHOW Teacher’s Edition, combined with a projector and a computer, gives teachers the ability to transform their lessons and presentations into engaging interactions at a fraction of the cost of interactive whiteboards, as PAPERSHOW for Teachers costs just $249. The PAPERSHOW Teacher’s Edition starter kit, compatible with both Macs and PCs, includes one 128-page double-wired notebook, 30 sheets of interactive paper, one Bluetooth® digital pen, one 512MB Bluetooth ® USB Key with software embedded, one interactive extra toolbar, a ring binder, pen case and other accessories.
“The PAPERSHOW Teacher’s Edition is a great piece of technology. It will help to support co-teaching models in the classroom, when there is a special education and regular education teacher in the same classroom, and allow all students’ needs to be met inside the classroom,” said Diana Scharer, Special Education Teacher, Township of Union, Union, NJ. “With PAPERSHOW Teacher’s Edition, the special education teacher can record the notes and graphics and have them available for all students at the end of the period.”
The PAPERSHOW Teacher’s Edition works with Windows XP, Vista and 7 and the Mac operating systems Tiger, Leopard and Snow Leopard. PAPERSHOW features six different colors, three different brushstrokes, perfect shapes, lines and arrows all of which bring presentations, meetings and classes to life.
“Being able to export the notes in a PowerPoint and PDF format makes it great for students who need visual supports and accommodations. PAPERSHOW Teacher’s Edition speaks to the heart of Universal Design for Learning and offers all student s the classroom the benefits of a highly interactive and visual appealing notes,” Scharer continued. “Teachers who are using PAPERSHOW Teacher’s Edition enjoy the fact that they can move about the classroom and put their ideas up on the board as well as having students record their ideas on the digital notepad from their desks.”
For more information, and ideas on how to use PAPERSHOW Teacher’s Edition in the classroom, visit, assistivetek.blogspot.com
###
About AssistiveTek, LLC
Since 2000, AssistiveTek, LLC has been providing products and professional services in the area of educational and assistive technology to educators. AssistiveTek, LLC delivers innovative products that help students to visualize ideas and concepts and helps teachers to integrate these tools in the curriculum.
AssistiveTek, LLC is one of the leading resellers of PAPERSHOW Teacher’s Edition in the United States and provides support and in-service programs to demonstrate how this innovative technology can be used in the classroom to support all learners.
Brian S. Friedlander, Ph.D.
(908) 852-3460
brian (@) assistivetek.com
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
PAPERSHOW Teacher’s Edition™ Ideal Tool for Special Education Co-Teaching Classrooms
International Society for Technology in Education (ISTE) Conference
The interactive writing solution is the Key to Effective Learning
PHILADELPHIA–June 26, 2011–AssistiveTek, LLC, top reseller of PaperShow For Teachers is excited to showcase the PAPERSHOW Teacher’s Edition™ , the key to effective learning, for the second time at the 2011 International Society for Technology in Education (ISTE) Conference, June 26-29 in booth 128.
The PAPERSHOW Teacher’s Edition is the ideal tool for use in special education and inclusion classrooms, helping teachers to create more visually appealing interactive presentations. With PAPERSHOW Teacher’s Edition™ teachers have access to a range of tools including, including an interactive calculator, magnifying glass, two measurement tools, lined paper for students learning to write and 72 different colors.
An essential tool for both the classroom and virtual teaching, PAPERSHOW consists of three elements: a wireless Bluetooth pen, a USB Key and interactive paper that work together to allow one to create a digital flip chart or annotate a Keynote or PowerPoint Presentation live. After a PAPERSHOW session, one can save it and then immediately print and/or email it to participants.
The PAPERSHOW Teacher’s Edition, combined with a projector and a computer, gives teachers the ability to transform their lessons and presentations into engaging interactions at a fraction of the cost of interactive whiteboards, as PAPERSHOW for Teachers costs just $249. The PAPERSHOW Teacher’s Edition starter kit, compatible with both Macs and PCs, includes one 128-page double-wired notebook, 30 sheets of interactive paper, one Bluetooth® digital pen, one 512MB Bluetooth ® USB Key with software embedded, one interactive extra toolbar, a ring binder, pen case and other accessories.
“The PAPERSHOW Teacher’s Edition is a great piece of technology. It will help to support co-teaching models in the classroom, when there is a special education and regular education teacher in the same classroom, and allow all students’ needs to be met inside the classroom,” said Diana Scharer, Special Education Teacher, Township of Union, Union, NJ. “With PAPERSHOW Teacher’s Edition, the special education teacher can record the notes and graphics and have them available for all students at the end of the period.”
The PAPERSHOW Teacher’s Edition works with Windows XP, Vista and 7 and the Mac operating systems Tiger, Leopard and Snow Leopard. PAPERSHOW features six different colors, three different brushstrokes, perfect shapes, lines and arrows all of which bring presentations, meetings and classes to life.
“Being able to export the notes in a PowerPoint and PDF format makes it great for students who need visual supports and accommodations. PAPERSHOW Teacher’s Edition speaks to the heart of Universal Design for Learning and offers all student s the classroom the benefits of a highly interactive and visual appealing notes,” Scharer continued. “Teachers who are using PAPERSHOW Teacher’s Edition enjoy the fact that they can move about the classroom and put their ideas up on the board as well as having students record their ideas on the digital notepad from their desks.”
For more information, and ideas on how to use PAPERSHOW Teacher’s Edition in the classroom, visit, assistivetek.blogspot.com
###
About AssistiveTek, LLC
Since 2000, AssistiveTek, LLC has been providing products and professional services in the area of educational and assistive technology to educators. AssistiveTek, LLC delivers innovative products that help students to visualize ideas and concepts and helps teachers to integrate these tools in the curriculum.
AssistiveTek, LLC is one of the leading resellers of PAPERSHOW Teacher’s Edition in the United States and provides support and in-service programs to demonstrate how this innovative technology can be used in the classroom to support all learners.
Using WikiSummarizer with PersonalBrain
When I think about the PersonalBrain I always think of it as an ideal tool for helping me to see relationships among the data points that I have added to the brain. The PersonalBrain is an ideal tool for storing all kinds of related information that you want to have at your fingertips. In this respect I decided to see what would happen if I imported the contents of WikiSummerizer, a new web based contextual summarization engine from Context Discovery, Inc.
If you have never tried out WikiSummarizer, it is a great tool to help you build background knowledge quickly on just about any topic that can be found in Wikipedia. Once the summaries have been extracted by WikiSummarizer you have two options to store the results. You can export the summaries as a RTF file and open it with any word processor or better yet you can save the summaries as a Mindjet MindManager file format (mmap) format and then import it into PersonalBrain. PersonalBrain gives you a rich environment that allows you to see the relationships between the keywords and summaries.
To get a sense of what you can do with PersonalBrain and WikiSummarizer take a look at the WebBrian that I developed by clicking on the image below. Now you can see just how fast you can go from a blank PersonalBrain to one that complete with chock full of information. This is an ideal tool for students and researchers that need a strategy to save and explore new information. With WikiSummarizer and PersonalBrain take your personal information management to a new level. For more information about WikiSummairzer click here.
If you have never tried out WikiSummarizer, it is a great tool to help you build background knowledge quickly on just about any topic that can be found in Wikipedia. Once the summaries have been extracted by WikiSummarizer you have two options to store the results. You can export the summaries as a RTF file and open it with any word processor or better yet you can save the summaries as a Mindjet MindManager file format (mmap) format and then import it into PersonalBrain. PersonalBrain gives you a rich environment that allows you to see the relationships between the keywords and summaries.
To get a sense of what you can do with PersonalBrain and WikiSummarizer take a look at the WebBrian that I developed by clicking on the image below. Now you can see just how fast you can go from a blank PersonalBrain to one that complete with chock full of information. This is an ideal tool for students and researchers that need a strategy to save and explore new information. With WikiSummarizer and PersonalBrain take your personal information management to a new level. For more information about WikiSummairzer click here.
Wednesday, June 22, 2011
Emerging Asynchronous Conversation Models
I had an interesting conversation with Patrick Randolph from TalkWheel about different kinds of asynchronous conversation models that are emerging and how they might fit into broader eLearning Initiatives. Particularly we focused on the implications of TalkWheel, Quora and Namesake. Below I've captured aspects of our conversation (interestingly enough done via email - how old school). This post represents thinking from both of us that I've edited heavily to make it more easily consumed here in the blog.
There's obvious value in bringing the classroom collaboration dynamic to online learning. We see some of this dynamic when we run webinars and have chat. We also see it in twitter (see Twitter for Learning). The main issue with these is that the primary value is in the real-time nature. While Twitter is asynchronous, it's not easily used as other kinds of tools for discussion.
The standard model for asynchronous conversations is discussion forum software like vBulletin. I've talked before about the significant value that can be obtained as part of Discussion Forums for Knowledge Sharing at Capital City Bank and how that translates in a Success Formula for Discussion Forums in Financial Services. I also looked at Making Intranet Discussion Groups Effective.
However, I've struggled with the problem of destinations vs. social networks and the spread of conversation (see Forums vs. Social Networks). Because of that I've been watching closely what's happening with various tools that have different ways of supporting asynchronous conversation models. There are some new tools emerging that have a different take.
Talkwheel is made to handle real-time group conversations and asynchronous ones. It can act as an instant messaging service a bit like Yammer, HipChat for companies and other groups, but the layout is designed to make these discussions easier to see, archive, and work asynchronously. Because of the ability to attach documents, it can act like a collaboration platform. Each comment made within a thread appears as a tiny circle next to the name of the person who made the comment, and is linked by arrow to the person to whom the comment was made. The comments are also stacked and color-coded on the right side of the screen for reference. This organization makes the conversation seem more like a roundtable discussion.
Patrick tells us:
Talkwheel’s design makes class conversations easier to follow, more interactive, and more effectively organized. It eliminates the problem of navigating multithreaded conversations, enables real-time group conversation, and makes referencing asynchronous conversations much easier. Talkwheel’s dashboard organization allows teachers to organize all their classes and projects in one centralized location, while Talkwheel's analytics helps teachers and administrators quantitatively monitor their students’ progress throughout the year. Talkwheel’s collaboration platform is a new way of bringing students together in a way that is conducive to the group needs of online learning. In addition to e-learning, Talkwheel helps enterprises improve productivity and communication both internally and externally and allows users to organize their social and professional networks in an effective manner. It can be tried for free at Talkwheel.com.
Quora is a Q&A site nicely integrated with Facebook that has done a good job providing a means to ask questions and get answers. Each Quora answer is rated by users until the most popular answer is found. You can see a question below that had 16 answers provided by some pretty good folks and the top answer had 586 votes.
The answers are then used to provide valuable information to Quora users and the rest of the web. Quora has been able to form quite an elite network of VCs, entrepreneurs, and other experts to answer questions. They've also created topic pages such as: Learning Management System. It collects questions answer answers on that particular topic - you'll notice that there's not much expertise flowing around eLearning topics.
Finally, Namesake, is a tool for real-time and asynchronous conversations. It's a bit like Quora but more focused on conversation as compared to Q&A and it allows real-time conversation a bit like twitter. You can see an example of a conversation around phones below.
Like Quora, the goal is to build a network of user selected experts to provide valuable information to users. Within Namesake, any user can create topics of conversation for real-time chat and can follow conversations. Unlike Quora, Namesake is designed for real-time chats very similarly to the AIM Chat Rooms of old. New comments are stacked on top of the most recent one, updates are done in real-time, and chats are organized by high-level subject.
TalkWheel has taken a very different approach to its conversation model and is definitely aimed at smaller groups. I think that each conversation model has it's place and TalkWheel is more competitive with forum software but a much different visual model. Quora and Namesake are more trying to address the conversation from social networks issue.
All of these point to new types of conversation models that are emerging in tools.
Friday, June 17, 2011
Using the HoverCam T3 with my iPad
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