I have been learning XHTML and CSS . Learning the two of them at the same time has been a challenge. I was able to get a background image to not only show in the correct place, but to not repeat itself all over the page in IE and I was so proud that I had to show my teenage daughter. She took a look at my CSS file and then she said “oh yeah, you have to say no repeat” I stared at her in disbelief. She told me she had been working on her Xanga theme the other day and figured that out when she couldn’t get her page to look right. I have a little bit different view of Xanga and my daughter now.

After spending hours searching out blogs on the sxsw conference, I have some different views on learning too. I was fascinated by notes on the presentation by Kathy Sierra “How to Create Passionate Users” It impressed me most because it seemed universal. People learn when they are excited or passionate about something. The question then becomes how to get them excited. How do we maintain that level of passion to keep learning. I’ve now added the book “Headfirst Design Patterns” to my wishlist at Amazon. Some of the ideas that have caught my mind are showing a picture of what success looks like and then providing a series of steps to get there. I know that when I am trying to complete a task that involves something I am new and unsure about, it helps to have an attainable goal in sight and to know I have the tools I need to get there. The phrase “being in the flow” was mentioned as well. We all have that one thing we do that causes us to completely lose track of time and the rest of the world. According to these “patterns” gradual growth is better than a big payoff. We need to see that while we still have further to go we have gone from point a to b and each level thereafter and we need to have that sense of achieving progress at each level. “Give users an I rule experience” I have definitely become a “passionate user” What could happen if we applied these principles to staff development? To raising and educating our kids?

Thanks to Tony for setting this up for me!

There is an ancient Chinese proverb that goes “May you live in interesting times”

I spend a lot of time reading on the Internet . I also spend time reading articles I have printed from the Internet . I used to run out and buy a book whenever I wanted to learn something new. Now I just google it (yes I’m a google addict) and start distilling the piles of information down to the details that I need. This changing from books to Internet has been a slow process for me and don’t get me wrong, I still need my books. I can’t sleep at night without reading first. But now when I want to know the weather forecast, the latest news, the definition of a word, the author of a quote and a myriad of other things, I turn to the computer first. Recently I discovered blogs and now I find that reading, an activity I always found relaxing, has become another source of stress. What if my favorite blogger posts something important and I miss it?

Now with the advent of so many web-based applications, we can read, write, keep our contacts, calendars, and links, listen to music, and create spreadsheets and presentations, all online. The design of web sites has become an art form. There are communities on-line which for my generation totally re-defines the word community just by their existence.

I like the idea of instant information access. Working in the public school system, I see the web-based applications as a wonderful equalizer for students and teachers to accomplish tasks without worrying about software compatibility. This article for example, is being written on ZOHO Writer and will be posted later to a blog. I have been watching to see which applications will survive on their own and which will be snatched up by larger companies, and how these applications will be used. With some creativity, the possibilities are remarkable for education, for small business, and for the individual. I think it will also be interesting to see how these changes affect our long-term use of the Internet. Will my grandchildren still carry schoolbooks in a backpack?

The new web accessibility standards make the Internet easier for folks with disabilities to accomplish their online tasks and with many smaller towns looking into citywide wi-fi and public libraries providing Internet access more people will be able to utilize information and applications. Will we keep up with these developments in the public school system by providing information and training to our students and teachers on the availability and use of all these new things?

The Internet used to be about looking up information and email. Now instead of just a reference or communication tool, we can interact constantly by writing our own blogs, creating documents online and making them public, participating in wiki’s, and subscribing to news services that allow us to vote for the stories we think are most relevant and in doing so causing them to migrate to the front page. We no longer are just bystanders, we are actually creating the Internet as we interact. Contemplating the implications of that are enough to make me believe that we do live in interesting times!

There is a lot of talk about the blackmal worm on the net right now. It will be interesting to see if it really does delete office files and it will be even more interesting to see if anyone I know has it on their computer. Next week I will be gone to a computer conference and it will probably be then that people are having computer problems related to the virus if it is going to happen. We shall see.