e-Clippings (Learning As Art)

Posting Comic Strip Creation Resources found via Tweets

I need to get better at being able to track down stuff I find via Twitter so I give credit where credit is due...so whoever started this....thanks! I just wanted to list some of the resources for creating comic strips and the like:

Strip Creator: Used to create the strip at the left...couldn't figure out though if I was supposed to be able to save the image or what....

MakeBeliefsComix: needs some UI work....couldn't figure out how to resize the thought/word balloons in order to be able to see the characters...

Pixton: Looks really sophisticated but these clauses from the TOS give me great pause:
"By making Submissions to the Website, you hereby assign and transfer to PCI all your respective rights, titles and interests worldwide in, to and associated with your Submissions, including copyrights, trade-mark rights, and all other intellectual property rights, free and clear of all liens, encumbrances and interests of third parties.        

PCI hereby grants you a limited license to use your Submissions for non-commercial purposes. In the event you wish to use your Submission for any commercial purposes, you must first contact PCI and seek its express written agreement to do so."

...I'd rather have a more straight forward relationship...some subscription model....

Speech Bubble Generators List from AllWebDesign: now what do you think you'll find here? :-)

..and another cartoon bubble editor...

Mobile 2.0 Tag Cloud

Lovely work by Heike Scholz and found via  Rudy De Waele. Goes great with the original 2.0 tag cloud by Markus Angermeier

Day 3 - Forecasting the Future: Predicition Markets and MMOGs

Day 3 of the Blog-a-thon...and they said it wouldn't last!

We all want to know the future right? Well here are a couple of new approaches...

Web of Fate: Bills itself as " a semantic analysis engine that extracts meaning from historical, present and future events and draw connections among them." You can see the image below of the visualization of this semantic mapping. Adding to this mapping is done by either you making a prediction or by marking the prediction someone else has made as to whether or not it will come true. In execution then the WOF, isn't your typical predicition market but more like a common man implementation of something like the Long Bets. I think the visualization aspect is interesting but I haven't deceided yet if the ROI from that aspect is worth the effort. I do wonder about the ability of something like the WOF to generate internal learning/training requirements. Could you use it in such a way that you could predict future requirements, capabilities, etc?

  The other forecasting model is actually a 'game' called "Superstruct" by Jane McGonigal at the Institute for the Future. According to the FAQ, Superstruct is "the world’s first massively multiplayer forecasting game. By playing the game, you’ll help us chronicle the world of 2019--and imagine how we might solve the problems we'll face. Because this is about more than just envisioning the future. It’s about making the future, inventing new ways to organize the human race and augment our collective human potential."

The game doesn't start until September 22 but people have already started posting their visions for 2019 and while I read just a couple, I'm immediately struck by the pessimistic view of the future that is present. Anyway, back to the topic, I'm anxious #1 to see how this is going to be a 'game'...I mean McGonigal is the master of ARG's (ilovebees) but a game designed to get a group of people to generate somehow an actionable view of the future...I'm not so much skeptical and anxious to see how it comes off.

Map of the Blogosphere

Discover magazine story

Matthew Hurst's map gallery

My First Video Created with Animoto

VisualComplexity.com: A Resource on the Visualization of Complex Networks

Manuel Lima has done a fine service here. His site, visualcomplexity.com is a great resource - a great compilation of a ton of resources related to visualizing complex networks. The stat at the top of the page shows that the site is currently indexing almost 500 projects and I believe it.

New Web 2.0 Visualization/Explanation from Ross Dawson

I find it interesting that even as we stand hip deep in the curved corner and pastel colored waters of Web 2.0, we continue to search for explanations that resonate some sense of capturing what is really going on here. Maybe by the time we get to 3.0, we'll have 2.0 nailed down.

Ross Dawson is one of the latest entries and comes out with a good one in a couple of ways. First, I think he takes about the right amount of space for a kind of handout...about 3-4 pages. Second, he released his work under a Creative Commons license...great job. Third, the explanation itself is fairly solid work. I think that most of the right words are there, but the images leave out some of the flow/social dynamics that shape and flow in 2.0 - so really I'm just point out what could make something that is very good, better.

So maybe we can combine the work that Ross has done with the great imagery that Dion Hinchcliffe has produced and somewhere along this, we'll get to a shared understanding of what exactly is happening.

Mindmapping Mindmaps by Using a Mindmap (and additional aliterations)

So here is a little experiment. I am trying to create kind a "radar" for me to track some the various tech pieces that I am working on. I thought that this would be a great chance for me to try out some of the various mindmap tools that are out there (thx Harold and Vic).

After giving a couple of these tools a little dry run, I've decided to try this with Mindomo. Also, to save everybody the hassle of registering (until of course they've tried Mindomo and like it), I've set up a little account for you. Just use the username of 2007setup and the passw*rd of 2007password to join in the fun. This will also be a test of behavior...if people start acting like tools instead of using them, I'll just close the account.

Anyway, here is the first attempt. Feel free to visit the map, add nodes, URLs, notes, etc...and this doesn;t have to stay limited to mindmaps if you feel there are other tech parts that needs to be on the radar - e.g. OpenID..feel free to add them. OK, off we go.

*A Note on Mindomo: I have found an annoying tendency of Mindomo to turn off the "share in websites" option resulting in an error message on this page. If that happens and you'd still like to get to the map, it is at this link.

Learning Styles and Visualization

I know that recently the whole idea of learning styles has come under attack. While the original article in the Telegraph is interesting, I heartily recommend heading over to the post that Stephen Downes' did on this and read the comments. Specifically, the comment by 'Kevin Kelly' deserve some additional unpacking.

I think the heart of this is echoed by other comments on Stephen's post and that is that while people may demonstrate preferences - all things being equal - toward one medium or another - these preferences are like personality traits and as KK asserts "a preference does not imply exclusivity." We can be aware of their presence without doing something as rash as the Brits and use them as a classification model for students.

All that being said, I have a strong preference these days for the visual/graphic. Perhaps this is a small rebellion of the textual hegemony of my grad school days...history doesn't allow for a lot of pretty pictures. So in honor of that preference (are learning styles a lifestyle choice or are they biological?) I present the following visual resources I have stumbled across of late:

• Harold Jarche has a post on online Mindmapping - be sure to read the comments for a number of other suggested sites. I like MindMeister but I really use Mindomo.
• From Mashable comes this post on "16 Awesome Data Visualization Tools"
• TouchGraph offers a search/data visualization product that reminds me of Search Crystal.
• Smashing Magazine offers this look at "Data Visualization: Modern Approaches"
• I saw this post about Jing on Beth Kanter's blog, Stephen also found Jing and tries it out a bit, looks like a very slick/easy way to capture and share screen grabs etc.
• I also love these re-mixes of the periodic table of elements for both the Periodic Table of Visualization Elements and the Elements of Collaboration.
• NEW: How did I miss this post from George Siemens on visualization?