Sue-Point-Oh!

Today some of my predictions regarding the future of Facebook are reported in article by Corilyn Shropshire in the Pittsburgh Post Gazette. As a I said in the article, I predict that people will start migrating from My Space to Facebook because it is so much easier to use and offers more seamless web 2.0 features like rss feeds and photo albums with privacy settings that today’s web users have to come to expect. I just hope the My Space people don’t sabotage my profile by inserting that my favorite movies is “Suburban Commando” or something like that. No offense Hulk!

Thank you to CSU Chico for developing a wonderful rubric to evaluate the effectiveiness of online instruction.  The rubric rates instructional websites on six different categories:

• Learner Support and Resources
• Instructional Design and Delivery
• Organization and Design
• Assessment and Evaluation of Student Learning
• Innovative Teaching with Technology
• Faculty Use of Student Feedback

I think these are very appropriate and easily digestible categories.  The use of a rubric helps bring a quantifable measurement to a qualitative tool like an online course.

 Here is the rubric.

http://www.active.com/donate/tntgsf/kristyproper

September 12, 2006
Dear Friends and Family,

Those of you who know me well know that I have always been someone who loves living life to its fullest and taking chances whenever the opportunity arises. I have recently begun one of the biggest challenges of my life, and I’m hoping that now some of you will be willing to take a chance with me. I have decided to run a marathon – yep, that’s 26.2 whole miles – and I have to admit, I’m pretty terrified! So why go for something that I never even dreamed capable of accomplishing? Hopefully after reading this letter you will not only understand, but join me in making this dream come true.

The driving reason behind my decision is due to someone very special to me who has given me courage and inspiration to take on this new challenge. She is my hero, my best friend, and my mother, Kathy Proper. As many of you know, in the year 2000 she was diagnosed with Acute Myelogeneous Leukemia and faced one of the biggest challenges of her life. Six years later, I am happy to report that she is now healthy and cancer free, providing endless hope and encouragement to the countless others who battle leukemia and other types of cancer every day. She has taught me more about life than anyone else I know, and her constant belief in me is what will be in my thoughts and my heart as I struggle to push myself across that finish line.

Another motivation comes from joining the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society’s Team in Training program which has provided me with a great network of supportive mentors and friends – as well as some much needed coaching on how to become a new and improved endurance athlete!!! As the largest endurance training program in the U.S., Team in Training offers its participants coaching and training expertise in exchange for raising money towards finding cures for leukemia and lymphoma.

So here I am, seizing my opportunity. My goals are two-fold; to cross the finish line of the Arizona Rock & Roll Marathon on January 14th, 2007 (even if I have to crawl to do it!), and to raise $3,000 for The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society by December 12th, 2006. Your encouragement and positive reinforcement (i.e., “You ran how many miles today?!”) will go an incredibly long way in helping me complete this marathon. Your financial support will not only help save the lives of those afflicted with blood-related cancers, but make their lives more comfortable and manageable while they are fighting – and winning – against the disease.

If you are so inspired to take up this tremendous cause, please feel free to share this letter with anyone who might be inclined to help. Every contribution will have an impact, will be acknowledged personally by me, and will be appreciated by so very many. The easiest way to make a contribution is with your credit card on my own personal website, http://www.active.com/donate/tntgsf/kristyproper or you can send any donations, made out to The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society, directly to me at 3181 California Street, San Francisco, CA 94115. Any and all donations to The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society are appreciated and 100% tax deductible!
Thank you in advance for your support!

Sincerely,
Kristy Proper

P.S. If you also know someone who has been afflicted with a blood-related cancer, please let me know their name(s) so I can add them to my list of honorees for my race.

Facebook, the tendy social network site for college students has just announced that it will now be letting non-students join the network. This comes on the tails of their recent introduction of the “minifeed” features which allows users to see rss feeds of every change that occurs with their friends profile. For example “Susan just added a new hobby - jumproping” or “Susan and Gumby are no longer friends”. This raised privacy issues but come on, how private do you think you are when you post all your personal information, pictures, and blog entries of your late night run to Taco Bell. I am curious how Facebook decided on the order of releasing their two bombs - one being the mini feed and the second that they are opening up the site to the masses and are placing themselves in the exact same market position as My Space and and Friendster. Perhaps they thought they would stir up hype with the “daring” minifeed and then when they were all over the news they would open the playground doors to the whole town - come swing on the monkeybars! Now that I think about it, it’s a pretty good business strategy!

As the self-proclaimed “Wiki Queen” of the ITEC program at SF State I decided it was time to create my own web 2.0 logo. I hope the approachable blue color and the rounded text conveys a calm yet confident persona to my visitors. Of course, wikiqueen.com is still in it’s beta stage and only a select group of users will be contacted for testing.