Everyone's talking (day 229)

I feel I should write something positive today.  I've been on a vicarious rant about web 2.0 lacuna for a few days now.   So what could possibly be good about the overload of everyone talking at once on the internet?  Well for one we can stop being ignorant of the real level of discourse in the world.  This is a call for action and one that I think is being heard.  iTunesU is a great thing, and so is YouTube Edu.  The YouTube Screening Room is also great.  Vimeo is a breath of fresh creativity every time.  The fact that I don't have to pay for all this greatness sometimes feels wrong and not sustainable but the greatness itself is inspiring.  I believe books will be transformed, especially textbooks, and I'm looking forward to that but that's not really web 2.0.  I hope for a resurgence of newspapers in a new form but I'm not sure it will happen.  These days when I pick up a paper I realize how good it feels in my hands and how it has some pretty good content, well put together in a visually comfortable medium.  Sometimes the simple things can bring an exquisite state of unexpected relaxation.  I believe newspapers can be that in some kind of digital form on some kind of reader.  I hope they survive long enough to get there.  I think people might pay for good content again soon.  Perhaps if our data plans stop being so expensive.   I think open government platforms and applications are interesting initiatives and I welcome anything that can get us from Farmville to HereVille. 

A song for this post.

Tale of an inefficient review (day 107)

I spent the day reading a thesis today.  I'm an external on a MSc defense on Tuesday.  I'll read it again tomorrow and formulate some questions.   As I was reading I wondered how I could be more efficient at making notes on what I was reading and formulating questions from the notes.  Also wondered how the system could in turn be useful for the student when revisions are necessary.

I prefer reading the thesis on paper and make notes in the margins.  I would prefer the notes be stored electronically with appropriate context.   I don't really want to stop reading to open up my computer and type so perhaps an e-book type of idea would work.  Adobe has done lots of work on a system for review and annotation of documents but I can't say I've ever used it officially.  I've left tons of comments on grad student papers submitted to me as pdf but I haven't enabled a shared review of any kind.   I think it would be useful for my students to dialogue back and forth on the comments.   It's like all the pieces of the puzzle are around but they are just not integrated. 

Ideally, the thesis would be submitted to me on an e-reader with a stylus and could write my comments in the margins.  The review would be shared with the student and other committee members but only after the defense is finished.  While the defense is going on, I would have easy access to my comments (visual list) and could modify them based on the student's input and the input of the other committee members.  After the defense she can look at my comments and ask me more questions.  Each time I open up my e-reader I could see comments that are awaiting a reply.   This would be my ideal situation.  As it is, she will do the same thing that I did: take 3 paper copies with her and flip through to consolidate and address each point.  This is tedious and it may actually miss some crucial points like sections of the thesis that were flagged individually by all committee members for slightly different reasons...pointing to a general problem with the section.  Add to this the fact that I used a black pen to make my comments (should have used red!) and her revision task will not be as efficient as it could be.

A song for this point.

Empty bookcases one day (day 103)

e-ink had been just over the horizon for so long it seemed like it would never get here.  But here we are at Christmas time with more e-readers than we can shake a paper-cut finger at.   I read a lot but so far the urge to get an e-reader registers at about a 2 on the gadget Richter scale.   First off, the Kindle is gimped in Canada because we can't download over 3G (who decided that?  I dunno...but it smells suspiciously like a BRT downer...)  What's the use of a reader without a connection?   The Nook is a possibility but it's not out yet.  The Sony reader is out but it also has no connectivity (by design, that one).  But it does have a stylus for notes.  Then there is the mythical Apple tablet which may make a miraculous appearance next year.  As always, the urge to commit is hampered by the imminent.  My wish list for an e-reader:

• easy on the eyes, good in the day and night.
  
• some cue about how much I've read, how much is left
• a nice page-turning feel or something completely different than page turning...either way something to cover the length of the book with some sense of context within the book.  This may have to do with book design more than interface, or maybe both.   Maintaining contextual awareness without the physical cue of the book is an interesting design problem.
• annotation for reviewing papers, and making marginal notes.  A way to add voice annotation. 
• good interface for browsing annotations, including a group's annotation if need be.
  
• wireless connection
• ability to lend and borrow books
• good collection browsing...ability to browse my friends' collections
  
• durable and light
• private
• open
  
• interoperability with my other devices
  
• color (though I'll deal with b&w for now if the above features are there)
• video (though I'll deal with static for now if the above features are there)
  

I do love the smell of paper and the feel of a book but I'm quite willing to trade them in for the benefits of e-reading.   I sure won't miss moving boxes of books.

A song for this post.