Brush with an edublog celeb

This afternoon I received my first lesson in the blogging phenomenon known as "backlinking."

Much to my surprise, I received a complimentary email from Karl Fisch, an instructional technologist whose blog I had cited in a previous post. It took me several minutes to figure out how he even knew I had linked to his blog. I poked around under the settings menu in Blogger, and that's how I learned about backlinks, a tool for bloggers who want to keep track of who is linking to their posts. Cool.

Karl gave some helpful feedback and suggested another popular edublog to check out, Will Richardson's weblogg-ed. (I already subscribe to it.)

He also politely suggested I turn on the comments feature in my blog. (I thought I had done this, but apparently I had not. Oh well, I was due for a "duh" moment.)

Brush with an edublog celeb

Brush with an edublog celeb

This afternoon I received my first lesson in the blogging phenomenon known as "backlinking."

Much to my surprise, I received a complimentary email from Karl Fisch, an instructional technologist whose blog I had cited in a previous post. It took me several minutes to figure out how he even knew I had linked to his blog. I poked around under the settings menu in Blogger, and that's how I learned about backlinks, a tool for bloggers who want to keep track of who is linking to their posts. Cool.

Karl gave some helpful feedback and suggested another popular edublog to check out, Will Richardson's weblogg-ed. (I already subscribe to it.)

He also politely suggested I turn on the comments feature in my blog. (I thought I had done this, but apparently I had not. Oh well, I was due for a "duh" moment.)

Brush with an edublog celeb

Virus scanner? Check. Printer? Check. Wireless connection? Nope.

Tonight I installed a virus scanner using the add/remove menu on the applications toolbar of Ubuntu. There is a search tool you can use to locate different open source applications offered by the Ubuntu community. Installing the scanner was easy, but Ron says it is not the same as virus protection. I'll keep looking for open source virus protection.

Re-installing my HP 1315 all-in-one printer was also pretty easy. Under the system toolbar I selected "administration" and then "printing." From there I clicked on "printer" and then "add printer." Ubuntu walks you through a three-step process to add a printer.

I don't have a clue about how to reconfigure my wireless connection. I am still connecting to the Internet using a network cable. If anyone out there is reading this and has an idea, please tell me!

Virus scanner? Check. Printer? Check. Wireless connection? Nope.

Virus scanner? Check. Printer? Check. Wireless connection? Nope.

Tonight I installed a virus scanner using the add/remove menu on the applications toolbar of Ubuntu. There is a search tool you can use to locate different open source applications offered by the Ubuntu community. Installing the scanner was easy, but Ron says it is not the same as virus protection. I'll keep looking for open source virus protection.

Re-installing my HP 1315 all-in-one printer was also pretty easy. Under the system toolbar I selected "administration" and then "printing." From there I clicked on "printer" and then "add printer." Ubuntu walks you through a three-step process to add a printer.

I don't have a clue about how to reconfigure my wireless connection. I am still connecting to the Internet using a network cable. If anyone out there is reading this and has an idea, please tell me!

Virus scanner? Check. Printer? Check. Wireless connection? Nope.

Keyboard problem solved

So, the answer to my March 19 post is, "Yes, I screwed up something with my keyboard when installing Ubuntu!" Luckily, the problem was easily remedied. I had accidentally selected the "English International" keyboard layout. I found this out when I went to the system menu, selected "preferences" and then "keyboard" and then "layouts." You can add or remove layouts, so I added the U.S. English layout and removed the international one. Easy enough.

Keyboard problem solved

Keyboard problem solved

So, the answer to my March 19 post is, "Yes, I screwed up something with my keyboard when installing Ubuntu!" Luckily, the problem was easily remedied. I had accidentally selected the "English International" keyboard layout. I found this out when I went to the system menu, selected "preferences" and then "keyboard" and then "layouts." You can add or remove layouts, so I added the U.S. English layout and removed the international one. Easy enough.

Keyboard problem solved

Whatś up with my keyboard?

So, itś not all love and warm-fuzzies in Ubuntu land.

If you have been reading my latest posts, I wonder if you have noticed something unusual about the apostrophes? They render oddly in the ¨compose¨ mode, the ¨preview¨ mode, and the final ¨view blog¨ window. And I experience the same problem when typing a document in OpenOffice Writer.

In fact, the apostrophe/quotation mark key has been giving me fits all night. I really have to tap it hard to get either punctuation mark to show up on screen.

Could I have messed something up during the installation?

Whatś up with my keyboard?

Whatś up with my keyboard?

So, itś not all love and warm-fuzzies in Ubuntu land.

If you have been reading my latest posts, I wonder if you have noticed something unusual about the apostrophes? They render oddly in the ¨compose¨ mode, the ¨preview¨ mode, and the final ¨view blog¨ window. And I experience the same problem when typing a document in OpenOffice Writer.

In fact, the apostrophe/quotation mark key has been giving me fits all night. I really have to tap it hard to get either punctuation mark to show up on screen.

Could I have messed something up during the installation?

Whatś up with my keyboard?

Blogs: ¨Wisdom of crowds¨ or just more blather?

My links to favorite blog resources are below. But first, as a relatively new adherent of blogs, I have some observations and reactions to share.

Before this semester I never regularly read a blog (much less subscribed to one), and I certainly had never written in one. My encounters with the ¨blogosphere¨ were purely accidental, and my general impression was it was reserved for muckrackers, academics, and people with lots of opinions (to put it mildly).

That has all changed thanks to my Google Reader, which I love, love, LOVE (at the expense of homework, housework, and other work)! I use to bemoan the fact that I never get to read, but after an hour with Google Reader, itś like I have read a very salient, up-to-date, personalized collection of articles handpicked just for me.

But I still have my standards: I will NEVER use ¨blog¨ as a verb. If I do, please call me on it! Itś still just writing, and like everything else on the Internet, there are plenty of useless and poorly written blogs out there. But one phenomenon noted in the Paul Graham article we read earlier in the semester has proven true: the good blogs tend to link to other good blogs and the cream just keeps rising to the top. That is how I have come to subscribe to more than 10 different blogs in my Google Reader. Here are some items of interest:

1) The Fischbowl came to my attention because of a widely circulated PowerPoint presentation that was emailed to me by two different people in the span of just two days. (Can a PowerPoint go viral?) Anyway, my boss wanted me to learn more about the author, Karl Fisch, before we linked to his file from the Great Schools Partnership website, which I help manage. That led me back to ¨The Fischbowl," which is really a professional development forum he created for all the faculty at his high school in Littleton, CO. Very cool model of how one might facilitate a professional learning community at a campus level.

2) From The Fischbowl I learned about Dangerously Irrelevant, an excellent education blog that focuses primarily on instructional technology. The post on ¨Top Edublogs¨ is a good one for educators who are just starting to dabble in the blogosphere. I also found a link to an instructional technology wiki that includes guidelines for teachers and students on how to self-publish, which is something I have been wondering about should I decide to start a classroom blog in the future.

3) Also from The Fischbowl I picked up on Ms. Smithś classroom blog. This blog is designed for student participation in a 9th grade English honors class. For example, one assignment required students to post original poems to which their classmates responded, much as we do in IT 521.

Blogs: ¨Wisdom of crowds¨ or just more blather?

Blogs: ¨Wisdom of crowds¨ or just more blather?

My links to favorite blog resources are below. But first, as a relatively new adherent of blogs, I have some observations and reactions to share.

Before this semester I never regularly read a blog (much less subscribed to one), and I certainly had never written in one. My encounters with the ¨blogosphere¨ were purely accidental, and my general impression was it was reserved for muckrackers, academics, and people with lots of opinions (to put it mildly).

That has all changed thanks to my Google Reader, which I love, love, LOVE (at the expense of homework, housework, and other work)! I use to bemoan the fact that I never get to read, but after an hour with Google Reader, itś like I have read a very salient, up-to-date, personalized collection of articles handpicked just for me.

But I still have my standards: I will NEVER use ¨blog¨ as a verb. If I do, please call me on it! Itś still just writing, and like everything else on the Internet, there are plenty of useless and poorly written blogs out there. But one phenomenon noted in the Paul Graham article we read earlier in the semester has proven true: the good blogs tend to link to other good blogs and the cream just keeps rising to the top. That is how I have come to subscribe to more than 10 different blogs in my Google Reader. Here are some items of interest:

1) The Fischbowl came to my attention because of a widely circulated PowerPoint presentation that was emailed to me by two different people in the span of just two days. (Can a PowerPoint go viral?) Anyway, my boss wanted me to learn more about the author, Karl Fisch, before we linked to his file from the Great Schools Partnership website, which I help manage. That led me back to ¨The Fischbowl," which is really a professional development forum he created for all the faculty at his high school in Littleton, CO. Very cool model of how one might facilitate a professional learning community at a campus level.

2) From The Fischbowl I learned about Dangerously Irrelevant, an excellent education blog that focuses primarily on instructional technology. The post on ¨Top Edublogs¨ is a good one for educators who are just starting to dabble in the blogosphere. I also found a link to an instructional technology wiki that includes guidelines for teachers and students on how to self-publish, which is something I have been wondering about should I decide to start a classroom blog in the future.

3) Also from The Fischbowl I picked up on Ms. Smithś classroom blog. This blog is designed for student participation in a 9th grade English honors class. For example, one assignment required students to post original poems to which their classmates responded, much as we do in IT 521.

Blogs: ¨Wisdom of crowds¨ or just more blather?

Installing Ubuntu, Part 3

Success at last!

Today Ron had a brainstorm. Why not try one of the other install options offered on the Ubuntu boot-up menu? We kept the computer plugged into the modem with the network cable, fired up the computer with the Ubuntu 6.10 CD still in the drive, and waited for the menu to show up. Rather than select the first option, we tried ¨install text only," which is the second or third option down the list.

The installation took less than one hour. We still received the error message about the ¨wireless applet," which we chose to delete and reconfigure later based on Ronś friendś advice. When all was said and done, the entire operating system was installed on my laptop with graphics and everything!

I am now creating this post using the Firefox browser on my brand-new Ubuntu desktop. My computer runs like a dream! It used to take several minutes to start up; now I can start up and be online in less than two minutes.

The only tasks left to deal with are making my computer wireless again and installing some virus protection. I feel confident about the latter, but I don´t have a clue about the former! Oh, and according to Ubuntu, I already have 134 software updates! This I have come to expect after reading some of Jasonś posts.

Installing Ubuntu, Part 3

Installing Ubuntu, Part 3

Success at last!

Today Ron had a brainstorm. Why not try one of the other install options offered on the Ubuntu boot-up menu? We kept the computer plugged into the modem with the network cable, fired up the computer with the Ubuntu 6.10 CD still in the drive, and waited for the menu to show up. Rather than select the first option, we tried ¨install text only," which is the second or third option down the list.

The installation took less than one hour. We still received the error message about the ¨wireless applet," which we chose to delete and reconfigure later based on Ronś friendś advice. When all was said and done, the entire operating system was installed on my laptop with graphics and everything!

I am now creating this post using the Firefox browser on my brand-new Ubuntu desktop. My computer runs like a dream! It used to take several minutes to start up; now I can start up and be online in less than two minutes.

The only tasks left to deal with are making my computer wireless again and installing some virus protection. I feel confident about the latter, but I don´t have a clue about the former! Oh, and according to Ubuntu, I already have 134 software updates! This I have come to expect after reading some of Jasonś posts.

Installing Ubuntu, Part 3

Installing Ubuntu, Part 2

My official Ubuntu CD arrived on Friday from Amazon. Hopeful it would install easier than the CD I had burned, I popped it into my computer on Saturday morning. The good news is I got further along in the installation process than I had in my previous two attempts. I got far enough to encounter an error message. The message said something like this: "The panel encountered a problem wile loading OAFIID: Gnome_panel_WirelessApplet. Do you want to delete the applet from your configuration?" For no special reason, I chose the "don't delete" option. This may have been a mistake because shortly thereafter my computer froze up again.

Ron spoke to his Linux friend, who offered a few suggestions. He said the installation might go more smoothly if I connected directly to my Internet modem using a network cable to get a stronger connection. Luckily, Ron had a cable in his computer bag. Our friend also suggested that we delete the "applet" (whatever that is) and worry about setting up the wireless connection later. He said sometimes when installing a new system, the user has to go back later and configure things separately.

Around 11:30 a.m. I connected my laptop to the modem with a cable. Just as before, I started the installation with the Ubuntu CD in the drive. After double-clicking the install icon on the desktop, I walked away. When I returned to my computer some hours later, the clock in the menu bar was frozen at 11:47.

Still no progress.

Installing Ubuntu, Part 2

Installing Ubuntu, Part 2

My official Ubuntu CD arrived on Friday from Amazon. Hopeful it would install easier than the CD I had burned, I popped it into my computer on Saturday morning. The good news is I got further along in the installation process than I had in my previous two attempts. I got far enough to encounter an error message. The message said something like this: "The panel encountered a problem wile loading OAFIID: Gnome_panel_WirelessApplet. Do you want to delete the applet from your configuration?" For no special reason, I chose the "don't delete" option. This may have been a mistake because shortly thereafter my computer froze up again.

Ron spoke to his Linux friend, who offered a few suggestions. He said the installation might go more smoothly if I connected directly to my Internet modem using a network cable to get a stronger connection. Luckily, Ron had a cable in his computer bag. Our friend also suggested that we delete the "applet" (whatever that is) and worry about setting up the wireless connection later. He said sometimes when installing a new system, the user has to go back later and configure things separately.

Around 11:30 a.m. I connected my laptop to the modem with a cable. Just as before, I started the installation with the Ubuntu CD in the drive. After double-clicking the install icon on the desktop, I walked away. When I returned to my computer some hours later, the clock in the menu bar was frozen at 11:47.

Still no progress.

Installing Ubuntu, Part 2

Installing Ubuntu, Part 1

A lot as happened in the last three days, and I hope to recapture it all as accurately as possible in this post.

First, a few reflections about the process. I started my "Ubuntu Odyssey" (and that is indeed what it has been) almost a week ago. If I had had one full, unadulterated block of time, a day perhaps, I may have been able to finish this project. That is not my reality, though. Instead, I had to break down the project into steps, and whenever I had a free hour or two, I worked on it. More often than not, each session ended with a roadblock or dead end -- very frustrating but also beneficial in that I had time between steps to reflect and seek help from others. As it would happen, Ron (my husband) works with a Linux disciple who is all too happy to offer advice. Thanks to this fellow and Ron, I have been able to pretty much avoid a complete nervous breakdown.

So, after the whole download debacle (See posts from March 12th and 13th.), I decided to just go ahead and burn the sucker on a CD-R disc and fore go the whole md5sum nightmare. This burn took about half an hour. Then, I followed the instructions for the CD integrity check found at the Ubuntu website. In about five minutes, the CD passed the test.

My next order of business was to erase my hard drive, or so I thought. Ron told me this was called an f-disk command, but he had never performed the operation before and could not tell me how to do it. I searched the Internet and found step-by-step instructions for erasing a hard drive at computerhope.com. I followed the steps as best I could, but, like the md5sum, my computer would not recognize the f-disk command. I fiddled with it for the better part of Wednesday morning. In the interim, Ron talked to his Linux friend. According to him, all I had to do was install Ubuntu; the installation process would take care of the hard drive for me. Great!

So on Thursday morning, I began the Ubuntu install. First, I started up my computer (which, for the record, is a 2003 Compaq Presario 2100 that runs Widows XP) and immediately hit the f2 key to get the set-up menu. I selected "boot from CD," inserted the Ubuntu CD I had burned a few days earlier, exited the set-up menu, and restarted my computer. When the Ubuntu screen popped up, I selected the first option, "Install Ubuntu." The desktop appeared rather quickly, and I double-clicked the install icon in the upper left corner. I was hopeful that the rest of the process would resemble the 30-minute, 6-step procedure that Jason described in his blog. But that was not to be. I started at 7:02 a.m. My computer locked up twice, once at 7:27 and again at 7:47. When it froze up the second time, I quit trying to install.

Now it is Friday, and I am trying to decide my next move. Do I resume efforts to wipe my hard drive clean in hopes of making the installation go more smoothly? Do I wait for the arrival of the Ubuntu CD I ordered from Amazon before trying again?

Installing Ubuntu, Part 1

Installing Ubuntu, Part 1

A lot as happened in the last three days, and I hope to recapture it all as accurately as possible in this post.

First, a few reflections about the process. I started my "Ubuntu Odyssey" (and that is indeed what it has been) almost a week ago. If I had had one full, unadulterated block of time, a day perhaps, I may have been able to finish this project. That is not my reality, though. Instead, I had to break down the project into steps, and whenever I had a free hour or two, I worked on it. More often than not, each session ended with a roadblock or dead end -- very frustrating but also beneficial in that I had time between steps to reflect and seek help from others. As it would happen, Ron (my husband) works with a Linux disciple who is all too happy to offer advice. Thanks to this fellow and Ron, I have been able to pretty much avoid a complete nervous breakdown.

So, after the whole download debacle (See posts from March 12th and 13th.), I decided to just go ahead and burn the sucker on a CD-R disc and fore go the whole md5sum nightmare. This burn took about half an hour. Then, I followed the instructions for the CD integrity check found at the Ubuntu website. In about five minutes, the CD passed the test.

My next order of business was to erase my hard drive, or so I thought. Ron told me this was called an f-disk command, but he had never performed the operation before and could not tell me how to do it. I searched the Internet and found step-by-step instructions for erasing a hard drive at computerhope.com. I followed the steps as best I could, but, like the md5sum, my computer would not recognize the f-disk command. I fiddled with it for the better part of Wednesday morning. In the interim, Ron talked to his Linux friend. According to him, all I had to do was install Ubuntu; the installation process would take care of the hard drive for me. Great!

So on Thursday morning, I began the Ubuntu install. First, I started up my computer (which, for the record, is a 2003 Compaq Presario 2100 that runs Widows XP) and immediately hit the f2 key to get the set-up menu. I selected "boot from CD," inserted the Ubuntu CD I had burned a few days earlier, exited the set-up menu, and restarted my computer. When the Ubuntu screen popped up, I selected the first option, "Install Ubuntu." The desktop appeared rather quickly, and I double-clicked the install icon in the upper left corner. I was hopeful that the rest of the process would resemble the 30-minute, 6-step procedure that Jason described in his blog. But that was not to be. I started at 7:02 a.m. My computer locked up twice, once at 7:27 and again at 7:47. When it froze up the second time, I quit trying to install.

Now it is Friday, and I am trying to decide my next move. Do I resume efforts to wipe my hard drive clean in hopes of making the installation go more smoothly? Do I wait for the arrival of the Ubuntu CD I ordered from Amazon before trying again?

Installing Ubuntu, Part 1

Ubuntu download dilemma

Well, my attempts to check the data integrity of my Ubuntu installation file did not go well. The Ubuntu website strongly recommends the procedure before burning the file to CD. I can definitely understand the need for your OS install CD to be 100 percent correct, so I followed the instructions for downloading and running the md5sum utility that are located on the Ubuntu website. I tried downloading an md5sum from a couple of sites, actually, and the result was always the same: my computer never recognized the md5sum command.

So now I have a dilemma. Do I just burn the CD and hope for the best, or do I keep trying?

Ubuntu download dilemma

Ubuntu download dilemma

Well, my attempts to check the data integrity of my Ubuntu installation file did not go well. The Ubuntu website strongly recommends the procedure before burning the file to CD. I can definitely understand the need for your OS install CD to be 100 percent correct, so I followed the instructions for downloading and running the md5sum utility that are located on the Ubuntu website. I tried downloading an md5sum from a couple of sites, actually, and the result was always the same: my computer never recognized the md5sum command.

So now I have a dilemma. Do I just burn the CD and hope for the best, or do I keep trying?

Ubuntu download dilemma

Dowloading Ubuntu

That whole thing about maybe I should have ordered the Ubuntu CD is coming home to roost. I started the download of the installation CD last night using my husband's computer, which has a faster processor and more memory. We also have a cable broadband connection here at the house. The download still took six hours, and now, according to the Ubuntu website, there are "data integrity" checks that I should perform before actually burning the download to a CD. Then, after burning the CD, there is a "CD integrity " check to perform as well.

For anyone who might someday read this posting (yeah, right), check out the Ubuntu listing on Amazon. The latest version of Ubuntu for PCs can be purchased for $10, not including shipping. I am ordering a copy as a safeguard.

And, of course, you can always install Edubuntu using the CD distributed in IT521 by Dr. Pfaffman.

Dowloading Ubuntu

Dowloading Ubuntu

That whole thing about maybe I should have ordered the Ubuntu CD is coming home to roost. I started the download of the installation CD last night using my husband's computer, which has a faster processor and more memory. We also have a cable broadband connection here at the house. The download still took six hours, and now, according to the Ubuntu website, there are "data integrity" checks that I should perform before actually burning the download to a CD. Then, after burning the CD, there is a "CD integrity " check to perform as well.

For anyone who might someday read this posting (yeah, right), check out the Ubuntu listing on Amazon. The latest version of Ubuntu for PCs can be purchased for $10, not including shipping. I am ordering a copy as a safeguard.

And, of course, you can always install Edubuntu using the CD distributed in IT521 by Dr. Pfaffman.

Dowloading Ubuntu

Portable Apps -- Round Two

Sick of the problems with my Portable Apps version of Firefox (see previous post), I uninstalled from my jump drive and reinstalled Portable Apps on a brand-new jump drive. This was one week ago, and so far so good. I kept my old jump drive for storing my web files for IT 578 and other school documents. In fact, nothing I create ends up on my PC hard drive anymore. I'm storing all data on the jump or external hard drive or the Web. Other than the fact that I now tote two jump drives around -- from home to work to school and back again -- this system has worked out fine.

Spring Break starts today, and my goal for this coming week (when I am not playing with my awesome son, Henry) is to begin the computer disaster recovery plan on my laptop and install Ubuntu. I read this week about Ubuntu versus Edubuntu operating systems and decided to opt for the latter because my laptop is for home use, not school use. The Edubuntu home page says it is designed for classroom use and someday will have implications for university use. Since I will not be returning to the classroom any time soon, I am going to start by burning the CD installer to a blank disc. I am a little worried about this process and am wondering if I took a misstep by not ordering a copy of the installer to be shipped to the house.

Portable Apps -- Round Two

Two days of bad page renderings with Firefox

I am on my second day of weird page renderings with my Portable Apps version of Firefox. I can browse the Internet no problem, but icons and backgrounds don't show up on websites. My Google Homepage is almost pure black and white as are my blog and Gmail interfaces. Very annoying.

Two days of bad page renderings with Firefox

Webliographer update

In addition to developing a Webliographer for my IT 578 project site, Publish Me! (Here's a rough prototype.), I may be working with teachers at Fulton High School to create a language arts Webliographer. The department chairperson is putting out feelers to see who would like to collaborate with me. I am hopeful that we will be able to run a short, after-school training session with at least 3-4 teachers before the end of March.

Webliographer update

Another project idea

This week as part of a word processing assignment, I tried (unsuccessfully) to utilize the bibliographic database in OoWriter. It was not easy, and the help menus had me going in loops.

Nonetheless, I was intrigued by the idea of starting and maintaining a reading list and having the capability to automatically generate a bibliography for my future papers. In class I learned about JabRaf. I think I would like to investigate this application and possibly use it to start a database.

Another project idea