Tom Caswell

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  • How To Root Your G1 Android Phone (and why you might want to)

    UPDATE: Here is a different set of instructions that is specifically for beginners, including an app that does most of the work for you: http://androidandme.com/2009/08/news/how-to-root-a-t-mobile-g1-and-mytouch-3g-android-phone/

    Please note: I have recently switched from JF 1.5.1 to the latest Cyanogen ROM (v.4.0.2). More details are available here: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=537204

    With the G2 out and a total of 18 Android phones expected by year’s end, I am happier than ever with my G1. Why? Because I have root access and a second battery 🙂 There are lots of forums and blogs that describe how to root a G1 Android phone, but first I want to focus on why you might want actually want to do it.

    Others have compiled lists of pros and cons for rooting the G1 phone, but I want to focus more on the specific apps that make rooting the G1 totally worth it to me. Normally, Android only lets you copy/paste links, but the rooted G1 (running JF 1.5.1) has a nifty feature that let’s me copy text from anywhere. (I do this a lot, so this is one less reason to bring the laptop.) With a rooted G1 you can hold Shift, scroll anywhere on the screen, click the scroll ball once to start selecting, and click it again to stop the selection — it automatically copies your selection to the clipboard. It also has a the iPhone’s multi-touch feature for the browser, if you care about that kind of stuff.

    Here are a few of my favorite “root only” apps:
    • Wifi tether (free here) — This is the single coolest reason to root your G1 phone. It allows your to use your G1’s data connection as a wifi access point. This is great alternative when staying in a hotel that charges for wifi. For those on a 3G network, this is actually pretty fast (a little less than DSL speeds). The G1 will prompt you when someone is trying to connect, so you can control who uses it. (It also works via Bluetooth, if you prefer that.) I’ve used wifi tether to create a mobile access point in the car. My wife used it to surf around on her iPod Touch on a recent road trip. Very cool.
    • Backup for Root Users (free on Android market) — Backs/restores all your apps and settings to your micro SD card. Even compatible with App2SD.
    • SetCPU (costs $0.99) — This app overclocks the G1 up to 528 MHz (384 is normal) when you are using it or when it’s plugged in, and can also “underclock” the processor down to 128 MHz when in sleep mode to save battery life. No reported problems with this level of overclocking. Very cool!

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  • Betting on trends in the Twitter backchannel

    People will bet on anything. From horses and cars to American Idol contestants and presidential candidates. At this year’s Games+Learning+Society Conference 5.0 I have enjoyed playing BackChatter, a game of trendwatching and betting on popular keywords in the Twitter backchannel. The idea is relatively simple. Before a keynote or session, each player sends a direct message with three words to an automated Twitter account. The point value drops as more people pick the same keyword, so originality is encouraged. At the end of the session or keynote, points are “paid out” to each player based on how many times their words were used. An online leader board makes everything nice and competitive. The results were displayed on several screens at the GLS conference.

    For anyone who thinks this is a distraction, I can only offer my own experience with the game. Prior to the last keynote, I actually found myself reading Rich Halverson’s CV and an abstract of his book to prepare my keyword bets. I was more engaged than ever in the sessions, trying to detect trends I could use for future bets in the game. So while this is clearly anecdotal evidence, the game worked for me. LibraryRemix points out that because this activity develops skills in trendwatching, it could be powerful in schools as well:

    What if your students were compelled to pre-analyze a discussion, predict trends (places they believe their peers will focus their attention during that discussion) AND perhaps empowered to influence those trends themselves, simply by participating in the conversation?  Heady hands-on experience!

    I have hung out in many a Twitter backchannel at plenty of conferences (in case you haven’t heard, I’m the reigning Grand Poobah of Social Media from TTIX 09). BackChatter is the most effective, engaging idea I have seen for encouraging meaningful activity on Twitter. Kudos to all who were involved in this project! I hope you will share your project with other conference organizers.

    Backchatter_pic

  • A great conference and an unexpected honor

    TTIX and Starbucks -- so happy together
    Welcome to TTIX!

    Earlier today I was crowned “Grand Poobah of Social Media” at this year’s Teaching with Technology Idea Exchange (http://ttix.org). This honor came shortly after Chris Lott’s closing keynote in which I realized that I would probably be better off if I tweeted less and meditated more. But now I carry a new mantle, an unexpected honor I earned by blasting out conference tweets and links like a mad man. I can’t complain. They gave me an iPod Touch.

    Beyond the iPod Touch and the whole Grand Poobah experience, some highlights from this conference for me were chatting about Twitter as an engine with Scott Leslie at Sundance, catching up with David Wiley (finally!), and presenting with Marion Jensen on Augmented Field Trips using whereigo. Jon Mott’s Building a loosely coupled gradebook presentation and Chuck Wight’s Engaged or enraged? Courting the online learner with lessons learned from video games were also stand outs for me. And there was also the purchase of a Yamaha LD-10 guitar on the way home. What could be better?

    Tom Caswell ~IS~ the Grand Pooh-bah of Social Media!
    Does this hat make me look like a Grand Poobah?

    Every one of the keynotes was first rate. Brian Lamb threw it down with style with his presentation on The Urgency of Open Education. I love Brian’s question, referring to the thousands of cameras taking the same picture during Barack Obama’s visit to Berlin: “Was anyone in the audience really worried that this was going to be aptly documented visually?” I enjoy his perspective as he looks into the participatory culture of social media. Scott Leslie’s The Open Educator As DJ was both interesting and a visual breath of fresh air. Scott used a tool called Prezi — you just have to see it for yourself: http://prezi.com/66159/. Finally, Chris Lott really brought it home with his closing keynote, which takes a fresh, honest, philosophical look at at education. He started out sitting us down in Plato’s dark cave, and took us on a guided tour of the history of ideas. I’m so glad there are still people like Chris out there to remind me to be honest and humble about my learning journey.

    This conference was packed with great sessions and (more importantly) with great people. When I tweeted something about TTIX saving the best sessions for last Scott Leslie replied that he disagreed because all the sessions were great. Looking back I have to agree. Kudos to the Marc Hugentobler (diamond_mind on Twitter) and the rest of the UVU TTIX team! I’m already looking forward to next year, and not just because I get to wear the Grand Poobah hat!

  • Press Release: Tweeting the Civil War on Twhistory.com

    Here is a press release that went out to Wired, CNN, AP, and some other media outlets earlier today. I hope it gets picked up by one of them. It’s been a fun project so far, and this is just the beginning. Enjoy!

    Contact: TOM CASWELL
    Email: caswell [dot] tom [at] gmail [dot] com

    FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
    9 A.M. MST, April 28, 2009

    TWEETING THE CIVIL WAR
    LOGAN, UTAH, APRIL 27, 2009: TWHISTORY.COM introduces the Civil War to a techno-savvy generation using actual 19th century journals cropped down to twitter-size updates. Now users can follow the day-by-day accounts of the Civil War from actual participants, all on Twitter.

    Twitter, a microblogging tool that allows users to send updates in 140 characters or less, might be a relatively new tool, but Marion Jensen, Director of OpenCourseWare at Utah State University, thinks that by applying the tool to the 19th century, people can gain new appreciation for Civil War history.

    Using original sources such as diaries and journals of soldiers in the battle, Jensen and other volunteers tweet what that person did on a particular day. “So if a particular soldier had beans for breakfast on April 26, 1863, I twitter for that person on April 26, 2009: ‘had beans for breakfast.’”  Jensen says. Each soldier will be at or near Gettysburg at the time of famous Civil War Battle. The soldiers can be followed at http://twhistory.com

    Jensen says that by following many soldiers over the course of days and weeks, one can really get a feel for what life was like back in the Civil war. “Each person doesn’t say a lot, but when you read all of the tweets in concert, you begin to get a picture of the whole story.”

    Jensen is twittering both Union soldiers and generals, as well as those who fought for the Confederacy. “We are also twittering a newspaper, as well as President Lincoln.”

    Jensen says he will follow these characters through the Battle of Gettysburg, in early July. “After the Gettysburg, we may continue on with these characters, or we may start a new project. Possible future projects include the Cuban Missile Crisis or the proceedings of the Continental Congress.”

  • OER Access and Accessibility Session Live and on Twitter!

    I will be conducting a panel session on OER access and accessibility in about an hour. It will run from 11:15am to 12:45pm CDT (UTC/GMT -5 hours). If you are not present at the OCWC Conference in Monterrey, you can connect via Elluminate web conference here: https://globalcampus.uiowa.edu/. To join the room, click on the “WiderNet eGranary Partnerships” (first link) and enter your name (no password required). This will start a java download that may take a few minutes, so please allow some time before the session.

    You can also join in via twitter: #OCWC09wsaccess and #OCWCglobal2009

    Here is the page that is pulling feeds together for the session: http://conferences.ocwconsortium.org/index.php/ocwcglobal/monterrey2009/paper/view/49

    Panel members joining via Elluminate web conference are encouraged to sign on 15 minutes early (at 11:00am CDT). Others attending the webcast of the session are welcome to participate or listen in, but please save questions for the end. Comments may be submitted via chat during the session, but please be respectful of the speakers. In case you miss the session we are also recording it, and I will send out the link when it is available. Here are the details:

    Session Focus: In this exploratory session we will discuss assistive technology efforts as well as projects to improve access to OER in developing countries. What projects are under way to improve accessibility and access to OER? How are accessibility and access challenges similar and what strategies might offer solutions to both problems?

    Format: 90 minute session
    Brief welcome and introduction by Tom Caswell

    Panel Speakers, in speaking order (8-10 minutes each)
    1. Tom Abelas (Sagacity) :: What is the future of OER within the context of the future of education?
    2. Tom Caswell (OCWC/eduCommons) :: Overview of accessibility efforts within eduCommons project
    3. Cliff Missen (WiderNet.org/eGranery) :: Overview of eGranery, with a focus on providing access to OER
    4. Ahrash Bissell (ccLearn) :: Thoughts on content licensing considerations and their impact on global access goals
    5. Jonathan Whiting (WebAIM.org) :: Introduce WebAIM efforts for web accessibility. What resources exit for those new to accessibility?
    6. Dean Jansen (Participatory Culture Foundation/Miro video project) :: How does access and accessibility impact the future of  video? What is being done in these areas? Future directions for Miro
    7. Bjoern Hassler (Cambridge University) :: Additional comments on video and access. Introduce Access2OER group (email list) to OCWC members. Where do we go from here?

    Questions for panel members (using chat and audio)
    Wrap up

    Panel Member Biographies:

    Tom Abelas has a Ph.D. in physical chemistry, former tenured professor at the University of Wisconsin-Green Bay in the area of renewable energy, environmental science and liberal studies. Using distance education delivery systems for over 40 years and international consultant on dist-education and e-learning. Edit the international academic journal, On the Horizon, http://www.emeraldinsight.com/oth.htm which is a foresight journal focusing on education preK->gray with an emphasis on post secondary education. On the editorial boards of other academic journals from sustainable agriculture to world peace. President/Chairman of Sagacity, Inc an international consulting firm in renewable energy and the environment.

    Tom Caswell is eduCommons Project Manager for the OpenCourseWare Consortium. eduCommons is an open source content management system designed specificaly for OpenCourseWare. Tom has also worked on the eduCommons project at the Center for Open and Sustainable Learning at Utah State University. He is a fourth year doctoral student studying open content and instructional games at the secondary level.

    Cliff Missen is the director of the WiderNet Project and an instructor in the School of Library and Information Science at the University of Iowa.  The WiderNet Project works to improve digital communication in developing countries through the development of human capacity and program planning.  With over 24 years professional experience in computers, networking, multimedia design, teaching, and applications development, Missen oversees the development of the eGranary Digital Library, an innovative way to deliver the world’s knowledge to people and institutions with inadequate Internet access.

    Ahrash Bissell is the Executive Director of ccLearn, the education division of Creative Commons, which focuses on removing the legal, technical, and cultural barriers to open education, digital scholarship, and the growth of the global commons. Prior to his current position, Ahrash was at Duke University, where he was Assistant Director of the Academic Resource Center and a Research Associate in Biology. He has a Ph.D. in Biology (Evolutionary Genetics) from the University of Oregon and a BS in Biology from the University of California, San Diego.

    Jonathan Whiting, M.S., is the director of training and evaluation at WebAIM. WebAIM is a non-profit organization based at the Center for Persons with Disabilities at Utah State University. It is one of the most influential Web accessibility groups in the nation. As an instructional designer, Jonathan has published dozens of articles, tutorials, and other instructional resources. He has also traveled extensively to train hundreds of higher education Web developers, content creators, and other professionals who develop or maintain Web content. In addition to training, Jonathan has also provided Web accessibility evaluations and reports for several higher education institutions.

    Dean Jansen is Outreach Director for the Participatory Culture Foundation. Dean is currently focused on co-organizing the Open Video Conference, which is slated to take place in New York on June 19-20. The conference will be asking big questions about the future of video; for instance, how do we effectively preserve our right to free expression in a world of consolidated commercial video gateways? Additionally, Dean helped draft the Open U proposal, which would be part of a fully open, end-to-end distribution system for educational resources. The Participatory Culture Foundation is a non-profit organization with a media reform mission. They foster bottom up economies and promote openness and decentralization in the online media ecosystem. Miro, the free and open source HD video player and distribution system, is their flagship project—you can check it out at: www.GetMiro.com

    Dr Björn Haßler (University of Cambridge) has been working on educational issues for the last 8 years, including research on diagnostic testing for undergraduate mathematics education, widening participation and access through ICT, as well as volunteer engagement in media production. Since 2006 Björn holds a senior research associate position at CARET, working on educational aspects of new media. He has extensive experience in teaching multimedia, both within Cambridge and internationally, and has contributed to a number of best practice guidelines, including UNESCO National Commission reports. Further information at http://www.sciencemedianetwork.org