Emerging Technologies Continued

Tom Daccord is now presenting and has brought up a few good topics. Here are a few books he recommended:

Daniel pink: A Whole New Mind
Ben Shneiderman: Leonardo’s Laptop

Daccord has been mentioning a few concepts and how they apply to the use of technology:

Collect – Relate – Creative – Donate

Collect – Fact acquisition and research
Relate – Team efforts that develop communication
Creative – Individual and team projects create to learn and learn to create
Donate – Authentic, service-oriented projects. The project should benefit others.

He has been discussing how the technology the students use can enable them to contribute and the classroom not only becomes student centered but can leave a legacy for future classes or others around the world.

Daccord has also mentioned how technology is engaging but rather what is more important is to create critical thinking skills by using that technology.

Innovation and information should be the focus not the acquisition or use of technology. We should use technology but ensure that the students create and innovate as they learn and truly understand the content that you as a teacher are disseminating. Through this process we should also cross disciplines and must become more flexible as the world becomes more flat.

Prior to Daccord presenting, a few of the Nobles teachers presented the school’s wiki.  This is the template they have been working with, it might provide you with some good ideas.

Teaching with Emerging Technologies

I am attending a workshop on teaching with emerging technologies at Nobles in Dedham, MA. This has been a useful workshop. At its core, the workshop is placing the dissemination of information above the use of technology. Technology becomes the conduit for the spread of information.

Alan November gave a very good presentation on how to promote critical thinking, global communication skills, and self directed learning. He discussed the importance of incorporating simple and free technologies that will enable the students to become complete learners. Some of theses free tools include:

Skype – a tool for communication
ePals – to be connected to classrooms around the world
podcasts
blogs

More to come as the day progresses.

Shift Happens

The following video discusses how the world is changing. As technologies arrive and students prepare for an ever changing world, this video puts the future into perspective.

Internet Archive

The Internet Archive is a fantastic source of multimedia resources.  They have audio and video on a wide range of topics.  There is a entire education section as well as the Prelinger Archives which has over 4,000 videos that as the site states, “Its goal remains to collect, preserve, and facilitate access to films of historic significance that haven’t been collected elsewhere.” 

I hope you find this resource as useful as I have.

Dyslexia and Textbooks

We use Peter Stearns’ World Civilizations: The Global Experience in our World Civilizations classes for both 9th and 10th graders. This is a college level text. Some of the students have difficulty getting through the text. To combat such an issue, especially for dyslexic students, Recording for the Blind and Dyslexic publishes common textbooks on audio CD. I believe this is a great resource and believe that every library should have recordings of their textbooks so that students have access to resources that would assist them. Well, at least I’m going to try to get a recording for our department.

The only downside is that the membership and the special cd player that is required are not cheap. I guess you have to be wealthy to afford access to these reading aid materials.

TeacherTube

There is a new resource available for teachers called TeacherTube. It is following the premise of YouTube but provides educational content. Sounds like it may prove useful as not only a data bank for videos but also a means to promote your or your classes work.

YouTube and Education

This is the next podcast episode on Digital Campus, sponsored by The Center for History and New Media Studies and George Mason University. The podcast is dealing with how YouTube can be used in an educational setting. It also reexamines the Wikipedia debate.

Is Wikipedia Bad News? Some Don’t Think So.

The following essay was written by Cathy Davidson at Duke.  She argues against Middlebury College’s decision to ban Wikipedia.  An interesting argument especially as more and more of our students initially turn to Wikipedia for their information.

A New Blog Portal

There is a new blogging resource for educators and students alike.  21Classes can either be a free or paid resource.  While you do not have to pay for the blog, it will include Google Ads and only 2 MB of space per student where as if you pay $8.25/month there are no ads and the space is increased to 25MB per student.

It looks as though this may be a useful resource in creating a more open classroom.

Web 2.0 and its Influence

I’ve been stuck in Syracuse for two days now. I came on Thursday afternoon for a AP workshop on Friday. Due to a massive snow storm my flight back to Boston on Friday evening was canceled and I was then redirected to fly out to Philly and then to Boston on Saturday. This dilemma gave me the opportunity to meet some new friends, finish the book I was reading and provide some food for thought on the use of technology.

I am currently still in Syracuse, spending my St. Patrick’s Day in the airport and using the free wireless network they provide their customers. As I sit here and patiently wait to find out if I will be finally headed back home I become aware of the influence that technology and its uses has upon our lives. I am listening to my iPod shuffle, I updated my online running log, and am able to check on the NCAA tournament and post this blog entry.

What does this mean? What does this access allow us? Does this access create a bold new frontier or another tool for procrastination?

The ability to connect and access information practically from any where in the world is a great concept. By introducing the ability to publish your voice to the world via the Web 2.0 creates a whole new environment. The fact that I am in an airport and posting while I wait proves that ideas and a level of thought can be introduced at any point to the entire world. This creates a dynamic way to reach others, whether you are an educator, a sales rep, or a doctor the ability to access and post information and the means to do so, have and will continue to change radically our perceptions of learning, communication and ideas.

This access creates a sense of self that is beyond that of the physical. Ideas and thoughts that are published can make anyone an author, anyone have a voice. This is in a sense, liberating. This ability to connect provides us not only a voice but a means for communication. I can now reach my students on multiple levels, creating ways to communicate ideas and create discussion and thought. No longer is learning confined to the classroom. For other industries, this connectivity creates a means to introduce a new product line or provide feedback on a worldwide level. The innovative uses of this new tool is what will determine the future leaders. Our ability to harness the potential of the web 2.o and incorporate it into our work will lead us to a new level of success and understanding.

While some detractors may say that the tools of the internet and the access it brings can only be used as a research tool or a means to provide another authoritative source. But on the contrary, it allows folks like you and me to have a voice, it enables the population to speak their mind and start a level of communication that may not have been previously accessible. While many of my students, and I am sure countless others out there, use these new lines of communication simply for email and Instant Messenger the potential uses and possibilities are countless and will create a much more diverse and rewarding educational and professional experience.

Now I have to figure out if my flight has been canceled and If I have to drive to Boston to pick up my car.

Peace.