EdTechatouille
iPhone Classroom Integration Cases
Oct 10th
Having been asked to experiment with an iPhone to identify how it may be used by would-be and current teachers and faculty in certification or faculty development programs, there’s two primary integration cases for iPhones or iPods. I’ve not yet encountered explicit mention of the two use cases in research or news literature. The distinguishing issue is, of course, “Who in the classroom has access to or ownership of a device?” The question of integration should be answered very differently if only faculty are assured of access to the device versus 1:1 programs in which the institution makes the devices available to each learner. More >
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Loading ...Magic of the iPhone & Education
Oct 9th
Having toyed with an iPhone, finally, for a little over 3 days, I’ve learned a few things which I did not quite realize before – realizations I believe required the day-to-day presence of an iPhone ;-)
First, despite my very high expectations for the device, the iPhone has still exceeded my expectations. Of course, that’s all about the apps.
Second, for me, the magic of the iPhone is the extent to which it shortcuts access to web-based data. Rather than having to, from a laptop or any other device, open a browser, navigate to a URL, manage the login process, open a data source or page, the iPhone gets you to the point of opening the data source or page in one step: opening the app. Certainly, there’s more complex features available from a desktop, but the iPhone simplifies the process of accessing and submitting data via the web.
Finally, I also didn’t fully realize the extent to which the iPhone can be an all-in-one media content creation device for educational purposes: recording images, audio and video. I was aware of the features before; however, the general ease of use of the device is still impressive and exceeds my expectations.
(No Ratings Yet) Loading ...Complaints About Google Wave?
Oct 8th
I’m still waiting on my Google Wave invite, although I do have reason to believe one is “in the mail.” In the interim, it seems Wave is on an accelerated hype cycle – already finding itself in a trough of anti-hype and complaints regarding the usability and productive utility of the application.
Several colleagues have commented that it seems like “Wave is a bust.” My response has been that I’ll reserve judgment until after I see it for myself, of course. One concern I have is that some of the anti-hype “seems” to be over-anti-hyped and, worse yet in some instances, inaccurate based on what I’ve seen of Wave through earlier demo videos. For example, eWeek published a presentation, Top 10 Complaints About Google Wave. The eWeek article makes little to no contribution to news or the scope of “reviews” regarding Google Wave. Those ten complaints and my brief, immediate thoughts: More >
(No Ratings Yet) Loading ...Finally . . . an iPhone
Oct 5th
But, it’s not mine to keep . . . yet ;-) It’s part of a demo program; the explicit purpose of the demo is to identify specific curricular possibilities for an undergraduate educational technology course, an alternative teacher certification program, and an educational technology faculty development program. I hope to blog regularly – near daily if I can maintain that pace – over the next month to document what I’m doing and considering with the iPhone.
First up. Which apps am I downloading? Why? More >
(No Ratings Yet) Loading ...Who Misread @dtapscott’s Growing Up Digital?
Aug 31st
My hopeful dissertation topic focuses on computer literacy skills of community college learners; generally, there seems to be an assumption that early college learners are inherently tech-savvy and computer literate. I believe that assumption exists in the mainstream consciousness – this past week I heard a local morning show radio personality comment, “They [teenagers] are all tech-savvy.” At the very least, the assumption pervades much of higher education’s consciousness. Many examples exist, through news reports and public announcements, of curricular, budgetary, and policy decisions being made by educational institutions at all levels based on that assumption.
One of the sources cited by researchers in the field as being a core advocate of the inherently technology adept “net generation learner” is Donald Tapscott’s Growing Up Digital. I’ve been reading much of that text, with a focus on sections dedicated to “N-Gen” and learning.
In short, I believe many of the overstated assumptions regarding the technological skill of the Net Generation Learner may be inaccurately attributed to Tapscott. More >
(No Ratings Yet) Loading ...Palfrey & Gasser’s Born Digital
Aug 23rd
Reading for my dissertation literature review, engaged Palfrey & Gasser’s Born Digital. Honestly, I was expecting nothing beyond more run of the mill net generation rhetoric; I certainly encountered some of that, but I also was pleasantly surprised by their chapter on “Learners.”
In the selected bibliography, Palfrey & Gasser note Nicholas Negroponte’s Being Digital as the inspiration for the text and place this text squarely in the same category of pursuit as previous net generation learner texts: Don Tapscott, Marc Prensky, and Oblinger & Oblinger.
Certainly, Palfrey & Gasser repeat the foundation of the “digital native” rhetoric: More >
(No Ratings Yet) Loading ...PLEs are Educationally Delicious, EAT-IT 2009
Aug 18th
I recently had the opportunity to travel to the Twin Cities area to attend and present at Emerging Academic Technologies and Instructional Techniques, otherwise known as EAT-IT (hence the presentation topic). Innovations in e-Education at Lake Superior College and Inver Hills Community College hosted, and Barry Dahl (twitter, blog, blog) organized and coordinated the event.
(No Ratings Yet) Loading ...Dede does *not* advocate "Millenials"
Aug 17th
I know I’ve seen Chris Dede cited in reference to advocating or supporting the “net generation” or “millenials” argument: current early college age learners have distinct learning styles and digital expectations. After reading the piece I believe is cited most often, I believe those citing Dede in that manner have misread his work.
Another oversimplification of the generational frameworks for learning styles is seeing computers and telecommunications as a single medium that fosters a particular approach to learning . . . it’s an infrastructure that supports many media, including [such] disparate applications. (Dede, 2005, p. 6). More >
(No Ratings Yet) Loading ...IBM’s Mentoring Network via Facebook
Aug 3rd
Continuing in the Ilich-vein from the last couple of posts. An article at Chronicle Wired describes a new, Facebook-based mentoring program IBM will be piloting this Fall:
Through a Facebook application, which IBM plans to offer in a pilot program in the United States this fall, students like Mr. Vogt, a sophomore at Pace University, can find mentors to give them practical or career advice, or oversee student projects, said Tim Willeford, a spokesman for IBM.
“We have existing mentorship programs within IBM, so it’s a natural extension that we’re trying to connect experts of multiple disciplines to university students,” Mr. Willeford said. “It’s one of the next steps in education.”
Students would log in to an application that would connect them to IBM experts with similar interests, skills, or career goals. Together they could contribute to message boards, create groups, or develop independent projects. Similar mentor programs have been offered in several countries, including India, Mr. Willeford said.
This touches directly on the ideas I’ve discovered recently in Ilich’s 1971 book, “Deschooling Society,” and it appears to be a very specific, although more narrow example of what Alan (Levine aka CogDog) suggested in his recent post. More >
(No Ratings Yet) Loading ...Ivan Ilich Keeps "Popping Up"
Aug 2nd
In previous entry, I quoted from Ivan Ilich’s “Deschooling Society” on which I recently stumbled while reading in more depth about personal learning environments. Just in the last couple of days, Ilich’s simple notion of broad, interpersonal networks serving the primary educational function has surfaced in two other blogs.
First, Alan Levine asked why is it not possible for
People who have knowledge skills to tweet might send messages with #haveknowledge and people looking to learn something specific can tweet #wanttolearn
as a sort of an educational matchmaking system. More >
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