Category: Future

Teens Talk about Educational Technology

One of the highlights of the 2007 AECT International Convention was the fireside chat with Marc Prensky and 5 high school students. Prensky pretty much said the same thing he’s been saying for years (I’ve heard and seen that speech and presentation 3 different times now) but the students brought a fresh perspective to the technology integration conversation. It was great to hear students describe what they consider to be ideal instruction, assignments, assessment, and the desired classroom environment. I sat there thinking that we need to hear from students more often. You can read a transcript of this event here.

Steve Hargadon has recently posted an article (here and here) summarizing his interview with a 14 year old student “who has recently become actively involved in the online dialog about educational technology.” Steve’s summation and the audio of the interview are both intriguing.

I encourage you to spend some time listening to what the students have to say and then share your thought in the comments below.

K-12 Online Conference

The K-12 Online Conference invites participation from educators around the world interested in innovative ways Web 2.0 tools and technologies can be used to improve learning. This FREE conference is run by volunteers and open to everyone. The 2007 conference theme is “Playing with Boundaries”. This year’s conference begins with a pre-conference keynote the week of October 8, 2007. The following two weeks, October 15-19 and October 22-26, forty presentations will be posted online to the conference blog for participants to download and view. Live Events in the form of three “Fireside Chats” and a culminating “When Night Falls” event will be announced. Everyone is encouraged to participate in both live events during the conference as well as asynchronous conversations.

Click here for information about podcast channels and conference web feeds.

Sputnik’s 50th Anniversary

Today marks the 50th anniversary of Sputnik’s launch into space. It was the first artificial satellite to successfully orbit the Earth. Its impact on American education probably can not be truly measured, but it was an event that fueled the race into space and brought about quick reform.

What do you think teaching, learning, and technology would be like today if there had been no Sputnik?

Teaching and Learning in the 2.0 Era

Many of this blog’s readers and many of my students have asked me to provide an overview of the buzz-term 2.0. As you’ll see in just a moment, it is reported to have all started with the use of the phrase Web 2.0 back in 2004 and was soon followed by phrases such as Learning 2.0, Presentations 2.0, School 2.0, Identity 2.0, and Office 2.0 just to give a few examples. All of these are ideas that represent a change/ evolution/ revolution in thinking and practice. Clearly each of these terms has really cool and innovative technologies associated with them, but we must not get distracted by the toys. I think it’s far more important that educators and instructional designers consider the philosophical, theoretical, pedagogical, and pragmatic implications of these ideas as I think each could potentially influence education in the future. I intend on posting more about this later, but for now let’s start at the very beginning. Here are introductions to the terms Web 2.0 and Learning 2.0.

Let’s Set the Scene

  1. If you have access to Integrating Computer Technology into the Classroom, I encourage you to read Chapter 1, Rethinking Computers and Instruction. Otherwise, proceed to the next item.
  2. Consider the information presented in the Shift Happens presentation.

Web 2.0

  1. An Introduction to Web 2.0 – This post includes 2 videos that will provide you with a quick introduction to the concept of Web 2.0.
  2. Web 2.0’s Potential Impact on Teaching Learning – Includes the viral video Web 2.0…The Machine Is Us/ing Us.
  3. Web 2.0 entry from Wikipedia – Look over this information and become somewhat familiar with the big ideas. I’m not expecting you to become an expert on this. Spending 5 minutes here should be just fine.

Learning 2.0

  1. Learning 2.0 entry from Wikipedia – This is a very quick read and provides a basic introduction to the idea of Learning 2.0.
  2. Example of teaching and learning 2.0 – 13 Yr. Old CEO of Innovative Educational Gaming Company

For Your Consideration

  1. Do Schools Kill Creativity?

Demo of an AMAZING New Technology

Using photos of oft-snapped subjects (like Notre Dame) scraped from around the Web, Photosynth (based on Seadragon technology) creates breathtaking multidimensional spaces with zoom and navigation features that outstrip all expectation. Its architect, Blaise Aguera y Arcas, shows it off in this standing-ovation demo…Indeed, Photosynth might utterly transform the way we manipulate and experience digital images. — from TED Talks

The potential implications this kind of technology could have on education are mind blowing. Off the top of my head I can see connections to math, science, geography, art, architecture, photography, mass media and communications, and language arts just to name a few. Then there’s the unbelievable potential for semantic mapping/concept mapping. I’d very much like to hear your thoughts about this. Please leave your response using the Comments link below.