AWESOME Digital Learners Video!!

I came across this insightful video this morning about Digital Learners and why technology is important to incorporate when teaching students.

This is not a new idea, but one that is dear to me.  Use this video anytime you have a room full of teachers and you’re trying to help them see why technology is important.  Not just to help them teach, but to engage the students and help them learn.

On a sidenote, there was an article a couple of days ago on CNN: “Study: No benefit going high-tech for math and reading.“  The article reviews an attempt to incorporate “software products” in elementary and secondary reading and math classes.  Three things strike me about this study:

  1. The title suggests that technology is not helping in the classroom.  Although I’m not sure what ‘software products’ means, I would certainly guess it is not something akin to podcasts, blogs, cell phones, social networks and other technology that is exciting to elementary and secondary students. 
  2. I am still disturbed by the constant need to gauge success in the classroom by scores.  The article mentions nothing about the student reaction to the change in the classroom.  Are the students excited to come to class?  Are the students engaged in class?  Is there a change in the drop out rate for students using technology in the classroom and those that aren’t?  Do students that use technology in the classroom go on to higher paid, professional jobs? 
  3. Although the study didn’t produce higher standardized test results,
    when teachers were asked if they would use the products again nearly
    ALL indicated they would.  The teachers in the classroom obviously see the importance of the technology.  It may be because it makes their jobs easier, but I think teachers can also see that more students are engaged and more students are willing to learn. 

Just my 2 cents this morning…

By Jeff | Posted on: April 9, 2007 at 7:54 am | Comments (7)

RSS… Isn’t it about time?

I came across this great quick introduction to RSS reads this morning in my reads (through my RSS reads).  I, like Mark Wagner who wrote this article, have often been asked by people how I know this or that.  It is because of RSS.   My subscriptions keep me up to date without having to go out and find the content!

I know most of you use RSS already, but if you have not and would like to get into it… NOW IS THE TIME.  Here is a great introduction, including a link to an even longer and more comprehensive introduction by Will Richardson. 

By Jeff | Posted on: April 9, 2007 at 5:56 am |

Create Your Own Google Maps Mashup!

I came across a great new find this morning in my reads! Combine maps and spreadsheets with Google’s new mashup tool | Webware : Cool Web apps for everyone Annotated “Google has put together an experimental wizard for creating your own Google Maps mashup using data from Google Spreadsheets.”

The best part is… “you won’t have to know a lick of code, or anything super technical to use it.”

I’m sure we can find an educational use for this one…

By Jeff | Posted on: April 4, 2007 at 8:52 am |

A New Generation of Learners!

The ELI conference started out yesterday with a fantastic presentation by Rick VanEck of University of North Dakota.  As all great presenters at the beginning of a conference do, he laid out a vision of the conference and why it is important.  As the focus of the conference is immersive learning environments, the title of his talk was “Generation G and the 21st Century: How Games are Preparing Todays Students for Tomorrow’s Workplace.” He said a couple of things that really stuck out to me. 

How Technology has changed our learners
Right at the beginning of the presentation he came right out and said that schools/institutions as a whole are out of touch with the way technology has changed the students arriving today.  He gives a rough definition of technology that I found quite insightful. 

Technology is what becomes available AFTER you were a teenager.

By this definition radio is technology for those born in the 1920′s-30′s.  TV for those born in the 50-60′s.  Internet for those born in the 80-90′s.  But those entering education today don’t have anything that is new to them. NOTHING is technology to them because they are comfortable with all of it!  Because they grew up with the internet, not to mention all those other ‘technology’ devices, they are intricately familiar with them.

This generation is absolutely saturated with media and stimuli from dozens of sources at once.  Because they love games and gaming, it is easy to dismiss th as flighty, spoiled, unwilling to work… but they are probably what we are going to need in the 21st century.  They are constantly on the cutting edge and innovating.  They are all about interaction, collaboration and engagement.

Old Learning / New Learning
The way we teach and learn has looked the same for thousands of years… it’s still in place… but it just looks different than we’re used to.  People still interact and learn from one another.  People still need to learn skills and facts.  There is still built in feedback and assessment.  Everything is just packaged different than we are used to. 

  • Play is naturally employed, effective learning program (think of the way kids learn!!)
  • Play requires interaction and participation!! (Engagement)
  • Benefits of PBL (Problem Based Learning)
  • Situated Cognition and Learning – “anchoring authentic context to learning” – Knowledge relevant in the field in which it is applied!!
  • Questioning, Cognitive Disequilibrium, Scaffolding

Things that we see as useless may actually be very important learning tools!  (Facebook, YouTube).

Why our Current Model Doesn’t Work
Students only typically have one stimulus in our teaching environment.  Much less than the dozen or so they have in a gaming situation. 

Fact – #1 reason for dropping out of high school – BOREDOM!

There is a large population of students that are falling through the cracks, not because they are not smart enough, but because they are not being challenged.  This old world way of teaching is not engaging them.  All you have to do is look at the copious amount of literature (websites, blogs, chat forums, and even literary guild’s in some cases) available online to see how gaming is motivating students.  They are not getting any money out of their work.  They do it because they find it rewarding.

Rick ends his presentation with a strong statement, which I will mimic here.  Learners are changing and so the way we educate them also has to change.  LEAD, FOLLOW, or GET OUT OF THE WAY!!

By Jeff | Posted on: March 28, 2007 at 4:49 pm | Comments (3)

ELI Conference – Haptic Force Feedback on Learning

I am sitting in another session of the ELI Conference given by Gary Bertoline of Perdue University right now and just had an AMAZING experience with an Haptic device.  I am assuming that since I didn’t know about this before some of you don’t either. 

Haptic devices are basically connecting the virtual world to the real world.  The most common device now a days is the new Nintendo Wii.  The devices react according to what you are doing on the program.  I played with a device like the Novint Falcon that interacts with a computer program according to the laws of physics. 

You move the little ball around and it moves in 3D on the computer.  What’s more.  When you move against an object it increases the feedback force in relationship to the object.  It is incredible how real life it is.  As far as you can tell, it is a real object. 

You can then change the laws that control the feedback to mimic another planet… say Jupiter and the object reacts according to the new laws.  Not only that, the feedback you feel in the device as you move it adjusts accordingly to.  I just felt what it was like to move a box on Jupiter and Pluto… when I am going to get a chance to do that again soon?  I’m certainly not heading out there any time soon. :-)

A great quote from Gary:

“Until you experience haptics, you just don’t know how to use it.  Once you experience it you can see how it could be useful in teaching and learning.”

In addition to a device like this there are haptic gloves that mimic real touch.  Gary makes a great point… he basically says that there is no excuse not to have one of these devices now.  They are only $200-$300.  They are becoming mainstream.

Imagine the potential with virtual worlds like Second Life.  I have been in a long discussion with some of my colleagues the past couple of days trying to convince them that there is something to Second Life.  One of the arguments the naysayers brought up was the inability to feel.  Incorporate this technology and you have sight, sound and touch!  AMAZING!  So, everyone… go order yours today!  Pre-order is only $189. 

By Jeff | Posted on: March 28, 2007 at 1:34 pm | Comments (9)

Another Testimony for Google Books

Ran across this great blog post today of a student doing research for her dissertation.

I was idly trying a search on “roads” to see what sort of a
literature would turn up for the period of my dissertation research,
1740-1850. I didn’t expect much. I’ve spent the last two years
wandering through the Yale, Harvard, and California libraries, the
British Library, Britain’s National Archives, and the immense reserves
of North American Inter Library Loan reading every book on London,
pavement, or travel I could get my hands on.

Surprise. In a single idle search I just added twenty extra full-text books to my list.

Which are, by the way, full-text searchable –

– and subject to word-count analysis –

– and replete with full illustrations –

– and instantly digestable into visuals for powerpoint presentations.

Hallelujah, GoogleBooks. And holy mackeral! Good work.

See, I’m not crazy when I say Google Books is amazing and awesome!!  Check it out if you haven’t yet! 

By Jeff | Posted on: March 21, 2007 at 8:04 am | Comments (1)

Google Book Search Signs up Big – Foreign Language

Yesterday Google Book Search made a fantastic announcement for all those that work with some of the common foreign languages (German, Spanish, French, Italian, Latin).  They have added the Bayerische Staatsbibliothek (Bavarian State Library) to the Google Books Library Project. 

As one of Europe’s most important and renowned international research libraries, Bayerische Staatsbibliothek will add more than a million out-of-copyright books to the program, from well-loved German classics by the Brothers Grimm and Goethe to extensive collections previously only available to those able to consult the library’s stacks. In addition to German-language works, the library’s collection includes numerous out-of-copyright works in French, Spanish, Latin, Italian and English. Some of the works of the Bayerische Staatsbibliothek date back to the very first moments of book printing and bear incredible cultural meaning.

What is amazing about this is the million out-of-copyright books that will be available (FULLY) online.  Not only to be read, but searched and explored with the myriad of other tools Google offers through their books search.  For those who are not familiar with these features, I wrote an article about them a couple of months ago here. 

As we reflect back on Google’s ‘Unbound’ Conference, we begin to see how the new unbound literature will extend internationally.  I’m so excited!  Can you tell?  It must be my Dutch heritage coming through… or perhaps all those years I spent reading amazing German stories!

By Jeff | Posted on: March 7, 2007 at 9:47 am | Comments (1)

Top Web Tools for College Students from NextPath

Just found this great webpage that has 10 tools for college students.  I post a link to it here both for my friends still in school that may read this, but also for instructors who want to know what students are using and how they are using it.  Every teacher that I know is (or should be) a life-long learner too… enjoy!!

Top 10 list includes:

  1. Book Finder
  2. MynoteIT
  3. Ottobib
  4. Google Docs
  5. Tada List
  6. Meebo
  7. Wikipedia
  8. Zoho Show
  9. Google Reader
  10. Del.icio.us

By Jeff | Posted on: February 16, 2007 at 11:31 am | Comments (2)

Using Google Earth in the Foreign Language Classroom

I remember well how terribly hard it is to learn a foreign language.  For the most part, the departments here on campus subscribe to a system that moves away from repeated boring exercises.  They instead seek to involve the students deeply in speaking the language though games and other interactive activities. 

I came across this video this morning (thanks to Cool Cat Teacher Vicki Davis) and thought it was a good introduction to Google Earth.  As you watch, think of ways you could incorporate this into your classroom to AUGMENT what you are already doing!

(Note, the video is kind of long, and although I think you could benefit from watching the whole thing, I know how very busy we all are.  It specifically addresses foreign language use about 6:45.)

By Jeff | Posted on: February 16, 2007 at 5:50 am | Comments (9)

Future of Books – Google ‘Unbound’ Conference

Many of my recent posts (Human Education Network, ECAR, Webpage Documents, Trailfire) focus on the future of education and the internet’s role in that.  Yesterday Inside Google Book Search posted an short article about a conference they recently had in New York about the future of the book.  As part of their post they posted a video montage of the event.

The conference, appropriately titled ‘Unbound,’ focused on the future of books.  Here are a couple of quotes.

Presumably talking about a website centered around a book one presenter said:

“The website should be interactive.  It should be forum, there should be author talks, there should be talks the author can participate in.”

Another presenter said the following about the power of social networking. 

“Social activity around my work is absolutely the most important thing that can happen for it.  To have someone turn to someone else and say: ‘I read this book, I love it, you must read it.’ Boy, nothing sells books like that.”

Probably the most important quote comes from David Worlock, Chairman of EPS.

“The future of the book is secure.  It’s what we do it, how we promote it, how we develop it, and how we put new layers of meaning around it in a digital context which becomes extremely important. 

I post this all just to re-emphasize the importance of the internet.  The internet will provide a sphere where we can add these new layers of social networking, collaboration, and a myriad of other new layers that haven’t even been thought of yet. 

I applaud Google once again because they are ahead of the learning curve.  Last week I saw some features on their Google book search that is already potentially changing the way we learn from books.  I look forward to more developments in the future!

By Jeff | Posted on: February 2, 2007 at 10:48 am | Comments (1)