So let’s bring this back to the world of educational technology. The most obvious point is that there are a lot of great thinkers out there blogging and working in the long tail. If you restrict your students to using a traditional textbook they will never find the gems out there in the tail where so many fresh perspectives and new ideas can be found. We don’t need to wait for information to show up in dead tree form anymore.
August means the end of summer and the start of a new academic year for millions of college students. However, according to the results from a 2004 Sloan Consortium survey, for 2.6 million students, and growing, going to college means going online and not on campus.
Back to School Means Back to the Net for Millions of College Students
Midmorning at Federal Way's Internet Academy, the hum of the air conditioner fills the school's one classroom. Just four students tap at keyboards while one teacher talks on the phone.
The quiet, however, is an illusion. This storefront school, wedged among mortgage, insurance and health-care firms in a suburban strip mall, is at the center of a boom in online education.
The Seattle Times: Local News: Online learning boom echoes across state
I’m never one to mince words, so I’m getting straight to it: the geek bloggers are in decline and there is very little they can do about it. But before the flames start let me explain further because I’ve been tossing up the title of this post for about 24 hours, some of the other titles included: time for the geek bloggers to get a reality check, and 3G the new blogging generation. All 3 titles sum it up.
? The demise of the geek bloggers The Blog Herald: more blog news more often
Nearly nine in 10 educators say it has changed the way they teach.
Roughly 86 percent of U.S. teachers say computer technology has changed the way they teach at least some, and more than half (55 percent) say it has impacted their instruction "a great deal," according to a new survey commissioned by CDW-G.
Just as online college and graduate programs have broadened the range of options in higher education, virtual charter schools and online classes are gaining popularity among the K-12 set.
To the delight of homeschooling parents and others wanting a different kind of education for their children than what is found in the local public school, entrepreneurs are flooding the Internet marketplace to offer everything from individual courses to entire schools. Improving technology is providing more opportunities for interactive features on Web sites, such as live chats, videos, and downloads.
The Heartland Institute - Virtual Classrooms Abound on Internet - by Alison Lake
Every so often, my news feeds pull a community newspaper article about schools focusing on technology. If I had to generalize, most of these articles bemoan spending cuts, unfunded mandates, and challenges of making sense of technology in the classroom. It does my heart good to see a school system say that teachers are equally important in making technology happen.
There is always a flurry of activity and renewed interest in technology as schools begin to open for a new year. Many of the topics have remained the same over the past thirty years while others, new ones, have appeared alongside new technologies or cultural evolutions. Below is a list of the hot trends at the beginning of this year. Interestingly, I think some of these will have long legs for the coming year and evolve into important topics for students, teachers, administrators, and publishers.
I had to brush up on project management skills over the weekend. Did I read a book on it? No. Did I find someone who was an expert to help me? Nope.
I downloaded Open Workbench (for me, a random open-source project management tool) and played around with it. I mapped a few of my projects into it. I looked through all of the fields and capabilities. And I learned quite a bit, including what I needed to know, plus a lot more that I am very happy to know.
The Learning Circuits Blog: Learning By Doing: The Tool is the Curriculum
The federal government is in a financial jam, and it's banking on e-learning to reduce the costs of technology training.
Although e-learning is making a difference, the government won't maximize its investment until managers and employees take advantage of more e-learning programs.
How do you know whether something you read on the web is true? You can't know, at least, not for sure. This makes it important to read carefully and to evaluate what you read. This guide will tell you how.
My weekly Law Bytes column (freely available hyperlinked version, Toronto Star version) focuses on the coming battle over copyright and education in Canada in light of the recent premiers' commitment to higher education and the likely summit with the Prime Minister on the issue this fall. I argue that the federal government could presumably win provincial support by simply cutting a bigger education cheque, however, this would be shortsighted. Increased funding is necessary to be sure, but it is by no means sufficient.
Michael Geist - The Coming Battle Over Education and Copyright
first posted a version of this about 18 months ago, but in light of recent conversations regarding how to really integrate these technologies into a teacher's regular school day, I thought I'd post a somewhat updated version to see if it might contribute anything new. I'll have more to say shortly on how I think this becomes a reality, but I will say that I think this vision is still fairly far into the future and that for it to come to fruition, I think the changes are going to have to happen from the ground up rather than being imposed or required.
This morning, I decided to take a cab to the airport for my trip back to Oklahoma to see my kids. I had to stop by my office on the way, a four block detour, and the quickest way to catch a cab from there was to walk over to the nearby Sheraton hotel. I walked through the lobby, looking like any other exiting guest I suppose, and the next cab in line pulled up. As soon as I stepped in, the driver said something about the weather, and then he added, "It's always good to go home, isn't it?"
My experiences in instructional design over the past ten years is that it hasn't changed too much. In the military I learned how to apply the systems approach to training as well as how to create computer-based training, instructor-led training, etc. My conversations with e-learning companies, instructional designers and academics shows that instructional design is still wedded to the course as the basic unit of instruction (I use instruction instead of learning because the former is usually the focus). I believe that there is still a huge gap that instructional design could fill, given the right tools and perspective.
If you were in high school when Michael Jackson's "Thriller" was at the top of the charts, chances are you spent your day moving from one 45-minute class to another, with a different subject each period.
I've been involved in blogs for a while now. First with Radio Userland and now with Blogspot and frankly, I like it a lot. it's a place to write down your thoughts; a kind of archive. It's very useful for me because as I get older I feel my memory slipping so archiving my thoughts in a blog means I don't accidentally do things twice (HAHA).
It is the start of a new school year and here are "20 WAYS TO MAINTAIN A HEALTHY LEVEL OF INSANITY."
1. AT LUNCH TIME, SIT IN YOUR PARKED CAR WITH SUNGLASSES ON AND POINT HAIR DRYER AT PASSING CARS. SEE IF THEY SLOW DOWN.
2. PAGE YOURSELF OVER THE INTERCOM. DON'T DISGUISE YOUR VOICE.
3. EVERY TIME SOMEONE ASKS YOU TO DO SOMETHING, ASK IF THEY WANT FRIES WITH THAT.
4. PUT YOUR GARBAGE CAN ON YOUR DESK AND LABEL IT "IN."
5. PUT DECAF IN THE COFFEE MAKER FOR 3 WEEKS. ONCE EVERYONE HAS GOTTEN OVER THEIR CAFFEINE ADDICTIONS, SWITCH TO ESPRESSO.
6. IN THE MEMO FIELD OF ALL YOUR CHECKS, WRITE "FOR SMUGGLING DIAMONDS"
7. FINISH ALL YOUR SENTENCES W ITH "IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE PROPHECY."
8. DON'T USE ANY PUNCTUATION
9. AS OFTEN AS POSSIBLE, SKIP RATHER THAN WALK.
10. ORDER A DIET WATER WHENEVER YOU GO OUT TO EAT WITH A SERIOUS FACE.
11. SPECIFY THAT YOUR DRIVE-THROUGH ORDER IS "TO GO."
12. SING ALONG AT THE OPERA.
13. GO TO A POETRY RECITAL AND ASK WHY THE POEMS DON'T RHYME
14. PUT MOSQUITO NETTING AROUND YOUR WORK AREA AND PLAY TROPICAL SOUNDS ALL DAY.
15. FIVE DAYS IN ADVANCE, TELL YOUR FRIENDS YOU CAN'T ATTEND THEIR PARTY BECAUSE YOU'RE NOT IN THE MOOD.
16. HAVE YOUR CO-WORKERS ADDRESS YOU BY YOUR WRESTLING NAME, ROCK BOTTOM.
17. WHEN THE MONEY COMES OUT THE ATM, SCREAM "I WON!, I WON!"
18. WHEN LEAVING THE ZOO, START RUNNING TOWARDS THE PARKING LOT, YELLING "RUN FOR YOUR LIVES, THEY'RE LOOSE!!"
19. TELL YOUR CHILDREN OVER DINNER. "DUE TO THE ECONOMY, WE ARE GOING TO HAVE TO LET ONE OF YOU GO."
20. AND THE FINAL WAY TO KEEP A HEALTHY LEVEL OF INSANITY.......
SEND THIS TO SOMEONE TO MAKE THEM SMILE.
ITS CALLED THERAPY.
Many companies are developing products and services for clients all over the world but they may never meet their clients face-to-face. However, the urge to be able to watch over employees and keep them in one place/time zone seems to be hard to overcome. This mentality is also evident in the command-and-control systems (like time tracking to the minute) that these companies use. Smaller companies and free-agents are starting to give these companies a run for their money. We're not there yet, but we're honing our virtual work skills every day.
A popular and long-standing marketing slogan exhorts potential athletes (and customers) to "just do it." While arguably not a model for decision-making on matters of great importance, it is worth contemplating whether the underlying philosophy of that phrase might not be the best approach for teacher technology training. Rather than expending time and resources on certain types of computer technology training for K-12 educators, wouldn't it be better if we (this is the "royal we," encompassing all who do technology training) espoused a training philosophy of "just use it?"
Techlearning > > Just Use It: Rethinking Technology Training for K-12 Teachers > August 1, 2005
Let the search end...SCCS does this.
University distance and e-learning programs generally follow one of two models. Most dual mode institutions and some open universities follow a model of cohort learning. Students start and terminate each course at the same time, and proceed at the same pace. This model allows for occasional or regular group based activities. The second model, referred to as learner paced, is based on increased student independence. Students may start their courses at many points during the year, and complete these at their own pace, depending on the learner's circumstances and interests. It is much more challenging to integrate group based activities in this learner paced model. This study is situated in a university that supports continuous intake and learner pacing in its undergraduate programs. Athabasca University is investigating the feasibility and effectiveness of adding collaborative and cooperative learning activities to this model. The report summarises a study of learner interactions in the context of learner paced courses delivered by the University. Following a review of relevant literature, the study reports on interviews with Athabasca University faculty and external distance education experts, describes results from an online survey of undergraduate students, and documents how these findings may be operationalised at the University. An extensible model of community based learning support is proposed to utilise new social computing capabilities of the web, and to permit learner-learner interaction in a scaleable and cost effective manner, while retaining learner pacing.
AJET 21(2) Anderson, Annand and Wark (2005) - learning community in learner paced distance education
Some parents struggle to get their children to surrender even a scrap of information about what they did in school.
But last year, Joyce Schubert didn't even have to ask. Each day, after her fifth-grade daughter, Kayla Vance, disappeared into a Pinellas Park Elementary School classroom, Schubert would log onto the Internet for a virtual peek inside.
The internet is an important element in the overall educational experience of many teenagers. Schools are a common location where online teens access the web, although very few online teenagers rely exclusively on their school for that web access. Further, there is widespread agreement among teens and their parents that the internet can be a useful tool for school. However, 37% of teens say they believe that "too many" of their peers are using the internet to cheat. And there is some disagreement among teens and their parents about whether children must be web-literate by the time they begin school. Additionally, large numbers of teens and adults have used the web to search for information about colleges and universities
Pew Internet & American Life Project Report: Internet and school
That blog visitors "are disproportionately likely to be affluent, young and broadband-enabled" - and therefore a demographically appealing target for advertisers - is one of the major findings of a pioneering study of the blogosphere issued yesterday by comScore Networks. Visitors to blogs are 11 percent more likely to have annual incomes greater than $75,000, 30 percent more likely to live in households in which the head of household is 18-34 years old, and 11 percent more likely to have broadband access to the web, according to the report, "Behaviors of the Blogosphere: Understanding the Scale, Composition and Activities of Weblog Audiences."
comScore Study Dissects Blogosphere, Finds Ad Audience · MarketingVOX
Distance learning is about more than just doing the usual lessons away from a physical classroom, says Michael Schrage. Rather, technology is a medium that opens up whole new questions about what is taught, how it is taught, and what the relationship should be between teachers, students and the information itself.
Schrage: Don't think of distance learning as just automation | WTN
Links from BOF session on busines blogging
Mathemagenic: learning and KM insights - Saturday, July 30, 2005
Last month, an impressive assemblage of educators and policy wonks from around the globe gathered at Microsoft's campus in Redmond, Washington to discuss secondary education reform. Unlike the National Educational Computing Conference the week before, where Microsoft released two K--12 software apps, the World Summit wasn't a news-making event. But it certainly offered a lot of food for thought. Here are some highlights.
Techlearning > > Editor's Notebook: School of the Future World Summit > August 1, 2005
Many different theories exist which try to explain how we learn. Based on those theories, we have numerous approaches to learning design. The whole field is quite connected (inbred?)...and boring. These theories are strongly slanted to reflect a course-based approach to learning. Courses are effective for many types of learning (especially for learners starting out in a new field). For most of us, however, the bulk of our learning has come from informal methods.
I found this interesting because we will be writing our first online gym class this year.
We will let you know how it goes.
Does online gym class really make students sweat? | CNET News.com
Two sections of an interpersonal skills building university course were observed for the purposes of this matched study. The face-to-face (F2F) section was in a classroom on the Concordia University campus in Montreal, Canada, while the non-turn-taking real-time online section used a Web application, LBD eClassroom© designed specifically for highly interactive large size classes and meetings. Two sections used the same instructor, facilitators, pedagogy, and course content. This study revealed a unique pattern of non-turn-taking synchronous interaction in the online section. Online students were found to be more likely to participate and express themselves. Interaction of online participants led to the creation of a group entity -- a polis -- a cornerstone for collaborative group learning. In contrast, in the F2F section, interaction followed the traditional classroom pattern -- centered on the teacher or expert, resulting in fewer students interacting, and hence, lower interaction overall. In sum, during these three hour sessions, it was found that the nature of online non-turn-taking environment afforded online students more time to express themselves compared to students learning the same material F2F.
The jury of experts is still out on whether or not computers give kids a leg up in technology before they start school. But quotes like the following make me wonder how parents and teachers define technology:
Chasing the Dragon's Tale: Preschool and kindergarten computer skills...awww c'mon!
The Pew Internet and American Life Project has just recently published information that directly impacts college campuses. Teens, technology and school (PDF) is a good indicator that this year's incoming class is an Internet savy bunch. Here are a few of the highlights from the report:
This humourous article can apply to almost all the LMS.
Blackboard Ruins College [Fool.com: Commentary] August 4, 2005
More than 3 million adult learners will study online this fall -- maybe even you. How can you successfully finish your courses and continue to earn your degree?
"There are common mistakes many students make -- whether they study online or attend traditional 'brick and mortar' universities.
It is also nice to be include in an others blogs writings.
And, of course, I was delighted to find Teaching and Developing Online, a blog with a focus on high school online learning by a Canadian high school teacher, Darren Cannell. His blogs are informative and useful for those of us who are interested in the education of high school students.
Musings » Critical Thinking, Blogging, and Educational Reform