A few weeks ago, I went Christmas shopping. A certain member of my family has been grumbling for years that she doesn’t have a navigation system for her car. The technology has been getting better, and prices have been coming down, so this seemed like a good year to get her one. My initial thought was to get her a bluetooth GPS receiver and software … Continue reading Box Readers

It’s the time of year when we pause to reflect on the roads we’ve traveled, the chasms we’ve crossed, and the journey still ahead. Last week’s EdTechYearly got me thinking about the progress we’ve made this year. And yet, there are still those burning questions of whether we’re having much effect outside the world of educational technology. If you haven’t yet, you can share your … Continue reading Reflections on 2007

As 2007 draws to a close, I can’t help but think about how much things have changed for me since I jumped in to to the EdTechTalk community a year ago. I realized at the end of 2006 that the people producing this excellent weekly content are real people. I can send them messages, and they’ll answer. I can blog about them, and they’ll comment. … Continue reading Professional Growth

This morning, Mrs. Hricik’s first graders presented their gingerbread stories. After their presentation for local senior citizens got snowed out earlier this week, they hastily adjusted schedules and invited parents in today. With the help of Jeff Lebow, EdTechTalk, and Ustream, we were able to stream audio and video of the presentations to family members who couldn’t come in to school. We had a maximum … Continue reading Gingerbread Tales

I’m still trying to get my mind around the changes that are happening in computer hardware. One of the major impacts of the One Laptop Per Child project is that it has focused attention on inexpensive, no-frills hardware. Through December 31, you can still take advantage of the buy-one, give-one promotion. For $400, you get an XO laptop to keep, and a child in a … Continue reading Cheap Computers

Here are two old videos that predict the future. Paul Otlet (1868-1944) was the founding father of information science. His major work included the development of new ways to collect, organize, and classify information. He’s the guy who came up with the standard 3×5 catalog cards that we used to use in libraries before online catalogs were available. This video describes his Traité de documentation, … Continue reading Yesterday's Tomorrow

I’m still trying to work my way through this whole Twitter thing. I’m getting updates from a few people. Some of them are interesting. It’s neat to see what kinds of things people are working on, and what kinds of puzzles they’re trying to solve. Some of the Twitter messages (tweets) are irrelevant. While I like you personally and respect you professionally, I don’t care … Continue reading Jen's Twitter Rules

It’s a different kind of social network. These students aren’t on Facebook talking about music and relationships and fashion and popular culture. While they’re probably interested in these things, their new network, Students 2.0, has a higher purpose. They want to be taken seriously by adults. They have opinions on technology and learning in the 21st century. As the silent majority, they offer a perspective … Continue reading Students 2.0

Two stories about the use of robotics in music caught my eye this week. On Thursday, Toyota demonstrated a robot that can play the violin. From a technological standpoint, that’s pretty amazing. I can barely make noise with the thing, and my children have spent years learning to play what are still very elementary pieces. This robot plays with the technical proficiency of a late … Continue reading Robots and Music

It was my first year teaching computer applications in a new district. After half a year of complaining, I received a new computer for my office. It had everything I could possibly need. With it, I could send and receive email and access the World Wide Web. I could create and edit word processing, spreadsheet, database, and presentation documents. I could print to network printers. … Continue reading How Far Have We Come?