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?
I resisted blogging for a long time. Initially, weblogs had the reputation for being online diaries where people rant about inane things, chronicle the minutiae of their lives, and generally ramble on about the grilled cheese sandwich they had for lunch. There was no point in wasting your time reading this stuff, let alone bothering to actually write one. Some would argue that things haven’t … Continue reading Another Grilled Cheese Sandwich
A couple weeks ago, my daughter’s first grade class started blogging. They were doing a unit on the pilgrims, and had written some journal entries. They took turns typing these into blog posts on the classroom blog. They’re taking baby steps at this point. They’re not accepting comments or linking to other blogs or anything of the sort. Right now, they’re just typing their journal … Continue reading Student Blogging
The United Kingdom is considering legislation that would make it a criminal offense to lose a laptop containing unencrypted personal data. We have all heard the horror stories about laptops being lost or stolen that contain thousands of social security numbers, credit card data, or other personal information. Here’s an excerpt from the Computerworld UK article: [Deputy Information Commissioner David] Smith told the Lords constitution … Continue reading Protecting Data
