We went to Robben Island yesterday. This small island was used as a prison from the early 1800’s through 1991. It’s probably most famous for the political prisoners who were housed there during apartheid, including Nelson Mandela, who spent 18 years on the island. For the first 45 minutes, we took a guided bus tour around the island. We saw the prisons (there were four), … Continue reading Robben Island
There’s a movement in South Africa to equip every teacher with a laptop. The plan has undergone a number of major changes over the last year or so, but in the current incarnation, teachers are eligible for a stipend from the government if they purchase a laptop to use in preparing and delivering instruction. In the schools, computers are scarce. A school might have a … Continue reading Teachers and Laptops
We went to the mall yesterday. It’s amazing how similar South African shopping malls are to the ones in North America. Sure, all of the store names are different. But there are the same kinds of things. Lots of clothing stores, a few anchor department stores, electronics places, music and video shops, book stores, and food. Lots of food. Unlike most of the places we’ve … Continue reading The Minority
We started our experience in South Africa with a township tour. The townships are an uncomfortable place to visit. Created during apartheid, they are now home to hundreds of thousands of people in Cape Town. Most live in very simple dwellings — either basic government provided housing or tiny shacks they’ve built themselves out of whatever materials they had on hand. There’s a lot of … Continue reading Not So Similar
In the first session of our workshops in Africa, we asked the teachers to identify barriers to effective technology use. Then, working in groups, they had to determine which of the barriers they identified was the biggest problem. Each group wrote their top barriers on poster paper. Then, they exchanged lists with other groups and brainstormed possible solutions. The most interesting part of this process … Continue reading Not So Different
As we rode through Cape Town on our township tour this week, our guide told us about District 6. District 6 was a community where whites, blacks, and coloreds all lived and worked together. It’s only a few blocks from the industrial and port center of the city. It was easy for people to walk to and from work. It was a place where everyone … Continue reading A Different Perspective
“Are you ready?” I’ve been asked that question at least a hundred times over the last few weeks. I usually respond with a laugh. They’re talking about my Teachers Without Borders – Canada trip, on which I leave tomorrow. I won’t be ready until I get back. If then. The truth is, I don’t know what to be ready for. I’m so far out of … Continue reading Ready or Not…
I’m still amazed at the EdTech celebrities that I keep running into. Many of these are people I feel I know because I’ve read their blogs and heard their podcasts and seen their Twitter posts. Here, we have Maria Knee, Cheryl Oakes, Angela Meiers, Karl Fisch, Will Richardson, Sheryl Nussbaum-Beach, Kathy Cassidy, Lisa Parisi, and Amanda Marrinan. If you don’t know who some of these … Continue reading Rock Stars
Today, I learned that the ballroom is not necessarily the best place to see a keynote. If you’re in, say, the bloggers’ cafe, you see the keynote, you can talk during the boring parts, and interact with others in real time during the talk. Sure, you can do (some) of those things in the ballroom, too, but it’s a very different atmosphere. It’s informal, yet … Continue reading A New Perspective on Keynotes
In 2005, I attended the National Educational Computing Conference (NECC) in Philadelphia. I had wanted to go for years, but it took a long time for the stars to align to get me there. I was impressed and overwhelmed. After attending our state educational technology conference each year, I thought I had a pretty good idea what to expect. I was wrong. There were 12,000 … Continue reading Pre-NECC Thoughts
I used to sign up for free magazines. There were a lot of them — Technology & Learning, Network World, Presentations, Electronic School, Computerworld. When I was teaching, I’d encourage my students to sign up for them too. I was never at a loss for something to read, and they did a great job of keeping me current with new ideas, trends, products, and technologies. … Continue reading Print is Dead
As a graduate student, I was required to take a course called “Foundations of Modern Education.” It was probably the most demanding of the courses I took for that degree. One of the major themes of this course was the erosion of community, especially in America. Prior to the 1950’s, Americans lived in neighborhoods. They worked, went to school, shopped, worshiped, and played in those … Continue reading The Whole Me
Taste of Tech 