Group items tagged

"What does the iPad have to teach educational technology about how a phenomenon becomes popular and adopted? Quite a bit. First, acceptance is high, with a half-million units sold in the first week of release. Six weeks later, Apple was selling twice as many iPads per week as Mac computers. Given some recent history, this should be surprising-the idea of a tablet device has been around for at least a decade or two, but most such devices have not experienced anything close to wide adoption. However, some specific factors have paved the way for the iPad's adoption. And these factors harbor advice that educational technology would do well to heed. Prime the technology pump. The iPhone, direct predecessor to the iPad, came onto the market amid a wave of technology that permitted small packages to deliver powerful computing. This hardware, including GPS location sensors, fast and efficient microprocessors, and the evolution of touch screen technology was a necessary condition for the emergence and success of both the iPhone and the iPad generation of devices. Define (and answer) the problem. The hugely popular mobile smartphones had an equally huge problem. People hated their interfaces. A decade of frustration with labyrinthian voicemail menus and inscrutable settings had created an army of frustrated mobile phone users with enough pent-up rage to fuel a revolution. By providing a device that was easy to use, the iPhone had identified a core problem and set a new bar for its solution, one that was quickly taken up by many others. Whet undiscovered appetites. The explosion of mobile devices also created for millions the idea of constant, away-from-home connectivity. The iPhone upped the ante significantly by providing a full browsing and even computing experience, giving consumers the expectation that they should be only inches away from powerful, networked computing at all times. Provide the practice. The iPhone defined a new set of touch-based interactions. Whi

Games, Activities, Videos, Lessons, Resources:  "It's My Life deals with (you guessed it!) life and the stuff that we deal with every day. Whatever problem you're dealing with, believe it or not, other kids and teens have gone through the same thing. Here at It's My Life, you can read informative articles, share your stories, play games and activities, take quizzes and polls, watch video clips of other kids talking about their feelings and experiences, get advice from older kids and experts, and contribute your own comments and questions.  It's My Life also features interviews with celebrities about stuff they had to go through when they were kids. It's My Life is organized across six topic "channels": Friends, Family, School, Body, Emotions, and Money."

Another contest with musical storytelling this time

The New Twitter?

"Forest Lake principal Kappy Cannon didn't leave it up to teachers to decide whether they would join the digital revolution. As long as you provide adequate support, she reasons, you can demand that it be done. This mandate from the boss gave the school's tech-integration team a major boost. Also helpful: instructional-technology specialist Paulette Williams's sweet but insistent approach. When the school got interactive whiteboards, she gave teachers six months to relinquish their old overhead projectors. Then she said, "You can give me the projectors peacefully, or I'm going to take them." "

This article and video explores how one elementary school in Columbia, South Carolina transformed itself into a 21st century teaching and learning community.

I just added this as a Digi Discussion on the CCL for our next Digi Discussion:

A nice summary of how emerging technologies affect citizenship (global) at the moment; nice summary of what twitter is as well (distinct from facebook, etc.)