Group items tagged

It's certainly fascinating! I wonder, though, if some of our habits will be too ingrained for the holograms to be widely accepted. I'm thinking particularly of multi-tasking. If we're used to checking email and facebook and our phone at the same time, are we going to be open to a technology where we have to stop what we're doing and concentrate on one thing?

I think it depends on the hologram presentation and how it interacts within the application. I think we will have to wait and see what they do with this in the future. Do to te secrecy involved, we don't have answers yet.

It's already here :) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jAIDXzv_fKA Try a search for telepresence.

I am at the EDVP right now and am dying to click on that link. Unfortunately, they do not have the ability to watch videos on their computer. I have to wait until tonight, since the college will not allow us to go on line.

I'm so glad it was fun for you! I've found that I have to reduce the size of the browser window if I'm recording on a widescreen monitor. Usually you can just hover your mouse over the corner of the browser window and drag it to the size you want.

Your video on youtube is set to private. I think you can go in and manage your videos and change it to public for others to see it.

I am going in to do this now!

Great, because I couldn't get in.

I just viewed your project video, Joy. It appears that you worked hard, had a great time, and came out with a good product. I agree with the problems you had, though. The screen was difficult to view because it was so small (Youtube screens are tiny) but if I squinted, I could make things out. The sound quality was not there. I could hear your voice but it was a bit "distant". Knowing you and your intelligent approach to problem-solving, I'm sure you will be able to rectify these things. I look forward to viewing the project again if you choose to change anything. You are a trailblazer, Joy!! Thanks for leading the pack!

Marry Ann, there's a little button at the bottom right of youtube videos where you can make it full-screen. Joy, did you use a headset with mic, or are you recording using the mic on the computer/laptop? A headset with mic should make a big difference. If you are using a headset, try moving the mic closer to your mouth.

Totally relate to the "studio takes". I liked your beginning "hook" of having some introduction youtubes and the clear explanations of the tools and modules for your course and the idea of a "group" project was a wrap-up is an effective close.

Thanks for your comments Ann. I still made a mistake when I stated Elluminate was asychronous instead of synchronous...I was not going to do it over again! I keep doing takes for several hours until I liked the tone of my voice and was so tired it had to be a "wrap!" I chose Jing and and have Jing Pro which allows me to seamlessly upload to You Tube and make video. I hope to use this tool in class for short instructive videos per module. The student can reach me by email, Skype, Elluminate or by cell ( whihc I hope to discourage a bit). I want to make certain they feel I am there and connected to them at all times. During our next class meeting on the 22nd, I want to make a camcordering of the class and upload it to jing and make a You Tube video for us to review and enjoy. I hope your willing!

I enjoyed Michael Wesch's comparison of Orwell's 1984 versus Huxley's Brave New World. He referenced Neil Postman who said that "Big Brother does not watch us, by his choice. We watch him, by ours. There is no need for wardens or gates or Ministries of Truth ..." Based on the audience's response and Wesch's to his own comments, I had the impression that he believes we're out of the woods regarding these scenarios; that the Web has given us all a voice to talk back to Big Brother, and keep him under a watchful eye. As an example, Weschl points to YouTube as a growing population of contributing users - many of whom address each other as part of a larger community. I think the jury is out for both the Orwell and Huxley scenarios - since our private lives are increasingly more transparent, and the lures of interactive electronic entertainment and other distractions are becoming more compelling.

I am not certain "1984" isn't happening with the ability to spy in chat rooms and all online applications by the government. Also, think about the video cameras for controlling traffic at stop lights! Ouch! Anyway, we seldom hear about what Homeland Security is up to. That worries me. Abuse happens and has happened in the past...Watergate, etc...just read WIKI Leaks ( I have not) to get a feeling for what government does behind the scenes, not to even mention torture. The problem with security clearances and top secret info is it usually keeps info from citizens, our enemies already know what we're up to!

This is what teaching is all about. Each day I see children exposed to violence and see the injustices when they and the survivor are sent to the streets for lack of housing. They must go to food banks to beg for food. Really! These are the children we are teaching to tackle the worlds problems when we are gone. How is our behavior different from our words?

Joy, I can't believe I never saw this video! She said everything I have always believed and in a very small way, tried to inculcate in my organization of an environmental program I used to direct. "Walking gently on the Earth" was our theme--kids began to "get it" as they participated in the week's activities. I feel inspired to get busy with that once again. . . I'm thinking. . . . Thank you, my friend, for this renewed awareness. It definitely percolates well with my Course Framework on Biodiversity and Sustainability. We shall see what we shall see. . . .

Thank you for sharing this. Our interrogation of "presence" has been interesting this week. I've been looking forward to seeing each of you make decisions about personal online presence.

Susan, In your second article on your blog you describe a PLE or 'personal learning environment' by saying: "The purpose of a PLE is to gather and process information, act on the learning that takes place, then showcase the results of what was learned to include how one arrived at those results." I'm curious to know how you set up a PLE, and maybe 1 or 2 examples if you could direct me there. Is this related to Microsoft's OneNote , or Evernote, which lets you copy, scan, and store web-based information? Also, could you explain how you have found this to be useful for you or your classes? Thanks!

Bruce: The blog is my ePortfolio. You can use different tools to establish your personal learning environment...I began with a blog. There is a nice example of a PLE by a 7th grader who used a different tool to showcase her science project. I think you will find it an excellent example of how web 2.0 tool are being used at the grade school level. Here's the link...it's a youtube video narrated by the student. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YEls3tq5wIY Susan

Thanks, Susan For some reason, I thought a personal learning environment was a fish of a different color. I get the concept now, thanks to Wendy, the 7th grader who I found using your YouTube link. The personal learning environment can be a blog, a wiki, or note gathering app, that allows you to quickly organize, filter, and access the online information that makes up your personal knowledge universe. She was using a tool named SYMBALOO, which I'm definitely going to try out - as well as some other useful apps - Evernote for note-talking and Glogster, for building a collage of related information. I really liked Wendy's tutorial on the PLE - it covered a lot of information in a short span of time, while effectively communicating her ideas visually.

Here's a screencast I made about my PLE when I did a guest week in EDUC250 last quarter https://www.screencast.com/users/ccchit/folders/EDUC%20250/media/f974b78d-3c78-4a44-b231-b758bb54cdbd

Thanks, Jennifer This was very helpful. Also your strong endorsement of Twitter as a way to quickly connect with communities of common interest is giving me more motivation to become more engaged with that world. I've been a slow adopter of Twitter - but this week's events in Egypt organized by a younger generation on Facebook and Twitter are a strong testament to the transforming power of these media.

I've made the understandings entry to my blog.

This is my first Camtasia project. I realize that there is room for improvement. As I use it more, I'm sure I will begin to develop better skills. I can see where this is a good application for getting information up in an online course.

So glad you posted this! I'm in the middle of a similar process, and I appreciated seeing how you're comparing products.

Thanks for your comparison of Moodle, Joomla, and Blackboard. I was quite surprised to find out that Moodle leads the pack - since I assumed that Blackboard/Vista would have the majority following. It's been around since the mid-1990's. Great comparison chart, and use of Camtasia!

After looking at Joy's post about Canvas, I need to review this and compare to these three vendors. Will, then, have to update the comparison chart to include Canvas.

Here's the link to my ePortfolio with this module's assignment

Susan, I *really like* this list of reasons why stories work well for teaching that you posted on your blog. I've been teaching class sections on storytelling, and this gives me some well considered principles for how stories can be "put to work" for real world applications in education and information design. 1. A learning event is an unfolding story 2. People craft a story to make sense of what they are learning 3. Stories are at the intersection of people's synthesis of learning 4. Stories are tools for thinking 5. You can move through complex information more efficiently through story devices than through standard forms of discourse One of my favorite destinations for interactive stories is the Second Story website. It's jammed packed with terrific examples of interactive storytelling - on all sorts of interesting topics.

Thanks for your attention on storytelling! It's something that is applicable for so many different learning situations, and works particularly well online.

While the most story telling I have done is one blog post and a short story about "I love my new Grandma" which I posted in this site...I want to do more and will hopefully b eable to get to this later. Nothing sticks like a good story!

Bruce: Thanks for the link on more interactive storytelling. I think this will help me to develop using case studies as learning activities for our courses.

Susan, your activity on identifying sepsis in pediatric patients was clear, concise, and easy to navigate. I liked the fact that we were directed to a wiki page with the "case" facts presented in story form with a very clear picture of the "rash". if I were a trainee in your course, I would be excited by this lesson and the follow-up survey you posted.

Thanks for your comments Mary Ann. This is the first time I've used these tools for a case study...I'm hoping the wiki will allow the students to discuss the case and also allow them to pose thoughtful 'what-ifs'.

The thought the story telling definition you found to be a good guideline. Cases are great. One activity I might add would be What can you do to stop it? I know the student at this point is learning, but gives them a focus to think about their involvement.

In learning the Camtasia application, I found many good tips...I share them in my portfolio posting this week.

I left a comment on your blog. I had to carefully think about what you had stated and found myself differing slightly with what you suggested. I suppose that attests to our differences. Nevertheless I appreciated the blog post Susan.

Here's the link to my blog where my final project is located.

Spot on! I have a MS; but have never had a job using my academic skills. In fact, the workplace has penalized me and on several jobs told me I have no skills to obtain other jobs or be advanced. In fact, I have been told NOT to put my academic degrees in a resume. So, I am a honor student with 9 solid years of academic education, and a work force retard. What do you suppose is going on here? Unfortunately, there a several varibles at work in my case. The "glass ceiling," discrimination, ignorance of what education means and is (or maybe a better grasp); no knowledge of what tranferrable skills are and as we brain storm the list goes on, especially as I get older.

I hear you. I turn 40 this year and I can't help but wonder if I'd be better able to support my family if I had a marketable skill, instead of knowledge about knowledge :) I fantasize about raising goats and alpaca and selling soap and sweaters. :)

Joy and Jennifer--EVERYTHING you shared hits home with me. I find myself in both of your places (as expressed in your comments) so I am now trying to enhance my resume and become more marketable as I age!--I'm already "too old and too expensive" to fit into the traditional classroom in either private or public schools so. . . thanks for being there for me and helping me learn new skills that are so needed in the domain of 21st century education.

I recently submitted my resume for an education software training contract and this was the response. "I read through your resume and realized that most probably our position would bore the heck out of you." I replied that I enjoy working with people and it's always a challenge and not boring. He responded with the other issue; salary. I told him that was very low for this area. His response was, "Most probably I'll be finding someone younger (less experience) or someone older (semi retired)."

Ouch that is discrimination! The "semi retired: comment was even worse!!! In the first case he stated you were over qualified; and in the second paying lower wages to "semi retired" people is even more discriminatory! His verbal behavior disgusts me!

One resource to join the movement against age discrimination is typing into a search engine...Gray or Grey coalition. http://www.graymatterscoalition.com/

AMEN, Sisters! I'm totally appalled at what happened to you, Jen--the whole thing was discrimination!! Thanks for the link, Joy--I'm looking into it!

WOW! The RSA Animate visualized version of Robinson's talk is terrific for a variety of reasons - I'm just trying to unpack it all! First the presentation provides an instant visualization of Robinson's talk - a shorthand for thinking and remembering his ideas. The animation is engaging, entertaining and memorable. Since it's on YouTube, you can go back and watch it all, or portions of it. The perspective moves from close up to big picture, and changes on the fly. What's especially powerful, however is the central idea that Robinson is talking about - a real elephant in the room. He says our educational system, which was created for a different time and economic era, is outdated. It's a factory system, arising originally from the Industrial Revolution, that to many students seems irrelevant to their own futures and careers in the 21st Century. It divides students into two camps - academic professionals (ie. "smart people"), and vocationals (blue collar, "not-so smart people"). In one memorable section, he distinguishes between "aesthetic" experiences - which enliven and engage human attention, and "anesthetic" experiences which deaden curiosity and passion. He associates these "anesthetic" experiences with our current educational process. The fact that he delivers these heavy hitting criticisms with such a light hearted, though well articulated sense of humor, is especially powerful.

Three points come to mind. 1. Presentation. The way the information was presented was totally engaging had me wanting to believe the message without question. I would have appreciated having the sources of his information indicated. As we've commented on in other posts as well, the verasity of information is always an issue. I tried finding the prescription distribution used in the tape, but could not find specific information to support the claim (although I'm sure it is somewhere on the internet.) 2. Education Model. Although his model definitely resonated with me, I think of education or I should say the educational system as having two goals - to train us to be academics (as he describes) and to prepare us for jobs. Some jobs do require specifc answer knowledge. 3. On-line learning. One of his earlier points about the educational system is that there was a paradigm shift when free, state-sponsored education became a reality. His description of education prior to that seemed to fit what we often see in "internet" learning - more individual driven learning.

Jennifer - I am so glad you included Sir Ken Robinson in your syllabus. I love his unique perspectives, especially about our educational systems. His talk about the importance of educators fostering creativity in the culture of the classroom is very powerful. I also finished reading Downes article about the role of the educator and I see his points regarding how technology has redefined/redesigned our roles. I find it very exciting. Regarding the value of"divergent thinking." As a teacher, I always encourage and appreciate this capacity in my students. However, I also ask they reflect upon this process of divergent thinking. "What led you to think this might be a possibility?" I often find asking students to be reflective and to articulate about meta-cognition frustrates them. In our overstimulating and quick answer/fix culture, is it wrong to ask how their ideas came about? "Could you follow your train of thought?" Also, (and not directly related) did anyone click on the game Downes referenced called "Evoke." What an amazing on-line game - a "designed, learning community" posing serious, real-life problem solving about starvation in Africa. Wow! I can see how a learning tool such as this would make a course very exciting, but I can also see where some basic geography, social studies and other content should be woven into the syllabus.

Ann, it is completely engaging. I recognize your concerns about sources. When they create the RSA Animates, they do take the talk out of the original context, and also add creative interpretation. It's interesting to see how those things can be mixed together for such a powerful effect. I've never taken the time to dig too deeply into them to find the original context and determine whether there's a publication with sources.

The idea that information which used to be one-way (published by someone for everyone else) is now interactive (instant publishing and response via the internet) is a good articulation of the catalyst that is and will continue to change how we learn and how our learning institutions will change. However, what caught my attention in the video was that analysis of links and connections - that basically search engines/Google migrated from analyzing the content of the material to analyzing the number of accesses to the information. What came to mind was the discussions on critical thinking and how analyzing the access and not the content takes us away from critical thinking. It substitutes popularity (how often do we google something and then go to the first few links listed?)

Ann, that's a great observation. If you apply that to developing your online presence, what does it say about how we value popularity? How do we feel when our own material online doesn't sort to the top? What do employers think when they can't find our work? Are we okay with that?

I needed that! I have the hardest time getting those sheets folded!! (Still grinning.)

So do you think we can learn new skills from video only?

Probably not brain surgery! Yes, we can learn certain basic skills; like this video. I think we will need to apply it and the video doesn't allow for that.

Nothing is private. I actually made a huge mistake last week. I was testing to see if we could import the content of one of our courses from one site to another. The course site is set to private right now, and we've had guest presenters visit the class. The new site was public. I imported the content and it worked so I forgot about it. I got an email from one of the guests upset that I had put his content in a public place without telling him. He was rightfully upset. However, I started thinking about how any of the students could have cut and pasted his content or gotten screenshots of it and put it out there.

I hear that one loud and clear Jen!

Your question - How do you represent ideas with images? - is a very powerful one. We are bambarded with images all day. I often think of these images as trying to sell me something - such as a commerical to buy something - or sometimes a quick reference to information - such as a symbol for a restroom. I realize now that technology has allowed for the production of images to be so accessible that they are now a part of our normal dialog. It is easy to make a video or take a picture. On Facebook, we see this all the time; people adding content to their story with images.

Just looked at your portfolio which is a learning course in itself! You've done a great job of summarizing what we've been working on. Our portfolios are a perfect place to store this. You've inspired me to take a few steps back before I move forward with Module #4. Thanks, Bruce.

Ann and Helen, Thanks much for your feedback on the website. It's much appreciated!

Bruce...I have a question. I wrote a story blog this week. Can you tell me if your course would help me create a video presentation of this blog? http://joystechtool.blogspot.com/ I don't have your email, except maybe the one you have at BC. I would have to take it as a senior. Which means space available. Can this be done?

Joy, Just to let you know... the visual storytelling class won't be offered again until Fall 2011. It sounds like your story would make an interesting educational online comic or presentation - explaining the idea of backwards design. One approach, is that you could use a virtual world environment like Second Life or BlueMars to engage virtual characters/actors, and set your camera positions to tell your visual narrative. You could synchronize narration and other audio, and then post it to the Web via YouTube, Google Presentations, or some other presentation application like SlideRocket. Just a thought...

Thanks Bruce. Fall would be perfect! That is if I could get in the class. I suspect it is very popular on campus. I would like to use second life; but have not tried. Is it free. My understanding is it is very expensive. While I would like a video of the story to put with the blog, it can be done at a later date. What I do not know how to do is synchronize the narration and other audio. My husband uses camcording to capture band performances. Could you maybe email me on this issue? jal8008cel@comcast.net. Unless I am taking advantage of your knowledge here. Please?

Thank you, Bruce, for sharing the objectives of your Course. It sounds so intriguing that I would love to be a part of it! Perhaps that will become a reality for me as time passes.

Joy, I could probably begin to answer your question here, and then if you have more questions we can connect via my other email address: bcweb20class@gmail.com. Probably the best online multimedia delivery application that I know of is SLIDEROCKET. I've been using it in my courses for about a year. You can upload Powerpoint slides, incorporate video directly from YouTube (or uploaded video), images, graphics, text, and integrate these all with a sound track. Everything is built online, and the interface works well. The catch is this - after the 30 day trial period, it costs $12 per month. I taught a very challenging online course this summer, and I didn't mind paying that fee because of the excellent results I got. SlideRocket saved the day by pulling me out of a jam. It also now integrates well with Google applications. Another (this one is free) cloud-based multimedia authoring application is EMPRESSR . Here's a quote from the website: Empressr is the first free online storytelling tool that allows you to create, manage and share rich media presentations online. Earlier in the quarter, Jennifer recommended another audio editing tool called AUDACITY , which is really terrific! It's simple to use and produces good results. I actually prefer Audacity for audio editing over some other commercial products that have a lot more bells and whistles. I hope that helps!

Here's my post for mapping an evidence for understanding to specific learning objectives.

Bruce, I especially liked the "evidence" requiring students to create their own business card. Each item you posted was very concrete and would definitely indicate understanding on the part of students.

I second that business card lesson. It will prepare them for job hunting in the future. I think creating ePortfolios are another good practice.

I felt this video had an important message, but it was delivered without foundation. I agreed with the concept of student learning centric education and that the current model of schools does not always reflect this. However, this is not a new concept. Montessori education, for example, has this approach. The reasons for this "factory line" approach, as the video refers to, is multiple factors. I think it is the parents and the teachers and the students. Technology might enable more student-centric education, but there is still individual responsibility.

So, now that you've discovered the big secret about assessment, what do you think of our responsibility as educators to assess our students? Is there a way we can satisfy the requirements of the education system, and also know whether/what our students have learned? And, give the challenges, how do you feel about your role in deciding what is important for students to learn? For example, if you learn none of the objectives stated in this course, but you learn something that transforms your life and makes you a better person, is the course a failure? The student? The teacher? You can spend a lifetime trying to puzzle together how people learn, and how to know they've learned. I think our role, is to find a place where we are comfortable in our ability to identify the subtle cues that signal progress and enlightenment. It's certainly not easy.

The part that hit me the most was 'bring the students inside the assessment process." This really makes sense to me...why should what we want them to study and know be a secret for exam questions only.

Another interesting read. I quite understand the need and growing need for the workforce to understand social medias and other forms of Web 2.0 tools and be able to use them well. Reading more about millennials, it is becoming more and more apparent they need to have strong " crap detectors," the ability to think critically and analyze huge volumes of information on the net, just to name a few.

I think this is one of the better collections of 21st century skills. I'm mostly concerned about the ones that don't involve technology. Like many of you, I worry about a future where people don't have basic problem-solving and communication skills. As far as technology skills are concerned, I'd like to see kids learn programming, with a focus on humanity, rather than commerce. I'm surprised how many teachers adopt "free" tools for young students, without having them explore the terms of service, and learn how their data and content will be used, sold, etc..

Thanks for this, Mary Ann. As much as I value the technology and what it can offer and do, the interpersonal and social skills seem more and more critical now. Seeing kids standing next to each other texting, or texting rather than calling or meeting makes me wonder if they will develop those skills to the level they are required now.

Mary Ann, thanks for posting this article on the 21st Century classroom! Just based on some of observations of current trends and ideas, here are some of my ideas regarding this. To me it seems likely that whatever happens to the classroom in the 21st Century - ideally it will have some of the following features : 1) Instructors who have good live people connections, knowledge of Web resources and tools, and the ability to quickly readjust curriculum on the fly. They will be able to access the very best resources at hand to engage students (live presenters, online resources, web tools, etc.) 2) Teaching and learning will take the form of ad-hoc groups organizing around various kinds of problem solving or common interest explorations. 3) While traditional degrees probably won't go away soon, much of our ongoing lifetime learning will take place in courses like this one - or the MOMA online art series. We will obtain numerous certificates and engage in a variety of online cohorts/communities of shared interests. 3) Communications will become increasingly global and courses will not be necessarily bound to individual institutions. We will draw from a growing/maturing resource base of online lectures, virtual worlds interactions, simulations-based learning experiences, and multimedia databases. 4) The teaching technologies that we'll be using will have the functionality and freeform interactivity as videogames. Consider the Kinect, for example, which allows for full body and voice interaction with other people as well as maturing forms of artificial intelligence, as seen in this extraordinary TED talk with game developer Peter Molyneux. 5) Finally, I don't believe education will be transacted completely online, or that physical locations where actual human beings gather together will go awa