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As I chew through the Visions 2020 readings, I can't help my skepticism...and not due to the seamless integration of emerging ed technology. Alas, PEOPLE and the existing power structure of schools (reform) are not guided by a mission to reinvent, but to move the goal posts on ed standards around so as to insulate and protect the paradigm. Read on...

There are no Aliens attacking and the threat of anilation is actually quite real. This is the narrative and inquiry learning that Jungrau has loaded on their rental iPhones for park visitors. Think for it as a living museum fighting for life and YOU are the FBI agent...or chemist.

Really interesting article about the perceived importance of Internet to the K-12 student and suggesting how other entities and organizations are supporting equal access in this way.

Are we transliterate enough when we are learning and experimenting things.  Another example I can think of for transliteracy is the awareness of updating one's status messages in various places. For example, a status message on one's FB page is quite different from one's LinkedIn Profile to one's style of tweeting to one's IM status message.  Being aware of what kind of thoughts go where is an important transliterate skill to have. Thoughts?

Clickers have been popular in Northwestern University and Harvard. In this report, clickers are not only regarded as a device that improves teaching quality, but also a means that helps teachers know how many students are present and helps students focus more and read more.

Augmented Reality continues to seep into reality: "Layar, the first camera-based AR app to really blow us (or anyone) away, has quietly slipped into the App Store. As with the Android version, the app overlays all kinds of information onto a live view of the world around you."

Layar, the first phone-based AR web browser on the market, has come to the iPhone 3GS.

Layar, the first phone-based AR web browser on the market, has come to the iPhone 3GS ... expect me to be wandering the Harvard campus seeing what this app can do ...

Another AR app for the Iphone. Allows placing location based objects on screen which are then seen by others who visit the same location.

Interesting report contradicting some previous findings about the link between technology and social isolation.

Describes a few small scale AR games, which are gaining in popularity

Isabel, Chris M., Stephen B., and I are at MassCUE today watching Yong Zhao's keynote.  You can find a copy of his presentation here at this website.

I saw Zhao speak yesterday at the MassCUE conference (with James, Chris McEnroe and Isabel Schwartzman). His message was provocative: the United States did not do well on the TIMSS test, but the US has never done well on this type of testing even way back to the 1950s. Therefore, Zhao thinks that these tests are not good indicators of educational quality, but that the things that the US does right are fostering creativity, building in tolerance and forgiveness into the educational system, and stressing problem-solving and collaborative learning.

This relates to part of the discussion in class today. I've seen him speak about the irony that Chinese schools, which are outperforming US schools on PISA and TIMMS, are actually trying to model their systems more on US pedagogy. See his latest book or look for him on TED.

As mentioned in previous posts- there are a ton of apps out there. It is nice to find curated lists, even if they are a little out of date.

Big companies like Tata Interactive Systems (TIS) are involved. Affordability is made high through 3-5yr contract with monthly payments. ''Child centric concepts'' are widely being accepted the article says. The challenge they mention here is internet connectivity. No mention about PD or reaction from parents. Also there seem to be still a wide gap in access between private schools and public schools there. 

"Legacy costs, ideas and infrastructure have set the table for creative disruption, with technology now offering alternative ways to acquire skills, knowledge, and accolades." This not only talks about transformation among teachers lives (and consequently those of the children thru what the empowered teachers provide) but makes you feel that the way in which teachers are evaluated are taking a whole new stage. More open, more emphasis on its impact and connected. 

iPads are found to have a direct impact and maximize student learning time in a classroom in Michigan

"he obstacles to code literacy are getting smaller every day, while the liabilities for ignorance are only getting more profound."

I guess teachers aren't the only ones that are going to have to worry about competition for their jobs in the future :)

This is interesting, Jason. I found this to be true for pilots as well. Serious gamers seemed to perform really well in the portions of flight school that required complex hand-eye-brain coordination.

Many students are interested in STEM (suprisingly high) and also use their mobile devices to complete homework, but unfortunately not nearly as many in school (6%). It also seems that mobile device usage in school strongly correlates with those who are also interested in STEM fields.

Thanks for sharing this interesting report Junjie. I like that part which encourages more dialogue between employers and education providers. However, I don't think they addressed the possible problem that could arise from that dialogue which is, employers are asking for solutions to their problems, and these problems may not be the main issues of the time when the students graduate.

Matthew, I agree that the skill sets the job market asks from future employees are in constant change. So probably the education providers should try to equip those potential employees with the capacity to transfer old skills into new ones so as to meet the ever-changing demand, though it is indeed very difficult to train the transfer-skills.

3 distinct groups of employers and  7 distinct youth segments (well positioned, driven, struggling, disheartened, disengaged, too cool, too poor) - they are "identified with different outcomes and motivations", requires "a different set of interventions". also concentration and mix of these segments also varies by country. executive summary is short and TIE relevant. 

This plays off of the Disrupting Higher Ed discussion we had in class this week--talks about how college programs / classes are changing to be more "idea" based and how colleges are adapting to students who have been immersed in technology.

Texas schools are using technology to enable their attendance tracking. Like always, parents are fired up about it.