Group items tagged

Today's reading about the OLPC project reminded me of Innovations in Poverty Action, a research organization dedicated to finding new, research-based methods for improving outcomes and equity. A very interesting approach.

A school principal blogs about the powerful role that Twitter has played in his professional development. Great quote about Twitter and other social media: "The smartest person in the room, is the room."

Thanks for posting! This is very similar to what I am focused on for my project- using twitter to send out "joyful learning" tips of the day. It is at least one proof point that twitter can be a powerful tool for professional development.

Video about funding and distributing educational technologies

Really cool concept of using technology to match educators to experts to enhance learning experiences for students. I wish I had this tool when I was teaching.

I did some searching of this site to understand the transactions here. I could only find about 5 or 6 volunteers, although maybe there are more. The site says they have "granted" more than 29,000 wishes. I wonder if this is a counter of visits to the site. I love the idea, but I wonder how big the pool of volunteers and projects has to be in order to make it come alive.

Thanks for posting Seema. In response to the the Google Glasses Project video in particular, I am wondering if it is actually feasible that people will be using that kind of AR in our lifetime?

"In This Session What do teachers really think about digital games in the classroom? Join us for our community's next webinar for the just-released findings of a year-long research project, sponsored by BrainPOP and the Gates Foundation, that investigates teachers' attitudes and beliefs on game-based learning. Michael Levine and Jessica Millstone, Executive Director and Research Consultant at The Joan Ganz Cooney Center at Sesame Workshop, will showcase the findings of this national survey that was conducted with 500 teachers nationwide who are currently integrating digital games into their classes.......

Cool alternate reality game that aims to get students involved in solving global problems.

This is a really cool online community where students (or participants) get weekly real-world challenges and then use entrepreneurial thinking/skills to solve the problem in their community and then post "evidence" of solving the problem on the website. Students rack up points for solving different real world problems, which can---if they get enough points---get them access to internships with high-level social entrepreneurs and possibly even seed money for a project.

http://www.ted.com At TEDIndia, Pranav Mistry demos several tools that help the physical world interact with the world of data -- including a deep look at his SixthSense device and a new, paradigm-shifting paper "laptop." In an onstage Q&A, Mistry says he'll open-source the software behind SixthSense, to open its possibilities to all.

Hi there Hongge, thanks for sharing this amazing video. He's managed to bridge certain key technologies and made them more intuitive for the daily user. It's great that he's made it open-source too! Maybe we could pay a visit to MIT to check it out? I wonder though, whether such a device would in the future not only project thoughts and programs but also capture user data and begin to 'suggest' or advertise certain things to you. Scary but the potential is enormous. Again, thanks!

Thanks, Matthew. That video was actually filmed three years ago (yes, even before iPhone 4) and I wonder if Pranav is still at MIT Media Lab. Maybe Karen knows more about him and could make an introduction for us? Machine learning and personalizing content for us is already happening. Personally, I like the idea of personalized content simply because nowadays we can be so easily info-overloaded. It is quite normal for CEOs and political leaders to digest pre-screened/selected info by their secretaries and/or advisers, right? And Google has been doing this for advertising to consumers. I don't mind the right ads appear at the right time when I need the product or service. What really strikes me about Pranav's idea is that it reminds me about the movie Inception, where you can transplant an idea into someone's mind and the distinction between reality and the virtual world is so blurry.

Opinion in Edutopia

Great article looking at how Canada's North is getting connected in order to help students succeed. Something as simple as email, makes a big difference for this mentoring project. This is a great article because it not only looks at technology as a solution, but how mentoring is key to student success.

This was posted by a classmate at the MIT Media Lab and I wanted to get other educator's feedback on this premise. Almost laughable...

As with nature, learners who are skilled, motivated, and talented will find a way. Unfortunately, it's the rare employer who will hire someone just because she is smart and knows a lot. The degree is the necessary but insufficient condition if you're after a job. If you're not, you've probably already figured out the strategies in this book. I am totally using this site to fund the writing of my next novel.

I think Kiki has a naive and idealistic view of how one "educates oneself" -- yes, it's possible to figure out the "tricks" but that is no replacement for the engagement and learning that occurs in a learning community.

Despite the wealth of information available on the Internet, a recent study suggests that many students lack basic research skills. According to the latest Project Information Literacy Progress Report, 84 percent of students say that when it comes to course-based research, getting started is their biggest challenge.

Teens, kindness and cruelty on social network sites

Interesting article that shows the next step that Khan Academy wants to take

"He [Sal] added: "If nothing else, I'd like a kid who's gone through the Khan Academy to be able to say, 'I've learned accounting, law, and I can write as well as someone who's graduated from Andover. That's empowering." Could that also be "disrupting the class"? traditional educational institutions bettter take heed of new technologies.

This idea can be seen as an alternative way for teaching methods however we have more sophisticated educatinal tools other than video . Unless this project includes other tools such as 3D and learning by doing , it will be flawed for some sides of teaching ways.

Some very useful lessons to learn fro Mooresville. Looks like the broader ecosystem (such as cheper access to broadband internet) has been thought through rather than just dropping a laptop into the classroom.

Interesting comment from one of the parents, attesting to how technology can be out to good use in education - "My son, just yesterday, completed a mutlimedia project about the Sahara desert working together with another student. They created a video imagining them driving a vehicle through the desert while reciting facts about the desert and incorporating pictures and graphics about what they were describing. It was as if they were taking me on a virtual tour of the desert. This is the way we communicate now. What we learn is only as important as how we are able to communicate it to make things happen."

A set of workshops in DC about transformations in education. Papers about the topics will be released next week (Sept 27), for those of us who can't be in DC. One paper will be about "Harnessing Technology to Improve K-12 Education," so it will be interesting to see what the authors say. Though both authors are business school professors, so I'm not sure how they got chosen to write on this topic? Must be a good business to be in Ed Tech right now...

Results of an opinion poll commissioned by Dell comparing technology use in schools in the US, Germany, and China. There's a bit of we're-falling-behind-China hysteria here, I think, but it does highlight some opportunities. Also, Dell's Education Challenge is investing $30,000 in university student (graduate or undergraduate) projects to innovate learning in K-12 schools. Deadline is at the end of October. http://www.dellchallenge.org/k12

Kind of like Professor Dede's post about McGraw-Hill's interest in e-learning, here is a blog post from Pearson about MOOCs. I think his take (Jeff Borden, one of their VPs) is pretty accurate, in that we need a version 2 where it's not as lecture-based as version 1. I would guess that they are working on their own "version 2" solution (perhaps with Knewton?).

Maria, do you know if this event is open to the public, or more a "sponsor-day" event? I would love to go!

Not sure if it's public event, I only know about it because I will be helping with the App Inventor demo. I'll let you know once I know more info.