HGSET561

Here's another example of kids establishing identify by exercising voice. When I teach on-line writing to my students I lay heavy emphasis on the fact that with power comes responsibility.

Empowerment in a constitutional democracy is about voice and one of the values we have seen come to fruition in recent geo-political events is the venue technology provides to give people voice. Voice is how we understand identity.

Computers reading our minds. 

Uses hot spots to teach about NYC.

The White House announces the creation of a national center called Digital Promise that will focus on transforming education through learning technologies.

Interesting product combines the appeal of videogames with the tactile feel of building blocks

Twitter as a classroom medium

Portal is a fun, innovative 3D first-person game known for its unique physics gameplay and sense of humor. It's over 4 years old now, but still enjoyable and clever. It's been used in education as a way for students to explore physics, and also as a gameworld ripe for student content creation. The game is available as a free download for PC/Mac through 9/20.

Written by Jason Rosenthal Social media was originally all about broadcasting to the world - or at a minimum, your select group - about your likes, dislikes, or even what kind of eggs you had this morning. But social media today… well, it's not just for breakfast anymore.

MassCue article about the effectiveness of Student Response Systems by a tech consultant / researcher for vendor Turning Response Systems (who sells the clickers that HGSE uses). I'm interested in comparing these systems with the FREE adhoc web-based system offered by Socrative.com, co-founded by HGSE TIE grad Ben Berté.

James- very interesting article about Student Response Systems. The clickers are a great tool to facilitate student participation in a teacher-centered classroom, and many of us have seen the Turning Point clickers in action. And they really do help with engaging everyone in the audience. Remember that diversity seminar during orientation week? The rich discussion that ensued in a crowd of 650 was really made possible because of the opening survey questions, the clicker interactivity, and the discussions that sprung up at each individual table which then mushroomed out to the rest of the crowd. I never thought a diversity seminar could be that engaging, and the clickers were definitely a key part of that. My only criticism of the article is that it seems to be pushing hardware capabilities over sound pedagogy, which is always a danger in learning about emerging technologies. Question though: is Socrative not entirely free? it seems like a great tool with many interactive capabilities, ideal for many classroom settings and activities.

Steve I agree the article did have a strong sense of hardware pushing. It was written by a research on the the vendor's payroll. I've changed "free" to FREE; I intended the quotes to be for emphasis, not skepticism. Socrative is indeed free.

Interesting look at the limited menu of viable open source LMSs that are out there. Moodle is by far the most popular, but as anyone who has ever developed any online courses on Moodle knows, the interface is clunky and it is overall pretty uninspiring (although adequate). Sakai sounds like an interesting competitor to Moodle and it sounds like it's gaining traction in the market- Rhode Island schools use it. From what I have read about it, it sounds like it is much more user friendly than Moodle and the students surveyed preferred the interface and design of Sakai to Moodle significantly (81% vs. 53%). Would love to hear any posts from people who have used any of these systems.

An interesting discussion on how collaboration among teachers leads to an improved student performance

I particularly like the "The Kid Should See This" link

By Bryan Hassel and Emily Ayscue Hassel in EducationNEXT

I am wondering if the current financial state of most schools can support where this technology is going. Are we doing learning a DISSERVICE by expecting them to upgrade their technology infrastructure at the pace that technology changes?

I agree wholeheartedly with you. I think there is this notion that somehow technology is the answer to solving our fundamental problems with education. I love technology as much as anyone else but I despair at schools falling over each other to give their students iPads. Quote from the article - "Think of four or five students struggling with the same math problem. The teacher can pull out her iPad on the fly and sketch a diagram for everyone in the room to see". Does the teacher need an iPad to do that? What is wrong with the blackboard? On the other hand, if you tell me that another student who has found a novel way to solve the problem can project her solution for others to see and learn, I can see some value.