HGSET561

Reading assessement via Ipod Touch. Hope to see more of this.

"Researchers looking at the brains of dyslexic Chinese children have discovered that the disorder in that language often stems from two separate, independent problems: sound and visual perception. "

Not to worry, this article perhaps is still within the realms of meta-cognition. The author posits, "...because love activates a long-term perspective that elicits global processing, it should also promote creativity and impede analytic thinking." Interesting findings, though I have yet to buy them.

While not an emerging tehnology per se, social networks can serve as indicators of how, why and who is using and CREATING web content. I think the creation part of this exchange is key in that it ishere that the disruptive element of the technology comes into play. In my studies of Podcasts for the wiki assignment I found that many first time podcasters subscribers experimented with recording their own Podcast before becoming regular consumers. How does this relate to the facebook vs. myspace arguement, you ask? SImple, myspace is a more customizable portal/page that allows users to express and communicate their own, often marginalized socio-cultural identity. Facebook on the other hand asks users to define their online persona via 'freinds', shared photos, profile text fields, etc. For many recent immigrant and children, the formation and identification of an imagined community is an attractive thing. Somalian wallpaper, Manga flash videos embedded, Dominican Republic Flag .gifs waving all over..and MUSIC.

Here's a brief article with statistics on online social networking divide. What does your online social networking preference reveal about your social class?

Will online social networking create or perpetuate a "caste system" within online communities?

Personally, I cannot imagine dissecting a body on my iPhone. But, obviously 3,000 customers see this as a must-have. Def. a step towards mobile/distance learning.

Neato! Personally I will leave the dissecting to the MDs. A lot of these iPhone apps (maybe all of them) would better impact education on a larger screen. I bet the oompa loompas inside Steve Job's secret Technology Factory are up to a tablet mac. Such a device would best serve doctors trying to educate their patients.

I love competative learning labs. I wish this project based co-opetition model were a standard in our schools. Innovation and team dynamics are mindsets and skills that need to be developed in our kids.

New delivery platform, but from what I can tell, same lecture format. "Disruptive" in that it offers students (who might not otherwise be students) a chance to sit in and learn the same content as the rich/smart enough to have a seat at MIT, Yale Stanford, etc.

HuffPo is now doing automated A/B testing for its headlines. How does that apply to ed? Online learners all have that liminal moment where they choose to click through or not click through. Proper A/B testing uncovers the motivation of why (or at least the effectiveness) of why some marketing copy and headlines work, and others dont. The best cloud-based ed. tech in the world means nothing if the click-through rate of a passive user is not substantial.

Life, liberty, and the pursuit of hulu video while gchatting and downloading the entire sigur ros catalog from itunes!

Discussion on whether digital reading differs neurologically from paper reading.

I have viewed these webinars before and I would advise you to give it a go.

Newest Disney attraction called - Sum of All Thrills where kids get to design their own virtual roller coaster. It uses virtual-reality technology. "Disney hopes the interactive nature of the ride would also help kids learn that math and science can be fun."

While I would not consider this incredibly expensive ride a 'distruptive innovation' or even an emerging ed technology, what Epcot has done by bringing this DIY-VR concept to the masses (if you are one of the masses that can A- afford Disney and B-have the patience to wait in line for `5-6 hours) is very important to future ed tech innovation strategies. The progression/invention of such cost prohibitive entertainment tools will fall squarely on the high-end theme parks and consumer venues. The challenge has been set by Epcot and now others must either compete directly or develop a better or more accessible solution. Off the top of my head, I can think of a few cost saving innovations that might be developed in this 'race'- Artificial G-Force Engline: variable air pressure, smart-chairs, fans

More fears of publishers who hold the rights to intellectual property. Folks, you think health care is a big debate? Wait until our patent system changes - that will be a gladiator battle with everyone in the world (free and not free) participating... "As digital collections grow, Mr. Sargent said he feared a world in which "pretty soon you're not paying for anything." Partly because of such concerns, Macmillan does not allowits e-books to be offered in public libraries. Simon & Schuster, whose authors include Stephen King and Bob Woodward, has also refrained from distributing its e-books to public libraries. "We have not found a business model that works for us and our authors," said Adam Rothberg, a spokesman."

Culture is more important than genes in developing potentially self-harming altruistic behavior.. But wait - this paper says the opposite (and throws religiousness in for good measure). Let the academic debate continue! http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/04/070405170133.htm

Interesting article about libraries going digital, talking about how this actually functions in libraries (Boston Public Library being one) and addressing concerns about publishers' rights. I'm sad that at this point nobody really seems to care about the experience of reading a real book with actual pages. What a loss if we ditch physical books altogether.

Video games can improve cognition and foster positive behavior. (not that we didn't know that already...)

Do videogames boot brain function?

Ha ha. Booting brain function. Got it... I think. Maybe I need to go play a video game.

Some interesting commentary on the future of touch screens. Potentially has implications for educational uses as well: "Anyone who has used one for a long time will tell you that they quickly revert to using the keyboard and mouse. And it isn't because of the software or touch technology - both are fine.The problem is that you get tired keeping your hands up and on the screen for a long period of time. Touch experts I've spoken with say it's because your hands are above your heart, which isn't comfortable for very long."

Using math to design your own Disney World ride!

Haha! Read this one today. Considered bookmarking it. I don't know how much fun a ride would be after standing in line for two hours than having to think about what it is you are going to ride.

One potential use of augmented reality: To frighten and confuse innocent bystanders