EdTechTrek

Space is limited. Bandwidth is limited. I ran across this article from MacWorld and thought I would share it with you, as I found it a useful resource. The tidbit that I liked the most was learning about Vimeo, which offers a “family friendly” viewing option, as we all know that using free resources often exposes our viewers to advertisements, hyperlinks, and limited control. That option could be very useful with posting video for students as well. Of course, posting your videos on wiki or blog will do the trick, assuming you have enough storage space to host your own video content and sufficient bandwidth to deliver the content to your audience. Below is a table that you will find in the article that summarizes basic features.

Sorry for the corny title (from Fiddler On the Roof, if you missed it). I couldn’t resist. A tweet came by last night from Kathy Schrock asking to follow a URL to try out a new chat service called ChatMaker. I bit and had a little fun. Within minutes there were a dozen or more folks entering the chat. It was amazing to see how quickly a tweet could spark a “conversation”. I put that in quotation marks because it was pretty disjunct. After trying it for a few minutes, I went and set up my own chat to give it a whirl. I then tweeted the URL and within minutes a few followers had joined and we chatted about the tool and some possibilities. A pleasant surprise was when a new acquaintance from NYSCATE ‘08 entered the chat and we were actually able to have a meaningful discussion.

So, what do I think about this chat tool? Well, it couldn’t be easier to set up. All you need to do is give your chat a name and the service generates a URL that you can share. There are no other settings or configurations. That’s it. Those who have the URL can join and specify their name or handle when they enter the chat. So, for ease of use, I would give it a 10. However, I do have some concerns after exploring a few things. First of all, once you title your chat, it remains even after you finish the chat. You have no way do modify it or delete it. If you called it something like I did (TechTalk), someone can easily find it by experimenting with chat titles. Although the entire chat may not be retrievable if it was a long one, much of it remains and is visible. This alone makes me think twice about how I would use it. My advice would be to title your chat with random letters, numbers, dashes and underscores (like sjdkl_16_tjl-9) so that those fishing could not stuble across it if privacy was somewhat of a concern.

Give it a try. It is a quick way to set up a local software-free, browser-based, OS independent chat. But, if security or privacy is a concern, name it wisely. And remember, if it is on-line, it is not private!

“Once the technology is sunk deep enough into the culture, the social effects that get built on it simultaneously require the technology and aren’t about the technology.”

~Clay Shirkey

So true.

Yet we must continually examine those “social effects” rather than get too giddy about the required technologies. Too many discussions are focused on these required technologies (and a google alternatives) rather than looking hard at the social effects that result from new technological “enablers”. Taking the view of Neil Postman and others, technology is not always enabling “good” things. Seamless, transparent technology is certainly the goal in the classroom so that it is the learning that is the focus, not the technology. Otherwise, learning outcomes become secondary to the exciting new technologies and users become blinded by the “technology delusion”. This reminded my of an article worth reading and thinking about, written by Todd Oppenheimer in 1997, titled, The Computer Delusion. Things have evolved since he wrote it, but it is still worth reading. I love this last quotation:

“The purpose of the schools [is] to, as one teacher argues, ‘Teach carpentry, not hammer,’” he testified. “We need to teach the whys and ways of the world. Tools come and tools go. Teaching our children tools limits their knowledge to these tools and hence limits their futures.”

A good reminder…

I just got back from my son’s first baseball practice of the season. The kids were quite excited and jittery. But, here’s the kicker. When the coach called them all over, they came. When he spoke, for the most part they listened attentively. When he have the rule about sportsmanship (any insults or unsportsmanlike conduct, you’re out of the game or practice), everyone understood. Then, we broke up into groups for small group work - infielding, batting, pitching, outfielding, catching. Coaches modeled, guided practice, and left time for independent practice, with small cycles of reteaching and modeling continually interspersed where needed. The kids were engaged, challenged, and having a good time learning and playing the game. We finished with a short game to put all of the skills to practice. That is when I was reminded of a poster that I used to have up on my office door. It was by Alison Gopnik. It reads,

“…But routinized learning is not an end in itself. A good coach may well make his players throw the ball to first base 50 times or swing again and again in the batting cage. That will help, but by itself it won’t make a strong player. The game itself — reacting to different pitches, strategizing about base running — requires thought, flexibility and inventiveness.

Children would never tolerate baseball if all they did was practice. No coach would evaluate a child, and no society would evaluate a coach, based on performance in the batting cage. What makes for learning is the right balance of both learning processes, allowing children to retain their native brilliance as they grow up…”

So, what does this all mean? Well, for one thing, unless we make learning relevant and give it practical application, students will never experience the true love of learning - love of the game. For, without practical and authentic application, all that remains is information and decontextualized skill acquisition. Students need to experience the thrill of the game and its inherent skillset, strategies, problem-solving, creativity, inventiveness, flexibility, teamwork…

So, ask yourself anew - are your students experiencing authentic information and skill acquisition situated in larger context of “the game”? Are they getting a chance to play the game, or is it just practice, practice, practice? Are we preparing our students to be successful at “school”, or are we preparing them to be successful at [the game of] life? And, ask yourself if the “game” has changed over the years since you were in school. Are there new technologies to prepare for and play the game? Are there new ways to facilitate the playing of the game? Are there virtual ways to experience the game and take part in it like never before? If there are, then it stands to reason that the game can be kept fresh and real if we embrace these new and powerful tools for becoming better players of the game. But, yes, if the game is not important, then we can just be happy with learning about the game and practicing the skills that were needed for the game a few decades ago.

Oh yes - there has to be assessment, right? The test….  In baseball, the true test is what one does on the field… in the game. Imagine if baseball players, or any athlete for that matter, where assessed primarily by their performance on a written test on the rules and strategies of the game. Would  such performance ensure excellent players and a winning team?

I never thought that tonight’s practice would bring up so many things to think about. Play Ball!

I had forgotten about this little gem until I found it again in my inbox as I was doing some housekeeping. Edublogs has

created a new blog and user creator to facilitate the creation of blogs for others. All you need to do is fill out the details to easily create multiple users and blogs and even add yourself as admin to them if you woud like. This process makes it very easy to add blogs for your students or perhaps your colleagues. And, for students, it has the feature of being a co-administrator in their blog if that is something that would be desirable.

The tool allows you to create 15 new blogs/users at one time and couldn’t be easier.