Ideas and Thoughts from an EdTech

Today my XO or “$100 laptop” arrived.  It brings with it the cool-looks-like-a-Fisher-Price-toy kind of responses from others. I fire it up and without doing anything, I’m online. (Our technicians had issues with the wireless in their office but it worked without even keying in a WEP code here).  I take a quick tour and have a look at some of the other activities. (The XO uses the term activities rather than programs). Soon I’m stumped because it doesn’t function exactly like my Dell laptop.

So here are the questions that hit me almost immediately: Will kids like it? Is it intuitive? What is required in schools to make it work?

It’s not really about the XO but about the varying devices we carry. I think of Clarence’s recent post on boxes and it resonates with me. The difference that in our country and others with wealth, we’re not content unless it’s shiny, new and almost ridiculously intuitive. We’re dazzled and amazed with the interface of the itouch. We’re begging the industry to make things easier, better, faster, cheaper and for the most part, they are responding. We’re extremely impatient and frustrated when things don’t work they way we think they ought to.

Several years ago, a number of school divisions in Saskatchewan embarked on an experiment with Sun Microsystems to institute a thin client model of computing. The idea was to provide greater access at a low cost.  Some divisions, sold the farm, dumped all their PC’s and adopted this system 100%. Some, like ours, chose to place these in classrooms, maintain existing systems, but hopefully provide students with greater access. If you surveyed most teachers in my former division, they would categorize this as a failure. Many classrooms rarely used the systems for a number of reasons. Lack of training, challenges around support. There were some are continue to be some teachers who looked at the systems, asked what they could do and built their classrooms around what they could do rather than what they couldn’t.

This to me is a critical mindset that needs more attention and promotion. Cellphones, ipods, thinclients, handhelds, laptops and XO’s all have potential as learning tools. But one must understand what each does well.  I realize my digital camcorder can take photos but really unless I’m in a hurry or just need something quick, I won’t use it for that purpose.  The desire for the all in one device continues but I wonder if it will ever occur.

I think about people with older vehicles. Whether they use it as a second vehicle or their primary, most aren’t naive enough to think they have a great vehicle. Most see it for what it is; a means of transportation, not fancy, the radio may not work, they may have to do a little trick to get it started but it works. It gets them from A to B. It’s about perspective.

So as I look at my XO, I want to know what it does well and use it for that purpose. I worry that students and teachers will have similar reactions as we introduce low cost computing into classrooms as they have with our Sun project. I worry that when I take the XO home for my 9 year old to play with that she’ll say, “this sucks”.  It sucks compared to the $2000 laptop she uses. The reason we don’t think cellphones suck are because we see them for what they are and that is communication devices first and foremost. The fact that some can browse the internet, take photos and videos and play music is a bonus. If I started calling a cellphone a computer, maybe it loses some of its significance. As far as the XO goes, maybe calling it a laptop isn’t the best term. Maybe we need a term paradigm for these new flash based devices.  I’m trying to present new tools and devices not simply with enthusiasm but clear understanding of what they can and can’t do. Too often people lose focus and assume too much of a product or service. For example, animoto may not be the tool for a real quality piece of storytelling but it does a nice job of making taking a few images and presenting them in an interesting way. The XO is a courageous attempt at providing lowcost computing to the world certainly with limitations but not without value. The story of stuff seems to be playing in the background for me.

Technorati Tags: olpc, clarencefisher, sunmicosystems, xo, animoto

Those who follow me on twitter may know my wife has abandoned us for a week to visit my eldest daughter in Toronto.  While I really do do most of the cooking, in her absence I get a bit lazy. With two teenagers coming and going, it’s often just my 9 year old and me. Coming up with meal ideas can be tough. I posted this playful remark on twitter (see Clay’s description of how he views twitter) and John Pederson went ahead and created this  and then sat back and watched it unfold.

And while all this is easily dismissed as silliness, it demonstrates a number of things about networks. There are actually a few good ideas here.  I’ve often thought about a website to collect recipes. Yeah I know there are a gazillion out there already but getting a recipe from a trusted friend is always better. I liked Ramen Noodle Video link which I may even use on Saturday for a PhotoStory workshop I’ll be giving.  These things happen so much we take it for grant it. I’m blessed almost daily with great serendipitous learning experiences.

Clay Burell says:

Fun is fine, as long as you can demonstrate purposive learning at the same time. (I mean, come on, that’s the way I behave on Twitter - playful learning and sharing, sometimes pure socializing, other times pure teamworking - so why be a Gradgrind teacher and prohibit the same playfulness for my students when they network?)

I like to play and I like to learn. Play and learning go together well.

Technorati Tags: twitter, recipes, wikis, johnpederson, clayburell

I love the Street View feature in Google maps. Currently there are over 20 cities in the US that offer this close up view of all streets.  If you’re not familiar with Street View, check out these screencasts for more detail. 

I like the way this video combines Street View and humor. This is the kind of storytelling that works so well on the web. Short, funny and the remixing of familiar tools and themes.

Technorati Tags: streetview, davidjakes

I had breakfast with Steve Dembo and met Rushton Hurley, founder of Next Vista. Among the range of conversations we had was specifically about conferences since we are indeed attending one. I was reminded Steve of his podcast from about two years ago when he shared his experience with open conferencing. From that podcast I was able to run my own open conference and incorporate its principles several times since then.

While I have no illusions that mainstream conferences such as FETC will go so far as to engage in the controlled chaos of an open conference, there are some simple things that would make much more sense and provide participants with a much better experience and allow them to do more than simply come away with one good idea.

Most conferences have pre-conference workshops which are designed to provide an in depth opportunity to explore some concepts or develop skill in a particular area. The main conference offers concurrent sessions or keynotes that are meant to challenge and/or provide awareness of these ideas. This seems backwards. Here’s the idea I shared with Steve and Rushton.

I recently attended a 2 day First Nations conference where I went to a session on the second day on a documentary highlighting the work of 10 schools doing exemplary work with First Nations students.  Each segment was about 5-7 minutes showcasing the various schools. It was a great documentary and I immediately wanted to know more about some of these schools. I realized after that several of these schools hosted sessions on day one. I didn’t know that or make the connection.  Had the documentary been shown at the beginning of the conference I’d have definitely checked out those school’s sessions to find out more, ask questions and solidify my learning.

Thursday, I went to Alan November’ssession on Cultivating a World Class Ethic. In it he refers to RSS, Custom Searches, Skype and a host of other tools and ideas. Alan is acompelling speaker, I’ve heard him many times and know the impact he has on his audience. But I’m sure they left with more questions than answers. I think that’s good thing. But where’s the follow up? Howlasting is this? What if during his presentation he was able to refer to upcoming workshops at the end of the conference that would help them understand more about RSS, custom searches and Skype? What if the conference committee began with finding great speakers like Alan and then based on the content of his talk, found follow-up workshops that would support and deepen their learning? I’m know conference committees attempt to categorize and try and find balance in presentations but most participants don’t easily make these connections and have the opportunity for more just in time learning. Open conferences are designed to do just that; meet the needs of learners right now.

So that’s my idea. Not a radical shift but one that I feel might help transform conferences from being hit and miss efforts.

Technorati Tags: fetc, alannovember, nextvista, stevedembo, rushtonhurley

It’s been over a year since I’ve effectively been away from technology for more than about 2 days. That meant, 141 unanswered emails, and over 1000+ unread feeds and pages of twitter I’ll never read.

Truthfully it’s not even 5 complete days without access. I’ve grabbed a few minutes here and there between my father’s dialup connection and some downtown wireless. Not even sure why I bothered. I managed to answer a few urgent emails and poke my head in the “twitter staff room” but that was about it. If it wasn’t for the online class I’m teaching I really shouldn’t have bothered.

I typically spent over 8 hours a day online. Is that normal? I don’t know. It is my job and my passion so it is what it is. With that time, I’ve learned lots, developed some expertise along with some pretty strong philosophies.  But during my hiatus, I realize as many do, that being disconnected is hard. While I enjoyed my break, didn’t really think about other stuff, when I did have a moment to think I wondered what was going on out there. What was I missing? I wasn’t learning they way I was used to. But for many, even those that want to, they don’t have 8 hours a day to devote to this.

I have to think more deeply about what is really important. When I only have a couple of hours, minutes with people, what is it that I really need to communicate. What things are really significant and what things can be disposable?  I’ve never talked to teachers about twitter for example. Not because I don’t think it’s valuable but for most it’s a bit overwhelming as an entry point of connections. Even blogging, while it is simple to do, offers many very important opportunities, it may be not be critical.

I like Carolyn Foote’s post on 15 minutes a day (Mr. Jakes idea) But of course a starting point is required. Even 15 minutes a day, while great is challenging for me because I’m used to working on 40 times that much.

As I sit here for one of the sessions at FETC, I hear a woman say, “Slow down. I don’t know a wiki from a walki. Tell me where to start.” Of course that’s tough to answer. If I polled a 1000 of my readers, I’d get a broad range of responses, none of which would likely be wrong.

As the Heath brother’s write, I  have the knowledge curse.

Here’s the great cruelty of the Curse of Knowledge: The better we get at generating great ideas—new insights and novel solutions—in our field of expertise, the more unnatural it becomes for us to communicate those ideas clearly. That’s why knowledge is a curse. But notice we said “unnatural,” not “impossible.” Experts just need to devote a little time to applying the basic principles of stickiness.

Kelly Christopherson has similar thoughts. This post has no answers just ramblings and reflections. Every time I write over a couple of days, I find it tough to string the thoughts together. But it’s my space and Rob Wall says you can just write for yourself so I did. But as always your thoughts and comments are critical to my learning so drop a thought on this if you have one. Always looking for stickiness.

Technorati Tags: fetc, carolynfoote, davidjakes, robwall, kellychristopherson, madetostick

Received this email from a local principal.

I’m sure we are not going insane, but some would probably disagree.  Carla and I tried something new and, well a little bit rebellious today.  We invited the grade 8/9 ELA class/students to bring their cell phones into class (if they didn’t have one we used mysask for text).  Our goal, using cell phones for learning.  Our objectives, appropriate use of cell phones (manners and ethics), using the calendar/scheduling, using text to discuss literature (lit circles), tracking progress and assignments/projects, and engaging the new learner.  Guess what, it worked like a charm and the kids are peeing themselves with enthusiasm.  Welcome to Web 2.0!!!!  I needed to share.

I like this.

Technorati Tags: cellphones, principal

I love debates, especially when it comes to controversial topics that I struggle with.  Ewan is in an official debate regarding social networks.  And like Will, while I side mostly with Ewan, I hope to learn of some viewpoints I hadn’t considered.

I’m naturally attracted to blog posts where controversy and heated discussion occurs. That’s why you need to visit the site and not simply rely your reader because you’ll miss the comments. While some get overly concerned with the tone and their interpretation of malice, I’m interested in the arguments and appreciate diversity because it helps me learn.

Here’s one I’m currently watching: David Warlick’s post on Pedagogy and Gary Stager’s Response. The fact the Gary is challenging David is far from novel but no doubt their previous bouts have been helpful to me in developing my own beliefs. I like what both of them stand for and say. Is that weird or possible when at times they seem to be on opposite sides?  My feeble comment on the issue restates my feeling that they are likely closer in their thinking than it appears but still their discussions and perspectives serve to clarify and hone my thinking.

Another one that might not materialize but I find interesting is Tom Hoffman’s concern about Dan Meyer’s latest design contest. I won’t even provide much detail here because I’m not sure what I think yet but hope others join in on this to voice their opinions and uncover the nuances and perspectives on this issue.

Embrace diversity and learn.

Image: Courtroom One Gavel Joe Gratz
http://flickr.com/photos/joegratz/117048243/

Technorati Tags: debates, ewanmcintosh, socialnetworks, garystager, davidwarlick, danmeyer, tomhoffman

One presentation I’m working on is called “Lesson#1 Share everything”. It’s based on Robert Fulgham’s book All I Really Need to Know I Learned in Kindergarten. His first lesson is share everything. Of course my presentation will center around publishing and sharing ideas. I could write a book called All I Really Need to Know I Learned From My Network.  Maybe not everything but obviously those who are part of my learning network and others can attest to its power and importance. This is the basis of the network, people’s desire and ability to share their learning.

I get really frustrated when someone tells me about an outstanding teacher and I can’t find hide nor hair of their work online. What a waste. If they are as good as others say they are, why not share that with others?  They’ll tell me their kids made a great video, learned something great from an experiment or gave a great presentation but it means very little to me unless I can be part of it too. But even those who have the means and understanding aren’t sharing like they ought to. Some even offline don’t share much. Part of it is culture. I remember the first conference I attended as a young teacher. In order to be reimbursed for my expenses, I had to complete not only an expense form but a form asking what I had learned and if I would be willing to share it with other teachers. I anxiously filled out all the neat stuff I had learned and happily checked the box indicating I would love to share. Never heard from it again. There was no mechanism in place that allowed for sharing other than the informal discussions in staff rooms. Most schools do not have expectations that sharing is part of our job. I don’t think we’ve always done this as some feel. This has to change. I’ve built it into my classes for pre-service teachers. Part of their grade is based on their contribution to others’ learning.  Our ideas about what we share has to change as well.

Claire Thompson writes,

I know that I am struggling to come up with a meaningful way to incorporate blogs into my science classes. If what I’m planning could just as easily be done as a traditional assignment, then why do it using blogs? An added challenge is that my classes consist of small groups of student’s working asynchronously. If we’re going to blog, it is going to have to be about big ideas in science, not the specific details of, say, the cell cycle.

But Claire, it’s not about you…it’s about sharing. Someone is interesting in the cell cycle. Read this if you don’t believe me. While I know that folks like Clarence, Darren, Chris and Kathy are awesome teachers, part of what makes them awesome is that we can see what they’re doing. There are other teachers doing good work, we just don’t see it.

So if you’re doing good work:share. If you’re doing a lousy job:keep it to yourself.

Image:Sharing by furiousgeorge81
http://flickr.com/photos/furiousgeorge81/177926979/

Technorati Tags: robertfulgham, clairethompson, darrenkuropatwa, clarencefisher, kathycassidy, chrisharbeck, davecormier