Archive for April, 2007
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Almost all of the students in classrooms K-12, and a large percentage of students in colleges are ‘digital natives,’ or students who grew up with ubiquitous access to digital media. These are those who can’t remember a time without e-mail and the internet. Because these students are intimately familiar with computers, the web, and the latest and greatest technology we can benefit by teaching them differently than students in the past… they are a new generation of learners.
4 Things to Get ‘Digital Native’ Students REALLY Involved
1. Make the Final Product SHAREABLE!
If a student knows that their work is going to a larger audience they will naturally take more time to work on it. The easiest way to do that is use Web 2.0 technologies like blogs, wiki’s, podcasts, and online video. Of course, you will need to be comfortable with those technologies yourself.
2. PROJECT’S, not Assignments!
Don’t give students a bunch of assignments, give them one larger project with a end result that students can see. Although this may take longer, students will naturally get more involved. They will want to be involved with the topic beyond the end of class.
3. Encourage students to use POPULAR TECHNOLOGIES they are familiar with!
The latest and greatest technology is more than likely taking over your student’s life’s. Encourage them to find educational uses for it. Almost every new web startup, or tech gadget can be used in an educational way. If you encourage the students to use these technologies they will come up with ideas that you could never have thought of yourself. (Oh, and they will think you’re cool because you encourage them to use their iPod in class. 
)
4. Give the Student’s OPTIONS!
Don’t limit your students to any specific medium of transfer. Some digital natives love music and would make an amazing music video, or write an amazing song. Others would do better with video like the example below.
EXAMPLE of a Great Project!
This morning I was reading the Infinite Thinking Machine, a blog I highly recommend, and I came across a video produced by some 12th grade students for an English project. The project is called MacBeth Wars and can be seen below.
From the introduction on Google Video:
This movie was done for a 12th grade english project, parodying Shakespeare’s “Macbeth” with a Star Wars style. It features the majority of the Macbeth storyline, and includes a 3-minute lightsaber duel between Macbeth and Macduff near the end.
Then the most amazing part…
We hope to release Macbeth Wars II, a project purely for our own fun, by summer 2007.
Wow! You don’t have to watch the whole production to realize that this project was probably WELL beyond what was required of them for the class. It has great digital effects, sounds effects, multiple video shots in each scene and appropriate background music. This project surely took hundreds of hours to complete AND they want to do another one in their FREE time! Now that is a good project!
What other things have you done, or seen done that really get student’s involved? What other projects have you seen that are just amazing? Do share in the comments!
Tags: classroom 2.0, digital learners, digital natives, education, school 2.0, teacher tools, web 2.0
On the back end of Haptic devices and Multi-touch displays I ran across this article and video this morning that demonstrates another possible way to manipulate computers with your hands.
As more and more possibilities present themselves for physically manipulating data on a computer, the more and more it will become mainstream. I really like this option because, as it says in the video, all you would need would be a USB camera device and software. This is potentially much more affordable than Haptic devices (although they are getting super cheap too) and certainly more affordable than a multi-touch display.
Tags: haptic devices, tech stuff, touch displays
Do you ever feel like either of these guys?
This video speaks to me on two levels, both as a tech guy, and as a guy trying to learn new things from technology…
May be all be a little nicer to our tech guys today… and perhaps a little nicer to the people we support. We all are learning together.
Tags: books, funny
Just a forewarning… this is a techie post, but a techie post that I think some educators will find useful.
So I have a three computers that I use regularly. I have a dual-monitor Desktop ThinkCentre, a MAC Mini and a Laptop. You can see them all here together.
Well, as you can imagine syncing information on all these computers is difficult (that is a whole post in itself) but using all of these computers at once has always been hard. Sometimes there is a program I need on my MAC, sometimes I need to do something on my laptop. It has always been so hard and involved going from one to another.Enter Synergy… (via Lifehacker).
I’ll leave the details to Lifehacker. The installation isn’t too hard, but it isn’t exactly totally easy either. After you get it done, YOU CAN USE ONE KEYBOARD AND MOUSE TO CONTROL ALL THE COMPUTERS AT ONCE!!
Wow! Let me tell you… my life is changed. Basically I have one huge 4 screen computer using 3 processors and 3 different computers to do my work. I can do more things at once. Have more programs open and get to more information. An added monitor could increase your productivity by up to 30% depending on how you decide to use that second screen. You can’t drag you applications across the screens, but you can do work
on all of them and you can copy and paste from one to another.
Now I realize that a lot of people don’t have three computers they work with on a regular basis, but many of you have laptops and desktops and try to use them both while at work. If this is you… you deserve taking the 1/2 hour you need to set this up!
Possible Educational Uses:
- I think the biggest possibility would be for teacher’s that are already using two computers (like a laptop and a desktop at work). You could use this to use both computers at once. Leave open your laptop and put important reference information on it, or e-mail, or video, anything. Then do your work on the main computer.
- Another possibility would be for teachers who don’t have a dual monitor set-up, but would like one. There are increasingly more spare computers lying around unused. Put two of those together and presto! You have a dual monitor computer, but with double the processing power.
What do you think? Anyone else out there using this? How would having an additional screen/computer increase your productivity?
Tags: dual monitor, productivity, student tools, synergy, teacher tools, tech stuff
I ran across this great video this morning (on a blog in my RSS reader) for those of you who aren’t using RSS yet… now’s the time. Get on board!
Click To Play
There are two types of Internet users, those that use RSS and those that don’t. This video is for the people who could save time using RSS, but don’t know where to start.
A while ago I also blogged about why RSS is going to change the academic community. That might be of some interest to some of you too. Cheers!
UPDATE: Just in case you were wondering… I do have a feed for my blog too. You can see several ways to subscribe on the right… and even see that 77 (as of today) others have subscribed as well.
Tags: rss, rss reader, student tools, teacher tools
I have to forewarn you, this is going to be a serious blog entry. I found out yesterday that someone I knew was killed in the Virginia Tech shootings that has been all over the news. If you read the news and listen to the reports the gunman went into a German classroom at the University and shot the professor followed by 32 other people. That professor was my good friend Jamie Bishop.
I met Jamie several days after I arrived in Chapel Hill 2 1/2 years ago. He was the OASIS instructional technology guy in Dey Hall. He was, for all intents and purposes, my supervisor and leader my first year here. I shared an office with him my entire first year here. He taught me all about web design and helped me as I meandered my way into the world wide web of web publishing. The fact that I have a blog (not to mention any of the rest of the people I manage blogs for) is a direct result of his training and encouragement.
But far more important than his technical training was his friendship. I can’t even begin to count the wonderful conversations we had with one another. Jamie, me and Kevin Hunt (the other Tech TA working in Dey 110 that year) used to talk about everything from politics to deity. I was certainly swayed toward the Democrats as a result and I would like to think he got closer to God through our talks.
Probably the most important thing Jamie ever did for me was support me when I talked with him about leaving the German department. He too had a MA in German, but worked with Instructional Technology. When I talked with him about possibilities he told me I should do what he does. I loved technology and had already learned a ton… thanks to him. I took his advise to heart and obviously it worked. Today I am what he was two years ago, the tech/instructional technology support for Dey Hall. I sit at his desk and help and associate with the people he did two years ago. And even now I am still trying to fill the shoes he did while he was here.
It is no small stretch to say that I am where I am now because of Jamie. His training taught me, his words encouraged me, his association furthered me, and his friendship blessed me. I am grateful to have known Jamie and know I am not the only one.
I don’t know how long Steffi, his wife will keep his webpage up, but I hope it is for a long time. He did fantastic work and I highly recommend you all check it out! It is a great representation of his skills. If you really want to get a feel for what kind of person he was check his journal out. Although he didn’t update it the past year or so (lesson to us all), there is lots of archives.
Good bye Jamie, you will be missed.
Tags: jamie bishop, personal
Digital Ethnography, the people that brought us the edublogger smash-hit “The Machine is Using Us,” has put out a new video entitled “The Internet has a Face.” From their post introducing the video:
“Before, we were reliant upon what the user has expressed through words, however, when one can read beyond words through visuals, the communication seems to become more “human and personal.†If there was a fear that the internet was making society antisocial, vlogging would seek to prove otherwise.”
UPDATE: The video used to be here, but I removed it because of a repeated expletive throughout the video. If you want to see it you can click here but it may not be work appropriate.
As I watch this video I begin to realize the impact online media has had on our culture and will continue to have. We are truly digital people who live and share our lives online.
Tags: ethnography, social web, vlogging, web 2.0
I just heard about a new service called Unype. It is a local download program that you launch at the same time you have google earth and skype open. It allows you to go to places in google earth and chat with other users in the same place.
This might be useful for some geography classes or distance education classes discussing cities, landscapes… a variety of things.
How might you use this?
Tags: distance education, google, google earth, skype, teacher tools, unype
I came across this insightful video this morning about Digital Learners and why technology is important to incorporate when teaching students.
This is not a new idea, but one that is dear to me. Use this video anytime you have a room full of teachers and you’re trying to help them see why technology is important. Not just to help them teach, but to engage the students and help them learn.
On a sidenote, there was an article a couple of days ago on CNN: “Study: No benefit going high-tech for math and reading.“ The article reviews an attempt to incorporate “software products” in elementary and secondary reading and math classes. Three things strike me about this study:
- The title suggests that technology is not helping in the classroom. Although I’m not sure what ’software products’ means, I would certainly guess it is not something akin to podcasts, blogs, cell phones, social networks and other technology that is exciting to elementary and secondary students.
- I am still disturbed by the constant need to gauge success in the classroom by scores. The article mentions nothing about the student reaction to the change in the classroom. Are the students excited to come to class? Are the students engaged in class? Is there a change in the drop out rate for students using technology in the classroom and those that aren’t? Do students that use technology in the classroom go on to higher paid, professional jobs?
- Although the study didn’t produce higher standardized test results,
when teachers were asked if they would use the products again nearly
ALL indicated they would. The teachers in the classroom obviously see the importance of the technology. It may be because it makes their jobs easier, but I think teachers can also see that more students are engaged and more students are willing to learn.
Just my 2 cents this morning…
Tags: digital natives
I came across this great quick introduction to RSS reads this morning in my reads (through my RSS reads). I, like Mark Wagner who wrote this article, have often been asked by people how I know this or that. It is because of RSS. My subscriptions keep me up to date without having to go out and find the content!
I know most of you use RSS already, but if you have not and would like to get into it… NOW IS THE TIME. Here is a great introduction, including a link to an even longer and more comprehensive introduction by Will Richardson.
Tags: No Tags
