Salman Khan, of Khan Academy, builds videos which kids can learn from. They're about adding, subtracting, algebra, calculus, history, and more. His first idea was just to post helpful videos for his cousins. Then, thousands of others kids and teachers started using his videos. Realizing the energy behind them he kept developing content, but also wisely started to build an infrastructure that could enhance how students use the videos.
I think his ideas around using game mechanics are incredible. I have been to so many talks about gaming for education where finding the right balance between play and education has been the discussion. Someone on a panel I was at said 70% play, 30% game. That seems like the oddest approach, and I think Khan's merit badges and other structures are a much better look at ed tools might use gaming structures.
Khan Academy is exciting stuff, and some of my teachers have been engaged in producing their own videos. We're going to see there "the flip" might take our students.
Mobile devices have become so powerful now it is hard to believe. All of the photos and video in this post were shot on my HTC Evo phone by Sprint. Most, if not all, of the middle and upper school students I work with have phones of this caliber. As a technology director I'm often thinking about how standardized systems support ease of adoption and support in schools. At my school every teachers in the middle and upper school has the same laptop, in the lower school, the faculty have the same laptop. Each student in grades 8-12 has the same laptop in each grade. This means teachers know what students have, and the tech team can easily support them as the knowledge needed is limited by the limited models.
But, if the real issue is certain generic capabilities of the tools (photos, video, writing, audio, Internet access), perhaps standardized equipment is not necessary. I am not convinced by this, but am somewhat enchanted by it. People using their own tools in ways that they are comfortable with. Will that meet the needs of teachers trying to utilize technology for higher-order learning? I don't doubt that it could, but I struggle with how to be strategic in an institution doing it.
Are you letting people bring any device to school? Giving them access to your network? Letting teachers manage dozens of different ways of approaching lesson objectives? What are the advantages? What are the drawbacks?
This video is incredible. This company has put the research, time, and effort into creating a powerful video game experience. I could see this technology becoming less expensive and more approachable, and then what we could do with it in schools would be left only to our imaginations.
Even just to communicate lecture-style information to students who are far away, absent, or who want to review, would be novel. Imagine being able to watch a 3-d model of your teacher from your phone, your laptop, etc. Then imagine giving that student a joy stick, letting them play with a lab that the teacheris running, letting them explore a sin curve in three dimensions. The possibilities are limitless here, and this type of technology will become a disruptive innovation in our classrooms sooner than later.
Catchafire uses the web to match people's skills with better volunteer opportunities. This seems like a great way to have our students connect to organizations in meaningful ways. They create a profile, try to match with an organization, and then give their skills. This seems more powerful than just showing up, getting trained quickly on some small task, and doing it. Now, many times that is just what an organization needs, and so we can give that. But with the technical skills our students have, shouldn't we expect more of them in their community service work?
Wikileaks is a self-described “not-for-profit media organization,” launched in 2006 for the purposes of disseminating original documents from anonymous sources and leakers. Its website says: “Wikileaks will accept restricted or censored material of political, ethical, diplomatic or historical significance. We do not accept rumor, opinion, other kinds of first hand accounts or material that is publicly available elsewhere.”
More detailed information about the history of the organization can be found on Wikipedia (with all the caveats that apply to a rapidly-changing Wiki topic). Wikipedia incidentally has nothing to do with Wikileaks — both share the word “Wiki” in the title, but they’re not affiliated.
From @abowllan comes a link to this thought-provoking article by Tim Wilsonabout what might be possible in schools using QR codes. I think the case is a little overstated in the post, but it's fun to think about nonetheless. If you don't know what a QR code (that bar code-looking item) is, the article explains that, too.
Allen Barra writes a critique of "To Kill a Mockingbird" in the Wall Street Journal that is wroth reading. We've been having discussions in our school on whether this 50-year old book is appropriate for 7th graders with its inclusion of viciously racist language (the "N" word) and moreover how we choose the cannon that is read at our school. It's an important conversation and a most difficult one. I think that we must recognize the value of tradition while respecting the evolving landscape of our countries, cities, and schools - finding the balance is incredibly challenging but is the real goal of these conversations.
This article on tools to catch/thwart cheating made me sad. This kind of stuff has no place in a school context. If we need video cameras to monitor students we must be designing schools and assessments wrong. Our systems need corrected, not supplanted with monitoring technology. Totally grossed out right now.
Wow, this trailer for Waiting for Superman was difficult to watch. It appears to present a critical eye of how school works, from a parent/student point of view. Real assistance is needed for schools, and I'm at a total loss for what that help might look like. I am hopeful, but nervous all at the same time.
