literacy

The Analog-Digital Challenge

Feb 02, 2014 Filed in: Educational Technology

This weekend I was visiting with a local electrical engineer in a well-known high tech company. We started talking about the changes about to take place in my school's learning environment (with a 1:1 initiative). I was surprised that (initially) he didn't share my enthusiasm for the potential this project would have.

When I came home, I ran across this challenge that Rae Niles shared on the ADE list a decade ago. She had gotten it from an anonymous source in Abilene High School I added a few lines myself, and sent it out to my school's teaching staff with this note:
I ask you to forgive the idealistic notion that this is going to be an immediate/easy change... but let's gear up for a major change in our learning culture. Please don't take this as a challenge to the effort or quality of instruction in your classroom, it is meant more to challenge us to think about why the changes coming are worthwhile.

Let's have a little competition at school and get ready for the future.
I will use a laptop and you will use paper and pencil. Are you ready?

I will access up-to-date information - you have a textbook that is 5 years old.
I will immediately know when I misspell a word you have to wait until it's graded.
I will learn how to care for technology by using – it you will read about it.
I will see math problems in 3d, you will do the odd problems.
I will be able to communicate richly using multimedia and review, reflect and revise my communication for a superior final product – you will write 10 facts as a summary our assignment.
I will create artwork and poetry and share it with the world you will share yours with the teacher (and maybe the class).
I will be able to experience just-in-time learning on demand while your teacher will try and predict when the computers might be needed and try to schedule the lab.
I will have 24/7 access to the biggest library in human history, you have the entire class period several times a year if your teacher scheduled the computer lab.
I will learn to troubleshoot technology problems, you will wish you had technology.
I will work interactively with information while yours will be printed and photocopied.
I will select my learning style you will use the teacher's favorite learning style.
I will organize my notes electronically, archive them, learn to search and find information in my portfolio, you will struggle with heavy static books/notebooks and a bulky three ring binder with torn, smeared wrinkled and sometimes illegible content.
I will collaborate with my peers from around the world and (maybe) you will get to collaborate with peers in your classroom.
I will take my learning as far as I want while you must wait for the rest of the class.
I will know the difference between and effectively use: ordered lists and unordered lists, hanging indents, a text cell, calculated field, a graphic created with vectors or bitmaps, transparency, chromakey, layers, web authoring, scripting, markup language and basic programming – you will struggle to write within the margins of your paper and build big enough tables to contain your notes, even when you reach an new understanding.
I will build additional skills that will transfer to adulthood jobs, social interaction, politics, and life successes while you are limited to only the most rudimentary tools for learning.

The cost of a laptop per year? - $300/year average
The cost of teacher and student training? Expensive
The cost of well educated US citizens and workforce? - Priceless
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Photo Credit: jazzijava via Compfight cc

Tags: digital, literacy, 1:1

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Whattle You Wordle?

Oct 03, 2008 Filed in: Reflections on Teaching

I was reminded by one of my personal learning community Twitterfolk (thanks Stephanie Cheney!) today of the fresh ways we can look at things through the lens of technology.

I have played around with this website a number of times and really enjoyed the fresh way of looking at an essay, news article or report. The website is called Wordle- you copy and paste the verbal content (words) of a section of writing, it does word counts and determines the most commonly written or spoken words. The website then creates a visual representation (graphic) of these words with the words that were mentioned most frequently proportionately larger than words that were just mentioned once or twice.

So last night we had a Vice Presidential Candidate Debate: Joseph Biden versus Sarah Palin. Viewers were awash in a sea of words, and one might want to know at the end of the debate, what were the most frequently spoken words. Wordle to the rescue! BBC took the transcripts of the two candidates, let Wordle perform it’s magic and here is what they got in return:
(click the graphics below to view the full Wordle)

(read original article)

Interesting- ehh?

Now how could you use this website in your classroom?

Whattle YOU Wordle?
http://wordle.net/