Leading Learning Conference :: Blog

http://themobilelearner.wordpress.com/2008/09/04/beyond-banning-rules-for-cla

I’ve spent some time in this blog looking at practical applications of mobile technologies in today’s classrooms.  While looking at theoretical ideas helps to frame conversations and direct one’s focus, practical ideas help to bring theoretical ideas to life. In this spirit, I would like to share some ideas about establishing classroom rules for cell [...]

http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/TheCleverSheep/~3/383748962/13-for-f

1] FlickrVision: Great workshop tone-setter (mind you the risk will always be there for inappropriate photos...)

2] ClustrMaps: Easy to embed, and great for tracking site visitors. Scroll to the bottom of this page for a sample.

3] Google Maps: Easy to create; You can add text, hyperlinks, photos. An evolving example: CCK08 Participant Map.

4] Visual Complexity: Maps of many different types to show 'information'. See more than the screen captures by visiting the links from each page... simply amazing visualizations!

5] FlashEarth: Not quite Google Earth, but a full screen interactive model of the earth. Tour NASA map; open layers; Microsoft Virtual Earth...

6] TwittEarth: Twitter fans might like to see where international tweets are coming from. This is another great tone-setter.

7] Map of the World 2.0: A mosaic of logos recreates the planet.

8] Traveler IQ Challenge: A fast-paced game that rewards both speed and accuracy in plotting major cities on a world map. If you prefer to learn countries, a slower paced 'blackline master' game is available at GameDesign

9] MapMe.com: Create and share maps that include photos, audio and video.

10] GeoGraffiti: One for iPhone users! Add audio tags to locations you visit. Other users can use the GPS capabilities of their phones to listen to historic re-enactments; public reminiscing, or live anecdotes.

11] Music Map: Which bands are closely related to others? It is surprisingly relevant for finding artists similar to your favourites.

12] Intellicast: My favourite North American weather map resource. Animated radar is super-effective in helping me anticipate precipitation.

13] Global Political Map: This full screen, zoomable PDF is the best I've found. The map is accurate as of 2007. The 2004 version is also available.

Photo Credit: NASA

http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/TheCleverSheep/~3/382746136/cck08-is

The massively open online course "Connectivism and Connected Knowledge" is about to launch and people from around the world have already introduced themselves on the course site. Maybe I shouldn't be so surprised to see such interest from educators all around the planet, but I can't help but feel part of a larger community in watching as the introductions continue.

In order to give folks some idea of how global participation is expected to be, I created a quick Google Map for CCK08, where participants can drop a pin and add their names. The technology allows for the posting of HTML content including photos, but let's take it one step at a time...

The instructions for adding yourself to the map are quite simple and appear below:

http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/TheCleverSheep/~3/381778565/chrome-c

It's Here! Google Chrome and it's companion open source code page, Chromium, are now available in beta form for PC users. Highlights include: ready access to the sites you visit most often; an intuitive search/address bar called 'omnibox'; and a minimalist package worthy of Google's heritage.

Here are my first impressions, including a quick comparison to Firefox, Safari, and Flock (6 minutes).


I'm guessing that Chrome will soon be a key component of Android and the Google Phone, and while it's not earth-shaking enough to get me to run Microsoft Windows, I'll be downloading the Mac version when it's ready for prime time.

http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/TheCleverSheep/~3/380911622/google-g

It makes perfect sense. For years, Google has been the search tool of popular choice, so why shouldn't they be in the browser business? The news on the Official Google blog says they will be joining the game with "A Fresh Take on the Browser".


The launch of Google Chrome promises to create an era of fresh thinking in response to the realities of Web 2.0. Even with tabbed browsing, most browsers run on engines created to take advantage of one web resource at a time. Google intends it's browser to be capable of multi-tasking, while handling the full range of evolving web applications.

Google's own comic book explanation clearly outlines the goals of the project, but I prefer the crisper version posted by Blogoscoped.com.

The beta release of Google Chrome is intended exclusively for MS Windows, but versions for Mac and Linux are promised. My fingers are crossed in the hope that Google Chrome will get us on track to use the browser as a powerful app, rather than a simple window to the web.


Image Credit: The comic book is shared by Google via Creative Commons attribution, non-commercial, no derivative works 2.0 creative commons license

Keywords: e-learning, technology, web2.0

http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/TheCleverSheep/~3/379628570/learning

What will happen if you place a single computer workstation with free access to the World Wide Web in a wall so that 'unschooled' children can access it?

In the "Hole-in-the-Wall" project, Sugata Mitra discovered that kids in Delhi, India could and would teach themselves how to use such a tool. No instructions, no teachers, no supervision. The experiment has since been repeated many times and now Sugata Mitra's TED talk is available...



In some ways, this self-teaching reminds me of Greg Mortenson stumbling upon students carrying on with their lessons absent of teachers in remote Pakistan. Greg's chronicle of his mission to build schools for these students is chronicled in "Three Cups of Tea".

This peer-teaching and self-learning isn't what you might expect to find when teachers leave their North American classrooms... I wonder why that is?

http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/PortablePD/~3/378546704/

The folks at Common Craft have done it again.  This time they explain what Google Reader is all about.

Find the video here. I’ve also embedded the video below - although it is from YouTube.

Authored by Nathan Toft. Hosted by Edublogs.

There has been lots of chatter over the last week or so about whether learning styles are a real phenomenon, or just a posit that was let loose and has become a self-fulfilling prophecy of sorts.

I can't help but wonder, even if they do exist, do they matter? Is it my learning style, or my learning patterns that matter? As a teacher, am I wasting my time trying to adapt teaching to fit their learning styles while force fitting them into a pre-defined learning pattern that is cold and unnatural to many of them?

I have increasingly over the last 6 months found myself wanting to spend more time talking to student about this question - which I see as a key to unlocking what might be wrong with education today...

 

"How do you learn when you WANT to learn?"

 

So, I'll pose the question first to any of you reading this. How do you learn when you want to learn? Do you follow the patterns you had imprinted on you in your days as a student? Have you patterns changed? How has technology changed them?

I've got to figure out a way to try and get some honest answers to this question from students, as I am sure there is a lot we can uncover that might help us reach more of them...

http://themobilelearner.wordpress.com/2008/08/29/obstacles-to-mobile-learning

I had a conversation in Twitter about the high costs of photocopying and how these costs consume so much of a school budget.  The waste is so high that it reduces a school’s ability to invest in technology.
Let’s take a look at some rough numbers*. Let’s peg the cost of one photocopy at $0.10 CAD.  [...]

http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/TheCleverSheep/~3/378159737/to-caddy

A few days ago, I had the good fortune of reconnecting with a northern colleague, Mike, who invited me for a round of golf at the Sault Golf and Country Club, in Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario. During our twilight round, we had a number of conversations revolving around family, work, and recreation, but the one that sticks in my head, is the brief chat we had on the 7th green.

Since the round was unplanned, I played my round with the clubs of Mike's 11 year old son, Adam. While it took me a few holes to adapt to these novice tools, it was in talking about Adam that I learned he had been invited to caddy for the Canadian Men’s Senior Golf Championship taking place in the Sault from September 9th - 12th.

It turns out, that the current debate in Mike's household was whether or not Adam should be allowed to miss school for the Thursday and Friday of the tournament. With the tide leaning heavily towards school, I couldn't resist playing the devil's advocate...

"If Adam attends school, how long will the experiences of those two days stick with him?"

"If Adam attends the golf tournament, how long with the experiences of those two days stick with him?"

Even though I've never caddied for another golfer, by the barometer of memory; lasting impact; and influence on future pursuits, there is little doubt in my mind, that caddying for one or more senior golfers will provide the richer experience.

So here is my challenge to you upon the start of a new school year... "What are you doing in your classroom today, that is more important, more meaningful and more relevant for personal growth, than the act of caddying in a golf tournament?"

Photo Credit: SSShupe