Mobile Musings

TeacherTube Mashup

2008-08-20T16:48:00.000-07:00

(cross-posted form Karen's Mashups)

Below is one of my favorite mashups of all time -- a compilation of different clips from TeacherTube. If you aren't familiar with TeacherTube, it's a video sharing service for educators that has all kinds of great content for a variety of subjects and grades and even professional development topics, produced by teachers, students, and professional organizations. I think this is a terrific resource for differentiating instruction (especially with mobile devices).

Full credits and links for this show here.

Please feel free to use this in any way you find useful. I plan to use it at professional development workshops to give folks a quick look at all the great free video resources available to them.

Throwing out the textbooks

2008-08-06T08:56:00.000-07:00

I presented a keynote a couple weeks ago on Open Education. In talking about the reasons for open ed, I make the following points:

We must differentiate instruction if we are going to engage and reach students who have increasingly diverse backgrounds, skills, and interests.
Textbooks are not an effective tool for differentiating (or engaging) students.
Technology can be a better tool, but high quality content is required for effective integration.
There is a huge industry that has grown up around the development and adoption of textbooks. There is a lot of money invested in this industry, and it is not likely to change, regardless of the benefits to learning.
Open educational resources (OER) provide a new approach to this challenge.

So after my presentation, a very excited teacher came up to me and said, "I've done just what you've said! I've thrown out our textbooks!" (He told me later that they actually sold their textbooks. Great idea for a fund-raiser!)

He then went out to his car and brought back the materials he's developed to share with me. He is a history teacher and has developed a very innovative system that he calls the "dynamic classroom." It involves binders that the kids construct over the course of the year, bringing together predictable learning routines, effective strategies, and hands on activities.

What most struck me in talking to this gentleman was 1.) his passion for his subject matter and for teaching, 2.) how much personal time and effort he's put into his teaching, and 3.) the results he's gotten with his students.

Then I started thinking about the potential of this approach. The materials appeared to be perfectly suited to building a wiki. I began imagining each kid with a $300 laptop building interactive web sites instead of binders. The possibilities are rich. Then I started thinking about this project built as an open-licensed curriculum. Everyone could benefit from the work this industrious teacher has done.

I know that there are teachers all over the world doing creative things like this, prompting their students to have rich learning experiences. These teachers know more about their content and engaging kids than most textbook publishers do. I think that most of these teachers are willing to share.

This is the potential of Open Education.
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Image courtesy of Alexander Baxevanis.

Take control of your own learning

2008-07-31T06:49:00.000-07:00

Over the last year or so, I have been working on methods to differentiate professional development that I facilitate. Some things have worked better than others, and I'm refining my methods.

A lot of the impetus is on the participants, and I encourage them to take control of their own learning. Occasionally, I have a group, though, that just wont. If they don't understand something, they don't ask questions or use the various provided resources to help them. Worse yet, sometimes they just sit and do nothing. Others who may already know something I'm covering don't explore new areas as I encourage them to do; they instead do email or shop online. It's frustrating.

Over the past week, I have worked with a group that did a uniformly great job of making the most out of the PD time based on their own needs and abilities. People who were at a beginner level asked a lot of questions, used various resources provided, and learned at their own pace. People who were further along and more comfortable with what we were doing worked on advanced topics of interest to them, regardless of where we were as a group. They asked questions as needed, and everyone had a successful workshop.

After the workshop, a couple people who had asked me about something that had sent them on their own leaning course that was different from where we were as a "group" stopped to talk to me. They thanked me for letting them do their own thing and not being insistent that everyone in the group do the same activities. I thanked them for being assertive and independent about their own learning. I shared that sometimes people aren't willing or able to do that. They went on to say that many of the workshops they go to have facilitators who are very strict about everyone "being on the same screen." They said they've had bad experiences in the past with facilitators constantly looking over their shoulder and being intolerant of them working at their own pace or on their own interests.

That really got me thinking. Maybe the reason that some educators seem to have trouble taking control of their own learning in PD is that they aren't encouraged to do so. Even worse, they may be discouraged from this.

I know that it is not always comfortable as a PD facilitator to have a roomful of participants all working on different things, at different paces, and with different styles -- but that's what differentiation is all about! If we can't model and practice this ourselves with adult learners, how can we expect to accomplish it with kids?

The best learning practices are not always neat and orderly. We need to remember this for adults as well as kids.

MAHETC rocks!

2008-07-26T06:56:00.000-07:00

Wow -- I had a great time at the Mid-Atlantic Handheld and Emerging Technology Conference again this year. It had all the elements of a great conference: small, high energy, interesting people, very hands on and interactive, and an intriguing mix of pedagogy and technology.

Thanks to everyone who helped put this together and who attended. Stay tuned for upcoming posts on some things that got me thinking there.

If you didn't get a chance to attend, check out the wiki. All the session and workshop materials are here.

And for those who did attend, I posted some follow-up things from my sessions that answer some questions raised or otherwise might be of interest. (This on-going communication is one of the things I love about PD wikis.)

Power-hungriness

2008-07-22T19:07:00.000-07:00

If you are a gadget geek like me, you probably struggle with the whole battery issue. I love rechargeable batteries, but, over time, the juice seems to drain out of them. Pretty soon, it seems like you have to recharge them almost every day.

Then I found the La Crosse Technology BC-900 AlphaPower Battery Charger. This charger has a refresh mode that refreshes batteries so they hold a charge again like new. It also has some other nice features like automatically defaulting to the optimal setting for prolonging battery life and switching to trickle charge when charging is complete to ensure maximum battery capacity.

I don't know exactly how this all works, but it really seems to work.

(Thanks for Brad for this one.)

LOL - History of Mobile Technology

2008-07-21T07:53:00.000-07:00

Each year at NECC, the team of Saul Rockman, Michael Jay, Heidi Rogers, and Elliot Soloway present a humorous session called "LOL @ NECC." This year's session was filled with many laughs.

Here is one of my favorites...a look at the history of ed tech and the beginnings of the Learning Company.

No more "Pimp your web site" - Ad-free Wikispaces for free

2008-07-17T07:04:00.000-07:00

Wikispaces is now offering complimentary upgrades to ad-free spaces for K-12 educators!

If you're starting a new space, use this link to start as an ad free K-12 space. If you want to upgrade an existing site, go to Manage Spaces and and click Subscription. Then scroll to the bottom and request a complimentary upgrade.

I love Wikispaces, and this forward-thinking policy is one more plus. Their wikis are very easy for beginners to use. I'm using them as a basis for many of my workshops so that people have the information to access later and so that those who can't attend can participate virtually.

Thank you, Wikispaces!

(Thanks to Becky Hart for this info.)

Wow! Think of all the money I could have made!

2008-07-15T20:12:00.000-07:00

BestBuy is now offering a new service: For $9.99, they'll pair your Bluetooth devices. (This is especially popular in California, where the handsfree law just went into effect.)

And to think of all the times I've done this for folks for free. :)

The first kids open dictionary

2008-07-07T10:45:00.000-07:00

For months, I have been writing about our project to create the first kids open dictionary.

I am very excited to unveil the first piece of this: a collaborative, wiki-based dictionary builder. If you have a second, check out the site and add a quick definition (or click on recent changes to edit one someone else has done). Whatever you do doesn't have to be perfect. Others can add to it and edit it later.

This project grew out of the need we have seen in classrooms and other informal learning environments for a dictionary that is kid-appropriate (both in terms of language level and content) and open for everyone to use in any context.

Down the road, we'll be publishing this as a completely open, public domain dictionary that can be used on the web or offline on desktops, laptops, handhelds, ipods, phones, etc. Teachers will also be able to export custom glossary lists to incorporate into their own lessons, ebooks, web sites, etc.

We are excited about this project and hope many of you will join in and contribute. It only takes a couple minutes and is a great way to share and become a part of the Open Educational Resources movement.

New free, sharable PD wiki on web 2.0

2008-07-02T10:44:00.000-07:00

We had a great time at the Web 2.0 All-You-Can-Eat Buffet workshop in San Antonio.

All of the resources we shared are available for anyone to access, share, and use in any setting in the Web 2.0 All-You-Can-Eat Buffet wiki.

Here is the "roadmap" and some quick start guides for the workshop.

Enjoy!

Over the past year, I have been working on strategies for differentiating PD. I am more convinced than ever that a great way to provide meaningful, hands-on, inquiry-driven PD is with a wiki and a "road map" that lets people work at their own level. I am trying to do less and less presentation at my workshops. I sometimes get a few comments from people who prefer a slower, step-by-step walk-through of each thing we're doing, but most people like what I think is a more authentic and meaningful approach to PD. Here are some comments people have made about this:

Live blogging Edubloggercon

2008-06-28T07:52:00.000-07:00

For those interested, I'm liveblogging Edubloggercon at the NECC ning.

Technorati Tags: ebc08 edubloggercon

Feel the energy and learn virtually

2008-06-27T07:26:00.000-07:00

I woke up this morning with my head buzzing with energy, ideas, and anticipation. Like many others, I'm heading off to NECC today. This year's conference promises to be a goldmine of ideas, conversations, and interactions.

If you can't attend this conference, there are lots of opportunities to participate virtually. A list is below. In fact, I suspect that those who take advantage of these online resources will gain far more than those who just sit in sessions. I know that I'll be digesting all this stuff for weeks to come.

NECC ning (social network)
NECC Live (streaming video
Edubloggercon
Hitchhikr feed (aggregated blog and photo feed)
Twitter stream (If Twitter can get it together, that is. It's been a tough week.)

Change is good!

2008-06-23T16:55:00.000-07:00

I was doing a Web 2.0 workshop last week and brought up Photoshop Express, the new, free, online photo editor. Imagine my delight when I saw the new resizing tool -- this was the one feature I thought this tool was really missing! I shrieked with glee upon see it.

This brought up one of the great things about Web 2.0 tools -- they are not constrained in the way that traditional boxed software is. They can add features, respond to user comments, and evolve as necessary, even daily. (In the old days of software, we had to wait until those 25,000 CDs were gone before we could update things.) And that is just what we are seeing in tools like Photoshop Express, the Google tool suite, and others.

Of course, this can be challenging in terms of staying up-t0-date, especially for those who are offering professional development. It is making printed user manuals a thing of the past and wiki-driven PD a must. But I like wikis better anyway, so I say, bring on the change!

The ideal MP3 player - the ongoing search

2008-06-12T17:38:00.000-07:00

Sandisk has been continuing to refine their MP3 players and come out with a few new models. I've been trying out the Sansa Clip and really like it.

It has all the features I look for in a good MP3 player for schools: rechargeable battery, built-in recorder, low cost, and a display. It also has a few new things (for Sandisk) such as a clip and a standard mini-USB connector. And it's super small, and I like small!

What technology should be

2008-06-05T11:21:00.001-07:00

I've often thought that technology must be easier to use in order to reach its real potential.

I love technology and am an enthusiastic early adopter....but for a lot of (most?) people, technologies like RSS, podcasting, wikis, and even wireless are too complex and require too much troubleshooting. When trying to get newbies up and running with things, I am often frustrated by the number of problems that can arise.

The power of easy-to-use technology has been highlighted for me by the Kindle. It really is a piece of technology that anyone can use. The wireless is as simple as flipping a switch (literally).

The interface is simple. The usability is high. Even the ergonomics of the device are comfortable and familiar. (It feels and works very much like a book.)

I've shown the Kindle to a couple people who aren't early adopters (including one who doesn't "like" technology), and the response has been very positive. People are blown away by the easy-to-read display, and they like the feel of the device. In showing it, I have not had to explain much; just turning it on and handing it over is enough. And, like other technologies, the content is a big driver. The newspapers are especially appealing. Reading newspapers online is convenient, "green," and cost effective, but for most of us, the traditional computer screen is not a good replacement for paper.

Add to the ease of use an integrated dictionary and web access to Wikipedia and more, and you have a pretty powerful tool.

When I think about the potential of truly easy-to-use technology for schools, I am optimistic. If teachers didn't have to deal with many instances of things that don't really work, maybe integration would have more of a tangible impact on learning.

News on a couple of my favorite tech tools

2008-06-04T08:47:00.000-07:00

The price on the Kindle has just dropped to $359. I continue to love this device. Getting the New York Times whenever and wherever I want it is such a luxury. And the wireless has worked everywhere I've tried it, including rather remote areas of several states. I also like being able to email various types of docs to my Kindle to read when I have time.

Also, the Flip camera folks have a new model out the Mino. It is quite a bit smaller than the Ultra.

Creative has come out with their own pocket video camera, the Vado, which looks a lot like the popular Flip. I'm so happy with my Flip that I can't imagine switching, though the Vado is a bit cheaper.

Web 2.0 Resources

2008-05-25T16:38:00.000-07:00

Here is an awesome new wiki WebTools4u2use about Web 2.0 tools produced by my good friend Donna Baumbach.

Also, in preparing for my own upcoming workshops Web 2.0 All You Can Eat Buffet, I've had a lot of fun playing with many new Web 2.0 tools. Here's a sample project I created with VoiceThread. Please join in and add your comments (text, voice, video) about events in our nation's recent history.

Quizzler tip

2008-05-23T13:50:00.000-07:00

If you have a problem with a Quizzler quiz that won't beam or read properly, check the length of the file (quiz) name. Like many programs, Quizzler doesn't like very long file names.

Kids ebooks on the Kindle

2008-05-19T15:26:00.001-07:00

I am very happy with how easy it is to get ebooks to the Kindle and with the compatibility of Mobipocket (unencrypted) ebooks.

The K12 Handhelds ebook library works with no changes at all (and they look beautiful -- much more readable than on a handheld).

In addition to Mobipocket and Kindle ebooks, the Kindle will read Word docs, HTML, text files, JPGs, GIFS, BMPs, and PNGs. You can transfer files by USB, SD card, or the EVDO wireless. I think this always-available free wireless is one of the best features of this device.

Stay tuned for more on how "always-available" it is as I travel around. :)

Kids, copyright, and open content

2008-05-16T12:50:00.000-07:00

(This seems like a long post, but it is about one of the most important experiences I've had in a classroom in a long while.)

As a part of a project in which students are writing poems to be included in a collected ebook, I had the opportunity this week to teach several groups of middle school students about copyright and open content. (I am often frustrated by teachers telling kids to "just get any image from Google to include in your Powerpoint/Word doc.")

Facilitating this discussion with kids was tremendously enjoyable and thought-provoking. I am sure that I learned as much as they did (and I think they learned a lot).

Here are a few of my big take-aways:

1. Relevance leads to critical thinking and engaged learning. Copyright is a topic that is immediately relevant to kids -- as a result, they were highly interested and had a ton of questions, comments, and thoughts. While they were engaged, I was able to insert other topics from math, writing, and reading. I think this is a key to improving learning (and it doesn't flow naturally from a textbook or a pacing guide).

2. In general, kids want to be legal. They are, however, seriously uninformed. (When asked about what they knew about copyright, many confused it with plagiarism. They think this is a what-I-can-do-in-school issue rather than a legal issue.) They had many questions about what they needed to do to be legal.

3. The filesharing tools these kids use (almost universally) are Lime Wire and Photobucket. For those not in the know, Lime Wire is P2P file sharing software, apparently used by kids for exchanging music illegally (being used as the new Napster or Grokster). I believed most of the kids when they told me that they didn't understand the legal issues involved with this. Their big concern with the service: viruses.

4. Most kids were not aware of the fundamental premise of Wikipedia: that anyone can edit it. This was shocking to me. When they understood this, they found it very empowering. (Together, we edited an article about their school district -- something that you'd never find on Encarta or EB.) This led to a very sophisticated discussion about the pros and cons of an encyclopedia that anyone can edit. These kids got it a lot faster than most adults. We also talked about vandalism, wikispam, and version control.

5. Once the students understood the basics of copyright and open content, they quickly began discussing some pretty high level concepts about intellectual property. Unprovoked by me, they asked about financial issues, transference of copyright, IP address tracking, use of personal images (image release issues), paparazzi photos, parodies (as they relate to fair use), and lots more. It was phenomenal.

6. Kids are all over Firefox and view it as a better browser.

7. They were not familiar with the term "open source." :( On the other hand, they expressed a universal contempt for Microsoft (to an extent that I found a little scary, but what a force for the OER community to harness).

8. Only one kid out of about 150 had ever heard of Creative Commons. How had he heard of it? YouTube.

9. They enjoyed finding open content that is legal to use in their projects. They were surprisingly adept at finding and understanding the licenses (CC, GFDL, public domain) and at including appropriate credits for the pieces used in their own work.

10. Kids who often appear bored and lacking in critical thinking and articulate communication skills suddenly seem like geniuses when they are discussing something that matters to them.
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What fun! My mind is still reeling at all the epiphanies I had during these few days.

| View | Upload your own

[For a lesson plan and accompanying resources for this, visit www.tinyurl.com/5qahht.]

What's in a name?

2008-05-12T16:02:00.000-07:00

I've been wondering what name the industry is going to settle on for the new low-cost sub-laptop devices like the OLPC, the eeePC, the Classmate, and others. (These devices are generally smaller than a laptop, but bigger than a handheld. They often run Linux, though higher-priced versions with xp are also available. They generally run from $200-$400, making them a good fit for schools.)

HP has called theirs a mini-notebook.

The term UMPC (ultra-mobile PCs) does not apply to these devices, but rather to the very small (and very expensive) tablets that run Microsoft's Origami OS.

I've recent seen these devices called ULPCs -- ultra-low cost PCs. That's a name that makes sense to me.

Choosing wiki software

2008-05-06T16:44:00.000-07:00

I've been looking at different wiki software lately, looking for ones that are free, hosted, and allows for simultaneous editing. (I love MediaWiki for my own use, but we host it here. I like WikiSpaces as a remote-hosted site, but it has some issues with simultaneous editing.)

In doing this, I found this cool site: WikiMatrix. It compares a large number of wikis and filters the list according to your criteria. Very useful.

"Once it's gone, it's gone."

2008-05-01T11:07:00.000-07:00

A lot of schools seem to be migrating to Microsoft's SharePoint software for web authoring.

While I don't have firsthand experience with SharePoint, from what I hear, it is not easy to learn and, obviously, you have to pay for it. With all the new robust and free open source solutions like MediaWikia, Drupal, etc. out there, I've wondered why one would use SharePoint.

Then I read this humorous article about "Micropedia," Microsoft's installation of the open source MediaWiki software. Apparently, SharePoint lacks revision control, or as Microsoft researcher Steve Ickman says, "Once it's gone, it's gone."

Flip help

2008-04-24T13:44:00.000-07:00

We've gotten a few questions for people who have the Flip video camera (which we love!) but have had problems getting the codec to make the video run properly on the desktop. To get this, connect the camera to your desktop and run the Flip video program that is on the camera once, which will load the load 3ivx codec that you need.

Also, if you have the new Flip Ultra, we highly recommend installing the firmware upgrade if you haven't already.

Free literacy resources

2008-04-18T12:10:00.000-07:00

I am working on creating some sight word videos from the word lists at FreeReading. (If you haven't seen this site, it is a phenomenal resources for early literacy.) Before I crank out more of these, I'm looking for input from early literacy teachers.

* How is the music? Too distracting or ok?
* How is the timing?
* Does the "pointing finger" idea work?

Any input anyone has is appreciated. I'm hoping to produce a whole library of these to match the FreeReading lists over the next few months. The intent is that they could be used on the web or on mobile devices, such as Palms, PSPs, etc.