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News and views on ubiquitous, mobile, connected 21st century learning (mLearning –> uLearning)

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September 9, 2009
by jnxyz
1 Comment

Direct observations about where Educator’s are at.

I’ve recently had the fortune to attend major technology in education two conferences in the space of a week that featured Keynote’s from such high-profile educators as Stephen Heppell, Gary Stager, Mark Treadwell and Mark Prensky. As interesting as these were however, I’m not going to write about them here. I can probably post links to the podcasts at some stage, but what doesn’t necessarily get captured on video at these conferences is what the attendees themselves revealed about just where educators are at in this ‘time between times’ – before mobile and ubiquitous computing becomes the invisible norm, but after a time when we could sit back and wait for the digital revolution to pass on by.

So what did I observe?

Firstly, that pedagogy and learning can still be outshone by shiny technology. I saw educators flirting with software and hardware vendors rather than asking ‘where’s the research for that?’.

Secondly, that paper and pens are still ahead as notetaking tools of choice for educators, but only just. Despite one lady failing to bring a notepad or pen as “every conference always gives you free notepaper and pens”, the ratio I observed has improved to about 50:50 between pen and paper and laptops and smartphones. In fact, at both conferences, I had people comment to me that they’d never seen so many laptops at a conference. And there were a lot, at least 50% of attendees I observed were using laptops or smartphones to record their notes. Why the other 50% are even attending a technology in education conference yet still recording everything in un-taggable and un-searchable or un-sharable paper notepads (especially when at least several digital pen options are now available) is …

Thirdly, that just as the Horizon report moves mobile technology into the ‘one year or less’ zone of implementation for education, the promise of anywhere, anytime learning is starting to be taken seriously in my corner of the world. There were at least two sessions around this topic at each conference, and not only was a significant proportion (15%) of educators I observed using mobile devices to enhance their own learning, but many of them are also thinking now about how to catch up to where students are already at in this area.

Lastly, if you do want to see what the connected learners at each of these conferences were thinking and recording, many of them did actually capture it themselves. The fascinating and infinitely useful results can be found by conducting a twitter search for the tags #IWBnet09 or #SC09expo ! Enjoy.

May 30, 2009
by jnxyz
9 Comments

The first Web2.0, comprehensive iPhone education app?

By Jonathan Nalder, and Shane Roberts

One common problem for educators seeking to use the iPhone or iPod touch in their learning environment is the fact that the most common uses of the devices for things such as taking attendance, voice recording or interfacing with learning management systems (such as Moodle) require constant exiting and switching between several different apps. All this switching has the potential to keep teacher eyes off students for the precious seconds it takes for them to go off-task.  Excessive app-switching will also increase the number of applications accessing the device memory, resulting in a slower operational and response time.

Helping to solve this problem is a new app from iKonstrukt thats simply titled ‘Educate’. Unlike many other education apps released so far for the platform, ‘Educate’ groups several common functions into one program, meaning that running a lesson requires less app-switching. These multiple functions include an inbuilt calendar with welcome widescreen mode, an attendance and grade marking database, a stopwatch, voice recorder, photo tool (take images and add text to them), reference area (with numerous teaching strategy tips) and link to online learning system Moodle (apparently integration with the other main LMS Blackboard is being looked at for a future release).

So can this app live up to its ambitious name of providing everything needed to educate a student? Bearing in mind that this is a 1.0 release, and still has a few quirks (that running the ‘free memory’ app first often helps with), it has in our 3 days of testing proved to be a great start at accomplishing just this lofty goal. It does need the ability to import student names as well as calendar data before time-poor teachers may really start to use all of its planner and tracker features to the full.

What may really convince some Teachers to purchase Educate is its Moodle integration, but I haven’t been able to test this, with my school being Blackboard-based. The app does however seem at this point to only allow the posting of content to Moodle; I’m not sure if …

Another unique Educate feature that should be noted is its in-built link to the app’s Facebook support page where help forums and the growing number of other educators using the app can be directly accessed, again all without closing the app itself.

So is it worth its price of US$6.99 ($8.99 in Australian store)? The answer to this question may depend on how much your school could benefit from mobile access to Moodle, but for those doing the math (one function which you do still have to switch out of Educate for – think I’ll make a calculator a feature request), Educate’s price is cheaper by quite a bit than buying separate apps to get the same functionality.

On the other hand: Why I won’t purchase Educate (personal opinion of shanetechteach);
1. Lesson planning is “trapped” within the device.  I can’t access it from my other devices, or share it with others.  How can my students see my planning?
2. Doesn’t integrate with BlackBoard.
3. Grade and attendance data seems to be trapped within the application.

I will stick to the use of multiple and free applications until it has a process to copy data from the iPhone or iPod Touch to your laptop or desktop.  Where recording of grades and attendance is completed in one program, export is required for school specific processes so that teacher work is not increased by double input. For example, my school uses IDAttend for attendance and OneSchool for reporting. Cohort grades are centrally recorded on a network spreadsheet. As a Head of Department it would not be in my interests to have each of my teacher’s grades stored separately, and only on their device.

So I personally will stick with Google calandar (synced to the iPod Touch calendar) for my lesson planning; iTalk and Evernote for images, notes and voice recording.  BlackBoard will still require me to use my computer so no advantage there.

In summary, its great to see a specific education application developed for teachers, however it does not offer the services that would convince me to purchase it - yet?

By the way readers, there’s an active feature request page HERE:

Full details:
 Educate: iPhone & iTouch App for Teachers

Educate is an iPhone/iTouch application designed to support teaching professionals in schools, universities and colleges. Featuring inbuilt lesson planning, student tracking, teaching strategies and eLearning tools, Educate provides teachers with a holistic approach to engaging students in 21st century learning environments.

Video Link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gWzPFgZKY9w

Key Features:

Plan lessons: Educate’s inbuilt weekly planner allows teachers to personalise their timetable and plan lessons all from a single interface.

Monitor student attendance and progress: Quickly and easily track student attendance or performance in classes via ready made scales.

Engage students at a deeper level: Access easy to follow strategies for engaging students during individual or collaborative activities.

Implement eLearning: Post real time content to Moodle learning spaces, anywhere, anytime. Also, access critical tools such as a voice recorder for anecdotal notes, a camera that allows you to label images and a stopwatch for time-critical tasks.

Collaborate with other Educate users: Connect online through Facebook with other Educate users to discuss pedagogical practice, suggest application features and seek support.

Price: $6.99 US

Itunes Link: http://itunes.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewSoftware?id=313379802&mt=8

May 18, 2009
by jnxyz
7 Comments

Challenge Based Learning w’ Marco Torres

I had the great pleasure this week of attending a colloqium with well-known ADE Marco Torres. At this event, we got to hear in a conversational atmosphere from Marco’s substantial international perspective on how technology can engage learners and transform learning. The man himself teachers at a large (5000+) highschool in California, where he has just been named Educator of the year. He is also a member of Barack Obama’s education team, and has worked with Apple, George Lucas and the Mythbusters.

The topics of the day were digital storytelling and challenge-based learning. Marco spoke about how the big challenge for the US in coming out of the financial crisis is to sove its problems in three areas: sustainability, health care, and education. One of Marco’s contribution to the education area has been to point out that the number one way that year 9 students define school is ‘boring’. Solution? Challenge students and teachers to both become co-learners through challenge-based activities that inspire deeper engagement than set tasks where student-input is low.

Marco used the Mythbusters approach as a great example of this – where the interest of the challenge (myth or not?) and the learning it inspires makes the process itself the main focus, exactly the thing that all good teachers strive for. So, without further ado, let me summarise his presentation (as tweeted):

  • year9s number 1 problem is ‘school is boring’
  • Marco T makes the point he’s not a computa T’er, he’s a social science T’er who sees the power of tech
  • what is an educated person? Someone who is resourceful. Sum1 who has a good PLN
  • “quit, complain, or innovate” the 3 options 4 teachers struggling with the system (ie sites blocked, tech not work etc. )
  • Distance no longer = distance. Distance now = bandwidth. We need to use global networks PLN
  • People spend 3 billion minutes a day on facebook- ‘distance/time = bandwidth’
  • Mythbusters celebrates learning- result dusnt matter, but the process of finding out/ the challenge is the attraction
  • What makes you an expert? The processes u’v been thru, not wot products you’ve produced
  • Marco Torres has workd with George Lucas ‘he knows nothing about tech. But he has friends who do’ power of PLN
  • ‘A computa is no longa a computa: it’s a studio,stage & community
  • ‘never debate someone with an iPhone’ facts don’t matter in an age of ubiquitous info acces
  • How do u assess problem/challenge based learning? Where the process is the main thing & students & T’ers r learning together…
  • Challenge based learning is a practical method of how 2 enact Connectivism in classrooms NOW

April 30, 2009
by jnxyz
0 comments

Preparing to present

ITSC09 mlearning workshop graphicsI’m presenting in 3 weeks at the Innovative Technology in Schools Conference in Brisbane. For this event, I’d like to reflect a little on the process I go through in developing an experience for the participants…

The first task I set myself when beginning to prepare my presentation is to create an initial page who’s graphics and text convey a sense of what the session will cover in as simplified a form as possible. Its the geeky graphic designer in me, but I feel it saves me and the audience time in explaining and introducing if much of the basics can simply be said graphically… (see what you think this sample of the graphics I’ve created so far tell you about what participants are in line for).

January 26, 2009
by jnxyz
0 comments

Google & the Future of Books

In this technological equivalent of a time between times, when the digital world is growing, but still exists side by side with the analogue, this article from the New York Review of Books asks ”How can we navigate through the information landscape that is only beginning to come into view?”

This is in light of Google’s recent digitzing of millions of books and the challenge this has posed for publishers and copyright holders. A legal settlement has just been reached, and this link will take you to a long but fascinating overview of the current situation and what it means for what we’ve always thought of as ‘books’ …

Posted via email from Jonathan’s posterous

January 26, 2009
by jnxyz
0 comments

Best IT Solution For a School?

Walk into any school probably across the western world and you’re likely to find a mix of technologies. Some Desktops, some laptops, some wireless equipment, some handhelds perhaps. The best combination/solution will probably always be dependent on local conditions and needs – but if ever there was an internet discussion that could provide you an answer, it may be this recent one where one teacher at a new school wrote:

“I’m a teacher at a British ‘City Academy’ (ages 11-19) that is going to move into a new building next year. Management is deciding now on the IT that the students will use in the new building, as everything will be built from scratch. Currently, the school has one ICT suite per department, each containing about 25-30 PCs. My issue with this model is that it means these suites are only rarely used for a bit of googling or typing up assignments, not as interactive teaching tools. The head likes the idea of moving to a thin client solution, with the same one room per department plan, as he see the cost benefits. However, I have seen tablet PCs used to great effect, with every single classroom having 20-30 units which the students use as ‘electronic workbooks,’ for want of a better phrase. This allows every lesson to fully utilize IT (multimedia resources, Internet access, instant handout and retrieval of learning resources, etc.) and all work to be stored centrally. My question is: In your opinion, what is the best way for a school to use IT (traditional computer lab, OLPCs, etc.) and what hardware is out there to best serve that purpose? Fat clients for IT/Media lessons and thin client for the rest? Thin client tablets? Giving each student a laptop to take home? Although, obviously, cost is an issue, we have a significant budget, so it should not be the only consideration.”

 

The full discussion can be found at Slashdot here: http://ask.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=09/01/25/1644249&from=rss

Posted via email from Jonathan’s posterous

December 3, 2008
by jnxyz
0 comments

Watch this space

In the next few weeks, the power of networked conversations and ubiquitous technology will enable a daring new, big-picture blog to unfold itself here- so watch this space!