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April 23, 2013
by jnxyz
0 comments

Are MOOCs the technology to break the Education Cartel?

Part 1. The obligatory history lesson:

It happened to the record industry first. While popular music had long been available on radio, it could be argued that a true music industry as we know it today didn’t arise until the 50‘s and 60‘s when distributable media and players became widely available. To summarize – you bought your music on record, then on 8-track, then on cassette, and then on CD once again. Sounds very much like a ‘cartel’, or “association of suppliers with the purpose of maintaining prices at a high level and restricting competition”. Record companies (not artists generally) held the content and the means of distributing it to us the passive consumer.

But that’s where technology turned. CD drives in computers plus early sharing software like Napster meant that instead of getting good at mashing the pause button on your stereo so recording to cassette stopped before the adds kicked in, you could rip a whole CD to MP3 in minutes and upload it for anyone who was also connected to the net. You could also bypass the record stores entirely by downloading songs, for free. It meant you didn’t have to buy your music a fourth time in some other format – you now controlled the file. No it wasn’t legal, but it was what the people wanted.

Fast forward to 2013 and we can choose to buy tracks one at time instead of ten at a time. NOW we have Pandora, and Spotify and Rdio et al. Now Music gets pushed to me. Now I tap a thumbs up button and more great tunes keep rolling in, for free if I put up with the Pandora Ads like four times an hour.

Imagine if the streaming music app Pandora was the education system. How would that change things?

The ‘cartel’ has been broken, or at least radically forced to change its ways. Dropping DRM restrictions on music files for instance means we the customer can choose when, where and how we want to store and play our music. Funny then that last year was the first time in a decade that the music industry saw an uptick in profits – after finally signing licenses for online services that are very similar to Napster.

Now get ready to lose your job – so says Jon Evans in a recent article at TechCrunch. His argument is that nearly all industries are facing a similar shakeup as the digital revolution enters a new stage and the stuff of the world moves into silicon. He quotes Chris Dixon’s remarkable idea that just as in the previous four technological revolutions, we are at the stage where new tech is replacing traditional jobs before new digital industries that will appear have had a chance to create new ones.

For example, as information has moved online, print newspapers are failing faster than they can hit on a successful digital strategy. Indeed, Wired reported nearly a year ago that some sports journalism jobs have already been taken by software that in part takes advantage of the proliferation of easily accessible data.

Part 2. The MOOC did it: What it all means for Education

“Education is the cartel that technology is going to break next” Heppell, 2011

“Higher education is just on the edge of the crevasse … I think even five years from now these enterprises are going to be in real trouble” Clay Christensen, 2013

So what about the education system? …

 

TO READ THE FULL ARTICLE, head to EduTechDebate and join the conversation.

 

 

February 28, 2013
by jnxyz
0 comments

Smart Watches and wearable tech – the next computing frontier

Wanted to share my recent article on this topic with you all. As the miniaturisation of tech continues, there is every chance that small wearable devices like smart watches will be the next are that we as educators explore regarding how it’s mobility and ubiquitousness can enhance learning…

Read the article at Mactalk HERE.

 

 

February 11, 2013
by jnxyz
0 comments

NMC K-12 Ambassador role – UPDATE

 

 

 

Hi readers – wanted to ask for an action from you on my behalf that I think would benefit the viewership here also. I’m under consideration for an ambassador role with the New Media Consortium – producers of the brilliant Horizon Reports that we all rely upon to indicate which technologies need to be on educator’s radars.

Being an Ambassador means I can take your suggestions and contribute to a future K-12 edition of the report – so please visit Youtube HERE to view and ‘like’ my video to support my submission. You can also branch off to view the other excellent submissions from there also. My thanks.

UPDATE: And wow, with your support I have been selected! I look forward to sharing about the journey and all that it entails

January 31, 2013
by jnxyz
0 comments

Where are we at on the road to Ubiquitous Computing & uLearning? – an update

Recently I’ve re-visited the topic that was the very founding-theme of this here education and technology blog – that being, what does the dawning of a ubiquitous computing era mean for learning? These articles look at the no-longer near-future topics of ‘The Network of Things’ and ‘Perceptual Computing’. Head over to Mactalk.com.au where they are published to read both and get an idea of what the current section of the road to Everyware looks like:

-> The Network of Things

 

-> Perceptual Computing

 

October 23, 2012
by jnxyz
0 comments

Will You Mini? 1st thoughts on the new iPad by a teacher

So the much awaited entry by Apple into the smaller tablet space has now been announced. You can as usual get all the details immediately at Apple.com. It does look, just like with the iPhone5, to be an amazing feat of engineering in regards to its fit and finish etc, areas that often set Apple products apart and for which people are prepared to choose time and again.

My feeling however for schools is that the US$329 price ($369 in Australia) is too high to really trigger a mass takeup. Perhaps it will come down in price over the next couple of years, but for now – although the cameras are better, in other respects its identical to the iPad2. For iPad buyers, that leaves the smaller size as the main differentiating factor – which may be great for being out and about, and maybe for P-3 students?

I’d be very Interested in the thoughts of P-3 teachers on if they’d prefer the smaller size or the full size iPad. Also – how many would choose the mini purely to save $50 or so over the iPad2 (which I’m very surprised they kept around)? Maybe if you were buying a lot?

There is one factor however that is highly in the mini’s favour – step outside of comparing the 16gb mini and 16gb iPad2 and it becomes a different comparison. Many schools I work with I know are finding 16gb too small nowadays – so with the mini you can get a 32gb mini model for $479 when the only other iPad with that option is the full iPad at $649 – that is a major difference beyond just the size.

(Also consider however that refurbished 32gb models of the larger 3rd gen retina iPad are also selling at only US$469 [or US$379 for 16gb] now as spotted by theverge.com).

 

September 21, 2012
by jnxyz
2 Comments

iPhone5 review in 26 words or less

Why would I talk about a consumer device like the iPhone here at uLearning Blog? Basically because it sets a bar each year for how much advanced computing can be squeezed into a soon to become even more ubiquitous device. Smartphones are today’s PCs and give us an idea where tomorrow’s computing may be heading.

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Review:

 

Svelte • Precise • Seriously light • Bigger + smaller at the same time i.e. Less is more • Fast • Expensive • Inherently complex but implicitly simple • Slab of the future

June 29, 2012
by jnxyz
0 comments

The Nexus 7: first thoughts for Education

So Google has now personally joined the other big PostPC device makers (Amazon, Microsoft and of course Apple) in creating a dedicated tablet device designed to serve those consumers who choose their particular operating and media eco-systems. But what will it mean for education?

I’ve already seen ICT Works comment on FaceBook that its price will be great for developing nations. As it seems to strike a better balance between being a media consumption platform and a productive #PostPC device than the Kindle Fire and Nook devices do for the same price, this may turn out to be true for education worldwide. By all reports it has better components and build quality than those devices also (important when used by kids) – and is actually available outside to more than just one country, so thats an obvious advantage right there!

It might also inspire developers to actually make some android tablet apps as currently schools really have no choice by the $399 iPad2 because why buy a device at all if there is very little you can do with it (I’m saying there is much more that teachers need than just having the basic email/notes etc apps available). It does lack a 3G internet option though (like the Microsoft Surface), an 8 or even 16gb is a little small nowadays – so where is the SD card slot that has been the subject of so much Android marketing claims up until now?

I am seriously thinking of getting one as my first Android device to learn the platform a little better for the purposes of ‘translating’ such a consumer device into the education arena – how about you educators?

https://play.google.com/store/devices/details?id=nexus_7_8gb

May 14, 2012
by jnxyz
0 comments

Some new info on OLPC ‘dropped by helicopter’ project

OLPC News has managed to dig up some more info via ITProPortal.com – its worth reading in terms of the wider debate about how ICT deployments should be executed, and where the balance between trusting the serendipitous nature of human curiosity and responsible planning for long term success lies…

My comment:

So they are not even XO’s? I guess the 3.0 is not available – begs the next question of what version of Android they are running – not perhaps something the villagers themselves would be concerned about I suppose.

Actually if its a motorola, it could very well be the ET1: http://www.engadget.com/2011/10/10/motorola-unveils-rugged-et1-android-tablet-for-enterprise-types/

or the Xoom 2 which is at least water resistant (but larger at 10 inches) – neither of which are low cost devices by any means.

- Actually the photo if genuine on the original ITProPortal.com site shows a 10 inch Xoom.

More to the point is the reports on the pilots progress – learning to turn it on or rote repeat alphabet may seem massive if in fact the starting point was zero – but now they know these things, what is the benefit to the village? Was an environmental impact study done first or is the only benefit to the researcher?



		
				
		
	

			



									
					



	

				
March 16, 2012

		by jnxyz

		0 comments

	

    
	

			
Kids Apps: as selected by miss 4

	

        
	

			

As tested and selected by my Miss 4 1/2 – a 3 1/2 year iOS veteran.

Nearly all of these have iPad and iPod touch/iPhone versions, and are in the free->$5 range (some also have free ‘lite’ versions you can try out).


Special mention:



Clara


http://itunes.apple.com/au/app/clara/id286367870?mt=8&ls=1


This was the first app our then 9 month old used. Very simple of course, just tap the image that links to the sound being made. Ask what the name of the old iPhone that she uses is tho, and even to this day she will reply ‘Clara’ .


Her top choices (based on which apps she independently goes back to and spends the most time on):



Puppet Pals


http://itunes.apple.com/au/app/puppet-pals-hd/id342076546?mt=8&ls=1


- choose characters, move them with your finger and talk – and Puppet Pals turns it all into a movie. Great for imagination and developing oral language.



My PlayHome


http://itunes.apple.com/au/app/my-playhome/id439628153?mt=8&ls=1


- interact with 5 spaces in a play house – amazing level of detail and interaction possibilities.



Art Maker by Playschool


http://itunes.apple.com/au/app/play-school-art-maker/id473900831?mt=8&ls=1


- free and provides great picture making options and scenes



Ansel & Clair


http://itunes.apple.com/au/app/ansel-clairs-adventures-in/id433593765?mt=8&ls=1


- a little more advanced, but even at age three this was a hit with lots of sections and animations to explore on a journey around Africa



Park Math or Draw and Tell, or anything by Duck Duck Moose


http://itunes.apple.com/au/app/draw-tell-hd-by-duck-duck/id504752087?mt=8&ls=1


- all apps by Duck Duck Moose have great graphics and animation as well as songs and hidden interactions.



Red Writing


http://itunes.apple.com/au/app/red-writing-learn-to-write/id474392775?mt=8&ls=1


- aimed at Australian kids, it includes the right school font used by each state as kids practice letter formation



Montessori Crosswords


http://itunes.apple.com/au/app/montessori-crosswords-learn/id384334005?mt=8&ls=1


- allows kids to explore letters and sounds as well as to see how to use them to build words



FindThemAll


http://itunes.apple.com/au/app/find-them-all-looking-for/id426394333?mt=8&ls=1


- just a simple look around and find animals with some quiz questions, but this one has proved very popular on a recent week away. 



Seuss Band


http://itunes.apple.com/au/app/dr.-seuss-band/id474940131?mt=8&ls=1


- Great for co-ordination and getting a sense of the fun of playing music



Talking Carl


http://itunes.apple.com/au/app/talking-carl!/id417373312?mt=8&ls=1


- the original talking creature app – repeats what you say in fun and interactive ways – very good for developing oral language skills



iWrite Words


http://itunes.apple.com/au/app/iwritewords-handwriting-game/id307025309?mt=8&ls=1


- a letter tracing and word making app with fun activities like tipping the device to slide the letters around



Me Books – Lady Bird Classics


http://itunes.apple.com/au/app/ladybird-classic-me-books/id453238220?mt=8&ls=1


- animates old classic books and allows you to record as many animal sounds or readings of the story as you like yourself.



Monster at the end of the book


http://itunes.apple.com/au/app/monster-at-end-this-book…starring/id409467802?mt=8&ls=1


- just pure fun as you drive Grover more and more crazy as the story unfolds


A little more advanced:



Pirate Treasure Hunt


http://itunes.apple.com/au/app/pirate-treasure-hunt-eight/id392208108?mt=8&ls=1


- younger kids may require help as there are some great problem solving puzzles



Bartelby’s Book of Buttons volume 1 & 2


http://itunes.apple.com/au/app/bartlebys-book-buttons-vol./id384841276?mt=8&ls=1


- a step beyond Pirate Treasure hunt with an involved story and puzzles that prove a great challenge for kids when they are ready.


Also – Moms with apps is the best parent site for keeping up apps aimed at kids:

http://momswithapps.com 


		
				
		
	

			



									
					



	

				
February 5, 2012

		by jnxyz

		0 comments

	

    
	

			
A ‘know-why’ guide to iBooks Author

	

        
	

			
Its well known that giving easy digital content creation tools into the hands of more teachers and students is a great way to encourage focus on higher order thinking skills in the curriculum. For schools with Macs and iPads, the release of Apple’s iBooks Author software in January made this even more possible.


Attached to this post is 1.0 draft of a ‘know-why’ guide to using iBooks Author to make digital content thats localised and personalised just for your students. Download and enjoy, plus leave comments if you have questions or feedback.


To load, just download directly onto an iPad with iBooks 2 installed, and tap ‘open in iBooks’, or download to your PC and sync via iTunes.


I’ll also attach a PDF version for those who want the info but don’t currently have access to an iPad with iBooks 2 installed.


DROPBOX DOWNLOAD LINKS: 


(If tapping to download on an iPad, please wait 1-2 mins for the download screen to appear, then several more while it downloads)


UPDATE – have taken the iBooks file link down as enough time for the feedback version to be up has passed. Will post the final one hopefully in the near future.


iBooks file link (45mb)


PDF file link (51mb)




		
				
		
	

			



									
					


									
					



	

				
January 23, 2012

		by jnxyz

		0 comments

	

    
	

			
Easy HTML5 Animations in iBooks using Tumult Hype and iBooks Author

	

        
	

			
I’m sure a whole ecosystem of support products will arise to help educators get the most out of the interactive features in iBooks Author – 3D object galleries etc. The tips below are even better in that it concerns a program that’s already out so you can start right now:



		
				
		
	

			



									
					


									
					


									
					


									
					



	

				
November 18, 2011

		by jnxyz

		1 Comment

	

    
	

			
Gr8 quote collection shows how often we underestimate the future #slide2learn #ADEdu

	

        
	

			


Wow, people are so often wrong about the possibilities of the future: 













“Computers in the future may weigh no more than 1.5 tons.”
– Popular Mechanics, forecasting the relentless march of science, 1949

“I think there is a world market for maybe five computers.”
– Thomas Watson, chairman of IBM, 1943

“I have traveled the length and breadth of this country and talked with the best people, and I can assure you that data processing is a fad that won’t last out the year.”
– The editor in charge of business books for Prentice Hall, 1957

“But what … is it good for?”
– Engineer at the Advanced Computing Systems Division of IBM, 1968,commenting on the microchip.

“There is no reason anyone would want a computer in their home.”
– Ken Olson, president, chairman and founder of Digital Equipment Corp., 1977

“This ‘telephone’ has too many shortcomings to be seriously considered as a means of communication. The device is inherently of no value to us.”
– Western Union internal memo, 1876.

“The wireless music box has no imaginable commercial value. Who would pay for a message sent to nobody in particular?”
– David Sarnoff’s associates in response to his urgings for investment in the radio in the 1920s.

“We don’t like their sound, and guitar music is on the way out.”
– Decca Recording Co. rejecting the Beatles, 1962.

“Heavier-than-air flying machines are impossible.”
– Lord Kelvin, president, Royal Society, 1895.

“If I had thought about it, I wouldn’t have done the experiment. The literature was full of examples that said you can’t do this.”
– Spencer Silver on the work that led to the unique adhesives for 3-M “Post-It” Notepads.

“So we went to Atari and said, ‘Hey, we’ve got this amazing thing, even built with some of your parts, and what do you think about funding us? Or we’ll give it to you. We just want to do it. Pay our salary, we’ll come work for you.’ And they said, ‘No.’ So then we went to Hewlett-Packard, and they said, ‘Hey, we don’t need you. You haven’t got through college yet.’”
– Apple Computer Inc. founder Steve Jobs on attempts to get Atari and HP interested in his and Steve Wozniak’s personal computer.

“Professor Goddard does not know the relation between action and reaction and the need to have something better than a vacuum against which to react. He seems to lack the basic knowledge ladled out daily in high schools.”
– 1921 New York Times editorial about Robert Goddard’s revolutionary rocket work.

“Drill for oil? You mean drill into the ground to try and find oil? You’re crazy.”
– Drillers who Edwin L. Drake tried to enlist to his project to drill for oil in 1859.

“Stocks have reached what looks like a permanently high plateau.”
– Irving Fisher, Professor of Economics, Yale University, 1929.

“Airplanes are interesting toys but of no military value.”
– Marechal Ferdinand Foch, Professor of Strategy, Ecole Superieure de Guerre.

“Everything that can be invented has been invented.”
– Charles H. Duell, Commissioner, U.S. Office of Patents, 1899.

“Louis Pasteur’s theory of germs is ridiculous fiction”.
– Pierre Pachet, Professor of Physiology at Toulouse, 1872

“The abdomen, the chest, and the brain will forever be shut from the intrusion of the wise and humane surgeon”.
– Sir John Eric Ericksen, British surgeon, appointed Surgeon-Extraordinary to Queen Victoria 1873.

“640K ought to be enough for anybody.”
– Bill Gates, 1981

“$100 million dollars is way too much to pay for Microsoft.”
– IBM, 1982

“Who the h_ll wants to hear actors talk?”
– H.M. Warner, Warner Brothers, 1927.







  Posted via email   from Jonathan Nalder  




		
				
		
	

			



									
					



	

				
November 17, 2011

		by jnxyz

		0 comments

	

    
	

			
Crayola iMarker + ColourStudio HD iPad app

	

        
	

			




 Image 


WHAT


This is a $30 or so fat stylus designed for children that when paired with the free ColourStudio HD iPad app allows kids to digitally paint and draw without their other wandering fingers also making marks and lines.






 Photo_2 




HOW


The iMarker has a battery that vibrates the marker very slightly. The app recognizes this slight vibration and knows not to accept other screen touches by a child’s fingers.



 Photo_3 




The app also keeps drawing strokes within a shape so you can’t go outside the lines. This works for the marker or for finger use. Additionally, it’s a moving Colouring book in that parts of the drawings and join-the-dot activities slowly move whilst you are colouring.

 




 0image 








VERDICT








Even though my Miss 4 and I only tested the iMarker today, we have had and enjoyed the free app for some time. It has a wide range of activities that have stood the test of time. The iMarker however lasted 3 mins. Why? The marker requires that you push down quite hard on the screen, and miss 4 (a 3 year iOS veteran) grew impatient with this very quickly. She also has no problem keeping just one finger on the screen so doesn’t have the problem of causing unwanted lines etc – the very problem the marker was created to solve (well that and the finding a a new revenue stream for Crayola as real-life marker sales conceivable dry up in the future).




App = 5/5 for range of activities, novel moving pictures, and free price.


Accessory = 2/5 for difficulty with the force required to activate the pen and the fact that the battery will need replacing. 


  Posted via email   from Jonathan Nalder  




		
				
		
	

			



									
					


									
					



	

				
November 15, 2011

		by jnxyz

		0 comments

	

    
	

			
Study shows no difference in paper vs eBooks 4 reading performance; tablets best #ADEdu #slide2learn #eqelearn #mlearn

	

        
	

			


Even I am a little sceptical – the contrast of paper is still so much higher and gives less eyestrain than LCD screens, but 




“This study provides us with a scientific basis for dispelling the widespread misconception that reading from a screen has negative effects,” explains Füssel. “There is no (reading) culture clash – whether it is analog or digital”




Also – “tablet PCs actually provide an advantage over e-ink readers and the printed page that is not consciously perceivable: the information is processed more easily when a tablet PC is employed. Furthermore, while there were no differences between the three media employed in terms of rates of reading by the younger participants, the older participants exhibited faster reading times when using the tablet PC.”




I did note that an operator of a German eBook platform was a co-initiator of the study – seems pretty legit tho and even used EEG (brainwave) measurements. They really need to state how big the sample size was however.


http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/10/111020094337.htm#.TqYFL2pV-6k.email

  Posted via email   from Jonathan Nalder