Collaborationware

I just read an article in which they referred to blogs, wikis, and podcasts as "collaborationware". What a great way to describe the importance of these tools.

Kamel Boulos, M., Maramba, I., & Wheeler, S. (2006). Wikis, blogs and podcasts: a new generation of Web-based tools for virtual collaborative clinical practice and education. Retrieved September 8, 2008, from http://www.biomedcentral.com/1472-6920/6/41/.

Technology Buzz Words of 2008

In the Week in Review section of the New York Times there was an article by Grant Barrett and Mark Leibovich in which they identified new buzz words that have emerged in 2008. Some of them were technology related.

D.W.T. or Driving While Texting

edupunk- a style of hands-on self-education that benefits the student without concern for curriculum or the interests of schools, corporations or governments. In other words, an autodidactic approach that spurns commercialism, mas-market approaches and top-down goal setting. Coined by Jim Groom and "instructional technologist" at the University of Mary Washington in Fredericksburg, Va.

Long Photo- A video of 90 seconds or less. Used by the photosharing web site Flicker, which began permitting videos this year.

tw, tweet, twitt- Combing forms all inspired by Twitter, a free nano-blogging service. It helps small groups share what they're thinking or doing in just 140 characters per message, or tweet as such a message is called. The service has generated new words an related Web sites. Tweet-up, for example is either a meeting of people organized through Twitter, or the WEb site that helps bring about the meetings.

Schools as Bricks and Morter

"And throughout the country, as large failing high schools are replaced with small ones and independently run charters, the days when a school was defined by its building, with its principal as mayor, are starting to go the way of the slide rule and the card catalog". ~ Appeared in an article entitled Looking for Common Ground as More Schools Share a Roof, by Elissa Gootman in the The New York Times, Sunday, December 21st, 2008

Your Job Description

I just saw this blog post by Amanda DeCardy who teaches at the Shanghai American School. She did a reflection on how she spends time in her day as a Technology Integration Facilitator.

Her job consists of:
*Professional Development
*Life Long Learner
*Plan and Go Teaching
*Teaching
*Personal Learning Networks
*Modeling 21st Century Skills
*And being a member of the School Technology Team

What would happen to education if every teachers job description looked like this?

Cascade Learning

I'm in a workshop called "Using Digital Images in the Classroom" taught by Chad Kafka from The Stephens Group. We are talking about cascade learning- i.e. Miss Smith shows Molly how to do something on the computer. Molly shows another student and so on. Love it!

Engagement

Another quote that I came across this week by Marc Prensky~ Engagement is more important than content". Do you agree?

MySpace: A Cultural Practice

I ran across this interesting quote today:

My space is a cultural requirement for high school students. As one teenager said, "If you are not on My Space, you don't exist"~ Dana Boyd, Researcher

Office Live

Using my first Office Live collaborative document and loving it.

PODetc Feedback

I was just reading the online survey results of our last session of our PODetc course Introduction to Instructional Technology in the Classroom. I am so proud of the feedback we received I wanted to share some of the participant comments:


This course can be applied to my profession immediately and will improve options available for use in the classroom and in staff development.


This information will allow me to share many new opportunities to colleagues and give me greater insight for ideas and how to use for classroom use.


I thought the course was very good. It exposed me to a variety of new technologies, forced me to try them, and the feedback was excellent. The best part was being able to do the course work online as time permitted.

I have been able to discover and explore so many new tools/ideas - I now have so many new ways to improve my professional practice.

I shared some of the resources I learned about. My students will benefit by my having a broader background.

National Technology Literacy Assessment

Saw this article in eSchool News http://www.eschoolnews.com/resources/measuring-21st-century-skills/measuring-21st-century-skills-articles/index.cfm?rc=1&i=55483