I can’t imagine a better course to have taken this semester. I have to say that this course gives me a much different vibe than any other course I have ever taken. I recently accepted a position as a Learning and Innovation Specialist with the public board, and I came from 5 years as a […]
Continue reading education=commerce Posted in: Week 02: The Edtech Marketplace
As I am not as tech savvy as many of you, so I was wondering if you could help me out. For Assignment #1 I was hoping to create a digital video with a mix of still frames (similar to a screen you might see on a PowerPoint with text/images) and a screencast. Is […]
Continue reading What program to use? Posted in: Questions & Answers
Hi Jen,
Sounds like you have a really engaging presentation planned. Regardless of whether you have a mac or pc, you could simply use the stock moviemaker/imovie to create what you want. You can add slide into one of the frames in between the video.
Feel free to ask if you need some help or have some more questions.
Thanks Suhayl. I am familiar with iMovie and I know how to do the still frames. Do you recommend a particular program to do a screencast? I only know Jing. When it comes time to importing the screencast into iMovie I may seek your help. I appreciate you willingness to support a fellow student.
In her article titled “Learning Technology Trends in 2012,” Connie Malamed shares her insightful predictions on trends to watch out for in 2012. The full list is available by clicking on the link provided above. For the purpose of this discussion, I will focus on the idea of backchannels and flipped learning. Backchannel […]
Continue reading Learning Coach: 2012 Top Trends Posted in: Week 02: The Edtech Marketplace
Hi Manny:
I like your approach to focus on two technologies. I work in a post secondary and have seen both of these used.
The Back channel was in a demonstration situation in one of our new “technology rooms”. I signed up for the session last May not knowing what is was and I was going light that day so I did not have any personnel technology with me. Needless to say I was not an active participant, just an observer. They did tie in participants from other parts of the institute so it went beyond the classroom. I certainly found it hard to keep up and focus as there was so much going on: the facilitator speaking, their presentation on one set of screens, the twitter back channel on other screens and the F-2-F back channel at each table. In the end, I can’t remember what the topic was, only the apparent confusion of everything going on at once. All I could think of was the student who did not have the technology/twitter account and any special needs students that find it hard to focus, it would have blown their circuits. So this technology/method is in its infancy and participants/facilitators need some training, guidelines and best practices are needed to direct it so it is actually useful and not some neat thing to play with.
Flipped learning is a great method that is being used and is possible through courses developed for blended learning. It also provides a way for instructors to get away from the traditional lecture style classroom format to a style that is more engaging and interactive project and group work. In post secondary we are finding it is many students who oppose this style as it means they need to actually do something in the classroom rather than come for a lecture. For the most part we have been able to check the students helicopter parents at the hanger before entering the school.
Doug.
I agree. The idea of flipped learning is making significant leeway within educational settings. With the shift to project/inquiry based learning, educators are opting to front-load the material/content online via tutorials/videos and having students engage in work in the classroom. I have tried this myself on a few occassions, and allowed me to focus on those who need the extra help while allowing those who feel comfortable move on.
S
I have heard about flipped learning from a few teachers at another school in my district. One of the courses was Math 12 and the other Biology 12. They taught in this style last year, but I don’t know if they are continuing to try it or how beneficial it was in their classes. A few of us in my department were thinking of trying it for the Space Unit in Gr. 9 Science. We have the students do a large space project, so we thought this would be a good idea to try.
Hi Lisa,
It definitely exciting to try something new with a class and more importantly learn from it. Have you had the opportunity to talk to the grade 12 math and biology instructors to see if the experience was fruitful. I would be interested to know how it went and what were some things that needed to be improved in order to make it more productive.
Suhayl
Hi Suhayl,
I sent them an email a couple of weeks ago, but with the start up of school, they were probably too busy to answer. If I hear anything back, I will report back on what I found out.
Lisa
I’d be interested in hearing how a flipped classroom experiment goes. Reading about it, I can see how it makes a lot of sense. The problem I saw with it is that students tend to be lazy, and the ‘homework’ of watching a lecture the day of, might be ignored by a lot of students. It requires a lot of trust of the kids to do those things. Also, lots of times in lectures and presentations, questions arise as you go, and there are cool tangents that you can take as the teacher to facilitate discussion and more questioning and clarifying. I think there would have to be some sort of question period at the beginning of the next day – perhaps that could be a homework check, to improve the accountability of the class.
I have experimented with the Idea of the flipped classroom. I think it is important to enforce the watching of videos like you would a homework check. If students start to look at it as a ‘serious’ assignment not just fun, they tend to gain good insight. In my classroom, I usually get them to write 1 thing they found interesting about the video and 1 thing they found confusing. You can use polling software and reference the video the next day in class while clearing up any misunderstandings.
This flipped technique can be effective. However, I still have found the most effective way is to use the videos in class, pause and explain or clarify as the video is playing. This isn’t traditional, but it is not a flipped classroom either. It allows students to take a resource home (Khan academy, TED Ed) that we have discussed and work on their homework with assistance.
Hello everyone! Welcome to September! I’m your instructor – David Vogt – you can reach me whenever you wish at david DOT vogt AT ubc DOT ca or by using the message system in this weblog. I spend most of my time as an entrepreneur and innovation leader, but I have a longstanding passion […]
Continue reading Hello everyone! I’m your instructor – … Posted in: Announcements, Week 01: Introductions
Hello everyone, my name is Ranvir and I’m really excited to take this course. This is my 3rd course and I hope to learn a lot and share experiences as we work together. I live in Surrey,BC and have an interesting commute to UBC where I work as Instructional Designer/ elearning PM
Hi David:
Thanks for the welcome and introduction. Can you tell us about the East Coast Trail, such a contrast of shorts and icebergs.
Doug.
Great to meet you David and I am very much looking forward to this course. Did you by chance have the opportunity to sample any of the Glen Breton when you were on the East Coast????? We still have a half of their single malt in the cupboard – Good for what ails you.
PC
Thank you App OER for leading the way…i’ve already shared some resources with colleagues that have helped them immensely. I wanted to share the applicaiton ‘ShowME’ as it has made life a little easier, and allowed my students to ShowMe their work/thinking. ShowMe is a powerful application which basically turns your iPad into an interactive […]
Continue reading ShowMe Posted in: Week 05:
Hi Kent,
I have primarily been using screen chomp to conduct the activities that you have described. A colleague of mine introduced me to Show Me last year and I was impressed with the additional features it has. When using screenchomp, a student records their narrative on a subject area and then uploads or emails it to me for viewing and assessment. This app allows students to share their screenchomp with others via facebook and is great for collaboration. However, I found that Show me takes this collaboration to another level. There is a database of lessons that have been created by teachers and students on almost any topic taught from K-12. This app can be used as a reference for students when they are struggling on a specific topic. Research indicates that students learn best from each other and this app provides the platform for this to happen. A truly innovative and powerful application!
Manny
ShowMe, or Kent’s alternate Explain Everything, would have such great potential for student assessment as you suggested Manny. What a great tool for allowing students to create a portfolio. Easy to capture narrated demonstrations of their work – the process, their thinking – not just a static final product. Very powerful indeed!
Peggy
Explain Everything is another similar application which i’m trying. It is linked to Evernote, Dropbox, Box and YouTube. Really, it’s all about choice for my students. Some of them are still comfortable using paper and pencil, so that’s they way they do things…although my hunch is that its their parents holding on to some of the more traditional ways of completing homework.
We have talked a little about this in the course, but have any issues arisen of kids/parents that can’t afford an iPad? how do you deal with that? also, do you see these apps eventually being available for iPhones?
I think you touched on an important point Mike. What do we do with those kids who can’t afford these devices? Unfortunately, in this day and age, that puts them at a disadvantage if we choose to pursue these emerging technologies. From my experience though, there are two ways that we can approach this dilemma. The first is that we don’t integrate them into our practice because it is not fair to those students who don’t have the hardware to participate. In this scenario, we really end up putting all the students at a disadvantage from a global collaborative perspective. This approach is more of an excuse based approach in which I don’t see districts finding the need to supply the hardware/software required. However, if you this is the avenue you wish to take and are sincere in your approach, a good administrator acknowledges the effort and can usually make things happen.
I do agree with you in the cross compatibility issue that Apple has – lets face it – they want to corner the marketplace! Usually, apps developed for iphone will work on the ipad but not always vice versa. Couple this with other cross compatibility issues and the logistics of everything gets confusing. It seems as though they have fixed some of these nuances with their latest iOS6 update but their are always improvements to be made. What is encouraging though is that App developers usually make product updates based on reviews and feedback. This is an area where we need to take more initiative as we do have a say in what we consume.
As I’m reading through all of the posts this week – so many good ideas, apps, etc. This isn’t a new revelation for me, but it keeps re-surfacing – how is the average teacher able to manage all of this constant information, such as good apps for this and that? I know there are twitter, blogs,website, etc. and maybe existing apps that give recommendations about good stuff for specific uses.
My point being – where is the “THING” that will help with information overload?
Peggy
Hi Peggy,
I agree this is definitely one of the issues with apps that there is currently no easy way to find the all the good apps that are appropriate for your needs, nor keep on top of all the apps being created and released on a daily basis. There is no systematic way to rate, review or catalog them. I hope in the future their might be some type of “librarian/virtual assistant” or library cataloging system or more finely grained & professional classification of apps we can refer too.
they keep updating it, and i believe this is the most current to date, but this helps me, as i find a theme based approach to looking for apps quite helpful. http://teachwithyouripad.wikispaces.com/Blooms+Taxonomy+with+Apps
I was wondering if anyone has used this app to create or facilitate a flipped classroom learning environment? It was great to hear about the collaborative nature of this app…
In terms of the have and have nots… Recent research is showing that due to the constant decrease in tech prices, that the new have and have nots, will be those students that have teachers teaching with technology, and those that do not…
Thoughts?
Hi Tom,
because of the cross compatibility issues with apple products and the fact that not all kids have mobile devices as Mike mentioned earlier in the thread, to facilitate a flipped classroom I think youtube would be the best option. YouTube can be viewed from any device with an Internet connection and just makes flipped learning more accommodating.
Thanks for sharing this Kent. It seems like a great tool for students to be able to use this. As Mike mentioned having the devices available is a concern. Most schools don’t have them at all or only a few if they do. Some students may have them on their own. I know that I have an iPad but by kids aren’t at the age where they would be doing work on it…yet. I think that there will be a continued stream of these types of apps as it does allow for the user to capture their ideas as they work through problems/situations. Thanks again!
Great information in this discussion. ShowMe sounds like a must check out!. Peggy, I need that “THING”!
Kent, just curious about a few things if you don’t mind. What grade do you teach, how many of your students have an ipad. The idea of posting an assignment and then students having the ability to work on it interactively and sending it back to you sounds amazing, especially for those students that struggle in Math.
Catherine
i teach grade 4, but in a private school it is a little different. i am definitely surrounded by the ‘haves’. Each grade 3 to 6 student has an ipad this year and its been amazing to see it flourish already. we’re just learning about what really works in the classroom and its often the students that will find the really useful applications. i’m also the tech coordinator for the junior school and am also looking for that THING. trying to stay current isn’t issue, however. its being able to honestly say that the technology you use in your classroom is genuinely making the learning better. is it a tool? or could paper and pencil serve just as well.
Kent, cant thank you enough for sharing this fantastic app. i just installed it and viewed a video on teaching basic algebra – how to create input, output tables; generate a rule and finally an equation. i am definitely going to use these videos to teach my kids…
in addition, i concur with the discussion that it is going to be challenging task to have a level field for all kids. My kids go to a private school and one can appreciate the difference in teaching as compared to public schools.
For this critical analysis, I have selected Connie Malamed’s piece entitled “Learning Technology Trends To Watch In 2012”, which highlights potential educational trends for instructors and students based upon the convergence of informal and social media, as well as the increased use of smartphones and tablets within multiple learning environments, and the impact each may […]
Continue reading Where Were Going We Don’t Need Roads (The future paths of education?) Posted in: Week 02: The Edtech Marketplace
Hi Tom, I definitely agree that I found the material generally a review of what I know mixed in with some new facts. I don’t feel that her site is very cutting edge and I noticed that she didn’t put the date on any articles on when they were written.
Hi Tom,
While I admit I did not read Malamed’s piece in its entirety, I believe you have done a great job in reviewing the key technologies. Within that, I can appreciate how you often brought it back to what would be useful to general educators as I too have often found many are unfamiliar and uncomfortable with various new technologies, and so fail to implement them despite their potential benefits. In your opinion, what would be the best approach to change that trend?
Me again. David, is there a way to add a more descriptive title for each of the weekly presentations? In the “Discussion” menu, each week is just identified by a week number. I’ll admit I haven’t really played around & explored to see if this is something we could add ourselves, but it would be […]
Continue reading Weekly Descriptions Posted in: General
I can see AR being a good tool to use for objects that are abstract or very small (ie. a cell or an atom). That way, it gives the students an 3D representation. As well, having information pop-up on different items may enrich students learning. Again, as with many new technologies or ideas, it takes […]
Continue reading I can see AR being a good tool to use fo… Posted in: Week 07:
Hi Lisa,
I would agree in that I see AR being used more outside of the classroom than within it. At this time, it seems to be more of a novelty that one would see on a fieldtrip (such as museum) and not inside a typical classroom. What is exciting is that it is in its infancy and it would be interesting to see which direction it goes. For instance, some of the intangible concepts such as chemistry are difficult for students to conceptualize. The fact is that we all see the world in different ways and AR can perhaps spark some creativity in how we make intangible concepts more relatable to the real world. There are many real life phenomena that occur in the natural world and through AR, perhaps we can make connections to abstract concepts.
Manny
Hello there fellow METers! My name is Jen; I’m a crazy American about to move to the UK (for just a few months) in just a few short hours (3 to be exact). I figured I would try to get a jump on posting as I’m not sure how available I will be this week […]
Continue reading Greetings from Colorado, USA (and soon to be London, UK)! Posted in: Week 01: Introductions
London UK – thats excellent Jen. At least there are two of us now that are in the same time zone. Looking forward to it and we can discuss things before the others even get out of bed!
That’s wonderful! I’ve already thought about the advantages of this… longer time to procrastinate… but, no! I shall be vigilant and get things done ahead of time. 🙂
Hi Jen. Thanks for your sharing a bit about your background – I must say it all sounds rather exciting!
Great photo in your post as well. I haven’t seen a portrait shot on Velvia stock for many years, that’s awesome 🙂 Cheers, Scott.
That’s what comes from having too many fancy photo apps on the iPhone! I look forward to sharing more with everyone as more things fall into place.
Lego Engineering Instructor, if that isn’t the coolest job title I don’t know what is. Have a good flight and I look forward to working with you. — Jonathan
Everything was so smooth getting here, but I am still looking for a flat. It is quite an adjustment and a bit tough to get started with everything here, but it will all work out soon enough. (At least, I certainly hope so!) It is a great job; I look forward to working with you as well!
Hi Jen. Your research topic sounds interesting! Look forward to working with you this term. Safe journeys.
It is fascinating stuff! I created a 20 minute multimedia presentation on it. If I have access to it, I will certainly post it for anyone who is interested. I look forward to working with you as well!
Jen,
This is a very exciting time for you! Congrats on nearing the completion of MET. I am done after this term! Where does the time go? Is your acting/filming/editing for work or for fun? I look forward to hearing more about your experiences.
Ken
It certainly is flying by faster than I ever thought it could have! I’ve done the acting thing for ages now. I just got my SAG (Union) card in the States just before I left for England. I guess I can call myself a professional now! (Whatever that means in the acting world… Ha.) I look forward to sharing more of my adventures as they creep up… and I figure out how to integrate all of this wonderful MET business into them! 😉
What a cool job! I hope to hear much more about it and your research during Ventures. That’s what I love about the program, getting to meet such a diverse group of people. Have fun while in the UK!
Peggy
I LOVE the diversity in the MET program! I certainly was pleasantly surprised by it all and am continually impressed as I progress through the courses. So very nice to “meet” you!
Greeting from Ireland! Ok so far I have been the only Irish person on the MET course so I assume its the same here. This is my 5th course and I am delighted to say that I have just finished all the ‘core’ subjects. Now its down to the good stuff. David Vogt, you, were […]
Continue reading Hello from Ireland! Posted in: Week 01: Introductions
Ireland, hmm. Is this Stuart? Are you also taking 565A as well?
sure am – going to be an interesting workload but thats what we are here for i guess
By night, I am METman.. The RTE player looks interesting! Nice meeting you!
James
Great to meet you. You have an interesting job. As a Media teacher I feel very overwhelmed by the amount of knowledge I am lacking in the field. I am sure that I could learn a few things from you. I have a friend at CBC (Tech Producer for Hockey Night in Canada) and his wife works for the Toronto Film Festival. They have presented to my class before and I think I was more excited than my students. Best of luck this term.
Ken
Hey Ken,
Keep me in mind for your next guest presentation to your class. I am always on the look out for new experiences.
S
That would be great. I’m not teaching this semester but will be offering two Media Studies courses next semester. It is always great to have people that work in the field willing to help out. I had a director from Halifax come to my class two years ago. It was great as he helped the students edit some of their video projects. Much more meaningful for them to have someone in the business talk with them. Thanks!
Hi Stuart. I believe we were in ETEC 511 together last semester. I think this blog will provide quite a different experience than we had with Connect.
yes it will avninder – delighted to be done with connect, but I am sure that it is just for now.
Great to meet you Stuart – will be great to have an Irishman on board, and a different perspective from education. Thanks for the puffin pic – amazing birds! Peggy
Hi Stuart:
Great intro post, looking forward to working with you in the course.
I will also need to add Skeligs Rock to my to do list as the bird life, history and scenery look amazing.
Doug.
Good day, My name is Tom Whyte, from Medicine Hat, Alberta. This is one of the many courses I am taking this semester, which I hope I will be able to continue to take, professional changes might be happening, which may reduce time 🙁 However, if I remain this will either be my 6th, 7th, […]
Continue reading Greeting From The Hat Posted in: Announcements, General
3 MET courses in one term is quite a bit! Nice meeting you, Tom.
Hi Tom,
Like you I am taking 3 courses. I have been doing two per fall/winter while teaching. I am on leave right now, so hopefully it won’t be too crazy. Best of luck this term.
Ken
Hello Tom,
I took two MET courses at once, but found it to be more than I bargained for with work. Good luck.
My professional obligations might be changing, forcing me to alter this plan… Will know in the next week. But thanks for the insights, greatly appreciated.
No doubt some of you also noticed this announcement from Google today regarding its foray into open-source course building tools for education. If you missed the announcement or would like to learn more, you can follow the link below: http://edudemic.com/2012/09/google-course-builder Cheers, Scott.
Continue reading Google Open Source Course Builder Posted in: Blog Café, Week 02: The Edtech Marketplace
How could anyone, even Google, improve on PowerPoint as a course building tool? 😉
Seriously, Google rarely launches duds, but I’m worried about this one. I’m looking forward to some critical reviews from our MET-resident experts…
Hi Scott,
Thank you for sharing that link. I actually was unaware that Google was launching a course builder but after reading the article and taking a quick glance at it, I am hesitant that it will offer something better than many other open-source platforms already out there. In any case, I am interested to see what type of response it gets.
Google has been playing in this sandbox for a bit. GApps integrates well with a number of Learning Management Systems, including Moodle, and last year, they released a product called OpenClass together with Pearson.
Don;t know how this new course builder fits into the ecosystem, but it wouldn’t be the first time Google has released a number of different products that overlap.
I had a look at it but it looks like I will need a JavaScript refresher to make any use of it–ughh!
Hi Scott, Thanks for sharing. I checked it out. I hope that they refine things to be less tech-heavy. It would be more attractive for someone like myself, who would use this in a heartbeat, but not if it means I need to know HTML or Java, etc. I guess we will see what happens. Eva
Thanks for sharing that Scott. I can not see this being too popular with the majority of learning professionals if it potentially requires Javascript and Python skills, these are not something you can just pickup in 5 minutes. Out of curiosity however I joined their Power Searching with Google course to see what it was like. It was very clear, easily to follow and had multiple delivery formats (text & video) for the content which was nice and I have to admit I did learn a few new things 🙂
Hi everyone, My name is Ranvir and this is my 3rd MET course (same as Sophia!). I come from a software development background with progressive experience in business analysis and project management especially in the eLearning industry. I am an independent consultant and enjoy exploring new educational technologies with an “instructional designer” lens! You can […]
Continue reading Hello from Ranvir @Surrey, BC Posted in: Week 01: Introductions
Alright, time to come clean. Although I read most of the articles that had been provided to us it was really the Learning Coach that caught my eye with it’s title. And that’s only because I thought that it was going to be an article about a new technology – Learning Coaches. Which in essence […]
Continue reading The Learning Coach – Posted in: Week 02: The Edtech Marketplace
Hey PC,
I would be interested in drilling down into this 10% you have calculated. Do you think they are from all backgrounds? Do you think that they are from all ages?
I am going to put my head on the chopping board now and it might actually create a bit of a backlash. In my experience the biggest differentiator between people is their attitudes. The biggest influence on peoples attitudes is their work environment. I find that people working in the public sector are forced into a changeless single-minded-ness attitude that hampers both the ability and desire to change. I am not taking sides and not blaming anyone. I find that private sector people are required, and allowed, to be more dynamic and versatile and that it stands to their personal development in what ever field they are in.
You posed the question that its between the teachers who are willing/flexible/comfortable/confident with technology and those who are not? Would it be more about what systems are in place for teachers to be allowed and encouraged to test and perhaps fail?
S
Thanks for the post PC; it actually caught my eye as I was going through the week’s postings, so I decided to take a closer look at the Learning Coach. I like these brief overviews of key technologies to look for. I certainly don’t have time to follow up every one in depth, even though my job is focused on bringing technology to the classroom throughout my division, but the more I continue to hear & read about specific topics the deeper I am drawn in.
I see an increasing number of teachers – my estimate would be much higher than your 10% – who are willing to explore how to integrate technology into their everyday instruction. I think one of their biggest challenges (other than costs, of course) is not resistance but time. I’m constantly reading about technological advances and how they may be used in the classroom. I would guess most teachers would be like me – they require repeated exposure to gain a depth of understanding. They, however, have less time to devote to experimentation and practice. While I wouldn’t say this is the only reason educational advances in this area plod along slowly, I think it’s an important one. And as S noted above, it’s important that teachers do have this time to test and fail.
Peggy
Hi Peggy,
The experimentation phase when it comes to introducing new technologies definitely needs to happen. Unfortunately it seems like a catch 22. I read somewhere that on average, a teacher needs about 2 years to successfully adopt and integrate new technologies into their instructional practice. However, it seems as though we are always playing catch up because of the rapid growth of technology. It seems to me that as soon as we figure out how to integrate a new technology into the classroom, it is already obsolete and the next best thing is already on the market and being introduced into classrooms. I feel that this is just one of the realities we have to face and makes it difficult to remain on the cutting edge of innovation.
Manny
Very true Manny – excellent point!
Hi everyone:
A few quick comments:
PC – there is a technology divide with post secondary instructors as well, generally by age. Younger more likely to use/adopt technology and older, especially those late in their careers less likely.
Stuart: – I believe the private/public sector situation occurs in all fields, not just education.
Peggy – From what I have seen working for nearly 10 years with post secondary instructors it is a combination of attitude (Stuart) and time. Without some sort of offload it is difficult for instructors to find the time to integrate technology. Some motivated instructors will. I have seen situations where faculty are given time and a goal through a project, andt they do work hard at it and others who because of attitude, don’t really create good value based on the time and money made available to them.
Manny – It is a risk for the teacher and the school to actually prototype something new and different live in the classroom.
Doug.
The Educause: 2011 Top Ten IT Issues article discusses the various challenges associated with running an IT market on a contemporary scholastic budget. It begins by attempting to explain the funding structure of a typical IT department within a university campus. It details the different strategies utilized by campuses in their attempt to forcast upcoming […]
Continue reading The Educause: 2011 Top Ten IT Issues art… Posted in: Week 02: The Edtech Marketplace More great stuff on your Advantages page! I’m curious about your decision to include so much about iPads. No doubt as to their benefits, and the video highlighting autistic and other special needs children was very powerful. But many of the apps highlighted are actually resident on the iPad once downloaded & installed I suspect, rather […]
Continue reading Week 6: Cloud Learning – Advantages Posted in: General
Hi Peggy, I agree that many of the apps that we install these days can be run locally without an internet connection. Though I do believe that cloud computing in general will be a necessity for mobile learning. Many software developers want to move to a system where you log in to their server to use an application. Students can pick up an iPad at school or log on to their computer at home an their information will be downloaded. The video didn’t do a good job of relating this aspect of Mobile learning.
Hi Peggy,
Thanks for your comments and getting the ball rolling this week. Next month my class is going to receive a set of iPads for two months. Although my students will be working on many apps that reside on the iPad itself, once their projects are complete we will be using the share button to access the cloud and transfer their digital media to blogs (which I am calling their EPortfolios). So in this respect, cloud computing becomes necessary with the iPads to save student work. I think this is going to become more common as schools tend to be sharing iPads among several students. Therein lays another privacy problem where students have access to each other’s work.
This is an excellent discussion on use of iPads for project work and then transferring, sharing it on the cloud! Students would be able to progressively develop an ePortfolio as they move on to higher classes.
Jen – Would you mind sharing how the “share” button might work?
Hi Ranvir,
The share button is located right on many apps. It allows you share the digital media that you have created to either your facebook account, twitter or email it to yourself. I plan to have my students email it to themselves and then they can move their projects onto their personal blogs.
I haven’t yet looked at the ‘limitations’ section; however, though I know security is an issue, there are clearly lots of advantages for using cloud computing. In developing countries the cost benefit factor is key, including the savings on energy bills, and making fewer trips thank to online collaboration. I can see how these factors could be of great benefit for school districts or educational boards short on resources and money. This idea of ‘pay as you go’, is also better than spending thousands of dollars on software and applications that soon become obsolete. I think more money should be spent on finding solutions for the security issue; it’s well worth it given the many benefits of cloud computing. (Ben in this group’s blog makes some useful suggestions of how to avoid having problems with security.
I understand the value of the pay-as-you go model, but are educational institutions and classrooms ready for that? As individuals we see the benefit, but a district has significant issues that may impede or hamper this or any adoption.
For example, I have been pushing Google Docs in our district for nearly 3 years, we are now just starting to explore what it might look like, and it is free. Secondly, sometimes tech budget dollars are tied to the purchasing of specific software only, which does not allow other, and maybe more beneficial software from being purchased.
Thoughts?
I had a read through Ambient Insight’s 2012 Learning Technology Research Taxonomy and was enthralled by all the interesting and informative data that was provided – it actually got me quite excited to think of the numerous ventures that could very well be successful in the marketplace. Also, some of the data could be quite […]
Continue reading I had a read through Ambient Insight’s 2… Posted in: Week 02: The Edtech Marketplace
In order to know if a source is good or not, it’s important to see its affiliation to see how objective the information they provide is, or if they have been paid to carry out research to indirectly promote a company. This is why I chose the OECD research report Trends Shaping Education 2012. The […]
Continue reading OECD – Trends Shaping Education 2010 Posted in: Week 02: The Edtech Marketplace
Hello, my name is Colin and I am a teacher in Surrey where I teach an Entrepreneurship program to at risk grade 12 students. I was drawn to this course as I am a business teacher and a Bachelor of Commerce graduate so I am interested in anything business related. This will be my third […]
Continue reading Hello from Surrey Posted in: Week 01: Introductions
Welcome Colin,
I am sure your Business background will be a help to all of us. I have two kids as well, it has been tough juggling working and making time for my kids, while studying. I am on an Ed Leave right now. Hopefully that will help balance things. Your website sounds very engaging. I have begun using Edmodo as our district does not have an LMS other than the Distance Ed courses. They do not offer the social networking functions that other sites offer. Best of luck this term.
Ken
Hi Ken, it definitely is hard to manage kids while studying and working. That is what I am doing right now and it is not easy. That is why I can only take 1 course at a time. Good idea on taking an Ed leave and finishing the course it will be nice to finish quickly I am sure.
all the best,
Colin
Hi Colin,
I also work in the Surrey school district with ‘risk youth’ youth. I was wondering whether you work at a learning centre or within a program at a secondary school. I think your background will be invaluable in this course. It is definitely difficult to balance coursework as priorities such as family come first. I also have a little one running around and quite often find myself to be exhausted by the end of the day, I couldn’t even imagine two. It is good to touch base with someone who works in the same district and I look forward to collaborating with you as we move through this course.
Bye for now…
Manny
Rajat Paharia is the founder and Chief Product Officer of Bunchball, a market leader and visionary gamification company. Founded in 2005, Bunchball provides cloud-based SaaS gamification platform to help companies improve customer loyalty and online engagement using game mechanics. Bunchball enables organizations to improve business performance by creating highly active and loyal customers, employees, and partners. Bunchball’s customers […]
Continue reading Bunchball – A leading gamification company Posted in: Week 04: Entrepreneur Bootcamp
This founder is certainly a radical one as I consider gamification word that I would not connect to business as a whole. However his customer list and the company he has worked for suggest that he is a seasoned ‘customer’ who knows what he is about with the right combination of skills for success.
Yes – I knew that my mom was wrong when she was saying I was wasting my time watching television and playing games. The former as I now work in television and the latter because of your post!
At the moment there seems to be a clear business focus to the strategy. I will have to look into Rajat some more and see if there are any desires or plans to get into education-gamification. To have players like him developing this area would really start to see a strong positive impact in this field I think.
Thanks Ranvir
My name is Coral and I’m from Vancouver (well, technically Tsawwassen for anyone from BC, but Vancouver is easier to spell…) I work with Pearson Learning Solutions, one of the largest providers of educational content and services. I am currently a Managing Editor, responsible for the oversight of customized print and online materials for universities and […]
Continue reading Hello everyone! Posted in: Week 01: Introductions
Coral,
Welcome to the MET. I can assure you that you will gain a lot from this experience. I am in my final three courses and the time really goes by fast! I look forward to hearing from you about the changes and struggles with dealing with print and digital books. Have a great term!
Ken
Hi Coral,
Though Pearson is my competitor here in Mexico (I write for Macmillan), I must admit it has some great texts and materials; you must be very happy to work in such an important company. I guess we have in common that we are both in publishing, and we both love anything to do with cooking and eating. I look forward to sharing experiences in the publishing world with you, and perhaps the odd recipe, but not in the blog 🙂
Welcome to MET.
Adriana
Hi Adriana
Thank you! I love Mexican food so I would be happy to share recipes! I’m actually headed to Puerto Vallarta in Oct with my family so I’m looking forward to lots of great Mexican food 🙂
C
Thank you Ken! I’m really looking forward to the program and this course.
Welcome to MET Coral – I’m sure you’ll enjoy it – I’ve found the discussions with my MET classmates have made the entire journey, and effort, all worthwhile.
Peggy
My name is Doug Connery; this is my 9th MET course. I started in the MET program three years ago in September 2009. To enable me to balance work, life and lifelong learning, I take one course at a time; thus I am on the scenic route through the program! However the end is in […]
Continue reading Greetings from Calgary Posted in: Week 01: Introductions
Congrats on being almost through the program! It looks like you live a very active life. Great to see that you and your family share the same passions. I look forward to working with you this term!
Ken
Thanks Ken, should be a challenging and engaging course.
Doug.
Hi Doug,
I enjoyed your story very much. I think the SAIT has a very complete view of what ‘curriculum’ is; however, it must be very hard to put and keep all the pieces together. I am very much looking forward to learning from you as you have clearly have a lot to share.
Adriana
Hi Adriana:
Yes it makes each day unique and interesting keeping track all of the pieces and demands. This is what keeps me at SAIT though.
Doug.
Hi everyone, This is my sixth ETEC course so I am passed the halfway mark and it has been great so far. I am of the opinion that this will be a different experience to the others since it is geared towards ‘selling’ rather than the theories of learning and teaching. In a way I […]
Continue reading Hello from Tobago Posted in: General
Good to see you Patason. I forget now which course we took together. I look forward to hearing more of your insight. Have a great term.
Ken
Hi Patason,
Great to see another person from the Caribbean here. Looking forward to learning with you.
Sophia
Hello, My name is Bryan and I am in my fifth year of teaching at the Surrey School District (SD36) in Surrey, British Columbia, Canada. I have a B.A. in History from the University of the Fraser Valley and a B.Ed. with a minor in Educational Technology from Simon Fraser University. I am currently teaching […]
Continue reading Hello, My name is Bryan and I am in my f… Posted in: Week 01: Introductions
Hi Bryan,
Its nice to read that you have positive feedback about integrating technology into the classroom! I look forward to hearing more about your experiences during the course
Melissa
Great to get back into the swing of things this fall – I am quite keen to participate in the blog environment that frameworks this course. My name is Patricia and I live on the shores of Okanagan lake in the beautiful Sylix traditional territory. I am a Geology/Aboriginal teacher by trade but dabble a […]
Continue reading Great to get back into the swing of thin… Posted in: Week 01: Introductions
Hello, I look forward to working with you in this course.
Bryan
Hi Patricia, I see we’re in another course together. I hope you enjoyed your time off in August. I know I did. Looking forwards to working with you again in this course.
Lisa
Great to be back with you too Lisa. August was busy but great. Are you taking two courses this semester? It will be my first time trying on a second course… should be interesting.
Take care,
PC
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lullings 5:36 pm on September 15, 2012 Permalink | Log in to Reply
Hey Supatel,
Congratulations on the new position. It definitely sounds exciting.
Its so exciting that you are working with the likes of Apple and Google to provide such up to date packages and hardware.
I am highly interested in the comment that you made that you were the one doing the research and negotiating but you said that you ‘can’t imagine’ how much money’ these cost.
What is the process here – do you liase with the global brands in terms of functionality and then pass your findings on to ‘an accountant’ to decide which of your recommendations to choose? As a business that is ‘loosing money’ I can already tell you the answer there!!!!
Are the cheque writers even further removed from the negotiation process, as in its not now the people in the know at a managerial level, its people who read their reports and then decide on a financial basis.
Or have I misunderstood your post??
supatel 4:06 pm on September 16, 2012 Permalink | Log in to Reply
So as far as I know we make a pitch to our superiors on technology that might be something worth purhcasing. Along the process, the finances are discussed usually, involving both the public board and the provincial government.
Sometimes I do the negotiating with a laison from a company but more often, i have nothing to do with that. It all depends on the magnitude and complication of the situation. Last week me and a colleague were on the phone with MS trying to get a good enough deal to purchase an office suite that we could sell to the students on a laptop purchase/lease program.
When it comes to freeware and online tools that don’t cost any money, we do the PIA (privacy impact assessment) and the legal dept goes over it and makes sure we are covered as a board if we so choose to use the tool.
In the end, i’m really a small pawn on a large chess board, but it’s an unbelievable learning opportunity.
S
visramn 5:22 pm on September 16, 2012 Permalink | Log in to Reply
Hi,
Congratulations on your new job. That is really interesting that you got too see how technologies function at the ground level in schools and now you are getting to see what the business side looks like. This course is definitely well suited for your new position. Thanks for sharing the insights you have gained from your job. It is always nice to see what you are leaning in action.
I find that a lot of educators think from the heart and do not associate teaching and learning with business (well at least at the primary and secondary level). As an educator who has only worked in schools, I find it very hard to see the business aspect of teaching. That is one of the reasons I took this course. I look forward to reading more of your posts because I think your insight will help me to build on the understandings I am hoping to gain from this course.
David Vogt 8:39 pm on September 16, 2012 Permalink | Log in to Reply
Thanks for opening this discussion, Suhayl, and congrats as well on your exciting new mandate in the world of learning!
My experience has mostly been on the other side of your equation – with the companies that are negotiating directly with superintendents and ministry officials for the deals you are completing the groundwork for. Unfortunately it is seldom a fulfilling experience for those that care about learning, which is why I’m so interested that ETEC522 enables more teachers to become active, leading participants in the process.
I’ll give you one example, which should be simple and eye-opening. I don’t know how many hundreds of millions of K-12 students there are worldwide, but it is a HUGE market. However, there has only ever been one device that has ever been designed entirely and comprehensively for the specific requirements of this market. Desktops, laptops, ipads, etc, etc, weren’t designed for learners, they were designed for office workers and home consumers. That’s why there have always been so many problems with applying these technologies in the classroom. How do I know this? Because one of my companies designed what I believe is still the one and only wireless laptop designed exclusively for K-12 (I don’t include the One Laptop Per Child devices for a different reason, and I won’t delve into my company’s story here).
The following may be a minor over-statement but most large companies treat education as a dumping ground for technology they can’t sell anymore into corporate markets. This includes devices and software. Schools get it cheap because the technology is essentially remaindered. Value for learning is rarely a priority.
I don’t believe I’m cynical or pessimistic. In fact, I’ve never been more excited for learning, because the agility and versatility of the information technologies marketplace is awesomely great right now from an education perspective. It has never been so fertile.
Let me end my fun little rant with an analogy from a different huge, cumbersome, complex market. When we think of the “health” sector it isn’t really about health at all, it is about “illness management” because that’s where lots of money can be made. A societal focus on health promotion would cost much less and support a much smaller industry. So what is the learning market really about?
Being provocative is part of my job…
David
rebecca42 10:39 pm on September 16, 2012 Permalink | Log in to Reply
Interesting and provocative.
Most of the things I have come across in the “learning market”, via our school district, have been basic fact practice activities or games, and programs aimed at students who are low in math or reading. Everything I have seen has been focussed on closing the gap between students who are not yet meeting expectations and students who are. These programs are often put in place for struggling readers and are redundant for many students.
From what I see the market right now there is not a lot out there for enrichment activities, particularly at the elementary level. As an example, many students are able to understand complex games, so why not also supplement critical thinking teaching with an RPG?
Perhaps part of it comes from the public school goals. Districts are often looking for alternative means to bring students up to standards, so their funding is often directed at this. Not very unlike the “health” sector. With limited funds, enormous classes, minimal support staff and financial cuts all around, their position can be understood.
So what can be done about this? I see a lot happening at the university/college level and some at the highschool level locally. There are more and more interesting and educational content/programs/opportunities online. I’d be very interested in seeeing enrichment technologies that require more than rote q&a. Things that get students to really think deeply and work through problems.
Supatel, your job sounds great! Do you find that there is a focus on “levelling” technology or is equal attention (and funding) given to enrichment?