7 Things I wish I knew before!

 

I wish I had been introduced to the EDUCAUSE Learning Initiative’s 7 Things You Should Know About… series earlier! What a wonderful library of quick-read reports perfect for keeping educators abreast with what’s new, exciting and relevant on the educational technology scene.

 

 

As I browsed through the titles of the reports I found several that I was interested in reading because I either didn’t know enough about that technology in general or I couldn’t think of its application to the education sector, and these reports cover both bases in giving educators a one-stop shop for information on the technology itself and then on its uses and/or relevance in the classroom. The reports all follow the same format which makes them even easier to read. The left hand side of the first page gives the readers a scenario which describes the use of that learning technology in an education context and then the article goes on to answer the following burning questions about the technology:

 

 

1.     What is it?

 

2.     How does it work?

 

3.     Who’s doing it?

 

4.     Why is it significant?

 

5.     What are the downsides?

 

6.     Where is it going?

 

7.     What are the implications for teaching and learning?

 

 

With the pace of technology today becoming almost difficult to keep up with, the reports are great in giving a neatly packaged overview that cuts down the educator’s time in researching the how-to’s and the so-what’s. As a series that has been developed with educators in mind it does a fine job of tailoring the 7 Things to those things that educators would specifically find relevant to know about the technology.

 

 

I have already bookmarked the 7 Things website on my browser and expect to check back onto the site regularly for new technology reviews. I will definitely be sharing the resource with my colleagues in education as well. A lot of them ask me questions about iPads, MOOCs and LMSs etc. thinking that I would know best since I’m the one taking the MET! As much as I love being the resident educational technologist in the group, I feel my friends would really benefit from reading more about the learning technologies they are hearing about through the grapevine. With the reports being short and to-the-point, I feel that they would be more likely to actually read them as well.

 

 

Reference: 7 Things You Should Know About… website: http://www.educause.edu/ELI7Things

 

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