lucky number 7?
There must have been something appealing about this article, because it seems to be popular so far with the reviewers. At the risk of being redundant…
The 7 things you should know about…
This is an awesome resource for teachers. It would also work for someone who is working in the education technology role within a school or district. This format works to quickly give the pertinent information about different technologies by addressing the following topics in quick to read, succinct paragraphs:
What is it?
How does it work?
Who’s doing it?
Why is it significant?
What are the downsides?
Where is it going?
What are the implications for teaching and learning?
I recently gave a professional development session for teachers on web 2.0 technologies and their applications in the classroom. While we spent considerable time discussing our specific context and issues and how they fit within the use of some of these tools, this resource would have been a great one to direct them to for more information. I tried to emphasize the idea of just-in-time learning, and this resource would fit the bill. It gives a quick overview; enough to gauge whether or not you want to invest more time learning about this topic or not, without having felt as though you wasted your time trying to find key information.
There is a ‘real’ introductory scenario provided that illustrates how the tool (or idea) can be used in a specific context to give a nice concrete picture on which to ground your learning. How many teachers just want to know the answer to the question, “Yeah… But what does it look like in practice?” This tool provides that answer.
On the limitations side, the information is extremely brief. There are not further resources immediately apparent if you wanted to learn more. A person who is not motivated to move on to the next step of how to learn more, and to get ideas on how to implement within their specific context may not take the next step. This resource provides a great jumping off point, but does not provide further guidance. As GI Joe said, “Now you know, and knowing is half the battle.” The next step is the “how do I get started?” one, and that can be a pretty big step. At that point, it would be nice to have a link or even a recommendation on how to craft a search for this topic within a search engine.
As a teacher, I would definitely use this resource. I’m getting ready to forward it to our ed tech guy right now…
As a venturer, I am going to use this resource. I would especially spend time considering the sections on “what are the downsides?” and “where is it going?”. The former because providing solutions to problems currently experienced with a technology is a good place to start working, and the latter because we can gauge what future possibilities might be out there that have not yet been developed, but that would be welcomed.
Emily
Posted in: Week 02: The Edtech Marketplace
kstooshnov 9:21 am on September 13, 2011 Permalink | Log in to Reply
Hi Emily,
While seven is a lucky number, I had the feeling that the list of qualifications could be whittled down to five, and your mention of Web 2.0 reminds me of how 1.0 the information is presented. As Deb pointed out in there “To be totally honest…” post, most of the articles are committee-written, and not exactly ground-breaking results. There is neither a clear understanding of who is evaluating the technological resources, nor how others can add to or contest points being made. I agree with your GI Joe logic for “the other half of the battle” and Educause could include more more feedback posts, links or even peer-review “I like” responses for each article.
Kyle
jarvise 10:20 am on September 13, 2011 Permalink | Log in to Reply
Hi Kyle,
While I agree with you that none of the info is groundbreaking or presented in a very critical light, it does give the reader a quick idea of whether they want to engage with it further. For a lot of busy teachers, a quick 2 minute skim of an overview is all they want to commit to ‘yet another’ new technology. I definitely think this type of ‘quickie’ has a market.
Emily
Karen Jones 4:31 pm on September 13, 2011 Permalink | Log in to Reply
Hi Kyle and Emily,
Your discussion makes me think that the more in-depth NMC Horizons report could be a good follow up to the quick intro that the 7 Things… report introduces. However, as a counter to your valid Web 1.0 format criticism, I would suggest a peek at the http://navigator.nmc.org/ website, which is a more visual, interactive, and up-to-date resource for emerging technologies.
Interesting points!
bcourey 5:31 pm on September 13, 2011 Permalink | Log in to Reply
good point Karen – the Horizon navigator does give much more information…but I also appreciate the “coles notes” provided by the Top 7 article.
jenaca 8:12 am on September 14, 2011 Permalink | Log in to Reply
Hey Everyone,
I agree with Karen, this should definitely be used as an intro to the Horizon navigator. I find that by using the 7 things you should know about…. you can pick and choose which topic you would like to learn more specifically about and which topics you’d rather leave alone!