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  • bcourey 6:30 pm on November 26, 2011
    3 votes
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    Here is my Elevator Pitch:   You can access my Venture Pitch here  

    Continue reading Brenda’s A3 Posted in: Week 13: Venture Forum
     

    • Kristopher 4:00 pm on November 28, 2011 | Log in to Reply

      Wow Brenda! What a beautiful presentation!

      Your pitch we well crafted and included all of the information required for an effective pitch. The delivery is stunning, so kudos on building the pitch. If I were to suggest an enhancement for your pitch, I would suggest that you modify your language slightly; for example, instead of ‘let me build this…’, I might say more affirmatively ‘I WILL build…’, or ‘this concept has been designed…’– something that shows that the product/service exists and is ready to be purchased.

      This is the first Animoto presentation that I have come across and it has absolutely been added to my toolbox.

      Best,

      Kristopher

    • Everton Walker 10:42 pm on November 28, 2011 | Log in to Reply

      Brenda,

      Great idea! Nicely thought out and executed. I only wish if I had more time to read. The slides never provided me with adequate time to do so. However, it is a product I would give some attention to even though I would need to know more before investing.

      Everton

    • ashleyross 4:31 pm on November 29, 2011 | Log in to Reply

      Hi Brenda,

      I really like your idea and I enjoyed watching your elevator pitch. I agree with Kristopher’s suggestion about modifying your language, I think it will make you sound more confident about your product.

    • bcourey 5:48 pm on November 29, 2011 | Log in to Reply

      thanks for your comments everyone! I agree, I should really change the language to show more confidence! I am a big fan of Animoto – I have created family videos using pictures of holidays and special events – I have quite a library of them already! I wasn’t sure if it was suitable for an Elevator Pitch, because it is not a face-to-face video (tried that and it was AWFUL!) and I didn’t have the ability to slow the slides down so that you could read all the text in time…so hoping that the longer venture pitch covers the details. Thanks again.

      Brenda

      Brenda

    • Tamara Wong 7:31 pm on November 29, 2011 | Log in to Reply

      Breada,
      Great venture! I love the idea. It strikes me that you are taking on the idea that Google had with running the cloud to cut costs and to create one big business that can do more than many small schools. With the advent of the Margaret Atwood and Doug Ford debate on libraries this would solve the problems that many people are having with theses spaces that are quickly becoming outdated.

      Your elevator pitch was great and I liked the use of the animoto. The only problems I had were I had to stop the video a few times to finish reading the slides. I think you can devote more times to the text slides and less to the references and ending. Your full venture pitch is great and I think that the example you’ve added is a great addition. I had a few problems with the audio cutting out a bit near the end of the slide but it didn’t hinder my understanding of your project. Amazing idea!!

      Tamara
      P.S. My partner was sitting in the same room as me while I was watching your pitch and he was impressed by it too!! He commented on how much better it was than mine 😀

    • Doug Smith 2:36 am on November 30, 2011 | Log in to Reply

      Hi Brenda,
      I like your pitch, I think it touches on many aspects that an investor would want to know about. You give off a lot of confidence, which is a huge part of a pitch. I think I understand what it is you’re pitching, but at first I wasn’t clear on where I come into this as an investor: I had to replay the video and pause on the one crucial slide to learn about the portal. But the pitch was good enough to make me watch it again to find this out!

      cheers
      Doug

    • David William Price 11:09 am on November 30, 2011 | Log in to Reply

      Elevator pitch assessment

      B. Courey – Learning Commons

      First Impression: no face or voice, only music & slides, moved too fast to read, had to watch many times and pause to read

      CEO Credibility: The CEO does not appear at all – no voice, no image or appearance. I have nothing to judge CEO credibility on. I might take a negative inference based on the fact the CEO is unwilling to appear and be heard.

      Management Team: No team is mentioned, so I have no way to judge. I might take a negative inference based on the fact the CEO is unwilling to talk about the team.

      Venture Concept: “Join the movement to the learning commons”. Apparently the idea is kids working quietly in the library is bad and kids should instead be working collaboratively using a computer system. I don’t know what a learning commons is or what the benefits to kids are.

      Opportunity Space: mentions 72 Ontario school boards and that only 5 are using Learning Commons. That implies a potential market of 77 although the pitch says 60 are available. No revenue is mentioned. Apparently the idea is to build a learning portal for schools to get what they need for a Learning Commons and to pay a subscription fee.

      Market Readiness: Apparently only 5 out of 72 Ontario boards are using “Learning Commons” and the rest don’t because of a lack of staff to do it. Savings are implied by switching to this concept from existing license fees, however there’s no indication of sunk costs, switching costs, or likelihood of switching from established decisions and investments.

      Competitive Edge: Implication that the new solution will be cheaper but there is no discussion of current costs vs. suggested fees, or what fees would be necessary to cover development and service costs. Not sure how to compare existing situation vs proposed situation.

      Exit Strategy: No indication of projected sales, revenues or intended goals for market share.

      Overall Investment Status: I don’t see the CEO or the team and I don’t really get the concept. It’s possible that schools may use a subscription service, but I the switching costs may be high, and they may need integration with existing systems. I don’t know the projected goal although I can guess that it’s signing up all Ontario boards. I consider this high risk and would not pursue.

    • Allie 11:38 am on November 30, 2011 | Log in to Reply

      Hi Brenda,
      I think that the idea that you’re presenting in your EP is compelling, and the presentation is very beautiful. I know of the learning commons movement, but I don’t know much about it. I think that something that I’m wondering from your EP is whether there is a demand for learning commons. I imagine that most would nod approvingly at the idea, but I am wondering if school boards would buy this service when push comes to shove; are the benefits to students worth the investment?

      • Allie 11:41 am on November 30, 2011 | Log in to Reply

        I hit reply too soon! And so, let me add, I think that you can strengthen your EP really quickly and easily if you can address whether schools and school boards want to move to learning commons.

    • Julie S 1:33 pm on November 30, 2011 | Log in to Reply

      Hi Brenda,

      I see from the comments above that you already got the message about the slides going by to fast to read so I’ll move on. I do like the first two comparison slides because they tell me exactly what your venture is going to be about. What I don’t have a sense of is what evidence there is that the learning commons is better than the traditional library from the kids perspective. I like the benefit statement of ‘one stop shopping’ and lower costs for the schools but I think a benefit statement from the kids perspective would make it a stronger sell.
      Cheers,
      Julie

      • bcourey 3:39 pm on November 30, 2011 | Log in to Reply

        Thanks for your comments Julie – I can see that I didn’t give enough background for people outside of Ontario – because here, learning commons is huge. Most schools are finding that the traditional library in schools is not meeting the learning needs of students and so we are exploring (and many have adopted) a new model – we based a lot of our research on the Calgary Board of Education model and the Ontario Librarian Association recommendations…perhaps I should have included that in my message – bad idea to forget the background knowledge of the audience!

        Thanks again for your advice,

        Brenda

    • Allie 5:47 pm on November 30, 2011 | Log in to Reply

      Venture Pitch Review
      Hi Brenda,

      After my first viewing of your pitch for Inspiration Learning Commons (ILC), I had the distinct sense how passionate you feel about the need for learning commons (LC). Your vision of the role of LC in education is pretty clear, and I felt it would fit quite nicely within the arena of political activism to increase provincial support for LC’s. For the purposes of this course, I wonder if we can tighten up its life as a prospective venture? I think that all you need is a bit of editing, and bit more detail.

      For me, there were two key pieces of information that you presented that really spoke to the possibilities for ILC as a *venture opportunity* – but these pieces felt a little buried. Maybe you can foreground them right at the beginning. One is something you mentioned in the comments: that the idea of LC is huge in Ontario, & that it is perceived within the ON education system as a real need. The other is how you describe, at around minute 3, how smaller boards in Ontario can’t afford to develop their own learning commons. They want to, but how? Enter ILC! A LC service for boards who can’t afford to develop their own!

      As for a bit more detail, I feel that, if I were an investor – or a school board thinking of purchasing the product, I would want to know these things:

      $ Why would school boards want to invest in learning commons if there is such shockingly declining support for libraries (around 1:00)? *6:09 I’m wondering what the licenses are that schools could stop using to free up $ for Inspiration? Are they well and truly expendable – or perceived as expendable?
      *Return on Investment: what precisely are the skills that students might learn in the Learning Commons, as opposed to traditional libraries, that might ultimately help them contribute to Ontario’s economy as adults? What kind of difference might this make to the future economic life of (rural?) areas whose areas cannot currently afford to develop their own LC? (1:30)?
      *Tech: Is the LC compatible with LMS? Could it be an add-on? Do the schools use LMS?
      *Exactly which resources do students access through the learning commons (2:08)? I think that some of your work here might be strengthened by showing us what some of the best resources are, and how they can be used to effectively bolster education in needed ways.

      With my best regards,
      Allie

    • verenanz 11:32 pm on November 30, 2011 | Log in to Reply

      HI Brenda! I tried to get to your pitches. I am in China this week, and can’t access them. I just wanted to say that I really wanted to look them over because you have always given me such great feedback in this class. So I apologize that I can’t do the same. I will check them out next week in Canada though!!!
      Thank you for being such a terrific participant!!!!
      Verena:)

  • bcourey 4:39 pm on November 24, 2011
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    I viewed a few ventures from your presentation, and they all seem to do a good job of presenting the data of web activity and others have talked about a few ways to use this in a learning environment.  One thing I would want to be included in a venture that could be used in […]

    Continue reading Activity 3: Investing in the Venture Posted in: Week 12: Social Analytics
     

    • Everton Walker 5:21 pm on November 24, 2011 | Log in to Reply

      bcourey,

      I like that idea. We need to make them aware that being able to analyze data from different formats is key to comprehension. Therefore, we need to engage them in activities where they can make sense of learning analytics activities. As a result, they will realize that these stats are not merely attachment to content; but carry vital meaning that will not be able to explained fully qualitatively.

      Everton

    • Deb Kim 10:22 pm on November 24, 2011 | Log in to Reply

      Brenda,
      I like your idea. If I see social analytics in a student’s point of view, it doesn’t seem that useful as an educational tool because I probably wouldn’t understand what those data (e.g. graphs, tables, and diagrams) represent. However, by adding the analysis of the data, I’d be able to understand the importance of social analytics and use it more often to monitor my interaction with others.

      Deb

    • hall 12:39 am on November 25, 2011 | Log in to Reply

      Hi Brenda,

      I agree with your views, Statistics is needed many aspects of our lives. We use the concepts in all aspect of daily lives such as research studies, experiments, social encounters and medical history. Hence I feel that a venture that would help students analyze the data would be a good one. SPSS is a software that is often used for statistical reports but it does not help students to analyze data.

    • jarvise 1:11 pm on November 25, 2011 | Log in to Reply

      Hi Brenda (and all),

      I like your idea because it is engaging students in learning about the analysis side. On a product development note, though, it might be an idea to create a product that provides for the data production on student engagement (assuming in some online environment), but also provides prompts that provide possible explanations for the results and what to do with them. In other words, a service that provides some analysis for you. Based on my own learning about social analytics, the issue surrounding the ‘common person’ trying to make use of it is the fact that most people are not good at analyzing statistics. I remember being in my undergrad stats class surrounded by people talking about how this was their 3rd or 4th time through – obviously its not everyone’s strength. I think a great venture idea would be to create a service that provides the data, and provides some analysis and recommendations based on it. Is it out there already?

      Emily

  • bcourey 4:43 pm on November 22, 2011
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    This is an amazing database!  I have been accessing Springer journal articles for some time now, but usually only through the UBC library access since most articles were not free.  However, on this site, I was able to do many keyword searches and had no issue with downloading article after article – so that was […]

    Continue reading Day 2 Springer Realtime Posted in: Week 12: Social Analytics
     

    • Allie 10:23 am on November 23, 2011 | Log in to Reply

      Thanks for your post, Brenda!
      I think that tools such as Springer Realtime can be really helpful as a teaching tool for having students identify what are the most important or influential articles and authors; I think it can also be useful as a learning tool to think about why certain works are more influential than others. I know that when I teach (undergraduates), I always try to stress that the first (X) number of sources that pop up in a search aren’t necessarily going to be the best ones for their papers – things like Springer Realtime, and cited reference searches on Web of Science and Google Scholar can help all of us identify the best sources for our research needs.

  • bcourey 5:24 pm on November 17, 2011
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    wow, this week is flying past..or is it the engaging topic David? I’ve been talking quite a bit at work with our IT department about this whole idea of mobile learning in our schools.  We have so many hurdles to overcome in elementary and secondary schools – first, as has already been mentioned is the […]

    Continue reading Day 4 Already? Posted in: Week 11: Mobiles
     

    • Keisha Edwards-Hamilton 5:38 am on November 18, 2011 | Log in to Reply

      Many school managers and administrators today have come to the realization that cell phones have great potential for teaching and learning and thus have been making attempts to remove the ban on cell phones in schools. There should however be policies in place to regulate the use by students to ensure that it will be used for teaching and learning activities mainly.

    • David William Price 6:33 am on November 18, 2011 | Log in to Reply

      Data plans certainly are an issue. One way to get around that is to focus on using apps that you download once, perhaps over WIFI.

      With respect to distraction, based on my recent lit review of anxiety management, there are two ways of dealing with anxiety issues (distraction being a person’s tendency to avoid anxious feelings by doing other tasks). One is to remove distractions. The other is to scaffold learners into confronting their anxious feelings directly and managing them instead of turning to distraction.

      A very simple way of teach distraction management is something called “implementation intentions”. These are plans learners develop beforehand. The plan is an “if-then” plan. “If this distraction happens, then I will do X.” Apparently they work well. Why? When people are anxious, they use up working memory. They don’t have extra resources to do deep thinking about how to handle problems. By working out the plans ahead of time, they don’t have to think about what to do with a distraction. They already have their plan ready. Apparently it works well for managing test anxiety and handling distractions. Worth checking out.

      I think it’s worthwhile to scaffold anxiety management (distractions, avoidance, etc.) through graduate exposure. The literature shows performance increases… and it will help learners in the future. How many adults do you know who can’t stay on task?

    • bcourey 1:48 pm on November 18, 2011 | Log in to Reply

      Interesting take on the reasons for allowing distractions to take place – I think in many of our cases in secondary schools, it is more a case of boredom…they would rather text with friends than tackle the tasks in the classroom – maybe boredom, maybe avoidance of a task they don’t understand. I accept that some may be anxiety….but in my case, if I am in a meeting and I am suddenly finding myself checking my emails on my BB instead of listening to the speaker, it is often because I am bored silly or disengaged from the topic at the moment.
      Brenda

      • David William Price 1:53 pm on November 18, 2011 | Log in to Reply

        Boredom is part of a spectrum of arousal. I tend to see boredom as an example of anxiety (I am too anxious to find the value in what I am hearing, and I feel I should be doing something else right away) whereas when I am in the right state of arousal, something that should be incredibly boring (such as staring at a sunset) feels very fulfilling.

        That being said, even if you reject my own way of thinking, it’s not the device itself that is the problem, it’s (a) pedagogy that doesn’t engage; and (b) an inability of the learner to manage their impulse to do something else instead of look for or create meaning in the current activity.

        For instance, one way I create meaning in activities that seem boring is to interrupt them and ask annoying questions. Or ask for examples. Or use some other technique to make the situation meaningful. Those are skills that can be taught… they could even be scaffolded through mobiles as performance supports to make meetings/talks meaningful!

  • bcourey 3:00 pm on November 16, 2011
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    Quite a challenging task for Day 3!  But you did get me to think more about m-learning. -my problem?  The need for practice.  Everyone in secondary schools knows how tough it is to get kids to do their homework that provides the necessary practice. -solution? -Maybe a series of games apps that targets concept practice […]

    Continue reading Day 3: My venture Posted in: Week 11: Mobiles
     

    • Deb Giesbrecht 5:21 pm on November 16, 2011 | Log in to Reply

      Ahh yes….the no cellphone policy! For me it is the privacy and security policy – very good information and control of data, however, makes it very difficult to be progressive in today’s mobile society.

    • David William Price 10:14 am on November 17, 2011 | Log in to Reply

      Thanks for your post

      Drill-and-kill is highly popular on mobile for test prep. I suspect it’s for the same reason drill-and-kill was highly popular with the beginning of e-learning. It’s cheap and easy to create and it’s easy to sell the benefits. When people are anxious, they tend to procrastinate and rely on rehearsal strategies to learn.

      However, ask yourself how introducing authentic problems in the real world would affect understanding of the underlying concepts you’re teaching. What would happen if they had to go out and collect data (audio, video, photo) about authentic uses of the information you’re teaching… and collaborate with each other (texts, maps, calendars) to find the authentic examples and make use of them in some way.

      Rather than forcing traditional learning into a tiny device… how do we use the tiny device to enable a different kind of learning?

  • bcourey 3:43 pm on November 15, 2011
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    As Juliana noted, the BB has a limited number of apps compared to other Smartphones, but I explored the Carlton University app found on the Day 2 page of this week’s presentation.  One of the key problems it solved was helping new students navigate around the campus using the GPS feature and map graphics on […]

    Continue reading Day 2: Carlton University App Posted in: Week 11: Mobiles
     

    • ifeoma 9:23 pm on November 15, 2011 | Log in to Reply

      Hi Bcourey,
      I agree with you that this app solves a huge problem of helping new students orient themselves with their new environment and I think it also gives the a sneak peek at what to expect in this new environment both academically and socially. I think the Carleton app is a good demonstration of how mobile devices are really good at delivering vital info in byte sizes as needed. A lot of productive time could be saved with this app and students are connected with their learning, literally moving around with their campus 🙂
      Ifeoma

    • David William Price 11:24 pm on November 15, 2011 | Log in to Reply

      Thanks for your post. This is a great example of a couple of trends: first, letting students use their own mobiles to access information they need rather than forcing them to use some university-sanctioned service; second, using mobiles as performance support… delivering information as needed, when needed.

      Is it crazy to think of a future where higher education is done out in the field with mobile performance supports and we spend little if any time in class?

  • bcourey 5:25 pm on November 14, 2011
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    My employers require the managers of all education departments (mine being secondary programming) to have blackberries so that the Superintendents can reach us at all times.  So emails and cellphone use are the 2 biggest reasons I use the blackberry. I really dislike using it for internet browsing as anyone who uses a B’bery can […]

    Continue reading Day 1: My mobile experiences Posted in: Week 11: Mobiles
     

    • mcquaid 5:41 pm on November 14, 2011 | Log in to Reply

      I’m rather curious to see how tablets and “fortified” e-readers like the Fire and Kobo Vox do this year… will Christmas push a shift? I’ve thought about getting one of the above or the tempting (because it looks good AND inexpensive) Le Pan TC 970.

    • David William Price 7:57 pm on November 14, 2011 | Log in to Reply

      In a recent conversation with a major multinational, they talked to me about their efforts with BlackBerries… they were something their employees already had to carry. Rather than focusing on web usage, they tailored their m-learning to the device, creating short learning interventions focused on performance support of their professional team for memory refreshers and updates in taxis and in waiting rooms just prior to meeting with a client.

      In other words, mobiles don’t replace reading devices… they’re for pill-sized content just in time.

      One of the interesting things about MET (and I am coming to this as a complete outsider) is its focus on K12. As an Ed Tech student, I’m coming from the corporate side where increasingly people are expected to work without offices and spend all their time in the field. I find there’s quite a culture clash.

    • ifeoma 9:20 pm on November 14, 2011 | Log in to Reply

      Hi Brenda.
      Thanks for your post. You have addressed one of the constraints of using mobile technology for learning- small screen size. However, there are a lot of benefits of the mobile tech that are highlighted in your post. I agree with David that mobiles are not a replacement for their larger screened counterparts but send bite size content or info just when you need it. On a lighter note, hopefully you have been good this year so Santa will have no choice but to grant your wish Christmas wish of a tablet 🙂
      Ifeoma

      • bcourey 2:58 pm on November 15, 2011 | Log in to Reply

        Yes, I find the small screen size a problem, but when I asked my grandson if he would like a netbook for Christmas, he was very firm that I would be wasting my money – he has an iPod Touch, so why would I make him use such a big device as a netbook! I have heard the same comments from some of our secondary students – they prefer the small screen…maybe it is my old eyes???

    • schiong 9:23 pm on November 14, 2011 | Log in to Reply

      Hi,

      Just curious, why Galaxy and not the other brands/model? 🙂

      • bcourey 2:56 pm on November 15, 2011 | Log in to Reply

        ahhh..the big dilemma…what tablet?? Well, my IT department at work has been “playing” with every model made so far…and I have sat with them for many hours listening to the pros and cons of each device and playing with the screens. For sure I eliminated the iPad first – sorry Apple lovers…but not having Flash is a huge problem for us when all of our Ministry-created videos for PD are Flash, so the iPad would not work for us…so that left all of the Androids:
        -the Asis Transformer was too heavy – bulky feeling
        -the Playbook is intriguing with the small size (fits in my purse!) and I love the resolution – best in the whole group, but seems like the future of it is iffy and I don’t want to buy something that has a unknown future
        -the Sony and HP models are pretty good too, but so far I prefer the screen performance better in the galaxy- just a personal preference. I also was told that next summer, the Galaxy will come in a smaller size as well…good news for me, but not in time for Christmas. If Santa brings me a model other than the Galaxy, I won’t be too upset, but I’m writing my letter early.
        Brenda

  • bcourey 6:06 am on November 12, 2011
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    I am a huge fan of portfolios and used them extensively in my classrooms in both elementary and secondary schools.  So the emergence of eportfolios was a gift – no longer did I have to keep boxes and cabinets filled with artifacts that students were completing and saving in their old-style portfolios.  So student use […]

    Continue reading Final Post: Emerging PBA for the future Posted in: Week 10: Product-Based Assessments
     

    • Doug Smith 9:09 am on November 12, 2011 | Log in to Reply

      Wow, fantastic ideas there Brenda. If a PBA product was designed and incorporated with easy access or affordances for developing and tracking a Personal Learning Network, I imagine that adminstrators across Canada would be extremely interested in using such a tool. Within my own PLN (ie the people I follow on Twitter!), it is obvious that many would jump at the chance to use a web2.0 service that tracks their progress and assessments.

      Thanks for the ideas. Sorry I can’t write much more right now, I have some software that I need to develop 😉

      cheers
      Doug

    • khenry 8:25 pm on November 12, 2011 | Log in to Reply

      Hi Brenda,
      I echo Doug’s sentiments. Fantastic idea! It could also include targets, for example, did they attain targets and if not what were the challenges and/or how did they overcome challenges or why were they not able to overcome challenges. Such information could provide useful for administrative processes and ministry officials who are not in first hand contact with the’ field’.

      Kerry-Ann

    • Everton Walker 12:28 pm on November 13, 2011 | Log in to Reply

      Brenda,

      Great that you came up with this topic. I am currently doing the topic of assessment and evaluation of literacy behaviours with my students and portfolio is featured prominently. However, their knowledge of a portfolio is folders with various artifacts. Since I introduced them to eportfolio, their mindset has changed and they are even now drawn to it more than the folders. They express their love for the convenience and accessibility wherever one goes. They also mentioned how student can share their work with a wider audience and get instant feedback; not only from teachers, but also from parents and peers.

      Everton

  • bcourey 5:07 pm on November 7, 2011
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    This looks like a very interesting topic!  I am quite passionate about the topic of assessment, as I am experiencing first-hand, the difference in product-based assessment vs traditional assessment formats in our MET program.  As I am completing the courses and creating a variety of products, my colleagues in other Masters programs are cramming for […]

    Continue reading My MET Assessment Experience Posted in: Week 10: Product-Based Assessments
     

    • Doug Smith 6:32 pm on November 7, 2011 | Log in to Reply

      Thanks for the post Brenda. I think you hit on some key terms there, when you talk about authenticity, engaging and challenging. As I was coming home from work today, I was reflecting upon some marking I had just completed. I decied to assess a unit in junior science (chemistry) by using a concept map, as opposed to making the students memorize parts of the periodic table. So I feel your pain with regurgitation and hope that we can continue to discover and explore different aspects of product based assessment, and what it means for our ability to offer this to the EVM.

      cheers
      Doug

    • Kristopher 5:51 am on November 8, 2011 | Log in to Reply

      Hi Brenda,

      While reading your post, the word balance was becoming more and more bold in my mind, and low and behold as I continued you came to triangulation. Triangulation is a great was to describe the relationship that different types of learning/assessment must build in a learning environment. I have found that the MET program has had a decent combination of product-based assignments (like this course’s assignment 2), as well a huge value placed on contributions to discussion, and finally an essay or two along the way.

      Thanks for the thoughts,

      Kristopher

    • verenanz 12:11 pm on November 8, 2011 | Log in to Reply

      Hi Brenda,
      I appreciated your links to Bloom’s Taxonomy. Many times PB learning is criticized for not offering “real” learning outcomes. Like you, I enjoy creating project as part of my learning. You mentioned authentic learning, and I think that is such a KEY piece of PBA. Have you checked out the video about PBA using mobiles and authentic learning

      http://edtalks.org/video/tools-learning-mobile-phones-and-authentic-learning-tasks

      I got it from nic peachy’s tech portal….:)
      http://www.scoop.it/t/learning-technology?page=2

      Thank you for your great IPad App site as well! http://appitic.com/ It is phenomenal and it provides some great examples of how to integrate Apps into any class, project or product…..

      Verena:)

      • kstooshnov 9:22 pm on November 9, 2011 | Log in to Reply

        Hi Brenda,

        Thank for mentioning Bloom in your post, and the movement from remembering (or regurgitating) to higher levels of evaluating and creating. I just saw an excellent TED talk, from last year (so it is probably old hat by now), with Sugata Mitra explaining child-driven education where most of the time, he would set up an impossible task for children, not give full instructions, and walk away. In a couple of months, he’d return to find the children had nearly mastered the task set out for them, and continued to seek more challenging work. It seems like they are knocking out the bottom base of Bloom’s Taxomony, and finding ways of applying knowledge on their own. While it seems to be a success story for product-based learning, I find it a bit worrisome that students are less curious about the what’s and how’s, even if they are capable of thinking at the why and why not level.

        Kyle

  • bcourey 6:27 am on November 2, 2011
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    Thank you for including the article in your wiki that discusses the game-changing ability of iPads.  I agree that this is a cool tool that students will enjoy and engagement will likely follow…but I noted 2 comments that tell me that the iPad, as it stands now, will not be as globally accepted as hoped: […]

    Continue reading Game Changer? Posted in: Week 09: iPad Apps
     

    • Jay 8:37 am on November 2, 2011 | Log in to Reply

      Thanks Brenda. The two comments you have highlighted that the iPad as an educational technology device does not fill a need or aim to solve a problem since it cannot replace other “computing or communication devices”. While it offers features and applications that other devices may not, the cost of supplementing computing devices instead of replacing them is too high to be considered a good investment for some.

      What features would Apple have to include in their next model for you, as an administrator, to consider its purchase and see it as a device more able to meet the needs in schools?

    • jenaca 4:06 am on November 3, 2011 | Log in to Reply

      Hi Brenda,
      I am very curious about the second question you posted here.
      “At what point do we have too many devices and choose to buy the one device that combines the features of two? “
      I think that because there are so many different kinds of technologies available, we are all becoming unsure of which “new” device to buy. Right when we think we’ve decided to purchase something, a new and upgraded version comes out on the market.
      Jenaca

      • jenaca 10:27 am on November 3, 2011 | Log in to Reply

        It has become appallingly obvious that our technology has exceeded our humanity. ~Albert Einstein

      • andrea 11:21 am on November 3, 2011 | Log in to Reply

        This is an interesting point, because we want to have devices that do things *well* but we also don’t want to have 10 devices each with only a specialized purpose. For example I’ve heard that the Kindle app on the iPad isn’t as good as Kindle itself, and while the camera in my iPhone is really good it’s not quite as good as my other camera. I wouldn’t trade my iPhone for anything, but it would be nice if the screen was a bit better for reading… You know how it goes!

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