Learning about the Educase initiative was quite intriguing. The number 7 is always considered a perfect number and tend to offer concise information. As such I felt the urge to delve into the key things I should know about organizing files in the cloud. The article was well written addressing each subject in an itemized […]
Continue reading Educause Emerging Technologies Posted in: Week 02: The Edtech Marketplace
WordPress is one of the most popular open-source web applications for publishing. I have used it for my teaching since two years ago and have created 7 blogs, including my MET ePortfolio. “7 Things You Should Know About WORDPRESS” answers the following 7 questions: What is it? How does it work? Who’s doing it? Why […]
Continue reading WORDPRESS as a Blog Posted in: Week 02: The Edtech Marketplace
Deb,
I am a big fan of wordpress and is currently using it for my class blog. It has been very interesting and engaging so far. So far, it is making teaching and learning much easier. Some students have long hours in the face-to-face interactions and as a result are unable to produce at their very best. However, with wordpress, they are now able to rest and participate at a time convenient to them. You can have a look @http://evertonwalker.literacystudiesja.info/
Everton
Hi Everton,
Thank you so much for the link.
I’m also a big fan of WordPress. As I’m currently teaching Math in Tech Immersion Program, I use WordPress as a course blog for my students.
As you mentioned, “it is making teaching and learning much easier”. In addition to that, I’m enjoying teaching through technology as well.
Thank you for sharing your experience.
You can also have a look at my wordpress blogs.
Math 8 Tech class: http://math8techkg.wordpress.com
Please use
Username: kgparents
Password: math8techkg
as it’s marked private.
Deb
BrainPOP is the idea of Dr. Avraham Kadar a pediatrician and immunologist. This venture began as a way for Dr. Kadar to explain difficult medical concepts to children and expanded to various parts of K-13 Curriculum including ESL. BrainPOP includes a variety of movies about a particular topic with interactive quizzes and activities to reinforce […]
Continue reading BrainPOP: Interesting beginnings Posted in: Week 02: The Edtech Marketplace
Hi Tamara,
I was wondering if you had viewed some of the BrainPOP and BrainPOP Jr videos, as there are a number that they offer for free viewing. They are most definitely targeted at K to 10 classes, and serve as useful introductions and reviews for a wide variety of topics, from science to English. We use three or four of them a week in our grade 9/10 classes, and find the pre-made quizzes cover curricular material in a fun, yet adequately challenging way. I must admit to having never used the other resources that are associated with each video, but as they are designed by teachers, I think they could be useful, perhaps at lower grades. Before BrainPOP, I found that othere “educational” videos, such as those made by Bill Nye, were too long to include in 50 minute classes, whereas 3 to 5 minute BrainPOPs are perfect!
Oops, is this more than 2 bits worth? Sorry, I must admit to a passion for BrainPOP!
KJ
Hi Tamara,
I was very excited to see that you chose BrainPOP as your venture. Over the last couple years I have used BrainPOP regularly in my classroom. Either as a primer for a new topic, or just at random to learn something new as a brain warm up. Since the site addresses such a range of topics, I was surprised to learn that its origins come from a medical background. I guess the site really expanded over time.
Interesting research, Tamara!
Hi Tamara,
One of the things resonating throughout this activity for me has been whether or not I can place or see myself as an entrepreneur with a successful venture. In my research, and in some of the others I have read, what stood out is the wealth of and years of experience in CEO/heads of department positions, and in education, research and development that the CEOs/founders bring to the table.
What is heartening in this post is the natural development of a solution to an identified need that is then further developed into a venture. This is more in line with how I see myself and future venture efforts. However, I am cautioned by what seems to be the necessity of strong relationships, boards of advisors and networks to supplement lack of experience, in order for ventures to be successful and garner support, whether consumer and/or investors. The CEOs’ experience et al. really were important in my analysis of if I would buy/invest in the product therefore where does that leave me? What about you? Where do you see or position yourself/your success/needs as an entrepreneur in this milieu?
BTW check your category. It seems you categorized this entry under Week 2: Edutech Marketplace rather than Week 4: Entrepreneur Bootcamp
Kerry-Ann
Hi Tamara,
BrainPOP is an excellent learning technology. I am impressed with where it is now in the market …. It is now used widely in U.S. schools and also offers subscriptions for families and homeschoolers, considering it was designed to explain medical concepts young patients using animation. I wonder if Dr. Avraham Kadar expected that this innovation would be so successful?
Keisha
Just catching the swing of things and catching on slowly– my apologies for dragging on this posting. The eLearning Coach’s eLearning Technology Trends to Watch in 2011 was a very nice, very simple introduction to trends of eLearning as they where when published, but it quickly loses its scoop as it becomes outdated. While my appetite […]
Continue reading The eLearning Coach Posted in: Week 02: The Edtech Marketplace
Kristopher,
You raised a good point: “I was still left a little disappointed that there were not references to specific websites where we could learn more about the trends (recent articles, etc. from which the trends were identified)”.
I also agree with you that these technology trends could just be as effective as printed word, no more than that. We all have different teaching styles so some of these trends will work for us and some won’t. We can only know whether it works or not by trying it first. For that reason, I also wish that they could more specifically describe how each trend works (e.g. recent studies, articles that can support how they have selected these technology trends).
Deb
I agree with you both, I was thinking, “Why are there no websites addressed? Do they not want us to learn more?”
But then I asked myself, if I have to go to the websites (that were not given) then the pitch couldn’t have engaged me enough or given me enough insightful information.
Like you stated Deb, everyone has different learning styles, so this may or may not work for everyone!
Jenaca
As I blearily re-read the instructions for this week’s assignment, I dutifully go back and look at the article names I only glanced at before when reading Section 2.1. Randomly choosing Connie Malamed’s Learning Coach, I felt like I was having a deja vu moment. Wait a sec, I thought to myself, this looks eerily […]
Continue reading Learning Coach Posted in: Week 02: The Edtech Marketplace
Hi MW,
Thanks for your informative and interesting post. I also use Youtube as a search engine but did not know those stats either. Very interesting.
I agree with your comments on Malamed’s site. I also like the fact that there were blogs/comments on questions and reactions to the content and her responses to such. These were not necessarily readily available on some of the other reports and in this current culture of blogging, social interaction/networking/learning/exchange this was a key attribute..
Hi,
I also reviewed this article. While thinking critically about the content, I wasn’t even thinking about the things around it – good call! You are right about the unobtrusive ads. As much as I found the article “light”, I also appreciated the directness of it – being direct and succinct are important when delivering messages online.
-Steve
Educase: 2011 Top 10 IT issues, guidelines to assist in the implementation of distant learning in tertiary educational institutions. In light of the fact that most tertiary institutions in Jamaica and possibly the rest of world are going through a diffcult period, I particularly like “Educause: 2011 Top Ten IT Issues” because it addresses […]
Continue reading Educase: 2011 Top 10 IT issues, guidelines to assist in the implementation of distant learning in tertiary educational institutions. Posted in: Week 02: The Edtech Marketplace
Hello Conroy,
I also looked at Educase report on the Top Ten IT issues for 2011 and found the information useful across levels particularly within an implementation framework. Thank you applying it to a specific context with which we can identify.
The potential for strenghtening e-learning initiatives is indeed clear. I also appreciated the potential for predicting trends/considerations for learning Technologies.
Kerry-Ann
Thank you
I chose to analyze Connie Malamed December 2010 opinion piece “Learning Technology Trends to Watch in 2011.” In the true fashion of judging a book by its cover I chose this particular piece because of the visuals – a conscious choice as I feel I understand and learn better when there are visual cues that […]
Continue reading Coles notes- Learning Tech Trends Posted in: Week 02: The Edtech Marketplace
Dear Tamara,
I literally closed my eyes and clicked on one of the links and I chose the same article. I also didn’t read anyone else’s post but I like whomever called it the “People Magazine” overview. 🙂 I agree with you that the comments were more informative but I liked the layout so will probably go back to the site. When I say I would recommend it, I’m actually thinking of some of the teachers I work with who are still hitting reply all instead of reply sender. Nice post.
Hi Tamara,
I appreciate your multi-perspective approach to this discussion, particulalry the parallels made from your experience on the site to an integrated learning tool ( your language arts example).
Perspective is an interesting thing. I agree that many of the accounts could benefit from further exploration. However, it could also be that Malamed is catering to a specific target audience, perhaps the kind of teachers MW mentioned, or objective, an introduction and brief overview to platform further research. Also, perhaps she could offer services that would garner deeper information. That in and of itself would be a viable venture.
Kerry-Ann
Hi, Tamara.
I had not thought about the language possibilities for AR before you mentioned them. It’s like taking Google Goggles to the next step… what a useful technology-aided ability that would be when traveling! One would just hope that those in charge of translation knew what they were doing and were trustworthy. When they aren’t, we all know what the consequences could be:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G6D1YI-41ao
Like you, I would only recommend it, I think, as a “neat little summary-type” article.
Cheers,
Steve
Hi Tamara,
There is something to be said about the opening comment you made, how visually appealing Malamed’s blog is, and it may be an appeal to Gardner’s spatial intelligence, The phrase “judging a book by its cover” was meant to indicate shallow, snap judgements rather than a more academically-sound analysis of the book itself. Yet now with digital technology, does this old saw hold true? Like rotary phones, analog clocks and television dials, books are slowly being replaced by Web-based content (very slowly, it may be decades before children ask parents “what does dust jacket mean?”). Internet-users need those visual cues to incite their interests, even if it turns out to be the “People Magazine” version of learning technology. How many people are willing to read through a screenful of plain text to gather information? How many of us ETEC 522ers actually read through each edtech marketplace report before posting our responses? While Malamed’s predictions may not be absolutely informative, she has caught the attention of enough of us to continue on with this discussion.
Kyle
Summary The report Educase 2011 Top 10 IT issues is a report on a survey conducted to identify the Top-Ten IT Issues critical for strategic success within educational institutions, 2011, and discusses each issue from the position of IT administrators and IT considerations. However, the information is presented in easy to understand terms for all […]
Continue reading Educase: 2011 Top 10 IT issues: Potential for predictions and trends/considerations for learning technologies Posted in: Week 02: The Edtech Marketplace
Great post and I agree that this is something that many people would benefit from.
I agree, great post!! This is definitely something that many people would benefit from. It is such an interesting site and has so much information!
Introduction I found the Ambient Insight executive summary titled The US market for self-paced eLearning products and services: 2010-2015 forecast and analysis helpful because it defines its scope, reports data according to narrow segments to highlight opportunities, and provides valuable data for tactical and strategic decision-making. The report defines its scope The summary defines its […]
Continue reading Ambient Insight: valuable data for decision-making Posted in: Week 02: The Edtech Marketplace
Thanks for this really thorough and well written review – I’ll be sure to check out this report as it seems to provide the kind of data that I’ll find useful and satisfying. I’m particularly intrigued by the focus on healthcare, as health is an area that, before this course, I found myself wondering if it could be a good area for me to apply my interests in education and technology – particularly international health and service delivery.
Adding my comments to Allie and saying thanks for a very well thought out review. I, too, will have to look at this report a little more closely (preferably with new contacts in or is it just because I’m tired?)
I also have the thought of perhaps forwarding the link to my administrator and IT department 🙂
Thank You David for this informative and detailed post. I particularly appreciated your discussion/ identification of the attributes within each category: educator, technology specialist and ‘venturer’. It actually is a useful means of identifying where we are/would like to be and our specific needs.
I had a brief look at the report, which I will also peruse in further detail later. I am heartened at the forecast and analysis at so many levels and in so many sectors. Thanks again for the link.
Kerry-Ann
It is Useful? I chose to review Connie Malamed’s “Learning Technology Trends to Watch In 2011” list. I found Connie’s list to be incredibly frustrating to read! It was not useful to me as an educator. In most of the trend descriptions, there were always some good information, to be sure, about the status of […]
Continue reading A frustrating read: Connie Malamed’s Trends Posted in: Week 02: The Edtech Marketplace
Hi Jim, I must admit I’m a bit curious to read it now because of your description! Do you think that the trends she suggested do have really meaningful applications (and she just failed to mention them)? Do you think they are the kind of things that will add value for learners and educators, or are they things that *look* good?
Hahahahaha! Your “People Magazine” comment is great although I kinda like the site for what it’s worth. For my overloaded brain at the end of a week of teaching, the article simply confirmed what I already knew but some of the comments and links to other stuff was interesting. However, I do agree that this is a “starter” article for those just becoming immersed in technology.
I think we were on the same wavelength on this one, Jim – we wanted more. At the same time, as I mentioned on someone else’s post, I DID appreciate the succinctness of her list – which is just what it was. A list. Perhaps all Malamed really wanted to do for her general audience (which may be what her readership is like… a general mix) was to list the ten things and not much more. I can’t really fault her for that… do think we’re all expecting too much of her article, as we were directed to be critical?
I’m not saying I loved it… but at least I wasn’t as frustrated as you. Instead of getting frustrated, I mostly just wrote it off as a “meh”-caliber article. Basic.
Cheers,
Steve
Rather than being a People Magazine, I saw it as simply being a short summary for people that are on the lower end of familiarity with technology in education. I would say that it was written accurately without any strong biases: the same cannot be said for many blogs. Finally, I noted that the list has a role to play, since much of this was used in our introduction to the Emerging Markets Poll on this blog. I wonder if Malamed wrote the summaries, or if they were copied from somewhere else?
Hi Jim,
Very well said. I also thought that “something” was missing when I read the article, but couldn’t really pinpoint exactly what it was. I absolutely agree with you that “there was very little said about how teachers would actually use the technologies with students in their instructional designs”. It was also frustrating to me that I couldn’t really figure ways of incorporating these technology “trends” into my classroom.
Deb
Before you publish your posting, please make sure that you select a category (eg. Introductions) as well as assign some meaningful tags (keywords).
Deb Kim 8:11 am on October 22, 2011 Permalink | Log in to Reply
Good analysis!
Cloud-computing sounds very interesting. I should take a look at it as well.
As you said, I agree with you that the number 7 is a reasonable number to answer what we need to know about each technology tool.
Deb