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  • Peggy Lawson 2:01 pm on November 4, 2012
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    Welcome to the EZ DigiBooks Bookstore and Week 10 of our ETEC 522 Ventures Adventure! Grab a comfy chair, a cup of java and put your feet up with your laptop or tablet in hand.The digital books have been neatly lined up and arranged and the bookshelves dusted off for our Grand Opening. You’ll find […]

    Continue reading Welcome to the EZ DigiBooks Bookstore an… Posted in: Week 10:
     

    • visramn 7:55 pm on November 11, 2012 | Log in to Reply

      Thanks for all the interactive activities this week. It is always nice to get a feel for learning tools such as these by having the opportunity to explore and work with them. Thank you.

      Nureen

  • rebeccaharrison 10:42 am on October 21, 2012
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    I found both of these programs to be the most effective for me from the ones I tried,  and I used both of them last week in a school setting. Zoobooks is pretty easy to imagine using in the classroom, and I made up a fun introduction to our work on adjectives, which the kids […]

    Continue reading Zooburst and Aurasma Posted in: Week 07:
     

    • manny 5:59 pm on October 21, 2012 | Log in to Reply

      Hi Rebecca,
      I wanted to share an application of Aurasma that I think would work great for upcoming parent teacher interviews for those of us in the education field. A fellow colleague of mine would have student work posted around his classroom with a QR code attached to the bottom corner. On parent teacher night, parents would be allowed to circle the classroom and by clicking on the QR code, they would be linked to a video narrated by their child showing how they made their project. This method emphasized the process and not the product and was received with a positive reaction from most parents.
      Now that we have AR apps such as Aurasma, there is no reason that the application mentioned above couldn’t occur. Parents spend a lot of time waiting for the teacher and this could allow them to circle the class and see what happens in the classroom. It also empowers the students to take ownership of their work as they know that it will be viewed by their parents and fellow class members. Not only interesting stuff but truly innovative and cutting edge…
      Manny

    • Eva Ziemsen 6:19 pm on October 21, 2012 | Log in to Reply

      Hi Manny,
      I think your idea of having the QR code attached to the student’s work on parent teacher night is a great example of using AR in a very meaningful way. It would lead me to think that all works of art could have this kind of narrative attached to it, for example, in a gallery, it would be great to hear the artist speaking about the work. This is very inspiring. Thank you,
      Eva

    • ETEC522grp8 7:37 am on October 22, 2012 | Log in to Reply

      Manny,

      I love that idea. The only problem is that at our school, many parents wouldn’t have cell phones, let alone smart phones. We struggle often with things like this, as they are great ideas but just increase the have/have not divide that we already see at our school. We are having a serious issue right now with the BYOD policy for these reasons. It makes technology use in our school a little more complicated.
      Rebecca

  • Eva Ziemsen 1:04 pm on November 18, 2012
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      (Interactivity Question)       As an educator, what does or does not appeal to you about virtual worlds?  

    Continue reading Week 12: INTERACTIVITY 1B: VIRTUAL WORLD AS AN OLE Posted in: General, Week 12:
     

    • kstackhouse 11:23 am on November 19, 2012 | Log in to Reply

      As someone that has not participated in Second Life or other virtual worlds I am not that interested in this type of environment. I see the benefits of collaboration, interaction, and user control as being great for certain users. I have found that most of my students (grades10-12) are resistant to using technology beyond FB and messaging. Most of them do not use or want to use Twitter and other features. I have successfully integrated Edmodo but I think virtual space would be a stretch for them. I do realize that many in the gaming world are already comfortable and use these environments. The issues of lag and technology device requirements seem to be big issues for me as well. I have many students that live in rural areas and they do not have access to high-speed connections when at home. This would create a divide between the ones that do have access and those that do not. Of course I could provide them with high-speed access at school but that still limits the amount of time that they would be able to participate.

      Also, I am not sure how to establish environments and resources situated in the virtual environment. How does this work? How much time would be involved in creating resources and collaboration sites? I would want to evaluate this based on something like Bates & Poole (2003) SECTIONS model before moving ahead and implementing this resource for my students.

      Here is a link to a UBC PDF that I was able to find by searching the SECTIONS model: http://www.google.ca/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=3&ved=0CC8QFjAC&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwiki.ubc.ca%2Fimages%2F1%2F19%2FSECTIONS_Framework.pdf&ei=LXiqUN39DbK60AGJ_4E4&usg=AFQjCNFed6LkgRfIPJHeylq2sJR4i1HLGA&cad=rja

      Bates,A.W. & Poole,G. (2003) Effective Teaching With Technology in Higher Education: Foundations For Success. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass Publishers. 79-80

      • sophiabb 3:27 pm on November 19, 2012 | Log in to Reply

        Hi Ken,

        You make some valid points and points that many teachers grapple with. I agree, teachers should assess technology to identify best fit re many factors including student readiness and ease of use. The Bates and Poole tool is an excellent one; one that I have used just recently in developing an evaluation instrument for an online pilot project. I have found this article: Creating a Virtual World Mindset: A Guide for First Time Second Life Teachers (http://www.jofde.ca/index.php/jde/article/view/696/1156) useful in answering some of the questions you posited. I hope that you will continue to explore with us and continue to provide your frank and insightful feedback.
        Sophia

        • kstackhouse 5:15 pm on November 19, 2012 | Log in to Reply

          Thanks for the guide. I am not opposed to the idea of the Virtual World approach…as I mentioned I just don’t know where to begin and how my students would buy into it. I am sure that this guide will answer some of those questions. Thanks for replying.

      • Peggy Lawson 8:12 pm on November 19, 2012 | Log in to Reply

        My thinking is much like yours Ken. While I see a small subset of students (my K12 world), I really don’t see most students as finding virtual worlds such as 2nd Life (which I’ve briefly experienced) a great bonus to learning, or even that engaging once the “cool” factor has worn off. Several of the videos pointed to how virtual worlds promote collaboration, but I would have to see research demonstrating this – having avatars flying around doesn’t offer any obvious benefits to me over other tools such as shared Google docs, wikis, blogs, synchronous webinars, skype. I actually found some of the avatar movement to be more distracting than useful.

        However I can see some cases where virtual simulations would be ideal for learning – flying simulations for pilots and virtual dissections, trying out different musical instruments, and sports are a few easy examples.

        So I see some real value in virtual world, as an everyday classroom experience or for basic collaboration – I’m not yet sold.

        • sophiabb 9:19 pm on November 19, 2012 | Log in to Reply

          Hi Peggy,

          Thanks for sharing what appeals and does not appeal. Yes, virtual simulations are great for demonstrations or modelling.

        • Paula Poodwan 2:28 pm on November 22, 2012 | Log in to Reply

          Hi Peggy,

          Last semester, I had an opportunity to pair up for a peer review in ETEC 532 with a fellow course mate who wrote a final project titled “The Question of an Educational Second Life” Through her experimental research and literature review, Crawford ( 2012) interestingly conclude that based on the articles within her review, it is difficult to consider utilizing Second Life in an educational setting with students below post-secondary age due to the difficulties in using the virtual world and the risks once within the world. Although benefits are visible, the risks seem to overwhelm the authors and researchers and leave those studying who follow to question whether the risks of the virtual world outweigh the chances to improve learning. However she suggested that with successful examples being pointed out and praised for their depth of engagement, social elements, and student-centered learning the desire to create such a dynamic learning environment remains, but, as this literature reveals, that desire must be tempered by caution, support and awareness throughout the process of development and use.

          Personally I think Second Life in education is like any new technology that teachers are scared of; if there are fairly minor problems we’ll see it dropped instantly. I think if we can keep it around for a year or two then we can start taking a few more risks.

          • Peggy Lawson 5:03 pm on November 24, 2012 | Log in to Reply

            Hi Paula –

            When I 1st heard of and tried 2nd Life probably 5 years ago I was pretty excited about the possiblilities. As you said, I thought that like any new technology it would take awhile to take off, but then have great potential. I remember there was a 2nd Life just for Teens – a very good idea. ISTE purchased their own island. But from my own admitedly minor experiences with it, I can’t see it as being any more than having a niche role for the super-geeky among us. I can see myself giving it a real trial – when I have lots of time to play – but I think it’s had enough time to prove itself that for general use – it’s not likely to ever be the next FaceBook.

      • Colin 6:05 pm on November 20, 2012 | Log in to Reply

        I am presently in the process of introducing my own Virtual Worlds into my classrooms and so far the response I have seen has been very positive. Some students who were never engaged suddenly became very engaged at just the idea of using it. I don’t believe this will be the reaction of all students but I do think that a certain group of students do really relate well to a Virtual 3d world representation of the course material. Like with all technology it is a matter of how you use it that makes it effective or not. For me they will be designing their virtual stores for Entrepreneurship class and then designing displays for Marketing class and learning to create 3d objects individually and collaboratively for media arts. These are just a few of the ideas that I am working with at the moment. However I also want to integrate my Moodle together with the Virtual World where they go in the 3d world and answer quizzes, complete assignments, read virtual materials and much more. Eventually I can have a visual representation of most of the course material and they will have an option of going in world or using Moodle. What I like about virtual 3D worlds is that it is really only limited by your imagination and technical abilities.
        I also noticed a growing trend to using these 3D worlds in business and scientific communities as it allows for collaboration of employees from many different locations. Even schools are adopting this idea with Forsyth County Schools which represents 38,000 students offering a 3-D virtual world environment to every classroom teacher.
        http://www.hypergridbusiness.com/2012/03/atlanta-puts-opensim-in-every-classroom/

        • Peggy Lawson 7:06 pm on November 20, 2012 | Log in to Reply

          Hi Colin – I’m interested in how you see virtual worlds enhancing communication over other tools such as skype, wikis, blogs, google docs, Adobe Connect – many of these allow video via webcam and/or screen sharing, synchronous and asynchronous communication. Do you feel that avatars interacting in a virtual world adds something that can’t be equally achieved through these other tools?

          • Colin 9:43 pm on November 20, 2012 | Log in to Reply

            Hi Peggy, yes I absolutely believe that virtual 3D worlds offer more promise than the other solutions you mentioned. I do admit that 3D worlds are still in the infancy stage but I do see this changing over the next 5 – 10 years as it gains more popularity.
            The first key difference is the ability to create accurate simulations.
            “Numerical simulations are playing an increasingly important role in solving complex engineering problems, and have the potential to revolutionize medical decision making and treatment design.” ( https://simtk.org/home/opensim_matlab). This is just one example, you can look at the US department of defense and their use of opensim (similar to Second Life) in training their soldiers or here is another example http://www.hypergridbusiness.com/2012/09/asia-pharma-group-looks-to-protosphere-for-virtual-training/ . Virtual Worlds are being used by some major Fast Food business to train new employees or by nursing programs to train nurses. You can look at Universities that are recruiting students via 3D worlds https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9Ehj9QVP_L8 . I can keep giving more examples and if you are interested you can look at my prezi for the first assignment http://prezi.com/f9v5qdzkoiq4/designing-digitally/ . It is on one specific company in that field but it does give additional videos and even a virtual 3D seminar. The point is that a 3D virtual world allows student to experience replications of the world without actually having to be there. In some cases being there might not be possible (like walking inside a replica of the human body), or unsafe, or just too far to travel (example: replication of the Eiffel Tower).
            Second reason is that a 3D world allows for more people to interact at the same time and that is why they are often used for conferences and other company meetings.

            Third it is more fun and intuitive walking around a Virtual World rather than looking for a command in a program. There is a sense of being able to explore and also having a physical sense of progress as a student goes through completing a course. They are working at integrating Kinect https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tl2gLw-GJws with OpenSim to make it even easier to use.

            Fourth – Online identity is an important part of online learning and Avatars allow for much more customization and expression than what is possible on those other programs.

            Though all of the above is only possible with good content and design and without that I don’t see 3D worlds as a better option.

            Hope this helps clarify my point of view. Thanks Peggy for the question.

            • Peggy Lawson 5:58 am on November 22, 2012

              Thanks Colin. I have no doubt that virtual worlds and simulations are very powerful tools that have many great applications and uses. I was more focused just on the often mentioned benefits such a world has on collaboration. Your 2nd reason, for example – do virtual worlds really allow many people to interact – effectively? – at the same time? Does seeing multiple avatars roaming about really provide a better collaboration? It’s this one small aspect of virtual worlds that seems to be oft-touted that I’m not sure of. It often seems that people simply toss in this benefit of enhanced collaboration without providing any proof or examples. Virtual training is not the same as collaboration. I don’t doubt there are some examples, however.

              Peggy

          • Colin 7:09 pm on November 22, 2012 | Log in to Reply

            Hi Peggy, you bring up a valid point and I think that collaboration has more to do with the learner’s willingness to work with others instead of any kind of program or environment. I saw some research showing that scripted environments where students are made to work together does work better at improving collaboration. From my experience some students are more engaged in a virtual world and as a result they are more willing to collaborate. One article that had some interesting points on this subject is. http://chiproject.googlecode.com/files/sdarticle.pdf . I still would argue that virtual worlds are slightly more effective for some students than the programs you mentioned in promoting collaboration or at least on par.

        • teacherben 7:12 pm on November 20, 2012 | Log in to Reply

          If you are building your own virtual worlds using OpenSim, you can integrate them with Moodle using a project called SLoodle:

          (http://www.sloodle.org/moodle/)

          Your students experience the lessons in the virtual world, but you can grade everything from within Moodle. I never got a chance to test it out because I was running Moodle 2.0 and it wasn’t supported. I just noticed that the new beta version now does so it should be a fun project to try out. Are you blogging about your experience, or documenting it someplace? I am always interested in seeing how other teachers are using vworlds in their classes.

          • Colin 9:53 pm on November 20, 2012 | Log in to Reply

            Hi Ben, yes I am planning on using Sloodle to integrate OpenSim with my Moodle. Right now the server is up and running in the school and I am loading in several free oar’s to get started. I am trying to create or find a school appropriate skin template and install that over the stock picture. Then I will look at importing in inventory and items for each of the students to complete their assignment. This will be a real learning curve but once I feel that is working I will move on to adding more regions and integrate in Sloodle if it proves reliable. If that works then I will be looking at integrating Opensim and Joomla which handles the social media, forums, chats blogs and project management system. This will be a long process I am sure as I need to do most of the work at school as I can’t access it outside the school. I am not running a blog yet as I don’t have the time but I am considering it later.

            • teacherben 11:29 pm on November 20, 2012

              Fantastic project. At my previous school I had a similar, ambitious play to get a Moodle/SLoodle/Joomdle integration going but after too many arguments with the tech managers about server permissions and firewall stuff, the whole thing just sat on the shelf. I left at the end of the year and my current school won’t let me anywhere near the servers. Good luck to you. I would love to hear more about it as you go. Where are you teaching by the way? There aren’t a lot of schools out there will let a maverick teacher do his own thing like this. Good for you for getting them on board.

              Funny about the skin. I remember setting up OpenSim for the first time and the default avatar is a naked woman (who is apparently called ‘Ruth’). Better idea to replace that before you get your kids in there.

            • Colin 10:15 pm on November 21, 2012

              I understand your frustration as I ran into those same problems. I wasn’t allowed anywhere near our school server so I was able to find a computer in our school that was damaged during a break-in and not being used. The damage was to the video port on the back which I didn’t need if I used remote access. I was going to build my own computer out of spare parts at home but I found out I can only use a district computer on the network. With an upgrade to the RAM to allow for Opensim I finally was able to get a working server. Really none of this wouldn’t have been possible if I wasn’t the tech facilitator and I had the help of a fellow staff member who was very knowledgeable about the system. Setting up hosting outside of the school is also not a possibility due to firewall restrictions.
              We installed OpenSim in the Window’s environment and Moodle/Joomla using Xampp. Then I needed to load viewers on the student’s computers. The point is that I needed to come up with my own solution in order to make this happen so I am not surprised that you didn’t have any luck implementing this.
              The biggest problem implementing new technology in the classroom has to be the district itself and their restrictions.
              The courses I teach are Business Education as well as Planning 10 and Media Arts.
              I am in the process of trying to get rid of Ruth for the very reason you mentioned.
              I had one “test” student go in-world today to complete a quick assignment on how to create items in-world. Overall he quickly caught on and he was having a lot of fun creating different items.

        • sophiabb 12:02 am on November 21, 2012 | Log in to Reply

          Hi Colin,

          Like Ben, I think this is a fantastic project. Kudos to you and your school for this. Great combination of OLE tools you are looking to integrate.

      • teacherben 7:07 pm on November 20, 2012 | Log in to Reply

        I hate to be the devil’s advocate here, but you say “as someone who has not participated…you are not that interested…” Perhaps you should give it a try. You may change your mind and see some potential after trying it out for yourself.

        • kstackhouse 6:08 am on November 21, 2012 | Log in to Reply

          You are right. As I mentioned in another reply above, I am not opposed to the idea. I am just not sure where to begin. I am impressed by the work you (and Colin) are putting into it. As you say, if I gain more experience in it I might become more comfortable with the concept of a virtual world as an extension of our classroom. Thanks for the insight on the subject that you have provided.

    • Doug Connery 10:02 pm on November 19, 2012 | Log in to Reply

      I must admit that I have trouble getting my head around how virtual worlds can be used in a post-secondary polytechnic setting. Most of our training and education is hands-on real life based, thus I don’t see how using a virtual world would benefit. I would prefer that the accountant I hire, the carpenter who builds my house, the paramedic who arrives after a 911 call or the chef who prepares my meal at a restaurant has been trained using real life hands-on scenarios rather then trained through virtual worlds. There maybe some benefits to using virtual worlds as a tool while moving from theory to practice, however I am not convinced that cost-benefit is worth it. Nothing beats the EMT practicing in a simulation lab with automated manikins and real people, the student chef preparing food in a program run kitchen and the carpentry students building a house on campus.

      I am also not convinced that students could transfer the skills and knowledge they acquired in a virtual world to the real world as they are hopefully are not transferring the skills and experiences from gaming to reality (car racing, violence and killing for example). I wonder if the norm of the gaming culture as purely fantasy and entertainment could be modified to allow students to take working in a virtual world seriously in an educational setting.

      • sophiabb 12:37 am on November 20, 2012 | Log in to Reply

        Hi Doug,

        I totally get your reservations. From personal experience (many years in a tech/voc organization in Jamaica), hands-on real life based training is great and what we encourage within technical and vocational training/education. I have also seen the positive impact of such 3D programs as AutoCad.

        Sara Lawrence Lightfoot (quoted in Kafai 1995: 314) says that “Learning is at its best when it is deadly serious and very playful at the same time.” Check out what she shares in Serious Play (http://www.yorku.ca/jjenson/4303/readings/gaming/seriousplay.pdf). Also check out Brian Burton’s research findings the impact of virtual learning on student collaboration and knowledge creation (http://www.academia.edu/1658831/The_Use_of_Three_Dimensional_Interface_within_a_Virtual_Learning_Environment_and_the_impact_on_Student_Collaboration_and_Knowledge_Creation).

        Ok, that was a very long link. By the way, like you I prefer the carpenter to is building my house to have real world experience, but is there a place for blending?

      • teacherben 7:23 pm on November 20, 2012 | Log in to Reply

        This video might change your mind. Here is a group of professional architects collaborating on a building project in SecondLife. They are working from real plans.

        https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R7bXu2ozXo0

        Here’s another one:

        https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gtUzvwG7O-w

        I have a friend who does a lot of this sort of work with his high school students. He has done it with a hosted solution on ReactionGrid and on his own server using OpenSim. Students collaborated in real time on building projects. Pretty amazing.

        I did something similar with my students except that we were using OpenWonderland. It doesn’t include the inworld building tools, but anything that you build in Google SketchUp can be dragged and dropped from your desktop directly into your virtual world. I build a full size 3D model of our school and my students made all the fixtures and furniture. They could communicate in real time using audio, text messages and even leave audio recordings for one another (that looked like an old tape recorder that they would leave sitting on the ground.) The cool thing with the audio was that when your two avatars are close to one another, they can hear each other talk, but if you walk away, then your voice trails off.

        • Doug Connery 9:28 pm on November 20, 2012 | Log in to Reply

          Thanks Sophia and Ben for your suggestions. I am still not convinced how these virtual world methods would benefit or could replace the hands-on real world experience that our students currently receive. We are driven by industry demand for skills and training, so unless the graduates will be using these virtual tools in the work place, the cost/benefit is hard to justify.

          However I am open to suggestions of how virtual worlds can help. Below is a link to a video that shows a sampling of what our programs are. Perhaps you could provide me with some suggestions on how virtual worlds could help deliver the training and skills shown in this video.

          https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kSCsZcdOUEo

          Doug.

          • Shaun Pepper 12:43 am on November 21, 2012 | Log in to Reply

            I think this virtual world can be a great way to engage students who are kinaesthetic or visual learners. These students do not want to write down information, they want to get the hands dirty and test out their ideas. This testing and modelling method is becoming more prevalent in 21st century planning with better software and technology rendering programs (google sketchup, autocad etc..). By creating an avatar, like seen in the video, it gives students the impression or visual information that this would be done by people not computers. I agree with Doug it does not replace hands on learning, but I think it can introduce students to working on projects that are far beyond the scale of what could be affordable to do hands-on.

          • adi 11:56 am on November 22, 2012 | Log in to Reply

            Hi Doug,

            I understand what you mean; at first sight it is difficult to imagine how SL could be used to enhance learning, or in a practical way. However, there are some interesting projects out there. I watched the SAIT video; it’s impressive. SAIT looks like a great place to study and very hands on and practical. I can see why so many of your graduates obtain employment so quickly after graduating. You are right that students won’t need to know how to use SL for many of these jobs, but the objective of using SL is not so much about learning to use the tool, but rather using this tool for creating ‘enabling context’ that will lead to learning in context. Some of the examples I found, rather than imply a huge cost, I feel actually allow for an ‘almost authentic’ learning experience at virtually no cost. I once had the chance to teach in a Video and Film school, and I remember that making a short video implied a huge cost (equipment, location permits, transportation of staff etc., meals and more). With SL and Machinima a film student can go through the process of filming something, from making the story board, Call sheet etc. , and then actually filming on SL; like we did for this week’s presentation. Anyways, here are some examples below I hope will help; the SAIT course is on the left, and on the right the link to a SL example.

            1. Environmental Technology – http://secondlife.com/destination/the-frontier-project
            2. Information Technology – http://secondlife.com/destination/capella-next-generation-learning
            3. Architectural Technologies – http://secondlife.com/destination/archi21
            4. New Media Production and Design – http://secondlife.com/destination/depaul-university-college-of-cdm , plus how we used it in our project using Machinama.
            5. Healthcare sector courses – http://secondlife.com/destination/diabetes-guidance-center

      • Pat A Son 1:12 am on November 21, 2012 | Log in to Reply

        Hi Doug,
        A the end of the day virtual worlds are just one option that are available to educators today. As appealing as it may seem it may be applicable to all learning situations and it may even boil down personal preference as far as the selection is concerned. Also
        I do not think that virtual worlds were meant to replace reality in the classroom but to enhance the learning experience. In addition your contribution seem to be limited to the acquisition of motor skills however so your position that transfer is not possible may be justified. For cognitive skills transfer is not only possible but desirable.

        • rebeccaharrison 10:57 pm on November 21, 2012 | Log in to Reply

          I think that the fact that these are “just one option” is critical in this discussion for me. I, too, have serious reservations about using virtual worlds (or the real benefit that can come from them), not to mention my concerns about what other skills could be lost through the use of them. Despite lots of videos and information, I still feel that they are a good strategy for certain situations and certain types of learners, but that they are just one piece, and one piece whose implications we still don’t necessarily understand.

          • Pat A Son 9:10 am on November 22, 2012 | Log in to Reply

            Yes Rebecca we have to be careful with the technology overload that we are faced with or else we can make the wrong decisions when it comes to their use.

      • Doug Connery 8:58 pm on November 23, 2012 | Log in to Reply

        Thanks everyone for your comments and examples; however I am still not convinced. In fact after reading comments in the avatar experience section I am even more of a cynic. We have wonderful hands-on labs, classrooms, reality based simulation labs and real life practicum placements that I don’t see a role for virtual based, especially second life environments. Besides our curriculum for the most part is to full to use something that is not applicable for graduates when they hit the job market. If virtual worlds become main stream in industry and employers start asking for our graduates to have experience in this area, then we will adopt it.

        As virtual environments are still in the early experimental stages of education, most post-secondary’s will probably wait to see what falls out to see which ones will be the flavours of the month and which ones will show promise to stick around before they become mainstream. Take this course and others in the MET program, do you see much virtual world applications occurring here. Perhaps virtual worlds and gaming offer too much play and distractions and not enough focused learning to get the job done. I am probably showing my age here. Besides we can’t all agree on everything; it is more productive for some people to take the opposing view from the majority.

        • Lisa Nevoral 12:13 am on November 26, 2012 | Log in to Reply

          Hey Doug,

          I also don’t know if I am sold on virtual worlds in a classroom. I would have to really immerse myself into one to see if there are any benefits. I think that hands on is very important and in some areas I really don’t see how a virtual world will help. As Patason has mentioned, getting students to grasp abstract ideas in science and math may be one use for virtual worlds.

          It’s always good to have an opposing voice. It give different perspectives and hopefully we learn from that. Your opposition did provide a lot of comments and examples.

          Lisa

    • Pat A Son 3:40 am on November 20, 2012 | Log in to Reply

      As a science teacher and a fan of learning by doing I am really excited by the possibilities virtual worlds can bring to the learning experience.
      For starters science can often be an abstract affair that can be challenging for students to grasp mentally and virtual worlds can provide the only means by which students can visualise and interact with these abstract concepts in an almost realistic manner.
      Then even for those activities and that objects that are possible in the real world the virtual brings the affordances of infinite repetition without using up or destroying a resource and experimentation without exposure to danger thus enabling learner more opportunities for constructing knowledge than in a real world scenario.
      Finally the ‘play’ factor shifts the learning experience from being a tedious task to a pleasurable endeavor therefore serving as a source of motivation for students who are struggling with a difficult problem.
      On the minus side these worlds demand some background knowledge to master and not everyone would be given to them. Also the technology comes with a cost that some would not be able to afford.

      • sophiabb 11:49 pm on November 20, 2012 | Log in to Reply

        Hi Pat A Son,

        I agree, from personal experience, science can be very abstract. Thank you for highlighting some of the educational affordances that virtual worlds present as well as possible constraints.

      • Jonathan 5:15 pm on November 24, 2012 | Log in to Reply

        Patason —

        I’m very intrigued by virtual worlds. I spent some time on Second Life (because of this group.. thanks for the opportunity) and found myself making the connection to Minecraft. Minecraft came up again when I read that you were a Science teacher. I always think about the “process” when I am teaching my primary students. It doesn’t matter how they get there as long as the “journey” is there.

        Joel Levin — “Minecraft Teacher” — has been developing a program to allow teachers to easily teach using the Minecraft program. In his demonstrations he has demonstrated how he has been able to show many different concepts and processes — such as demonstrating how synapses work in the body and chemical reactions occurred.

        I haven’t been so brave as to try these in my own classroom yet as the background knowledge that I currently have on the game isn’t strong enough. I doubt it’d be ever as strong as my students — but to learn in virtual environments provide a perfect disguise for learning.

        These virtual environments make learning fun. They take a step away from the typical and allow students to engage in lessons to reinforce and teach ideas. Even if it is just a novelty factor — the novelty is powerful to use periodically.

        These are all ideas that you mentioned in your post and got me thinking more about pushing through and spending some more time with Minecraft.

        Thanks!

      • Lisa Nevoral 12:07 am on November 26, 2012 | Log in to Reply

        Patason,

        I haven’t played around enough in virtual worlds, but the idea that you bring up about “abstract affair that can be challenging for students to grasp mentally and virtual worlds can provide the only means by which students can visualise and interact with these abstract concepts in an almost realistic manner” does seem like a good option for students to learn this information. As I was immersed in Second Life, I thought that virtual worlds would be good for such things as taking students into a museum in Paris without actually going there.

        I’m not sure if I will incorporate virtual worlds into my lesson plans quite yet, but I am interested to explore them a bit more before saying I never will.

        Lisa

    • avninder 10:45 am on November 20, 2012 | Log in to Reply

      A couple of examples in the videos did spike my interest in using virtual worlds for learning (i.e.: traveling to another country without leaving your desk or being inside of a computer). However I think that this may be accomplished through video simulations without the need for an avatar. I believe avid gamers would love using second life for learning but I doubt others would be willing to learn and use the virtual world in place of traditional learning methods. Another concern I would have in addition to the potentially steep learning curve and cost would be the time that students could waste navigating through the simulations without focussing on learning. When I did play video games, many many years ago I could spend hours in front of the television which is not the best use of time.

      • sophiabb 9:00 pm on November 21, 2012 | Log in to Reply

        Hi Avninder,

        I appreciate your point of view. I believe like you that virtual worlds hold a certain appeal for gamers. I do believe however that it is not only avid gamers who would love using second life for learning. According to statistics provided in March 2007 by Pathfinder Linden, there are over 200 universities or academic institutions already involved in SL (Kelton, 2007). Last week I visited the University of Cambridge’s campus in SL. Universities are now offering courses in SL. The cost of time /steep learning curve can indeed be a barrier.

    • Peggy Lawson 8:10 pm on November 20, 2012 | Log in to Reply

      I can see a real benefit for a virtual world for some students – the shy & misfit students who can be whatever they want to be in a virtual world. Discussion boards, as was discussed in an earlier week, can often allow the quieter students to have a voice that they don’t normally have in a F2F classroom. An avatar in a virtual world can be an even greater liberator for some students.

      • sophiabb 9:05 pm on November 21, 2012 | Log in to Reply

        Great point about the potential benefit of anonymity for students, especially quieter/shy students.

    • joeltremblay 9:02 am on November 21, 2012 | Log in to Reply

      As an educator the idea of virtual worlds can be an extremely treacherous double edged sword with huge benefits and detriments on either side. How many of you know current or former students who stay up too late playing video games and can’t bring themselves to get out of class or work in the morning? How many of us know students who are way more comfortable in virtual worlds and as such don’t spend nearly enough time in the real one? There is definitely a positive draw to them with the opportunities to make the impossible possible. One example is software that I reviewed awhile back that allows the user to do dissections in a virtual space as opposed to having the actual specimens etc. but I think that we as educators need to be aware of the seduction that entertainment software posing as educational can provide. I suppose with this, like most things in life, that we need to take from it what we need and leave it behind when it is no longer of any benefit. Beware the siren song:

      http://insight.kellogg.northwestern.edu/index.php/kellogg/article/beware_the_sirens_song

      • sophiabb 7:36 pm on November 21, 2012 | Log in to Reply

        Hi Joel,

        Virtual worlds can be a double edged sword – many arguments can be/are being posited, for the pros and cons. Yes, we need to ascertain the costs/benefits t and pitfalls to inform our decisions. Interesting turn of phrase “entertainment software posing as educational”. Are they really posing ?

    • jenbarker 12:24 pm on November 21, 2012 | Log in to Reply

      I echo your concerns Joel. One the one hand I bear witness daily to my son who loves playing X-box and wonder how he might react to learning in a virtual world. My initial thoughts are that he would love it, be completely engaged and motivated to learn. But then I begin to wonder if he might get addicted. Would learning in this particular way have an effect on his brain? I think I would want to examine this area more before I would advocate for it. I like the appeal of the creative, collaborative, engaging, personalized, active nature of the virtual environments. I wonder though, similar to other classmates comments how much time would be involved in creating learning in this way. Speaking from experience, elementary teachers never have enough time in their day and from an outsider it appears like it would take a great deal of time to become proficient with the terminology to feel at ease to navigate and teach from this environment. I am not opposed to virtual learning environments and think they deserve merit but for me personally I plan to wait until they are further developed and researched before I engage with them.

      • Doug Connery 9:28 pm on November 21, 2012 | Log in to Reply

        Jen and Joel I echo your concerns about virtual worlds: addiction, distraction, entertainment posed as educational, too much time in the virtual vs real world…… We also need to consider that learning is not always fun, sometimes it is a lot of hard work and to be proficient in some areas, you need to practice, practice and practice. This should be done in the real world because in the end, you need to apply this knowledge and these skills in the real world.

        We have identified how virtual worlds are used for entertainment and we are now exploring how they can be used in education. However we also need to examine how much virtual worlds are used in the workplace and if they are not used in the workplace then I would reduce the value of them in education. I don’t know of too many employers that operate in the virtual world. Maybe I am being too practical here.

        So I see where virtual worlds can have a place in education, however we really need to think about them as one tool in a large toolbox, and only use them where it is beneficial and not because it is fun for the students or the teacher.

      • sophiabb 9:32 pm on November 21, 2012 | Log in to Reply

        Appreciate your practical point of view Doug. Great discussion.

      • sophiabb 9:55 pm on November 21, 2012 | Log in to Reply

        Hi Jen,

        Interesting question about the impact of this mode of learning on the brain. You’ve got me thinking about this. I did a quick Google and found this article on Brain Development in a Hyper-Tech World (https://www.dana.org/media/detail.aspx?id=13126).

        • jenbarker 9:28 pm on November 22, 2012 | Log in to Reply

          Sophia,

          First off, thank you so much for searching for this article and bringing it back to the group. When I first made my post I had wanted to search and quote and article on the topic but didn’t have time.

          So it would appear that data on effects on the brain is still quite sparse. But the researchers did suggestion caution. Below are a couple of quotes that as a mother of two technologically connected kids, I find worrisome.

          “Fast is not equated with deliberation. So I think they can produce a tendency toward shallow thinking. It’s not going to turn off the brain to thinking deeply and thoughtfully about things, but it is going to make that a little bit more difficult to do.”

          Several independent research groups have reported evidence that, at the level of neural systems, multitasking actually entails rapid switching from one task to another. Each switch exacts a toll, at least doubling the time it takes to complete a task and decreasing both the level of performance and the ability to recall what you were doing later on. Study after study has found that multitasking degrades the quality of learning.

          Friedlander also wonders if over-reliance on electronic interactions, which are so often marked by unnatural delays, even minute ones as in cell-phone conversations, might wire developing brains to a different baseline set-point for temporal processing–how time is interpreted.

          “We don’t really know how that will affect kids or if it will have long-term effects, but I think it supports the notion that one needs to be careful to not become totally immersed in the cyber world, because it may be a little more awkward interacting with real living people in real situations where those timing delays are somewhat different,” Freidlander said.

    • Mike Rae 7:17 pm on November 21, 2012 | Log in to Reply

      Interesting reading about the activities being attempted in classes using virtual worlds. I, like Ken, find it hard to picture myself teaching this way, but one day, you never know. I have my reservations a teacher I just met at my new school told me that he spends more time in second life than his real one, he was saying it kinda jokingly, but it freaked me out a little bit.

      I agree that it could give students that are reserved in class an opportunity to come out of their shell in a virtual world, which could be very beneficial to them. It could, however, turn off students that don’t have the interest, knowledge or skill to be successful in a virtual world.

      I think there is opportunity for students who are not in the same geographical space to engage with each other and this is important given the growth of virtual schools education.

      MIKE

      • sophiabb 9:21 pm on November 21, 2012 | Log in to Reply

        Hi Mike,

        I have heard of people who mortgage their homes in the real world to purchase homes in SL. Now those are true residents.

        I am not encouraging students to become residents; so I agree with many of the posts about being cautious. Virtual worlds do provide an opportunity to engage with each other. My group mates and I met many times in SL to discuss our project; we are all in different time zones.

    • manny 8:49 pm on November 21, 2012 | Log in to Reply

      Virtual worlds of course have many pro’s and con’s as was mentioned in the Posey et. Al article. Most of the disadvantages seemed to be on the professor/teacher end as it is not always easy to adapt material for online environments. In a virtual world, the problem of synchronism can also be a problem. For a truly collaborative experience, one would think that participants have to be online at around the same time. Sloodle seems to have addressed this problem by allowing students to navigate their virtual environment while completing individual tasks assigned by their teacher. Another downside is the lack of face-to-face interaction that is essential in certain disciplines. For example, music courses require immediate teacher feedback and scaffolding for students to advance their skills.

      On the other hand, there are many pro’s to virtual worlds and simply put, they are just more fun. The anonymity of avatars allows those students who usually wouldn’t speak up in a class to voice their opinion. Furthermore, the game play aspect that virtual worlds afford capitalizes on a playing field that students are already familiar with.

      There was a line in one of the videos in which the speaker stated that the distinction between gaming and virtual worlds is getting blurred. I personally think that this is a good thing as there is no doubt that gaming is a HUGE INDUSTRY worldwide. To put it into context, a game called Call of Duty, Black Ops 2; just came out two weeks ago and broke a record in first day sales of over 500 million dollars. My students came in to class and this game was all they could talk about, many of them hadn’t slept in days. I wondered how neat it would be if we could harness this same energy in education and have students playing while learning at the same time. I have provided a link below that shows some mind-blowing stats on this phenomenon.

      http://beta.fool.com/iamgreatness/2012/06/15/profit-call-duty-black-ops-2-and-activision-blizza/5762/

      • sophiabb 9:27 pm on November 21, 2012 | Log in to Reply

        Hi Manny,

        Harnessing the power of play for serious/educational ‘play’ would be neat. Thanks for link. Those stats are mind-blowing.

    • pcollins 11:59 am on November 22, 2012 | Log in to Reply

      Virtual World Dangers….
      Okay, as a bit of a tech geek and a member of a MMOG household I get pretty fired up about how great it would be to integrate a virtual world into my f-f classroom. Just reading some of the advances many of you are making in this arena is enough to get me slightly woozy at how it’s going to play out. Coolness factor aside – I can’t help but feel that their are so many “teachable moments” available from helping students to become digital citizens and learning about being involved in this context: gaming or educationally.

      But then I start to go to the dark side

      And think about the issues that are emerging with youth right now and cyberbullying….gaming addictions…over active peer networks….digital marginalizations & divides etc..etc.. I really need to ask myself, not if I am ready and willing, but are the students that I work with ready and willing. And how would the parents and the school boards react to such changes? And should I incorporate their feedback?

      I have recently come from a very reserved technological district. And I think that it’s made me hyperaware of some of the issues that may arise given a virtual world teaching concept. For example, how would I instill digital citizenship in the students that I teach? Would this be something that I had to introduce and moderate, on top of designing the VW classroom and implementing the curriculum?

      As impressed as I am by what I see from everyone else’s adventure into this arena, and as excitied as I would be to get involved as a part of a team, I do find it hard to imagine effectively creating such a venue as a lone-wolf in a big system.

      PC

      • sophiabb 9:35 pm on November 22, 2012 | Log in to Reply

        Hi PC,

        Thanks for your contribution. Yes, going it alone can be a daunting task. How about test driving by incorporating a small, well defined/structured activity?

        • pcollins 11:32 am on November 23, 2012 | Log in to Reply

          That’s a fabulous idea – I probably tend to get ahead of myself because I can see the merit of really going all the way with incorporating VLC’s. Baby steps right?

    • tomwhyte1 12:11 pm on November 22, 2012 | Log in to Reply

      As a reflect on the idea of a virtualized component within my classroom and my current thinking on education, I truly believe that this tool has its use. It is not the answer, nor the solution, but another method to meet some students where they are at. For just like with all other tools, it is not a one size fits all, and this is where I have some concerns (which I think are resolvable, but still need to be in for the for front of our thinking).

      – What students, type of students, learning styles would work best within a virtual learning environment?
      – What structures would I have to put in place within my classroom, for this approach to be effectively implemented for those students? And what might the other students be doing, while those students are within the virtual world?
      – What types of activities/challenges work best in this environment?
      – What level of technology is needed, does my IT department support this?
      – How much time will need to be invested, and does the investment provide a sufficient payout at the end?

      Thoughts?

    • visramn 7:31 pm on November 22, 2012 | Log in to Reply

      Virtual world

      Pros:

      -Learning becomes more flexible

      -Learners are more confident and have time to process their thoughts before sharing them

      -Learners have multiple ways in which they can interact with their peers and teachers

      -Build in tools such as calender, reminders, task list, help with accountability

      – Feedback procedure is more efficient

      -Everyone has a voice (less domination of conversation or of students being lost int he crowd)

      -Teachers can track progress

      -Resources that are created can be reused

      -Content can be more visual and auditory. Hence, more learning needs and styles can be accommodated

      -More potential for differentiation

      -Students can relate to the online learning environment because it is similar to other social interfaces they use such as facebook

      Cons:

      – Face-to- face interactions are lacking

      -Conversations lack emotion

      – Teachers have to monitor everything posted carefully to ensure their is nothing inappropriate shared

      -Students lose out on tactile interactions

      -Some students may be distracted by other non-educational capabilities on their laptops or tablets

      -Written comments can be misunderstood or taken out of content

      -Students may be tempted to use the internet and not their own ideas due the easy access they have at their fingertips

      -Students who lack technological background may struggle with navigating through the OLE

      -Devices to access the OLE may be limited

      -Some students may be left out because they do not own their own device or some may have better devices than others

      I am sure I missed some. Feel free to add to my list.

      Nureen

    • Scott 1:24 pm on November 23, 2012 | Log in to Reply

      I am certainly intrigued by the concept of virtual learning using tools like Sloodle, however like a number of my colleagues, I’m not certain if I’m ready, or if my school is ready, for this level of change.

      The opportunities for increased ‘engagement’, (Tom’s favorite term!) seem profound, but engagement does not always equate to learning (as I’m sure Tom would rightly be quick to point out as well). Based only on the video samples provided and without trying any of these environments myself, the curriculum being presented looked like print documents/slides hung on virtual billboards or white boards. While this is novel and visually impactful, at the end of the day, it’s still simply a document or a video. I’m reminded of teachers who just scan a document and display it on a Smartboard and then claim they are technologically savvy – when they could really just stick with an overhead machine. In short, the curriculum design required to make these environments effective will be essential and likely time consuming to produce.

      For online learning, such as our MET program, being offered by higher education instutions with appropriate budgets for technology and curriculum design, I can see these virtual environments being highly applicable. For myself at the secondary level, my guess is we will have some way to go before we are ready to venture into these environments. For example, the network infrastructure at my school has difficulty some days just streaming a simple YouTube video!

      Then there is the concern around virtual classroom management, including teachers being able to monitor students virtual interactions and cyberbullying. Just today, Mashable published a story around this very issue: http://mashable.com/2012/11/23/virtual-lessons-real-world/. On the upside, the article highlights the opportunities adults will have in elementary and secondary education, to teach students about digital citizenship and appropriate online behaviour. “These worlds are truly THEIR worlds –- and the good news is that the lessons learned online can, and should, be applied in the real world… Here’s a news flash: your child is most likely going to online places he or she shouldn’t… don’t assume that because these situations happen in 2D candy colored worlds created out of code that they don’t have the same implications for a child’s social maturation and emotional health. Instead, it’s important to treat the virtual world play as an opportunity to discuss and hash out issues that can easily translate into their real life.”

      Bottom line for me; virtual OLEs seem intriguing, but there are many questions which will need to be addressed before I would implement one in my classroom.

      • sophiabb 2:27 pm on November 24, 2012 | Log in to Reply

        Hi Scot,

        Excellent points from both points of view. I agree, before we implement any learning technology, including virtual OLES that we should do our ascertain best fit for our students/learning environments.

    • Ranvir 3:47 pm on November 23, 2012 | Log in to Reply

      Very interesting discussion indeed, one that I have been a part of for the last 2 years or so. To provide some context from my part of the world, medical schools have been exploring virtual worlds such as Second Life for few years in order to provide real life clinical experience to medical students where they can ‘practice’ clinical diagnosis in a ‘safe environment’. It is a fantastic concept and medical many schools such as St. George (London) have been able to make sophisticated virtual patients. However, the truth of the matter is that it is still TBD whether and how much do these simulation environments contribute to learning vis a vis a low-tech approach that aims to solve the problem with less resources and time?

      I agree with Scott that further research is required to determine the cognitive impact and contribution to attainment of learning objectives before one can plan a potential implementation. Recently, I was speaking at a Game Based Learning session we organized at UBC and one of the questions that was raised by a faculty member was exactly this – “Do you have any research information that supports that game based learning contributes to superior learning and achievement of learning competencies? The answer unfortunately is no, there isn’t any concrete evidence available although there is information that GBL contributes to greater collaboration and richer learning experience.

      Thus, I echo what Scott mentioned in the bottom line statement.

      Thoughts on the contrary?

    • jhodi 5:19 pm on November 23, 2012 | Log in to Reply

      Virtual worlds allow students to immerse their learning in an online learning environment that provides them with potentially life-like designs. Virtual worlds can be intuitive for students and encourage students to interact online as they would in person. However, students can also be creative and create their own avatar representative of what they want to be or something totally different that what they can be in real life (ie. have wings). Students can feel a connection to their avatar and form online collaborative relationships with peers that they may or may not interact with in person. However, this also can provide students with a ‘screen’ of sorts that the teacher must monitor to ensure that students are behaving respectfully. The other major negative could be the reliance on modern technologies that can support virtual worlds and interactions at a quick rate.

    • jameschen 2:16 am on November 25, 2012 | Log in to Reply

      As an educator, one of the things that make me want to embrace the adoption of learning in a virtual environment is the chance to help students see how the rules applied in reality also apply to virtual environments. Many students are unable to make this connection, which results in kids becoming cyberbullies or victims of cyberbullying. A sad example of this the suicide of Amanda Todd.

      Our students are establishing themselves online, mostly without the guidance and support of their parents and teachers. I believe that with parental involvement and teacher guidance, virtual learning environments can help students become more conscious about how their actions online have real world consequences. Only when students make the connection can tragedies be avoided.

      James

  • Scott 5:17 pm on October 21, 2012
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    Tags: , , layar, , ,   

    As part of my activities this week to better understand augmented reality (AR) concepts, I used the Layar platform to create a simple AR tour of one of the audio recording rooms in my classroom. While Layar is intended as a tool for integrating AR in print magazines, I found the free iOS app to […]

    Continue reading As part of my activities this week to be… Posted in: Week 07:
     

    • manny 5:47 pm on October 21, 2012 | Log in to Reply

      Hi Scott,
      Thanks for sharing your demonstration of the layer app. As i have been playing around with the different types of AR apps, I found that they can really be beneficial for hands on learning activities. For instance, when I run a science lab, I usually have multiple stations set up and i’m constantly running around and providing instructions for the students on how to progress through the activities. 99% of the time is spent helping them get through the stations therefore leaving minimal time for further inquiry. I am hoping that I can perhaps set up mini tutorials for each station that students can simply point and play. This technology could also be used in P.E. class in which students can point to a specific workout machine and receive instruction on how to use it and what muscles it emphasizes.
      I agree with the novelty effect that its implementation produces and think it is a great method of hooking students into a lesson.

  • manny 6:18 pm on October 21, 2012
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    Tags: ,   

    Hi All, I have compiled the Poll results from our inter-activities section of our project home page. There were 16 respondents for each question and we would like to thank you for your participation. 1) How would you rate your knowledge of AR before this presentation? a) Expert – 0% b) Good – 6.3% c) […]

    Continue reading Augmented Reality Poll Results Posted in: Week 07:
     

  • Eva Ziemsen 6:30 pm on October 21, 2012
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    As a second experiment with AR, I downloaded and used Aurasma. I did not take it very far in terms of this particular experiment, as I only tried it in my apt and on used the ‘apple’ of my computer as backgrounds. It was very magical to see the first instance of the playback upon […]

    Continue reading Aurasma Posted in: Week 07:
     

  • Eva Ziemsen 1:06 pm on November 18, 2012
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      (ADVANCED EXERCISE)   Post your journal entry about your experience exploring Second Life here and any ideas about how this landscape may lend itself to teaching, now or in the future. If you are a teacher, please give specific examples of how you would consider incorporating SL into your curriculum.  

    Continue reading Week 12: INTERACTIVITY 2B: EXPLORING SECOND LIFE Posted in: General, Week 12:
     

    • kstackhouse 9:25 am on November 20, 2012 | Log in to Reply

      I spent some time walking, running, flying, driving, and teleporting around SL. I even made a couple of friends. I was pleased with the ease of navigating and moving around…although I didn’t figure out how to dance at one of the welcome centres. I found that by using the top picks for destinations I was able to see some interesting places. I enjoyed going into the art gallery and actually going into one of the paintings. It was interesting to see on the wall my username as Artist in Residence. (I have never held that title before 🙂 ).

      While moving around and seeing how much detail has been added to some landmarks and the various museums available I could see using this as a makeshift field trip option. I will not be taking my students to The Globe in real life, but allowing them to explore the stage and wander around would be interesting. I am still a little unsure of how I would set this up. I could see some issues related to content, students being approached by other users, and maintaining a sense of control that I would want to ensure that my students were safe and protected. Are there ways to do this?

      • teacherben 6:46 pm on November 22, 2012 | Log in to Reply

        There are quite a few places in SecondLife that have replicas of monuments in there that you can use for a virtual field trip. Here are some links to a couple museums and things:

        https://sites.google.com/site/secondlifeu/field-trip-assignment

        Just Google it and you will see more. There is also an ‘international schools island’ that I think is still active where you can meet teachers and students and find out more.

        On a different note, I once write a research paper on social presence theory and non-verbal cues in 3D virtual worlds. I got a lot of good stuff from a paper called ‘A microethnographic analysis of non-verbal cues in Second Life. The author just teleported to random locations in Second Life and would observe people’s behaviour. Interestingly enough, while most of the built-in gestures were ignored by more sophisticated users, positional or proxemic cues were pretty much the same as in real life. So, for example, two people (avatars) might be talking to one another with bodies slightly out-turned to encourage others to come in and join the conversation. Others might be closed, turned away to block others from joining in the conversation. Incidentally, this area of research is called ‘proxemics’ and it’s pretty interesting. Here’s the microethnography paper:

        http://gradworks.umi.com/33/11/3311458.html

    • Eva Ziemsen 2:34 pm on November 20, 2012 | Log in to Reply

      Thank you for your very thoughtful (and funny) response. I’m glad you had the chance to truly experience SL. I also saw your avatar picture (and your CAR!), which were great.

      Second Life used to provide Teen Second Life, which was for certain age groups, however, it seems this no longer exists.
      http://www.commonsensemedia.org/website-reviews/second-life

      However, you can buy or rent land that is for your class only. In other words, other users would not have access to this area. I completely understand that you would hesitate setting this up if you thought they would be exposed to anyone out there. Believe me, I have seen some scantly dressed avatars and would not feel comfortable letting anyone (of any age in a class) see.

      Furthermore, SL has a classification system:

      “Land in SL is marked either general or moderate or adult. Those ratings are something like the ratings used by the movie and television industries to denote the age-appropriateness of behavior, language and creations.”
      Please read more here:
      http://www.uncp.edu/home/acurtis/NewMedia/SecondLife/PGvsMatureSL.html

      For example (as stated on the website above),

      “General areas are free from sexually explicit language or behavior, swearing and other forms of aggressive language, violent behavior and imagery, and horrific materials.

      General regions are areas where you’re free to say and do things that you would feel comfortable doing in front of your grandmother or a grade school class.

      There are thousands of general areas in Second Life because adults often seek an experience free of moderate or adult content.

      A region of Second Life may be general if it does not have content or activity that’s sexually explicit, violent or depicts nudity. Sexually-oriented objects may not be located or sold in general regions. ”

      http://www.uncp.edu/home/acurtis/NewMedia/SecondLife/PGvsMatureSL.html

      • kstackhouse 6:01 am on November 21, 2012 | Log in to Reply

        Thanks for the reply. I was not aware that you good buy “land” or space for your classroom. Are users then invited in once it is established? I did read a notice when I entered one of the rooms for new SL members. It posted a general disclaimer about what type of behaviour and dress was expected in that area.

    • Eva Ziemsen 10:08 am on November 21, 2012 | Log in to Reply

      Yes, you provide invitations. Some areas will simply not allow you, if there are those types of restrictions.

    • jenbarker 1:15 pm on November 21, 2012 | Log in to Reply

      Eva – I am pleased to hear that you can limit access to areas for students. As an elementary school teacher those were my initial thoughts. I found the avatar choices to be somewhat sexual in nature. They reminded me of Barbie dolls with tiny waists, large chests, and long hair. I had hoped to be able to shorten my avatar’s hair but was unable to make this work. I did spend some time walking around and found this relatively easy to do but unlike Ken who found the space easy to use, I found myself quite confused and unsure of where I was and what I was supposed to do while in that space. This was a real turn off for me. I am an A-type personality who likes to know everything up front. I think I may have enjoyed this experience better had I watched the video on how to navigate in the space. I know that some students prefer to learn through exploring but I am not that type of learner. Given that when I teach in the classroom, I teach students under age seven, I don’t see myself incorporating this into my practice. Thinking of older students, I like Ken’s suggestion to use the program for a virtual classroom. I also think the program could be used to let students play and then use their experiences to spark a digital citizenship discussion. The topic of the freedom of anonymity could be a really interesting discussion.

      • jhodi 5:54 pm on November 23, 2012 | Log in to Reply

        This is how I felt initially too. The avatar that I chose in the initial step kept flicking her hair are moving around in a very sexual nature. As a high school teacher, I feel that young teenage girls are already in a stage where they are trying to figure these things out for themselves, and perhaps they do not need this as a role model. It seemed like all of the initial avatars were very beautiful and skinny. This does encourage students to filter information and things they find on the Internet, but not something that I would necessarily love to deal with as a classroom teacher. It could potentially distract from the learning process as teenagers love to debate both sides of topics such as these.

    • manny 11:39 pm on November 21, 2012 | Log in to Reply

      Just piggy backing on the current discussion…

      I also found navigating around pretty straight forward. However, as I teleported around different places, the main thought going through my head was, “ok, this is cool, what do I do now?” Overall it was fun and engaging but I can’t see how I could use second life in its current state in my practice. If you are able to purchase separate rooms with restricted access, it may be possible to structure it in such a way that provides clarity and fluidity for student use. The question then becomes, how much time do we want to invest in the design phase of integrating this technology.

      • Eva Ziemsen 12:15 am on November 22, 2012 | Log in to Reply

        Hi Manny,

        I think you are right, it is worth asking about how long it would take to design spaces. From our research of what others have done in SL and educuation, there is a significant time committment required for this type of work.

        As for getting lost on your own after a while, it is true, it is critical to have a goal in SL for educational purposes. From our own learning experience as a group, SL was MUCH better to use when we were all together in a group. It was as if we met on campus and finally saw each other and could interact in real-time. It seemed much more gratifying than skype. In our case, we were collaborating on making a virtual film. However, if our teacher had instructed us to view different stations on the campus and discuss in Spanish (as one of the space was a Spanish course SIM), it would also have been very interesting and appropriate to learning Spanish. We wanted to create a time where people could all meet in the class, but decided against it, as we were afraid that the complexity of learning this in one week would work against the success.

    • Eva Ziemsen 11:51 pm on November 21, 2012 | Log in to Reply

      Hi Jen, thanks for your reply and sharing your thoughts about using this with a younger audience. I can very much understand some of your reservations. A few things to keep in mind are, that it takes time to get used to SL. When I first used SL a few years ago, I was so frustrated that I stopped using it for a few years! Second, you can curate a highly structured experience for students within a space in SL. Did you get a chance to see the video of Sloodle? In no way are we suggesting that this would be easy to implement or even appropriate for all age groups, (likely better for more mature students), but from our research we felt that there were many professors doing some amazing work in SL to create rich experiences. I would say, similar to what one of the nursing students said in our Duke University video said, going to campus is still her #1 way to interact, but SL is the next best option. Other videos also make the case that one should use SL for things that are impossible in real life.

      As for the look of your avatar – I do think you can completely change the look of your hair to shorter. Since you can have an avatar that is not even in a human form, rather in animal forms, I think you could eliminate the sexualized element of the avatars. if you noticed, our avatars in our intro video were dressed somewhat professionally. For example, Adriana’s avatar was wearing a blazer. In the Duke University video it also depicts the professor in a professional outfit. It is just a matter of customizing the avatar. I do agree, that the initial options are somewhat Barbie-like.

      It is important to note that SL, as your feedback indicates, is used by a wide range of users, and perhaps a greater ‘protection’ of educational areas would be important in the evolution of education in SL.

      Thanks for trying, despite the difficulties and also for sharing your thoughts.

    • tomwhyte1 2:42 pm on November 22, 2012 | Log in to Reply

      As I have explored Second Life in the past for my personal and potential classroom learning, I always struggled with where the technology was, and where our thinking the technology could take us.

      I agree with others, that the potential for this environment is huge – be it science experiments – doing that which safety regulations no longer allow us to do, or are physically impossible, shrink down to the size cells or molecules, or travel the universe. In History/Social Studies – visit historic sites in their prime, or partake in famous battles, etc…

      And because of these thoughts, I was reminded of the following book:

      http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ready_Player_One

      A reality where education is facilitated through a virtual environment, where education can happen regardless of budget concerns, or even safety. Where the technology facilitates any pedagogy, not limits it.

      For me, when this day occurs, we will have truly created a virtual open learning environment, that could meet the needs of each kid, providing extensions and remedial work as necessary, quickly and easily.

      Thoughts?

    • Eva Ziemsen 11:01 pm on November 22, 2012 | Log in to Reply

      Thank you, Tom, for your visionary response. I get the sense from your response that you see what virtual reality can bring to education. I like your descriptions of shrinking down to cell size. I know that this would impact scientific learning in a revolutionary way.

      Thank you also for the book reference. I have not read it, but now I will. I read the synopsis and it is very much related to this topic. Perhaps how Blandrunner is realted to AI.

      I am glad you bring up budget, as this is truly one of the most limiting factors in education these days. Furthermore, the physical boundaries that exist will be elimited to some degree. For example, my thesis work will research how we can teach film production online. This would normally be unheard of, however, through the process of Machinima (filming in Second Life), we can offer almost all lessons related to filmmaking, online for anyone at a distance, and for a fraction of the cost (essentially, almost free compared to thousands of dollars in the traditional form). There are of course cons to every new technology (such as access, broadband, risks of VR, etc), but I believe the potential of virtual worlds in the context of education far outweight the drawbacks.

      I am interested in your last statement, about providing remedial work. This reminds me of the NYC school (school of one?) that we were introduced to a few weeks ago. Are you perhaps saying that whatever virtual schooling we conduct can be structured in a similar way?

      Thansk for your excitment.

      • frank 11:45 pm on November 23, 2012 | Log in to Reply

        Hi Eva,

        It’s been fun creating an Avatar and playing around in Second Life.

        It might still be too early for me to speak of the learning potential of this OLE as the Noob that I am to SL. I agree with Tom and others that it shows promise for Research and other creative projects.
        So far however, I do not see how it provides a significant advantage over something like Moodle on its own and other MOOCs projects. I’ve looked at the Sloodle presentation online for example, and there seem some interesting possibilities in scaffolded learning, role-play, and co-creation. But these also come with significant time commitments to this environment, and whether and how much there is to take away from the ultimate experience – anecdotes of meeting the love of your life on SL etc, not withstanding – remains to be seen. Lmk if you have any thoughts and cheers!

    • visramn 1:21 am on November 23, 2012 | Log in to Reply

      I actually had a pretty hard time with this activity. Setting up my account and choosing and initial Avatar was fine but once I got into Second Life, I had lots of issues. It took me a very long time to change my avatar because the loading times were very slow. I was getting purple and pink shadow that were blocking out most of my screen. I tried teleporting to different areas but the shadows would not go away and this made it difficult for me to see what was in my surrounding.

      While watching all the videos this week I started warming up to this type of virtual learning because I began to think about all the possibilities. I really liked that students could actually visit places and experience what they were like rather than just reading about them or seeing pictures. However, I have to say that there would be a lot of frustration and loss of interest if my students had to go through the same issues as I did.
      Overall, this was an interesting experience and I really did learn a lot. I am sure it will get easier for me with more exploration and I may not have the shadows if I try using a different device.

      I think I would use the exploration capabilities of this tool to help my Social Studies class to gain an in depth understanding of places we are studying. This way they can actually immerse themselves in the surrounds, artifacts and culture of the place they are studying.

      Nureen

    • Eva Ziemsen 9:42 pm on November 23, 2012 | Log in to Reply

      Hi Nureen,

      Thanks for your posting. As for the slow times of loading, this is a common issue with SL. It simply requires a fast connection and there is little way around it.

      I’m glad, despite the issues, you were able to see the potential of SL. I think, as many have experienced technical issues, SL requires a very extensive introduction by any professor. However, once you get the hang of it, the possibilities are endless. I like your idea of using SL for a social studies lessons.It is important to remember that SL is for 18+ at this point. However, you could curate a tour and even have your own spaces that are limited, where other avatars (uninvited) cannot enter. Once you have this set up, it would be a very engaging way to navigate spaces that you are referring to in your class (even if it is you at the front of the class or allow other students to take over).

      Thanks for your point of view.

    • lullings 2:20 pm on November 25, 2012 | Log in to Reply

      Exploring second life is not natural with the mouse keyboard functionality – but then I saw the suggestion of the 3D mouse and that has opened up a whole new world for me. I would definitely think that using that interaction would be more natural and become almost instinctive.
      At 299 dollars Santa would want to be really nice this year. Fingers crossed

  • visramn 9:06 pm on October 21, 2012
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    Tags: ,   

    Bringing week seven to a close Group seven would like to thank all of you for taking part in the discussions and activities this week. We hope this week has allowed for you to enhance you understanding of Augmented Reality and has introduced you to some new educational tools. We appreciate your active participation and […]

    Continue reading Bringing Week Seven to a Close Posted in: Announcements, General, Week 07:
     

  • frank 9:17 pm on October 21, 2012
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    Tags:   

    Thanks AR group for your hard work on this, it was a fun and instructive experience to go through your ‘Just another UBC blog site’ for this assignment. I will focus on Question 1) & 4). AR definitely has potential.  Specifically, I think once the bugs are worked out, it could provide great potential as […]

    Continue reading Thanks AR group for your hard work on th… Posted in: Week 07:
     

  • David Vogt 11:02 pm on October 21, 2012
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    Tags: ,   

    Good evening, my friends. I’ve now finished second review and evaluation of your A1 submissions, and all of you should now have received an email from me with my comments and your grade.  If you haven’t received this email, please let me know immediately.  I will also welcome any questions and concerns you might have. […]

    Continue reading A1 Results Posted in: Announcements
     

  • jameschen 11:28 pm on October 21, 2012
    0 votes
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    Q4:Does AR infringe on the personal privacy rights of individuals? Would you feel safe having your information accessible to anyone in public? I think whether or not AR infringes on the personal privacy rights of individuals depends on the terms of agreement users consent to when they register to become a member of the community […]

    Continue reading Does AR infringe on the personal privacy rights of individuals? Posted in: Week 07:
     

  • rebeccaharrison 11:56 pm on October 21, 2012
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    Tags: ,   

    Hello and welcome to Week 8 of ETEC 522, where our topic will be Personalized Learning Tools. We hope that you enjoy the information and activities provided. We have tried to address different learning styles throughout the blog, so that you are able to choose which way you can best acquire information and show your […]

    Continue reading Hello and Welcome to Week 8 Posted in: Week 08:
     

    • kstackhouse 7:37 am on October 22, 2012 | Log in to Reply

      Great job on your intro video. The questions you posed have been on my mind for some time now. I look forward to seeing what types of answers or solutions you feel Personalized Learning will provide.

    • ETEC522grp8 8:31 am on October 22, 2012 | Log in to Reply

      Thanks! We hope our answers and solutions help you with some of your questions.

    • tomwhyte1 9:03 am on October 22, 2012 | Log in to Reply

      Great opening video, it reminded me of Sir Ken Robinson’s video on a similar topic, this is the link:

      https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zDZFcDGpL4U

      • jameschen 12:44 pm on October 22, 2012 | Log in to Reply

        Thanks for linking the video. It provides us with a great illustration of Sir Ken Robinson’s take on the need for our education system to facilitate learning environments that support divergent thinking. I do wonder whether or not the move towards a personalized learning education system would bring about change to the current approach to standardized testing? – James

    • jenbarker 9:37 am on October 22, 2012 | Log in to Reply

      Outstanding opening video with some really powerful and relevant questions. I look forward to learning more about personalized learning this week. As someone who likes the ideas in the BC Ed Plan I am excited to hear more about real examples that could be implemented in BC to give the Plan some “legs”.

      • avninder 12:36 pm on October 22, 2012 | Log in to Reply

        Does anyone know which schools are being referenced in the BC Education Plan video?

        • jameschen 1:06 pm on October 22, 2012 | Log in to Reply

          Good question. I searched the Principal’s name and found the institution that he’s in, but I am not sure if it’d be appropriate for me to post the school’s name here because of privacy concerns. – James

    • avninder 12:59 pm on October 22, 2012 | Log in to Reply

      Great job! When taking the Emerging Markets Poll at the beginning of this course, I did not rate personalized learning positively. Your site has changed my mind. There is definitely a lot of potential in this market.

    • Jenny Brown 2:54 pm on October 22, 2012 | Log in to Reply

      Great introduction and quality video! I recently heard about a school group in Sweden that is really focusing on personalized learning – getting rid of traditional classrooms and grouping students not by age but abilities and interests. Here is a link for more information: http://www.businessinsider.com/a-group-of-schools-in-sweden-is-abandoning-classrooms-entirely-2012-1?op=1

      • ETEC522grp8 9:45 pm on October 22, 2012 | Log in to Reply

        Thanks for the link. I can see how the philosophy behind Vittra schools reflect Sir Ken Robinson’s views on divergent thinking (see tomwhyte1’s video link above), and sets a good example for public schools in North America to follow. – James

    • ETEC522grp8 3:45 pm on October 22, 2012 | Log in to Reply

      Great links guys! On a side note, I was recently at a Pro-D on Saturna Island where they use an interesting approach to Personalized Learning as their program is an Ecological Education experience. They are very careful about their uses of technology and only use it to support their classroom and outdoor experiences. A bit of a different approach, as it does not have technology at the center, but very valid nonetheless. http://seec64.ca/index.php?//programs/seecsemester_overview

    • Ranvir 3:46 pm on October 22, 2012 | Log in to Reply

      Agreed! Powerful questions challenging the status quo. In the week I look forward to some practical and budget-friendly ways in which we can provide personalized learning to our students.

      Although I am not a pessimist, I am yet to find an educational institution where pedagogy drives the business as usually its the other way round (for fair reasons). For instance, in a recent LMS upgrade that I was part of, among other functional requirements, PLE was ranked high by faculty and students, however we ended up implementing a standard LMS not much different than the status quo as it made more business sense (you know what I mean?)

      Unlike private institutions such as Knewton, K-12 schools have limited budgets. Unless a technology is reasonably priced (if not free) and can be easily integrated with the existing systems, there will be limited uptake. With the popularity of social media, many new LMS have emerged in the market that have integration with FB, Twitter and other similar sites. Sadly, they all lack “meaningful adaptive capabilities” that will give the learner all the controls of his/her learning. I recently completed a Gamification course on Coursera and thoroughly enjoyed it. Games are all about Personalized Learning where the game is on the hot seat, in control of the game and learns based on his/her actions and corresponding feedback…

      Perhaps a good starting point would be to get a good understanding of what personalized learning is? Maybe get some cues from Games…Finally, is it just the ability to change the layout, colour scheme, perhaps content on learner page on the LMS/ website or is it little broad … perhaps a different approach to teaching and learning?

      • ETEC522grp8 10:13 pm on October 22, 2012 | Log in to Reply

        You made some very valid points, Ranvir. And I see what you mean about the challenges that exist in the implementation of PLEs being mostly related to limited budgets. With the way the economy has been going, educators might have to wait a while for hardware/software prices to drop before real personalization can begin to take shape in the education system.

        Gamification, now that’s something worth thinking about! Have a look at Jane McGonigal’s TED Talk on how gaming can make a better world at http://www.ted.com/talks/jane_mcgonigal_gaming_can_make_a_better_world.html

        – James

      • Pat A Son 11:32 pm on October 25, 2012 | Log in to Reply

        Hi Ranvir I do not think that money is as much of a limiting factor where the implementation of modern technology at school is concerned. To make a case for this point the open source movement has provide many free software alternatives to expensive commercial software yet most schools do not capitalize on these. Even with heavy investment in commercial a lot of these schools have still not been able to get minimum benefits from them.
        I think the problem is a collective mental one in that we are living in a ‘renaissance’ period as far as thinking in education is concerned and the world is virtually bursting at the seams as far as ideas and technologies for this field. The old guards at the top are just overwhelmed as to how to cope with all these new concepts. So at the end of the day they just go for what they feel comfortable with which means the old ways of doing things. With the passing of time as our students who are more comfortable with the technology occupy decision making positions in education we will see the implementation of more of these ideas

    • Peggy Lawson 8:38 pm on October 22, 2012 | Log in to Reply

      Great into Week 8 – awesome video. I agree with so much of what you included. Ever since the (correct, I feel) push toward differentiated instruction I’ve come more & more to see the apparant fallacy of expecting every student in a grade to master the same set of outcomes in the same restricted time period. How does that promote differentiation and individualized learning?? I’m looking forward to some great information this week. I’m already off to learn more about Newton for my meeting tomorrow with our division Coordinators & Superintendents!

      Peggy

      • ETEC522grp8 10:19 pm on October 22, 2012 | Log in to Reply

        If you could share with us some of the feedback you received regarding Knewton from your meeting tomorrow that would be very much appreciated, Peggy!
        – James

    • Doug Connery 9:11 pm on October 22, 2012 | Log in to Reply

      Great video introduction and questions to ponder while going through the module. I have been through your first module on Personalized Learning and my perception that this type of learning is labour intensive for the instructor has been challenged.

      Doug.

    • Shaun Pepper 10:56 pm on October 22, 2012 | Log in to Reply

      Great Video. I am looking forward to this topic. In my experience learning centred environments and projects have always facilitated the greatest amount of engagements from students.

      • ETEC522grp8 9:36 pm on October 24, 2012 | Log in to Reply

        I agree, the challenge is finding relevant and useful ways of finding and maintaining engagement with all different types of learners.

    • jkotler 8:38 am on October 23, 2012 | Log in to Reply

      Great video! I really enjoyed watching it and appreciated that the questions were so relevant and thought provoking. Some of it started to make me thing of past discussions I’ve had about the pros and cons of Montessori schools.

    • joeltremblay 9:01 am on October 23, 2012 | Log in to Reply

      Great opening vid! You posed a lot of interesting and poignant questions about the existing status quo infastructure that we all operate in. I’m interested to see what options you’ve proposed to us?

    • pcollins 9:17 am on October 23, 2012 | Log in to Reply

      I can’t wait to engage with this topic group 8. Thank you for the inspirational introduction. As I was thinking about your questions from the video I kept orbiting back to the same answer……
      $/C

    • frank 12:13 pm on October 23, 2012 | Log in to Reply

      Hello Personalized Learning Tools team.

      I am confused about this week’s structure. Can you please what you expect and if there are missing pieces (2-4?), when they might be up?

      Thanks.

      • ETEC522grp8 1:05 pm on October 23, 2012 | Log in to Reply

        Hello Frank
        Did our page launch for you? The link is above – hyperlinked where it says ‘Homepage’ but if that isn’t working for you, here is the link: https://blogs.ubc.ca/personalizedlearningetec522sep12/

        Here are all of the activities, we ask that you complete 3-4 of them:

        Activity One – Create your own program (link and instructions on project weblog)
        Activities Two, Three and Four are polls located on the project weblog
        Activity Five and Seven are discussions (post on course weblog)
        Activity Six is a SWOT Analysis (post in course weblog)

        Hope this helps and please let us know if you have any more questions.
        Cheers
        Coral

        • frank 2:02 pm on October 28, 2012 | Log in to Reply

          Thanks Coral. No, I hadn’t seen your homepage, and going through it now. Really Excellent Stuff!

    • Eva Ziemsen 1:04 pm on October 24, 2012 | Log in to Reply

      Thanks for a great intro video. I agree that these questions are very relevant. I’m including a video that I made (although please don’t think this is the usual quality of my videos, as I had no microphone available). However, it was filmed during a 3-day intensive course this summer: Recurring Questions of Technology
      A Brief History of Consciousness and Learning

      In it, you will find that BC Educators speak about some of this week’s topic. Feel free to scroll through to find those parts. It’s a bit long (and, as I said, quality is not great).

      https://vimeo.com/46109617

      Looking forward to the activities. I already did a poll.

    • manny 6:43 pm on October 24, 2012 | Log in to Reply

      Great opening video! As was mentioned earlier, it brings up the same questions that educational philosopher Ken Robinson poses in his talks. I think most educators would agree with the points that were brought up, the thoughts that came into my head upon watching it was why not? However, as was stated earlier in the course in a quote by Neil Postman, education as an institution exhibits the most resistance to change. Even when change is accepted, it progresses at a snails pace. I look forward to playing around with these ideas this week and look forward to participating in your activities.

      • ETEC522grp8 3:23 pm on October 25, 2012 | Log in to Reply

        I think it is already happening at the grassroots level in classrooms all over the world. The challenge is taking personalized learning mainstream. Educators that are seeing first hand personalized learning increasing achievement and outcomes will need to be the advocates of change in education.

    • teacherben 5:34 pm on October 26, 2012 | Log in to Reply

      It seems to me that most of the questions you posed in the video come down to economic issues. Obviously, it’s no coincidence that the modern education system closely resembles the Lean Manufacturing systems of Eli Whitney and Henry Ford. But manufacturing hasn’t changed a whole lot since then either. I recently visited the Hong Kong Electronics Expo and spoke with manufacturers from all over Asia and learned a bit about their factories. They do things the way they do to minimize costs, maximize production and reduce defects. The fact that few of our students work on farms anymore would indicate that the system is sorely out of date but economics will always be the determining factor behind what initiatives happen and which ones don’t. On the ground, it feels like common sense that the student ought to be at the center. But at the top, it will always be numbers. Programs like Khan Academy and The Rosetta Stone may present some great potential to reshape the landscape a bit and tailor programs to individual students but this only happens when it can equally be justified by numbers. And these numbers will still come from highest test scores for the least money.

    • ETEC522grp8 10:53 pm on October 26, 2012 | Log in to Reply

      That is a valid observation, Ben. At times it does feel like the people up above liken teaching to an assembly line. The most kids who can read well with the least amount of dollars spent. Even that view of “defects” or, as they are often labelled (on the graphs they show at the end of the year), “outliers” is very present. Another determining factor is public opinion, and if enough people recognize that the system we have is out of date (and in itself can be quite costly), is personalized learning the next step?

      • teacherben 5:00 am on October 27, 2012 | Log in to Reply

        It would appear that personalized learning is indeed the next step, but primarily because it is cost-effective. It looks good on paper because the computer can do some of what the teacher used to do.

        Check out this great scene from the most recent Star Trek movie that depicts automated personalized learning on Vulcan. You can imagine that this is where we are headed–Khan Academy on steroids:

        https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KvMxLpce3Xw

        • teacherben 5:20 am on October 27, 2012 | Log in to Reply

          I was just looking at government spending over the last decade and you can see a clear trend. Not only do education and health care make up more than half of provincial spending, but with an aging population, health care has increased significantly year after year. The money has to come from somewhere. While education funding has increased as well (almost a billion a year over the past 3 years) the language of the document is not unlike cost/benefit analysis you see in any other industry. Here’s a publication from the Ontario govt:

          http://www.fin.gov.on.ca/en/budget/ontariobudgets/2009/sectors/educationsh.html

          Here’s a pie graph showing government expenditures:
          http://www.sse.gov.on.ca/medt/investinontario/en/Pages/oomp_601.aspx

          Here, you can see that health care went up from 29.4 billion in 2003-4 to 42.6 in 2010.
          http://www.fin.gov.on.ca/en/budget/ontariobudgets/2009/sectors/healthsh.html

          Given the fact that purchasing usually happens a couple steps over the teachers’ heads (at least when i last worked in public education) the people that need to be convinced of the efficacy of your new product are the penny pinchers at the board level. I would be interested to hear how much influence everyone here has on spending in their schools.

  • Paula Poodwan 12:01 am on October 22, 2012
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    Tags: Week 08   

    Activity One: Create your own personalized brain training program through Lumosity This is a space to post any thoughts you have about Lumosity. 

    Continue reading Week 8 Activity One Posted in: Week 08:
     

    • kstackhouse 9:29 am on October 22, 2012 | Log in to Reply

      This is not the first time I have visited the site. It was the first time that I actually “played” through a session. I see these activities as great ways to keep one’s mind sharp. Similar to doing crosswords and solving other puzzles. I wonder if any learning takes place in later sessions…more than learning how to play the games and improve quickness. My kids have Brain Age on their DS and it is a similar style of mental exercising. There is no fee associated with this game beyond the initial purchase of the device and the game. I haven’t checked to see if there are similar games available through apps. Has anyone come across any like these?

    • avninder 12:26 pm on October 22, 2012 | Log in to Reply

      I enjoyed creating and working through my personalized learning plan through Luminosity. It was a great way to demonstrate how personalized learning works through online learning. I am looking forward to the rest of the week, especially the ‘Current Examples’ section, where we will hopefully see how this system will work in a face-to-face classroom.

    • ETEC522grp8 6:19 pm on October 22, 2012 | Log in to Reply

      I’m glad that you enjoyed it! We felt it was a good way to demonstrate an adaptive learning technology – the program changes the brain training activities that are presented depending on how well you do at them, personalizing the learning for your specific needs.

    • tomwhyte1 7:46 pm on October 22, 2012 | Log in to Reply

      I found Lumosity to be an interesting challenge site, to enhance my brain in the areas of speed, memory, attention, flexibility, and problem solving. And since Google defines (love this add on by the way Google) learning as:

      The acquisition of knowledge or skills through experience, practice, or study, or by being taught.

      I would then say that yes, this web-based skill program is providing an interesting learning experience, which would be an interesting addition to a classroom to enhance the overall cognitive strength of the group.

      Furthermore, I would like to see a mobile version, which would facilitate better classroom use, however I could not specifically find one.

      Thoughts?

    • frank 9:06 pm on October 22, 2012 | Log in to Reply

      TW1, you think you could combine this with something like Edmodo to get the classroom experience you want?

      I found this a fun learning program. I liked how one can specify the areas they wanted to focus their development on and see how that might improve over time. The games themselves are relatively fun as well, for learning games, but maybe they are just teasing me at the beginning with their best games.
      I almost want to do an IQ test now, and then do one after doing the program to see if I actually improved my test results.

      On the flip side, I think the consistency of commitment is probably a lot for many, and that price is, I would say High, given how much more entertaining games are being sold on Steam, for a fraction of the price.

      Nonetheless, this product is moving in the right direction.

      • tomwhyte1 10:29 am on October 24, 2012 | Log in to Reply

        Interesting addition to Edmodo. I would like it, if I could have it open within Edmodo, creating a more self-contained learning environment.

        As well, I did like the feature that allowed me to select the areas I would like to focus on. However, I wonder how many students have that deep level of understanding about themselves? Therefore, I would feel better about this technology, if it was coupled with a pre-test focusing on the skills mentioned in this app.

        Thoughts?

    • Colin 10:10 pm on October 22, 2012 | Log in to Reply

      This is my first time using Lumosity and I have to say that it kept me engaged enough to finish my first personalized lesson. I am sure there are other programs out there that provide a similar function but Lumosity did do a good job. What I would like to see is this kind of approach applied to academic content to see if it would hold my attention in the same way.

      • ETEC522grp8 2:41 pm on October 24, 2012 | Log in to Reply

        There are many similar products to Lumosity. One is Mind Sparke, http://mindsparke.com/ which is a more serious brain training program. The program has 30 minute sessions which you do for 19 days straight. Apparently, by the end of the week, they claimed that you should see some improvement in working memory. Lumosity, on the other hand gives you more control over your training. If you want to log in every day, there is plenty for you to do. If you can only train a few times a week, that’s fine too. Like you said, Lumosity is more fun so that users are encouraged to continue their training.

    • melissaayers 4:54 am on October 23, 2012 | Log in to Reply

      One I started my personalised training program it reminded me of Nintendo’s Brain Age game that I tried on a friends Nintendo DS a while ago. After playing this for a few days I lost interest and I have a feeling I might do the same with this as well unfortunately.

      I am a little sceptical if these types of games/activities really improve skill long term? I remember reading a while ago about these types of programs as not being conclusive in helping to improve intelligence. While I do not have this research on hand I remember it was based on elderly people trying to fight off alzheimer and dementia.

      I did read an amusing quote from someone that was trying out Brain Age to see if it made him smarter and he said
      “But did “Brain Training” make me smarter? Call me a cynic, but I’m not convinced it’s anything more than a cunning ploy to get non-gamers like me hooked on Nintendo’s latest little console. (Can Nintendo’s ‘Brain Training’ really boost your little gray cells?)”

      • tomwhyte1 10:31 am on October 24, 2012 | Log in to Reply

        My I ask what is your definition of “Intelligence”… For I see this to be a crucial point in your response, which would facilitate my further understanding.

        Thank you

        • melissaayers 5:31 am on October 25, 2012 | Log in to Reply

          Hi,

          I guess what I term as intelligence (problem solving, abstract thought, reasoning, self awareness etc) is not really the goal of these programs its more improving specific skills now that you make me reflect on my comment.

          Thanks

          • tomwhyte1 12:06 pm on October 25, 2012 | Log in to Reply

            I see where you are coming from. And through this discussion remembered the following – The Flynn Effect:

            http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flynn_effect

            Which some feel this occurs because of our increased exposure to multimedia and even games. So in a sense (if you value IQ scores), these “games” may in fact be laying the ground work for enhanced intelligence.

            Thoughts?

      • teacherben 6:51 pm on October 26, 2012 | Log in to Reply

        There is actually quite a bit of research to argue that brain exercise does improve overall brain health, and does have a positive impact on Alzheimers patients. They never knew why until recently however. The most recent work has found a high level of a protein called ‘beta amyloid’ that accumulates between nerve cells in the brain and reduces their ability to function. Brain exercises reduce the amount of this protein and have shown measurable improvement in patients over time.

        Here’s an article about it:
        http://www.dispatch.com/content/stories/local/2012/02/26/to-your-health/brain-exercises-might-ward-off-alzheimers.html

        Look out for anything done by a professor from U of T named Steve Joordens. He writes a lot about technology and about human memory. He did a couple of courses for The TEaching Company that you can listen to and they are fascinating. Here’s a link to one of them:

        http://www.thegreatcourses.com/tgc/courses/course_detail.aspx?cid=1911

    • jkotler 8:29 am on October 23, 2012 | Log in to Reply

      At first I really enjoyed selecting all of the areas I would want to focus on, as I found myself both intrigued by the questions and answer choices as well as to discover what program would be suggested. However, and this could very well just be my timing but once I answered all the questions, the next page never loaded. Though I haven’t yet, I still would like to go back and try this again.

      • ETEC522grp8 2:28 pm on October 24, 2012 | Log in to Reply

        Lumosity is undergoing a really fast growth phase. I saw their ads everywhere even on TV, which means there are a lot of visits to their site at one time. I bet their servers are having a really tough time since there are so many visitors!

    • joeltremblay 9:16 am on October 23, 2012 | Log in to Reply

      Before I became a teacher, I was planning on pursuing a career in law and it wasn’t until I stepped into the classroom that I realized what I was “supposed” to do. However, during the planning for the aforementioned career, I was studying for the LSAT and honestly the testing that Luminosity offered would have been of immense help since a lot of the questions are related to logical and cognitive abilities.

    • Ranvir 10:22 am on October 23, 2012 | Log in to Reply

      I really enjoyed playing Lumosity’s brain training game, especially ‘raindrops’. It was interesting to find how our response to simple math equations shows how our cognitive abilities are affected when there are multiple problems to tackle at the same time. Sounds like all the exercises are based on research findings and can help us in improving our cognitive abilities. I really liked playing the Lumosity games.

    • Jenny Brown 12:28 pm on October 23, 2012 | Log in to Reply

      I thought that this was a fun tool. It was a good example, like you say of how adaptive/personalized learning could be set up in online applications. Like many others, I am not sure of its use in a regular K-12 classrooms due to the costs (it seems to be set up more to cater to adults) but it made me think of how in 20 years we might all be sitting around wearing our Google glasses and playing these types of games – so long will be printed crossword and Sudoku puzzles.

    • lullings 2:19 pm on October 23, 2012 | Log in to Reply

      kstackhouse already mentioned brain age games for the DS which is similar in content but lumosity does bring it to the next level and personalize the content as to what you want to focus on which is brilliant. The games are very well done and I definitely enjoyed them. The premise of the free for a while is a great hook as if there was an initial subscription required skepticism would win out I fear.
      I really liked the expanding of the visual spectrum bird watching game – illustrated in this video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WDuD_HvPcXY
      As I work on screens all day I am finding that my field of focus has narrowed – this will be helpful counteracting that.
      A mobile version of the site would be handy but I would question the ability to adapt the effectiveness of all the games to a smaller screen (particularly the bird watching one described above).

    • jhodi 6:09 pm on October 23, 2012 | Log in to Reply

      I have been on Lumosity several times before this activity. I quite enjoy how the games that are chosen for me to play are based on the skills that I want to work on. I find these games extremely engaging and quite often find myself spending much more time than I originally plan playing. The games are very well made and when I reflect on the skill that each game is trying to work on, they are indeed working on that skill!

    • Jonathan 9:56 pm on October 23, 2012 | Log in to Reply

      Lumosity — Quite amusing the first few times. I’m curious about how effective it really is though. Definitely a lot of fun to pinpoint the areas that you want to improve on. Does it really work after a lengthy period of time? I’m tempted to say yes but I really want to send someone through the program.

      The first thing I did think about was that DS Game (as many of you have mentioned). Has there been an article on if people have gotten smarter using it?

      This type of training does remind me of language training program called Rosetta Stone. With this, I’ve heard some great results and I’ve used it sporadically and the continuous flashing of cards and different games makes me want to believe that if Rosetta Stone can be successful then so Lumiosity.

      If only there was some scientific testing to back it up?

      Thanks for introducing it to us though, it does open my eyes about the immediate feedback. The future with personalized learning will look different. It has to and this is the beginning of one of those ideas.

      • jkotler 2:36 am on October 24, 2012 | Log in to Reply

        Hi Jonathan,

        Since I was unable to finish going through Lumiosity as the pages seemed to not load properly, I cannot respond to how it fairs in comparison to other training programs like Rosetta Stone. I can however attest to the success of Rosetta Stone since I used it for a few months to learn Hebrew before I moved to Israel.

        What I found was that it does a great job of teaching and practicing a language from all different aspects (reading, writing, speaking etc.) by using all sorts of interactive activities, but you obviously really need to be dedicated and vested in it. As well, I learned that it must be taken with a grain of salt because the language it teaches (at least for Hebrew) is more formal, so there were often times I would repeat something I had recently learned to my boyfriend, who is Israeli, and he would tell me that I sound great except nobody really speaks like that in everyday communication.

        Going back to Lumiosity, I too am curious to learn what type of results it yields from its users.

        Julie

    • manny 7:38 pm on October 24, 2012 | Log in to Reply

      Upon experimenting with my 3 day free trial of luminosity, I found it to be rather engaging and at times challenging. We don’t often think of our brain as a muscle but in order for it to function at its full efficiency, we need to train it as often as possible. Although it was great for reaction time exercises, I think other puzzles such as sudoku offer other avenues through which one can keep sharp. There are also various apps out there (much cheaper) which can do similar things. I would love to use this site with my students but the only thing that turned me off was the high cost of creating a user. I believe it was somewhere around $5/month or lifetime subscription of $270.

    • visramn 4:23 pm on October 26, 2012 | Log in to Reply

      I thought this was a very good learning tool. I work with kids who have a very hard time focussing and I can see how a program such as this that could be specialized to their areas of need in regards to focus and how it could be very beneficial. I enjoyed working on this activity and found that I was very engaged while being challenged at the same time. As the task got harder, I thought I would not be able to remember but I was surprised that I was able to in some cases. This activity taught me a lot about my memory and how my brain work. Thanks for introducing me to this tools.
      Nureen

    • C. Ranson 5:05 pm on October 26, 2012 | Log in to Reply

      Lumosity was an interesting learning tool. I focused on memory and attention, the tasks become more challening as you move through the program and this improves your engagement and competitive spirit to keep playing. Brain training seems very similiar to brain plasicity, I will continue to use my free days to enhance my brain activity. Personalized Learning has been a very interesting venture this week. In many way students create their own personalized learning within our educational system as a mechansim of survival to be successful in completing their programs. I have shared this tool with my colleagues, awaiting their feedback.
      Catherine

    • teacherben 6:39 pm on October 26, 2012 | Log in to Reply

      I had heard of this before on Lifehacker or Makeuseof or one of those and I think I even bookmarked it but never got around to visiting. It seems like it will be valuable and I will continue with it. With the activity where I had to remember the location of squares in a matrix I could feel my brain humming in hy head and was concentrating in a way that I don’t often get to. When I scored nine tiles, I spontaneously pumped my fist and shouted ‘yeah!’

      Then, my 3-year old came over and started watching and asking a couple questions and I crumbled. Suddenly, very easy questions were tough. There was one where I had to locate a bird then choose a number that had been shown and even the easiest ones i was missing the number with my kid next to me chattering away. Interesting experience.

      We spend a lot of time selecting the areas we want to work on. I would be interested to see how different our programs actually were. Did your research ever indicate what is going on under the hood or how many total activities there are and what each activity is supposed to enhance?

    • Eva Ziemsen 1:22 pm on October 27, 2012 | Log in to Reply

      I enjoyed playing with Luminosity. It is interesting that I and also my colleagues use the word ‘play’ in this context, as the program does make it feel like a game, (even thought it is more of a training program). In that sense, it is a great example in terms of marketing learning, as a ‘fun’ and game-like. I thought it was interesting that it created a very personalized program for me, based on the initial questions (especially memory). The format of the games were also motivating, as there was a sense of reward when successful. Like my colleagues, I would love to know what research went into this program (what is going on behind the scenes)? I had heard of Luminosity before in the context of giving it to elderly people to help against Alzheimer’s disease, however, I spoke to a GP friend of mine about it and he did not think this would help. Instead, he recommended physical exercise. Again, to get to the bottom of this, I would need to conduct more research. Not sure if you guys came across this kind of material? Thanks for introducing us to this innovative program.

    • jenbarker 9:02 am on October 28, 2012 | Log in to Reply

      I just joined Luminosity and completed all the activities. While I had a lot of fun and was quite engaged while doing the activities, I am not sure I am convinced that it could improve my brain functions. I wish there were a test in the beginning that you take, prior to doing any activities. Then after doing the activities for three weeks or so, you could take the test again to see your improvements. As someone who always has a lot of questions, I think I will look to try to find any research articles on this program because if it were backed by solid research, I may be more inclined to purchase a membership. I also would be interested to see other’s activities that were selected specifically for them, based on their answers. I was surprised with the activities they selected for me as they didn’t seem to match the priorities that I had selected. Either way, I really appreciated exposure to Luminosity. Great pick Week 8.

      • jenbarker 9:09 am on October 28, 2012 | Log in to Reply

        So I just went back to Luminosity to see if it was supported by Science and their is a Science Tab. Out of the five studies they cite, only two of them were done with ‘typical’ healthy individuals. The others were done with survivors of cancer, individuals with Turner’s syndrome, and patients with mild cognitive impairments. If I were to advise the executive team, I would strongly encourage them to put more money into research.

    • sophiabb 8:18 pm on October 28, 2012 | Log in to Reply

      The activities in Luminosity remind me of Brain Age. They held my attention – they challenged my focus, attention to details and response time. I am unsure as to what my BPI score really indicates. For example, my speed BPI is 292 – does this mean that my response time was very good, average or poor. The games were interesting but they would be more meaningful and applicable if I the BPI was better explained. It seems that there is a comparison in the ‘fee-for-service’ option, but I would not purchase without having a clearer /better explanation.
      Sophia

  • Paula Poodwan 12:04 am on October 22, 2012
    0 votes
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    Activity Five:  Your Personalized Learning Experience This is a space to discuss your experience of personalized learning and which tools and activities you have been using? Do they work? Are there any difficulty implementing them?

    Continue reading Week 8 Activity Five Posted in: Week 08:
     

    • tomwhyte1 7:57 pm on October 22, 2012 | Log in to Reply

      I would like to say that I have successfully or unsuccessfully implemented a PLE within my classroom, but the answer is no. Tomorrow I will be looking at developing Student Learning Profile’s, which in our district is a first step towards this reality in Alberta. In November, I will be working with a District Representative on developing a program which may meet the needs of many students, and be PLE like, but truly not a PLE.

      Please do not think, that I do not value what a PLE has to offer, however I think some of the larger social, financial, and to be honest student/family issues have been forgotten.

      Social – in a PLE we are to meet the student where they are at. Which may mean a 13 year old would be learning right along side some 7 year olds. The differences in cognitive strength may be similar, however, maturity, experiences, and at those ages – puberty creates a world of issues that need to be understood and provided for.

      Financial – yes technology can facilitate a tremendous amount of tracking and maintaining of records, however these systems I assume are not cheap. We are living in a global economic issue, which has improved, but not by much over the last four years.

      Student/Family – Lastly, but most importantly many of our students come with more than cognitive needs. My own son, a bright boy – near the top of his class, but has needed specific behavioural supports to provide him the structure to function within a classroom. Where might he fall in this brave new world – smart enough to be ahead of most of the kids his age, but struggling socially…

      Even though I agree that the factory model is slowly dying, I do not think PLE’s are the answer. They might be part of a strategy to try, but education is very complex… We need to instruct the whole child, not just their brain…

      Thoughts?

      • ETEC522grp8 4:30 pm on October 23, 2012 | Log in to Reply

        Hi Tom, you always come up with great observations. I agree that personalized learning is not used on a large scale now because it is hard – for ALL the stakeholders in the educational enterprise.

        Paula

      • Suhayl Patel 2:06 pm on October 24, 2012 | Log in to Reply

        Thats great that you are working on a creating student learning plans. I find in my work that they are truly awesome to look back on that give a good perspective on what type of student you are planning for and is a great step towards PL for each individual. I actually ave a few questions regarding your learning plan creating:

        Will your students have any say in their learning plan? Will they even be able to see it? Is it going to be something that you will work on collaboratively? And will it be edited from year to year depending on the teacher or will this be a document that lives only within your school and when the child leaves, they personal learning plan is tossed out?

        • tomwhyte1 12:09 pm on October 25, 2012 | Log in to Reply

          These are all great questions, and as this is a relatively new process, I can only provide best guesses. As for the development, there are sections where it is necessary to interview students, as well as provide forms for parent feedback to provide more information. These documents are also created with the core teachers in collaboration, and will be revisited from time to time throughout the school year. As for the life of the document beyond this year, I am unsure, as we are not utilizing a formal program.

          Thoughts?

    • adi 8:54 pm on October 22, 2012 | Log in to Reply

      I was lucky to experience a Personalized Learning Environment back in 1969 in an experimental primary school in Iowa City called ‘Ernest Horn School’. I now realize this was a unique school for its time, and I was vey lucky to have gone there, if only for 2 years.
      It was a mixture of the New York school, in that every day we would work at our own pace. There were files with activities, exercises etc. that had to be done, and we each worked at our own pace. ‘Ernest Horn’ was also like the BC school in that we carried out similar projects, though ‘Experiential Learning’ or ‘Constructivism’ was not yet in vogue. For example, when we learned about Argentina, we cooked Argentinian food, we dressed with clothes used in Argentina, etc. and worked collaboratively on projects that we presented using overhead projectors and other tools. It was also like the Vitra school, in that the architecture was different. Classrooms were set out in a hexagon shape around a work are, and separated by a pull curtain like the type you see in universities to divide auditoriums. Often, the curtains were pulled back, and all the groups worked together. The desks were placed in sets of groups to foment collaborative work. I think architectural and classroom layout is key. There’s a Mexican sociologist (Guevara Niebla) who rightly argues that many schools are designed almost like prisons and contrary to an atmosphere that promotes collaboration and learning; with long corridors for the Head of School to monitor movement. What I loved about the Vitra project was the architecture and their spaces. I think schools all over the world have a long way to go yet.

      • jhodi 11:34 am on October 24, 2012 | Log in to Reply

        This sounds like a fantastic experience! I am so surprised that you got to experience this in 1969! As I am reading your experience, I can see how they were trying to achieve the same goals that we are trying to achieve now. The main difference being the technologies and tools that were available then versus now.

        Thanks for sharing!

        • ETEC522grp8 3:27 pm on October 25, 2012 | Log in to Reply

          Hopefully technology can and will offer new ways of progress in education.

    • Colin 10:32 pm on October 22, 2012 | Log in to Reply

      First I have to agree with everything that Tom mentioned above as problems with the PLE system. I can’t even imagine the cost of the software, creating the content, computers to run the software, technicians to maintain and fix the systems. Not to mention the upgrades that will always be necessary. All of the video’s we watched were great marketing pieces but they didn’t mention how they would deal with all the problems that will arise.
      I work at a learning centre where students go through the material at their own pace. You will have motivated students that will finish 11 courses in a year and others that will struggle with 1. Some students when left to learn on their own don’t choose to learn. I have watched many students just sit and stare at the screen for hours. There is something to be said for having a deadline and working together through a course as a class. With this class how many of you would have pushed off submitting Assignment 1 if there wasn’t a deadline? Deadlines and keeping up with the class provides us with the push we need to keep moving forward. This is another issue I see with a PLE system.

      • ETEC522grp8 3:21 pm on October 23, 2012 | Log in to Reply

        Thanks Colin for pointing out that the problem for implementing Personalized learning could come from the learners themselves. PL often requires significant self-actualized learning skills on the part of students. Cognitive science research has repeatedly shown that the best predictors of success in learning are motivation and meta-cognitive skill. Yet, they are the essential elements which many learners lack.

        • frank 3:28 pm on October 28, 2012 | Log in to Reply

          Very Interesting Debate!

          PLE shows great potential in helping individuals learn in a way that optimizes to their needs and preferences, instead of aggregate social norms. The advantage of this approach is that students can learn more effectively, and learn more content. These are direct gains; there may be indirect ones as well.
          The challenge of individualized learning as Colin and Paula have pointed out is that it is fueled by the internal motives of the learner and this can be impacted by all sorts of external factors, as Tom mentioned.
          These challenges do not negate PLE as an optimal way forward, in my view.
          But it does mean that in considering PLE, we must also consider how students can cultivate greater meta-cognition skills, and as well, the environments that best attenuate to that.

      • avninder 9:13 am on October 25, 2012 | Log in to Reply

        As a product of a lot of factory-styled education, I would have to agree with you Colin – deadlines are very important. I often set up meetings prior to completing my work as it is the best way to motivate me to get the work done in a timely manner.

        Another reason that I believe in the importance of deadlines and structure is because in my real world job, I constantly work with meeting milestones and deliverables. The education system that I went through has been conducive to this set up. I realize that other areas in the job market may be more suitable for individuals who thrive while working at their own pace. Unfortunately it seems that catering to students’ learning needs may or may not adequately prepare them for their future careers as we do not know which path students will choose to follow. However, if PLE may still be advantageous if it gives students more confidence as that is a trait that can be used throughout their lives.

    • kstackhouse 6:39 am on October 23, 2012 | Log in to Reply

      Having worked at Sylvan before becoming a full-time teacher I do recognize the value of PLE in education. It was amazing to see that students coming in reading or writing several grade levels below average were able to “catch up” and finish their program often a level or two above their peers. This came with one or two hour sessions a couple of times a week for varying amounts of time. There was a high cost for assessment and for the tutoring that the parents had to cover. On a bright side though we discovered that there were a few organizations that would help their employees pay for this through their employee benefit programs.

      I have not used a full on PLE in the high school setting. I have used Edmodo and their badge system for smaller tasks that students had to complete throughout the semester. They also used it to communicate and get after-school hours questions answered by their peers or by me. As others have mentioned though the cost associated with the PLE projects like Knewton or the School of One would be very high. I am not sure how one can establish a full PLE within a traditional school/district.

      A few things I did notice the design of the schools (Vittra and School of One). They were not limited by the fixed walls and space that most schools are stuck with. I also appreciated one of the comments by a teacher in the Vittra school. She basically said that life is not one subject and then another, but it is all of them at the same time. I totally agree with this. Even the work environment most of us experience is nothing like what school establishes. We are usually working with mixed age groups, various experience levels, and different backgrounds. I’m not sure if a shift to PLE is something that can be transferred to a large scale (entire district or province) until there is way more funding and education to politicians, decision makers and parents about the benefits of such programs.

    • jkotler 8:26 am on October 23, 2012 | Log in to Reply

      I have never had the opportunity to teach in a personal learning environment per se, though I have related experience from when I created a training program for elementary teachers in using the Smart Board, and saw the positive response it had with the students in their learning and understanding. This is a resource, similar to that which is used in the Sundale Elementary School case study, that really allows teachers to easily create lessons that are not only interactive and engaging for the entire class but also addresses different learning styles through the combination of text, images and multimedia for print, visual and audio learners.

      However even though I am a strong supporter of the Smart Board and other PLE tools, like others in our class, I realize that purchasing, maintaining and training staff to use those tools is quite costly. Thus, from a financial standpoint, it may not be the most realistic solution, at least on a widespread scale.

      To that end, I believe there are other simpler strategies that can speak to the same goals as PLE, some of which I experienced myself when I was a young student. More specifically, in elementary and part of high school I attended an alternative school wherein individual desks did not exist and everyone sat at round or square tables; often students worked on the floor (even in grades above kindergarten), class sizes were quite small, the rooms were really big and spacious, group work was always promoted as was hands on lessons that addressed different learning styles. As such, I think that similar changes within other classes can also help to meet the needs of individual students without necessarily spending a great deal of money on it.

      • ETEC522grp8 5:21 pm on October 23, 2012 | Log in to Reply

        I agree with you that the first step in PLE is a shift in philosophy. The additional video on the Role of Technology titled “Ignite Honolulu 4” addresses this. Whatever the tools are that you use, the ideas behind PLE can be implemented in a variety of formats. Technology is just one more way to get there.

    • joeltremblay 9:28 am on October 23, 2012 | Log in to Reply

      Because I teach in a creative medium, (film, animation, website design and photography), personalized learning is actually quite inherent in my approach to course design. This is mainly because the creative process is different for everyone, so one of the changes that I have implemented, (much to the chagrin of my administrators), is that beyond the first couple assignments the due date for all projects is the end of the year. My classes also operate on the philosophy of nothing ever being “done”. These are posted around my room:

      http://www.brepettis.com/storage/3327763912_acaf8a6ef6_o.png?__SQUARESPACE_CACHEVERSION=1236190189858

      This means that the students can turn projects in as many times as they want as long as they are attempting to improve the work. The majority of the projects in film are based on student created stories about whatever they want to produce and when I do suggest a theme, I am always open to different stories as long as the students prove they have fleshed out the idea.

      Similarly, in my website design classes, the entire course is based around producing a website that sells the student’s best qualities. The only guidelines as far as the pages go are requirements for certain types of pages (resume page must be included etc.), but the visual themes are entirely of student design and perfected throughout the year as they are taught the different skillsets they will need for the final product. Would these organic approaches work for other more regimented classes like math or social studies? Possibly, but luckily I don’t have to teach those.

      • jkotler 2:19 am on October 24, 2012 | Log in to Reply

        Hi Joel,

        I find your approach to how you set the guidelines for your students assignments to be interesting. I wonder, how this compares to before the changes you made were implemented. Has it had a significant positive impact with the students? Has it effected the quality of the work produced and effort put in?

        Julie

        • ETEC522grp8 3:30 pm on October 25, 2012 | Log in to Reply

          Have you found that engagemnet and outcomes/achievement have increased or just one of the two?

    • ETEC522grp8 2:11 pm on October 23, 2012 | Log in to Reply

      I agree that the challenges of implementing PL are immense and varied, and hopefully we have included some examples/ideas that can be implemented that are not too cost prohibitive, such as rearranging work spaces and schedules. Really, this course we are taking right now is an example of personalized learning – we were given a list of potential topics that we could learn about in the first week of class, and the group chose the topics of most interest and relevance to be studied. Your classmates are now in the process of teaching you about these topics that you asked to learn about.

      I really like this video that talks about the future of learning and technology that addresses some of these questions – this quote sums up the video nicely:

      “Knowing something is probably an obsolete idea. You don’t actually need to know anything. … It’s the teacher’s job to point young minds toward the right kind of questions. The teacher doesn’t need to give any answers, because answers are everywhere.”

      http://www.fastcoexist.com/1680776/watch-a-great-short-film-on-the-future-of-technology-and-education?utm_source=twitter

    • ETEC522grp8 5:49 pm on October 23, 2012 | Log in to Reply

      Very interesting that many of us experienced school that was provided in alternative formats. I was part of an alternative stream in my highschool where we were given a lot of freedom for test-taking and project completion. We had hard and fast deadlines and learning outcomes to meet but we could take tests early, and get to our learning outcomes however we chose (projects, videos, sewing costumes, cooking, dramatic performances, etc.).

      In this program we had “demands” and then free time to work with multi-age groups on projects (which is maybe similar to what you will be doing next year Tom?). On a side note, our other teachers (for elective courses) always hated having “flex kids” in their classes because we pushed the boundaries on their assignments as we were encouraged to be collaborators with our instructors and ask questions about the “why” and “how”, instead of just falling in line with their program.

      Even this program had some of the issues that Colin and Tom point out with respect to addressing ALL student needs. Some students were unsuccessful in their first year and left the program to go to the regular stream. They needed to be provided with more details on what to do and when to do it. I think that personalized learning can address this. Having a framework for these kinds of students to follow should be a part of any PLE.

      Additionally, every student comes from their own personal context, as Tom rightly has pointed out. Motivation can be encouraged, but not forced. Some students at times will stare at the screen, their hands, the desk, out the window, no matter what program they are provided with.

    • jhodi 7:48 pm on October 23, 2012 | Log in to Reply

      Although I cannot say that I have personally applied a PLE in my classroom, I could see the benefits in my own teaching career for the Knowledge and Employability students that I teach. Several of these students come to my class with Individual Placement Plans that are designed to support the students learning according to how they learn best, their strengths, and their weaknesses. My classes frequently have a wide variety of skills and learning challenges. Quite often, when the class runs with all students working through the same unit together, several students finish quickly and are bored and several students struggle and do not complete the entire unit.

      After reading through the current examples this week, it seems to me that the ‘School of One’ example is quite an interesting alternative. I imagine that setting up such a program would be very costly and require significant maintainance, but in a perfect world, I could see students such as mine being able to benefit from working through material at their own pace with the support and structure of school that assigns them to a station each day based on their current knowledge.

      • Suhayl Patel 2:02 pm on October 24, 2012 | Log in to Reply

        I encountered the exact same problem when teaching the K+E Mathematics at the junior high level. Some students just got it and moved it rather quick, and some didn’t. They needed extra support. I enjoyed ASU’s appraoch. They hand an online program where students could work at their pace (as long as the curriculum objectives were met/completed). It was ubiquitous learning too. Students could take their device anywhere and learn. In my class, when I encountered the same problem where students were working at different levels, I decided to use Khan Academy and became their “coach. I thought it worked out well…..but I made sure that students were working on similar topics but at different levels. This way I could still do practical real life projects with them to deepen their understanding.

      • visramn 10:07 pm on October 28, 2012 | Log in to Reply

        Hi Jodi,
        I too do not think school of one is plausible due to cost and logistical reqirents. It is a wonderful initiatives but require a lot of restructuring and the uprooting of age old structures of learning which would cause lot of confusion. Thus, resulting in backlash. If only all learning environments could be that flexible and free flowing.
        Nureen

    • lullings 7:52 am on October 24, 2012 | Log in to Reply

      The nature of my tutoring is by its very nature a PLE. I would have small groups of people coming to learn certain elements (editing, non linear software, transfer options, exports, formats etc). Each person comes with a different background and has skills in different areas so by its very nature they all have to work at their one pace. For example if a journalist comes from a radio background they know how to edit a story together but they need to be able to work with the video formats, where as is a journalist from an online background needs to understand the basics of editing before they can start but will know a lot more about formats.
      I usually use a combination of youtube and google documents. Students would put up the assignments on youtube (learning about formats and publishing is a bonus in this process) and then they fill out the live google document as they go through the exercises. There is the same google document for everyone in the group and as a result they can see and learn from others work in relation to their own, add comments and get tips.
      When teaching editing there is no right or wrong answer just differences and experience, as a result after the general rules are explained its very personal and rules can be broken and still tell a story well. Working on an exercise is only part of the learning process – seeing how others created their stories with the same footage makes it an invaluable experience.
      I usually go around to individuals then and help with specific areas that need clarification and explanation.
      This has been the best way I have come up with for this type of group – I would love to hear if anyone has any comments or suggestions for it to be more productive.
      Stuart

      • ETEC522grp8 11:00 pm on October 26, 2012 | Log in to Reply

        I think one of the key things that you do is spending time with the individuals, which is great. Having immediate individual feedback is critical in any education setting.

    • manny 7:53 pm on October 24, 2012 | Log in to Reply

      I work in a similar setting as Colin mentioned above in which we have a classroom that is filled with students from grades 10-12 and working on a myriad of subjects. Upon viewing the “school as one” video, I couldn’t help but think how beneficial this could be in our type of setup. However, the sheer logistics of everything (as Tom mentioned) make it something that I can’t see happening in the near future.
      There are also a few things about this kind of setup that I found a little troubling. Although the idea seems to be working, the whole environment seemed to sterile for my liking. It appears that students come in and check in with a TV screen which has their name and station listed on it. They make their way to their station and complete the activities listed for the day. It all seems a little to robotic to me and face to face contact seems to be minimal. I am not going to argue the online collaboration that this kind of setup affords but I must maintain my reservations. For instance, these students are exposed to a computer screen all day long and then go home and either continue on with their learning or consume other types of media. I think I would stick to what my mom used to tell me as a child, “anything is good, but only in small doses.”

      • ETEC522grp8 3:35 pm on October 25, 2012 | Log in to Reply

        Blended deliver between online content and face to face or brick and mortar delivery/tutorials may offer solutions to the loss of human interaction.

    • Jenny Brown 8:00 am on October 25, 2012 | Log in to Reply

      I am not a school teacher so I am going to provide a perspective from someone outside of the school system. I would agree with Manny and Tom that I could see this as a logistical nightmare and that the use of sophisticated management systems would be necessary. Another requirement (besides the motivation of the students) would have to be the motivation and training of the teachers – would they embrace this type of learning environment? The change management piece of this could be quite tremendous for many, I would imagine.

      In the short term, I could see the feasibility of many teachers using the methods that many of you mentioned including providing a lot of choice for assignments, providing many opportunities for improvement on work and instilling collaborative work environments.

      I am left with one thought: Do you think that having students all working at different levels (so potentially not completing the same work) as potentially limiting interactions and discussions between students?

      • pcollins 2:22 pm on October 25, 2012 | Log in to Reply

        Hi Jenny,
        Great perspective – Finding students with the kind of instrinsic motivation to really guide themselves and stay on task below the age of about 15 is certainly a bit rare depending on your school. I wonder about the kids keeping themselves on track a bit too –

        A second comment related to your final thought about limiting interactions and discussions would be that there are two sides to this coin. On one hand, the students may not be collaborating together to complete the same assignment as much, but on the other hand, the variety of projects and research can serve as inspiration to other students. Or even to have some kind of interdisciplinary collaboraiton between grades. I have seen this first hand in my own elementary situation. Our school had all 7 grades in two classrooms and every Friday afternoon was a collaboration afternoon where the older students had to plan an activity for a younger “buddy student” to participate in with them. It was really great – I don’t remember thinking that it was wierd, or below me, to have to invite a grade 1 to work on something with me. It was actually something that I really looked forward too :]

        PC

        • Jenny Brown 3:07 pm on October 25, 2012 | Log in to Reply

          Hi PC,
          That does seem like a cool idea to have a collaboration day – the older I get, the more I realize how much I learn from those much younger than me 🙂 And providing a leadership role for older students is never a bad thing.

          • ETEC522grp8 11:06 pm on October 26, 2012 | Log in to Reply

            Good points so far. I have found the same thing to be true. When students share what they are working on with other students who may be working in different areas it forces them to think about their material in a variety of ways. They have to work on summarizing, providing support for arguments or ideas, offering their conclusions on material, and answering questions. If done correctly, it can actually open the door to some incredibly powerful interactions.

    • avninder 8:55 am on October 25, 2012 | Log in to Reply

      I enjoyed viewing current examples of how personalized learning can be used in an academic setting on the OER but I have not used or plan on using personalized learning in the corporate training I develop. I think that it is a great way for students to explore what interests them in some academic situations but most of the training I develop is mandatory and must be completed before employees are able to access certain IT systems or perform specific job duties because of safety and security concerns. So there is not much room for personalization.

      In a world of deadlines and checking boxes it would be very difficult to implement PLE in a corporate setting. Although the organization I work for does have some optional courses that can be launched through our LMS, I do not think qualifies as true PLE as it is rare that individuals have the time to search for and complete these courses.

    • pcollins 2:15 pm on October 25, 2012 | Log in to Reply

      I am currently working with a grade 6 student who is in a fabulous PLE with an online school. We had a meeting with his guidance teacher last night, just so that his parents and I can still have help wrapping our head around the idea that at report card time – there are no hard and fast “measurements” that need to be achieved by this date. His guidance teacher simply looks at the work that has been done so far – provides relevant and constructive feedback that includes ideas and resources for what he can consider doing for the next term and off we go.

      In this particular situation however, the parents chose to hire a tutor to provide some extra guidance and structure that seemed to be missing. This PLE program is soooo open ended that it’s a bit disconcerting to those who are familiar with the bricks and mortar model of education.

      Sometimes personalized learning requires for the individual to have some experience in doing the actual “personalization”. I often wonder about the other students who don’t have in house educational support – and how they create their structures.

      PC

      • ETEC522grp8 3:39 pm on October 25, 2012 | Log in to Reply

        Blended delivery or the flipped classroom model may add the personal/human interactions and face to face support needed for increased success.

    • visramn 4:57 pm on October 26, 2012 | Log in to Reply

      I work in a Paced Learning Program (PLP) which is a program created especially for students who are developmentally delayed. All of my students are at different academic levels and they all have varying emotional needs. There placement in this program is not based on grade per say because students are all mixed together even though the students are labelled as grade 7, 8 or 9. Their age does not dictate their level. Rather, their level is based on where they are at. Differentiation is the only means of reaching these students. PLE is a practice that is very important in the program I teach. I practice this by having a common topic for all students but allowing student to work on tasks at their own pace or letting them move in a direction with the content that is best suited for them. I am present as a guide to assist them all and help them with their needs. I have a lot of flexibility in my classroom because we are not tied to curriculum. Rather, learning and content is more flexible and can be catered to each child and their interests and needs. The emphasis in the PLP program is life skills and this is taught through the explorations of content and curriculum in various areas and is based on student engagement and interest.
      A resource I use that helps with PLE is PRISM Math books. These books do not go by grade level. They go by color. Students work through the textbooks based on the level they are at. A digital tool I use is Khan Academy. Both of these tools allow my students to work on content that is accurate for their current learning needs and levels.
      Nureen

    • Patrick Pichette 7:26 pm on October 26, 2012 | Log in to Reply

      I’m still in the process of defining as well as refining various areas of a PLE within my own school board. As I teach information technology courses, I think that PLE is quite suited to this material. I often search for tutorials that can help guide students along and provide them with the opportunity to choose the videos that they’d like to view as opposed to a rigid pace following a particular pattern. I tend to give students pointers on what they should attack next to ensure a higher degree of success and lower some of the frustrations that might be felt if they view content that is ahead of their zone of proximal development. Having said that, there are still quite a few challenges in this approach. For one, assessment can be very tricky as some may provide details of an assessment to their peer to increase their results. To counter this, I’ve setup an end of year one on one interview with each student to discuss knowledge construction and verify that their test scores match up with the knowledge they have gained throughout the semester. One of the main benefits of a PLE is its ability to provide me with more time with students as opposed to more time in front of students. Rather than teaching students and trying to capture and provide stimulation for the varied level of experience within my classroom, I’m able to provide them with resources that will give them the exact pace they are looking to follow. When they hit a roadblock with content, I’m able to answer to their particular needs.

    • Eva Ziemsen 1:42 pm on October 27, 2012 | Log in to Reply

      Upon viewing the current examples of PL, I was very inspired and wished that I could have taken part in something like the School of One in my schooling history. While I have not been part of such a PLE myself, I will comment on why and how I think it would be very useful.

      Foremost, I work in post-secondary education in a highly creative field, of film production. In this context, I feel that I am often ‘inventing’ PLE’s because not all students are able to learn in the prescribed curriculum we have, due to 1. disabilities 2. social skill-related issues 3. finances. There may actually be more reasons, but these are the most common. Since our curriculum has little flexibility, since it is based on group work that are under strict deadlines (as we are preparing them for an industry that works this way), it is almost impossible to accommodate anyone who cannot function in it. However, when the reasons are disability, certain social issues and finances, our faculty often ‘invents’ independent assignments depending on the nature of the learning outcomes. However, I wish there was a PLE in place, that was more standardized. I could see how this would be much easier to implement for other subjects, such as Math. It is however, more complex for our film courses, but I believe there is a place for it. Perhaps, there will one day be a system that allows us to input PLE’s with any regular course outline. This way, the student can ‘choose their own adventure’ and progress through a course differently, if needed.

      In terms of my own learning experiences, I have always thrived when instructors gave me choices as to how I wished to submit the proof of my learning. For example, sometimes I would approach a teacher during my undergraduate years, and request that I make a film instead of write an essay. I was usually approved. I soon realized that it would have been easier to just write something, but I wanted to make a film, as it allowed me to employ multiple skills in learning something. The resulting artifact was also much more valuable to my portfolio.

      One shocking, but interesting fact that I learned from a course I took at UBC this summer, was that a fellow student (who was a BC elementary teacher) allowed his students to submit their work up until June (the end of the school year). This means, that if a student was assigned something in November, he/she was able to submit in June, without penalty. He said to me, that the assignment was to learn points ABC, but not to be on time with it. He said that this is a phenomenon that was going on in BC. I still have trouble wrapping my head around this, since I believe this would harm a student in future years and even in the rest of life, but I suppose this is part of PL.

    • Peggy Lawson 4:28 pm on October 27, 2012 | Log in to Reply

      It’s been several years since I’ve been a classroom teacher, and while there didn’t have any real experience with personalized learning. I now work at the school division level. A priority in our division is math performance – it’s clear that the status quo, for years, has not been effective at improving student performance. Our division often performs below provincial levels in some areas, and the province typically scores below national levels. Going back to your introductory video, I personally suspect a large part of the problem has been treating all the students the same, with the result that teachers generally teach towards the theoretical middle. Unfortunately this makes it more difficult for the weaker students to rise up, and often has a tendency to disengage those at the higher end. I see great potential in individualized programs such as Knewton or Khan Academy. Students can move forward more at their own individual pace, but the presence of a skilled teacher who can monitor individual student progress and continue to help motivate students to move forward and provide individual support at those critical time is essential. I suspect some teachers have some trepidation about computer-mediated instruction that places them more in a supportive role, but as I see it, it is the only way one teacher can successfully support today’s diverse classrooms.

      Peggy

    • teacherben 4:56 pm on October 27, 2012 | Log in to Reply

      It seems to me that personalized learning gets used a lot in lower primary but peters out as students get older. My students had personalized spelling lists, where they chose the words that were most important to them, personalized behavior programs, where studente identified things they wanted to work on (i.e. raising your hand in class rather than shouting out your answers) and center time where they got to choose what activities they would do through the week. I was surprised when I moved in to middle and high school teaching at how little say the students have in what they learn. That being said, I teach a subject that lends itself well to personalized learning. For example, I did a unit on game design with my students. I gave them a single lesson for each of a half-dozen tools for making games. Then, it was up to the students to decide what sort of game they wanted to make, for whom, and what sort of technology they would learn to do it with. Some chose tools that emphasize design aspects while the most of the programming was done for you and you would drag-and-drop stuff, while others who wanted more control over the inner workings of the game chose to get more into the programming.

      As for myself, I have always done my best learning on my own. I learned computer programming from a series of videos. I learned how to cook from downloading 10 seasons of Good Eats. I am now learning about electronics from various tutorials and videos. I learned handyman stuff by doing, and whenever I ran into a snag, i looked online for solutions. The problem I have is sticking with stuff. With so much to learn on the Internet, it is easy to get sidetracked by other stuff. And the possibilities are practically endless. I am trying to get my programming to the next level now, and I have done the first 2 or 3 lessons from a ton of different sources and different languages. It is easy to spend more time searching for new material and gathering resources than it is actually learning to use them. You can see how many edtech bloggers have the same problem–they spend all their time locating resources to review and share, but when you meet these people at a conference, they don’t actually know anything beyond a superficial level (except sharing, which they know a great deal about.)

      I have started the program to become a Certified Google Apps for Education Instructor 3 times and can never get past the first couple lessons, even though I know it’s great for my resume, it’s free and it will be really useful. In fact, there is a course being offered at another school here where you just go through the free online tutorials together as a group and it costs 350 bucks! It doesn’t even include the certification. You still have to take the tests online yourself. But I am tempted to do it anyways because that way I may actually complete it. Left on my own, I may just continue to put it off over and over.

    • C. Ranson 8:25 am on October 28, 2012 | Log in to Reply

      This has been a very interesting conversation with many views about Personalized Learning, my experience is with teaching adult learners in an environment where the number of students is approximately 85, and therefore, delivering didactic curriculum face to face through personalized learning is limited. The class is very diverse in age, culture, socio-economic status and learning styles. There is a clinical component in the program where the student/faculty ratio is 1:10 in a simulation environment and then a 1:5 ratio in the clinical client care environment and in this setting personalized learning does take place; there is very specific and different teaching/learning interactions with each student depending on where they are along the competency continuum and what type of skills they are implementing.

      As I navigated through the content and examples of the schools that offered Personalized Learning it is apparent that at a young age this type of environment would be a positive learning environment, especially for the student that does not fall into the “Factory Model” of learning. It does appear that this type of philosophy would be easier to implement at a young age and with a regulated number of students, and this seems to be offered typically in the private sector of education.

      For the adult learner as mentioned, I do believe they create their own personalized learning strategies regardless of how the content is delivered. In most clinical type programs, such as dentistry, nursing, medicine the learning model is competency based where learners move along the competency continuum at different rates with the end goal being that the student can demonstrate they are safe and competent. The mastery level of the competency continuum occurs with practice and beyond their initial educational training.

      I would assume that Personalized Learning is linked to learning outcomes and within the model there would be various evaluative methodologies that might have flexible deadlines. This model can be very effective as it offers both one-on-one interaction and collaborative interaction where various levels of learners will learn from one another. The student that fosters that natural intrinsic motivation will excel and the less motivated learner will require more direction and support through their learning. This is a very interesting philosophy and would be beneficial for our current learners and the learner that the future is creating, very different from our experience.
      Catherine

    • jenbarker 9:41 am on October 28, 2012 | Log in to Reply

      Wow… this topic has generated outstanding discussions. When I think of PLE I do not always connect it with technology per se. I believe that I have offered my students PLE through posing open ended questions in Mathematics. Some may refer to this as Problem Based Learning. Each student is able to feel successful and is given the choice of how to respond. Some students use iPads to help them solve a problem. Others use hands-on manipulatives and others choose to draw pictures. Really their options are endless. I believe that this allows each student the ability to personalize and choose a learning style that best suits them. In Science I use a Gradual Release Model, beginning the school year inquiring into what is Science, and what do Scientist do through doing some teacher directed activities. Once they are able to answer these questions and understand the process of inquiry, students choose their own big questions or wonders and explore them through the inquiry process. Like I said earlier, it may or may not include the use of technology but allowing for individual choice, it is personal. Students also chose whether or not to work alone, with a partner, or in a small group. I hope that I have understood PLE as you meant it. I like the examples you shared but found that many still were founded on a “banking model” of education where the student needs to be filled with specific facts or knowledge and although I feel that students need the basics, I don’t agree with this structure and testing. To me, the New York School is not reflective of the Educational Paradigm shift we desperately need.

    • sophiabb 9:17 pm on October 28, 2012 | Log in to Reply

      I too am intrigued by the concept of PLEs. With the affordances of Web 2.0, Cloud, Smartphones maybe this is tomorrow’s learning happening today. Educators have been talking about learner centred approaches for decades; for the last 20 that I have been an educator, this seemed at times to be more of a theoretical construct. At last, it seems very possible, through these technological affordances. I however wonder about the practical issues and their impact of the feasibility of PLEs – class size, standardized assessment expectations and issues of curricula, teacher training/preparation, technical support and the availability of technological resources. How feasible is this for schools in developing countries? What would be the impact of culture on how we ‘customize’.

      Sophia

  • Paula Poodwan 12:06 am on October 22, 2012
    0 votes
    |      

    Activity Six: SWOT Analysis This is a space to discuss your SWOT analysis from the perspective of an EVA. 

    Continue reading Week 8 Activity Six Posted in: Week 08:
     

    • joeltremblay 9:43 am on October 23, 2012 | Log in to Reply

      Lumosity
      Strengths:
      1) Adaptability and an opportunity to reach all different types of learners.
      2) Wide ranging and differentiating tests that can help improve a multitude of different abilities
      3) Originality. I’ve never seen another site dedicated and focused like this.

      Weaknesses (or Limitations):
      1) English only that I could see.
      2) Possibly not enough depth. From a superficial point of view quite comprehensive
      3) Customer retention. How many of the participants will keep it going consistently for the entire three months?
      4) Are the abilities permanent or only for the duration of the course?

      Opportunities:
      1) Different languages
      2) Different timesets as right now 3 months is the only option.

      Threats:
      1) Time. How long will people continue to make time for this especially if results vary?
      2) Any other website that runs iq tests etc.

      • ETEC522grp8 3:10 pm on October 23, 2012 | Log in to Reply

        Thanks for the analysis. I also felt that users would not continue to use the site if they do not see immediate results. Maybe if they distribute shareware or freeware versions of their program and people started trying it Lumosity would gain a wider customer base.
        – James

    • adi 11:53 am on October 23, 2012 | Log in to Reply

      Macmillan English Campus (http://www.macmillanenglishcampus.com/section.asp?catid=63 )

      Strengths:
      • Brand name of a well known publishers of EFL materials and textbooks.
      • It is both a management system and a searchable database.
      • It has a wide variety of exercise types, skills, exam practice, games and reference tools.
      • Both teachers and students can monitor progress.
      • Learner paced.
      • Can be customized to fit the institutions needs.
      • Authored by well-known experts in the field.

      Weaknesses:
      • Technological requirements may not be readily available.
      • It is not free.
      • It is targeted at institutions (not for individual use).
      • The buyer is not the end user (e.g. the teacher or student).

      Opportunities:
      • They can expand market
      • Macmillan can benefit from institutions preferring a brand vs all the unknown products out there.

      Threats:
      • There are many free online tools and resources out there.
      • With all the user-friendly tools available, teachers are creating their own material.

      • ETEC522grp8 3:23 pm on October 23, 2012 | Log in to Reply

        Thanks for your analysis. Do you think that perhaps the contents authored by well-known experts in the field would help MEC differentiate itself from its competitors and overcome its threats?
        – James

    • tomwhyte1 10:48 am on October 24, 2012 | Log in to Reply

      SWOT:

      Venture: Mathletics (http://www.mathletics.ca/)

      Strengths:

      • Provides math help for students around the world, in electronic and print format
      • Customizes instructional materials and questions based upon:
      o Country
      o Textbook used
      • Efficient and effective student progress tracking
      • Has game elements to allow students to compete against each other around the world, which includes customizable avatars
      • Regardless of grade, level of material can be adjusted to suit individual student needs

      Weaknesses:

      • Might be used as a replacement for good teaching
      • Limits social interaction with real life people
      • Online educational environment might not be beneficial for all students
      • Requires sufficient hardware and Internet access, if these are unavailable, students are not able to utilize the resource
      • Financial costs may limit the number of students/schools who access the program

      Opportunities:

      • Potential to expand core concept into other instructional areas, such as:
      o Languages
      o General Science
      • Capitalize on ever changing Internet services to provide a more meaningful and engaging service

      Threats:

      • Other similar services provided by large companies, which already have a large footprint within the Education market
      • As curriculum or philosophy of curriculum changes, may find it difficult to develop effective resources

      Thoughts?

      • ETEC522grp8 8:37 pm on October 24, 2012 | Log in to Reply

        Tom,

        I like your point about connectivity. If you are using an online program and do not have a stable connection to the internet it can be incredibly frustrating for students and teachers alike. I think with any technology implementation this is an important consideration, and requires those good teaching practices so that when technology does not work their is another way to reach the same goal.

        • tomwhyte1 12:11 pm on October 25, 2012 | Log in to Reply

          Yes, such an issue occurred yesterday, when Amazon’s infrastructure, which supports other sites, had major issues. Hence Edmodo being down for hours.

    • jhodi 10:56 am on October 24, 2012 | Log in to Reply

      Strengths:
       School of One uses a learning algorithm that makes the curriculum adaptive to the student.
       Learning algorithm is flexible and can be modified by teachers.
       School of One learns about the student in order to create appropriate pairings of students, teachers, and resources.
       Lesson bank was designed by experts in the field, aligned with state curriculum, and was designed to satisfy different learning styles and needs.
      Weaknesses:
       Relatively new with minimal concrete research and results.
       Unable to control annual numbers of students that will have specific needs.
      Opportunities:
       School of One has several partners in a wide range of fields such as digital content, facilities, funding, live content, and technology. Several of these partners are large corporations such as Microsoft. This allows opportunities to bridge the needs and goals of School of One with the technologies and services already offered by these companies.
      Threats:
       There is competition from schools desiring to create their own personalized learning environments that may not desire to pay for or use the technologies and services offered by School of One. Teachers may desire to use technologies offered by such companies as Microsoft to individualize their own classrooms.

    • Doug Connery 9:46 pm on October 24, 2012 | Log in to Reply

      Experiential Learning Initiative (ELI)

      Strengths:
      Children learn better when engaged in hands-on activities
      Allows students to focus on their strengths
      Projects are a combination of science, language, math, and a physical skill building component

      Weaknesses
      Students who move onto other schools without this initiative will be bored and not motivated
      Teachers need to be prepared for this method

      Opportunities:
      Implement this initiative in middle and high schools
      Connect with community by demonstrating projects

      Threats:
      Traditionalists: parents and teachers, would oppose this type of learning

      • avninder 10:00 am on October 25, 2012 | Log in to Reply

        I will also look at ELI but from a corporate training perspective:
        Strengths
        – can use real life situations
        – expose employees to different issues in the organization
        – concrete examples facilitate easy transfer of knowledge to the job
        Weaknesses
        – organizing site visits, meetings or other exchanges will take time and money
        Opportunities
        – could be ideal for new employees or trainees
        – senior employees could be provided with an opportunity to share their knowledge and act as facilitators
        Threats
        – the time required for ELI is time that could otherwise be used performing normal job duties i.e.: short term decrease in productivity

    • kstackhouse 6:42 am on October 25, 2012 | Log in to Reply

      School of One:

      Strengths: Highly engaged learning, focused on the need of the individual student. A mix of f2f and virtual learning. Experience with technology and collaborative learning in a flexible environment. Teacher working with students where they are at, rather than trying to address a large group and hoping that everyone will come along at the same pace.

      Weaknesses: Cost, cost, cost. Schools in my region are fighting for basic funding for technology. Purchasing the software for creating the learning goals and measuring learning would be very high. Other competitors may offer newer services. If a contract was locked in for too long districts and schools could end up paying more in the long run. Relying on the technology may cause issues if it should fail. Would teachers be prepared to work for a week or two if things went wrong?

      Opportunities: Students can work in a more real life, work place like scenario with mixed abilities and flexible groups. Students can work with students and teachers outside of their school walls. Schools have the chance to collaborate with other organizations.

      Threats: A threat to this type of program is the reliance on funding that the school would have. If one government supported it the next might not. Having parents, community, and corporate partnerships carry this program may be difficult. Breaking the mould of traditional environment(s) may be a tough “sell” to policy makers and parents.

      • ETEC522grp8 1:51 pm on October 27, 2012 | Log in to Reply

        I too think one of the major threats would be policy makers and parents not buying in to programs and services such as those offered by the School of One due to insufficient funding. Perhaps such ventures need to provide more free trials like the ones offered by the School of One in order to gain a wider audience so that districts can receive more funding through grants and fundraising activities?
        James

    • Jenny Brown 8:39 am on October 26, 2012 | Log in to Reply

      Personalized Learning in Corporations

      I did a little research to see what I could find about personalized learning in corporations and I wasn’t coming up with much except for the offerings of customized corporate training and learning management systems.

      I think corporations are just at the brink of utilizing online tools to create PLEs for staff. For example: British Columbia Public Service released a document: Developing the Best: A Corporate Learning Strategy for the BC Public Service that recognized the need for personalized learning and creating personalized learning sites. http://www2.gov.bc.ca/local/myhr/documents/learning_education/corporate_learning_strategy.pdf

      Another interesting find was a Master’s Thesis entitled: The Use of Personalized Learning Environments in Corporate Training Programs http://etd.ohiolink.edu/send-pdf.cgi/Barnes%20Rachel%20J.pdf?bgsu1302192806 . The thesis included a short video, highlighting how online PLEs could be developed: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IPO4uy8aNcs&lr=1.

      I really liked the example of Page Flakes – that allows you to have a personalized home page with different feeds. She also talked about Google Reader, Twitter, Diigo, and Facebook which could all be used to personalize one’s learning on a daily basis.

      What I gathered in the thesis is that in a corporate setting, PLEs could evolve with the use of social media tools which encourage connectivism among users. It also includes a shift from the role of the instructor who no longer is the source of information but rather acts as a guide and teaching being no longer a means of “data transmission” but a collaboration between the instructor and the learners.

      So for a quick SWOT analysis for PLE in corporate settings:

      Strengths:
      • Cost savings compared to conventional classroom learning;
      • Will enhance both formal and informal learning; and
      • Connectivism among employees.

      Weaknesses:
      • Use of social media tools blocked by many corporate fire-walls;
      • Based on tools more familiar with younger populations; and
      • Most tools available are user-centric, not process-centric.

      Opportunities:
      • Creation of PLE targeted for use within corporations

      Threats:
      • IT within corporations would ever allow the growth of social media tools in the workplace;
      • Older employees won’t adapt to the new learning environment; and
      • Learning will continue to reside in antiquated LMS.

      • ETEC522grp8 10:47 pm on October 27, 2012 | Log in to Reply

        Thanks for sharing the links and providing us with a different perspective on the application of PLEs outside the k-12 context! Do you think security would be an issue for companies considering training through PLEs?

    • visramn 5:20 pm on October 26, 2012 | Log in to Reply

      SWOT
      Khan Academy (http://www.khanacademy.org/ )
      Strengths
      – Embedded tools for varying learning styles
      -Increased interactivity and engagement for students
      -Students can work at their own pace and level
      -Students get instant feedback
      -Free and can be accessed from computers with internet (no extra costs for schools)

      Weaknesses
      -Teachers need to know how to be present as a guide and need to make sure they do not become non-existent
      – Not approved by all boards (Cannot access these programs in all schools due to fire walls)
      – Some students lack independence and would not be able to work through the task and stay motivated without more structure.
      -Continuity from year to year may be lacking if students work with different teacher who have different means of teaching.

      Opportunities
      -Students can access this learning tool from home or from a distance therefore making learning more flexible.
      -Parents can access this tool from home with their students to see what their child has been working on and to see their child’s progress.
      -Can be used across whole school boards so that students can transition from one school to another or one grade to another easily.

      Threats
      – Parents and teachers may be opposed to using this program because it is web based and students can easily get off task or begin to interact social on the new rather than working
      -Teachers who are not comfortable with the use of technology or the internet and that prefer more traditional means of teaching may not be comfortable with using this program
      -This type of system is based on students’ level not grade. Thus, it would require a restructuring of the way students are grouped for their learning.
      -Many other tools such as this program are present in the market. Hence, this tool has a lot of competition.

      Nureen

      • ETEC522grp8 10:58 pm on October 27, 2012 | Log in to Reply

        Thanks for the analysis. I do wonder how the Khan Academy would overcome the competition it has with other open course ware online courses?

    • manny 5:42 pm on October 26, 2012 | Log in to Reply

      Swot Analysis: Lumosity

      Strengths:
      ➢ Creates an individualized program based on specific skills that the user chooses to build.
      ➢ Clinically proven to work with research that backs it up.
      ➢ Online courseware that does not require user to download any software.
      ➢ Activities are generally fun and engaging.

      Weaknesses
      ➢ There is no rewards based system that could motivate students to use it regularly.
      ➢ Brain index is too complicated for younger students to understand.
      ➢ Graphics could be improved for certain activities, incorporate more video game oriented play.

      Opportunities
      ➢ Develop a pre test that calculates cognitive areas that require improvement. Students are usually not aware what they need to work on so this pre-test could make suggestions and bundle a package of activities specific to that user.

      Threats
      ➢ Other online products that claim to do the exact same thing; the market is saturated with skill building activities for a lot cheaper (sometimes free).
      ➢ FOIPPA regulations.

    • Eva Ziemsen 2:13 pm on October 27, 2012 | Log in to Reply

      SWOT Analysis: SOCRAIT (by Maria H. Andersen)

      “SOCRAIT (a play on “Socratic” that includes SOC for social, AI for artificial intelligence, and IT for information technology within its name).”
      http://www.wfs.org/content/world-is-my-school

      Strengths:
      o If implemented, SOCRAIT could change the way we learn on the Internet, and not require any new content, but rather, would make use of the WWW in a highly personalized and educational manner.
      o Nothing much has to change, except that websites would need to add a “Learn This” button, (similar to Twitter, FB like, RSS).
      o If adopted, SOCRAIT would enable innovative learning outside the ‘educational’ walls on the Internet

      Weaknesses (or Limitations):
      – It may take time for all websites to adopt this button (“learn this”)
      o It will take time for the system to populate questions and make use of collective activity. In other words, for the beginning period, SOCRAIT would function on an individual basis and not make use of the collective.
      o Encouraging users to use SOCRAIT, especially in schools, where access to the full WWW is restricted, may be difficult.

      Opportunities
      o SOCRAIT has the same potential as facebook, twitter and other large socially-driven platforms, only this is geared to education, which is all the more profitable.
      It is seemingly simple and has the potential to be adopted by a very wide audience (everyone who wants to learn, from child to adult, institutionalized or casual).

      Threats:
      o Some may consider this threatening to a set curriculum that aims to teach X with YZ resources.
      o This concept could easily be copied, as it is just a concept. Therefore, why would Google not already be planning such an approach?

      • ETEC522grp8 11:08 pm on October 27, 2012 | Log in to Reply

        I think Maria Anderson’s SOCRAIT concept is very interesting, and her asking for internet users to help build the software is great. I can see it being created as an app using one of the app creation tools we used in Week 5 of our course.

        Thanks for sharing!

        James

      • melissaayers 6:17 am on October 28, 2012 | Log in to Reply

        Hi Eva, thanks for sharing that I was interested to find out more about SOCRAT and came across this video by Maria H. Andersen http://edgeoflearning.com/?cat=112 for anyone else that is interested.

    • C. Ranson 9:31 am on October 28, 2012 | Log in to Reply

      SWOT – Lumosity

      I have had a chance to navigate the entire site and train for my 2nd day. This is a great site supported by very current scientific information. What a great site for the geriactric population.

      Strengths
       Unique in its kind
       Scientifically supported by the process of neuroplasticity
       Clinically proven
       Can be used by a diverse group of students and others
       Engaging and easy to use
       Proven to improve cognitive function
       Affordable
       Can cancel at anytime
       Data is secure
       Accessible on most devices and build-in reminders about training

      Weaknesses
       Student/individual compliance
       Not suitable for the very young

      Opportunities
       Variety of games

      Threats
       Will people use it daily and continue to use it to determine efficacy
       Novelty – in order to effectively exercise a brain, you must complete the tasks and challenges.
       Similar sites offering same program/information at a lower cost

      Catherine

    • frank 8:32 pm on October 28, 2012 | Log in to Reply

      Coursera:
      Coursera is a social educational tech venture that partners with top universities to offer courses online for free to anyone.

      Strengths:
      – Partnerships with Top Educational Institutions.
      – Wide range of Topics
      – Strong support from Stanford and players in Silicon Valley

      Weaknesses:
      – Sustainable student engagement
      – Recognition and Accreditation

      Opportunities:
      – Partnerships with institutions and jurisdictions that actually give Coursera recognition for providing educational content
      – Identifying ways to improve student learning and engagement
      – Expanding their presence globally

      Threats:
      – Stiff completion in growing Education tech: ex, edX, Udacity, Khan Acadamy, Alison.com etc.
      – Being perceived as a threat by institutions and jurisdictions: eg.
      http://www.slate.com/blogs/future_tense/2012/10/18/minnesota_bans_coursera_state_takes_bold_stand_against_free_education.html

      Frank

  • Paula Poodwan 12:08 am on October 22, 2012
    0 votes
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    Activity Seven: Invest or not to invest This is a space to discuss your thoughts on whether or not it would be viable for your school, district, business or yourself to invest in the venture selected for the SWOT analysis and explain why.

    Continue reading Week 8 Activity Seven Posted in: Week 08:
     

    • joeltremblay 9:45 am on October 23, 2012 | Log in to Reply

      I’m actually going to suggest Luminosity to my SEA’s for some of the more challenging students. It might be a way to improve their autonomy and abilities since some of them spend a lot of time doing similar activities on their computers.

      • ETEC522grp8 3:33 pm on October 23, 2012 | Log in to Reply

        I would love to hear what your SEA thinks of the idea, as I think Lumosity’s combination of neuroscience and game based learning would definitely help challenging students with their learning.

    • adi 12:00 pm on October 23, 2012 | Log in to Reply

      Though the MEC is not free, it is not that expensive given what it provides in exchange; last I heard the monthly licence was around $25.00 dollars. For this price, schools have access to a huge database of exercises, activities, WebQuests, graded ‘The Guradian’ articles, games, grammar reference and practice, listening activities, IELTS, TOEFL, and Cambridge Exams practice, the Macmillan English Dictionary, and a personal word list the student creates and personal gradebook. Teachers can monitor students work in great detail, e.g. when they first tried out an activity, their first and last score etc. Teachers can also create courses using the database.
      In short, it’s a lot of resources in one place, and unlike many online resources, it is authored by experts in the field and supervised and edited for quality.

      • ETEC522grp8 3:43 pm on October 23, 2012 | Log in to Reply

        That’s a really good price to pay for the contents you get. I was thinking the price tag was in the hundreds.

        It is too bad that MEC is not available to people outside institutions, and I do wonder why?
        – James

      • jkotler 2:44 am on October 24, 2012 | Log in to Reply

        I am not familiar with MEC but it sounds like a really great resource. Have you ever used it before? Also, I am interested to learn more about it; can you provide a link for it?

      • jhodi 11:13 am on October 24, 2012 | Log in to Reply

        This is very interesting, I had not heard of it previously. It seems like for what you get, the price is very good! Does it provide resources for all grade levels? I am very intrigued by the idea that it is all created by experts in the field, because as you note, not all online resources are.

      • pcollins 2:07 pm on October 25, 2012 | Log in to Reply

        I always have the concern, that even though for the moment… the price appears quite reasonable. What will happen to this resource if the school does invest it’s time heavily into putting it into production and then they face a price jump? It’s one of the issues that I have with moodle…. concerns about when they do decide to charge, and what will that charge be.

        PC

      • visramn 10:00 pm on October 28, 2012 | Log in to Reply

        i think monitoring is a key component. The fact that this tool has that capacity makes it a lot less riskier to use with students.
        Nureen

    • tomwhyte1 10:52 am on October 24, 2012 | Log in to Reply

      The venture I selected was Mathletics, something that as our schools Math/Science Department Head we have begun to explore. For as a department, we are aware that for some students, our multiple approaches are not meeting their needs, regardless if they are at the low or high end of the spectrum for ability.

      Therefore, we explored two services and decided upon Mathletics. We are going through the process of purchasing 10 student accounts, to provide a more personal learning environment for students that either require more remedial training or more advanced work, for Mathletics allow you to go 6 grade levels above and below where the student is currently at.

      It is our hope, that those students selected for this trial run will find some benefit in what we are providing.

      Thoughts?

      • Suhayl Patel 2:15 pm on October 24, 2012 | Log in to Reply

        Mathletics seems interesting. I’ve heard about it a few times but never tried it myself. From the looks of it, it seems like a mesh between Khan Academy and the gamification of learning. Are there specific students you are going to target with those 10 accounts?

        • tomwhyte1 10:15 am on October 26, 2012 | Log in to Reply

          We are hoping to try this service with 5 students who need assistance to bring their grade level up (easy group to identify, education does an excellent job identifying this area), and with 5 students who are working significantly beyond grade level (education needs to do a better job identifying this group, as most themselves do not want that recognition).

          Hope this helps.

      • ETEC522grp8 9:07 pm on October 24, 2012 | Log in to Reply

        Hi tomwhyte1,

        Can you share with us the other choice that was being compared to Mathletics and some of the main factors you considered when deciding between the two platforms?

        – James

        • tomwhyte1 10:16 am on October 26, 2012 | Log in to Reply

          We were originally wanting to try 5 accounts of Mathletics, and 5 accounts of IXL to compare the services. Unfortunately, IXL could not accomodate our request of only purchasing 5 accounts. Therefore, we went with Mathletics for all 10.

      • pcollins 2:02 pm on October 25, 2012 | Log in to Reply

        Hi Tom,
        I can see the affordances of Mathletics with certain students. I am wondering however, how specific students will be selected for the trial and how it will unroll in the classroom. Will these students be seperated from their classmates to focus on developing their math skills (perhaps under the guidance of the Learning Assistance Room) or will the program be implemented to help advanced students jump further into math while their class continues with the status quo?

        • tomwhyte1 10:18 am on October 26, 2012 | Log in to Reply

          The classroom teacher would identify students that they feel would benefit from an alternative approach. Then, with the classroom teacher, grade level admin, learning coach, and myself we would discuss if this would be the best option for that student.

          As for what it might look like in class. Our thoughts were, that the student would still receive regular classroom instruction, but when students were working on assignments, those identified students would access one of our netbooks and complete lessons and assignments through Mathletics.

          Thoughts?

          • ETEC522grp8 11:15 pm on October 26, 2012 | Log in to Reply

            Wow, there are a lot of people involved there! I always am hesitant to “pull’ students from classes before the lessons. There are so many contextual elements that a (good) teacher presents within any lesson, that can help a student understand content, not to mention questions from peers that arise. Did these reasons affect that decision for when to use it, or were there others?

    • jhodi 11:07 am on October 24, 2012 | Log in to Reply

      I feel as though creating or changing a current school into a School of One school could be a very large task. Within my school board, to develop a new school for this purpose would require first of all the lessons to be created based on curriculum and different lessons to be created based on different learning styles and needs. After these were created, an algorithm would need to be determined to place students, and teachers would need to be placed according to their strengths and teaching abilities. Students would also need to be assessed for skill level and learning preferences. I also imagine that it would take some time for students to become accustomed to this new type of school and learning style.
      As I work for a larger school board, I would not say that this would be impossible, but it would most likely be a several year project, since creating the lesson bank could take a considerable amount of time on its own. Overall, I like the idea, but it would be a large undertaking.

      • ETEC522grp8 9:22 pm on October 24, 2012 | Log in to Reply

        I do wonder how the services, contents and infrastructure that the School of One provides differ from its competitors in this market..?

      • kstackhouse 6:48 am on October 25, 2012 | Log in to Reply

        I also looked at School of One. I think that in a large district this is not a realistic venture, at this time. As you mention it would be a transition that would take a considerable amount of time. The initial costs and change from a traditional approach would be a tough sell. I think this type of program would be more likely to be found in a private school rather than in a large district.

    • Doug Connery 9:57 pm on October 24, 2012 | Log in to Reply

      I selected Experiential Learning for the SWOT as this example seemed the most appropriate for the technical/business post secondary environment that I work in. A great example similar to this that I have seen work well are business case competitions. Here students in groups of four are given a business case to solve and then are locked down for 10 hours researching and creating a solution. The next day the groups present to a panel of judges, one of which owns the business with the problem and the panel decides on first, second and third.

      • ETEC522grp8 11:13 pm on October 27, 2012 | Log in to Reply

        That seems to be quite an intense approach to problem based learning, but I suppose that’s how the business world is like.

        Thanks for sharing!

        James

    • avninder 10:11 am on October 25, 2012 | Log in to Reply

      I’m not sure that experiential learning can be called a venture per se. There is no IT software that has to be purchased or any other large capital investment that has to be made. From a business perspective, the main downfall is the time spent learning which could otherwise be used being ‘productive’. I think this makes EL ideal for new hires as they would spend a lot of time after they are hired training on the job anyway. This short term unproductive phase will develop employees as knowledgeable and capable.

    • manny 5:49 pm on October 26, 2012 | Log in to Reply

      My SWOT analysis was conducted on Lumosity. If I was in charge of allocating budget funds from a school districts perspective I would not invest in this venture. From an economies of scale standpoint, it is quite simply too expensive to cover every student in the district. If Lumosity had a bulk usage licensing agreement, my mind may change depending on the parameters of the contract.
      From an individual investors standpoint, I would definitely consider investing in this venture. The billing is set up in such a way that after a set amount of users, you are guaranteeing a cash flow into the company. The overhead is low and I would think that a majority of the expenses are allocated towards research, most of which has been conducted already. Companies such as this have enormous growth potential and must be managed with the long term in mind.
      Manny

    • melissaayers 7:51 am on October 27, 2012 | Log in to Reply

      Since I do not work at an educational institute I can not answer the question as to whether I would invest in this venture (Smart Sparrow Adaptive eLearning Platform) for my school or district.

      However, if I was a student of medicine, nursing or science I would lobby my teachers and school to consider investigating further the feasibility of introducing this platform at my learning institute. As part of my SWOT investigation I was not able to find out what the cost involved in using this platform (I needed to request a quote via their website to gain an idea) therefore further investigation and feasibility analysis would be required. As well the training and time required for teachers to be able to create content for this platform would need to be considered.

    • Eva Ziemsen 2:20 pm on October 27, 2012 | Log in to Reply

      If SOCRAIT was available, I would immediately make use of it for students, from day one in our film program. I would say, as I already do, learning is actually the responsibility of the student. I believe SOCRAIT would help empower students who want to be in charge of their learning, as a complement to a set curriculum. Therefore, I would suggest that they have on-going questions that they must answer throughout the three years in our program. In specific courses, I would ask them to incorporate SOCRAIT into their research. I believe SOCRAIT would be easy to incorporate, as long as there was a free version, which Andersen alluded to. SOCRAIT would help educators help students be more critical and self-guided in their learning.

    • C. Ranson 9:52 am on October 28, 2012 | Log in to Reply

      I am going to introduce Lumosity to my students; this is a really interesting site that I can relate to. We recently attended a presentation on Brain Plasticity; I initially didn’t realize that Lumosity was a training program based on this theory. I am going subscribe and ensure compliance to see what the outcome is and then it would be reasonable to offer an opinion to my students and whether it would be worth investing time and money into. Thanks for sharing this site.
      Catherine

    • visramn 9:56 pm on October 28, 2012 | Log in to Reply

      My swot analysis was on Khan academy. I found that the major factor that would draw educators to use this tool and to encourage the adoption of this tool in their school is that it is free and that it can be run from any computer with Internet access. It also has many resources and caters to all type of learners because of its multiple means of delivery for math content it offers instant feedback tend teachers can monitor students progress and how effectivley they have been using this tool Students can access this tool from anywhere and parents can view their child work and progress at any time. All of these factors indicate that this tool has many positives. I personally use this tool with my students already and believe it is a sound venture that deserves to be persued. Yes there are other products out there but this tool has proven to e successful and it’s free.
      Nureen

  • joeltremblay 9:56 am on November 11, 2012
    0 votes
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    Throughout this unit we attempted to push the boundaries of emerging and existing technologies existing within the expanding contexts of voice, touch and gesture concluding with a section on the future possibilities being discussed now. All pages contain links at the top in the toolbar and buttons at the bottom, to help you progress through […]

    Continue reading Welcome to Week 11: Voice, Touch and Gesture Posted in: General, Week 11:
     

    • Scott 6:15 pm on November 14, 2012 | Log in to Reply

      I simply wanted to take a brief moment to thank all of you for creating such a well designed Weebly website. Your carefully curated content, attention to details including easy navigation, clean use of type and page layout, along with CC sourced images, have resulted in a website which is full of useful content wrapped in an effective presentation. Kudos for your effort!

      • jenbarker 9:51 am on November 17, 2012 | Log in to Reply

        I echo Scott. You website looked extremely professional. I also liked the way you chose to set up each page with the headings voice, gesture, and touch. The videos you chose expanded what I already knew and opened my eyes to many future possibilities. Thank you for all your hard work.

    • visramn 8:04 pm on November 15, 2012 | Log in to Reply

      I agree with Scott. It is a very good site and the examples on there are great. I really enjoyed watching all the videos and I feel like I have learned so much from your site. Thanks.

      Nureen

    • lullings 9:38 am on November 17, 2012 | Log in to Reply

      Thanks Scott and Nureen,

      Creating the site my main goal was that it was clean and simple. I wanted the content to be unrestricted by technology and visual trash – from your feedback I think I have succeeded with you both anyway. As for the content it was a collaborative effort of the team and your positive feedback is appreciated.

  • Kent Jamieson 7:45 am on October 30, 2012
    0 votes
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    I recently found this AR beauty.  Nasa’s Spacecraft 3D is an augmented reality application that lets you learn and interact with NASA’s spacecrafts and other technology. By printing out the AR target sheet that comes with the app you simply use your iPhone or iPad video camera to make these cool space tools come to life! I […]

    Continue reading Out of this world AR app – Spacecraft 3D Posted in: General, Week 07:
     

    • manny 9:21 am on November 2, 2012 | Log in to Reply

      Hi Kent,
      Thanks for sharing that app with the cohort. I currently teach Earth and Ocean Sciences 11 and can’t wait to integrate it into the space unit of this class. I like the fact that the printed marker can be embedded into course readings through which students can access the 3d augmented reality experience. I hope the designers are considering AR apps for biology and chemistry courses as this would truly make the experience more tangible and engaging.
      Thanks,
      Manny

    • ETEC BYOD 6:45 pm on November 4, 2012 | Log in to Reply

      Great application of the technology – thanks for sharing it Kent.

  • coralk 8:06 pm on October 28, 2012
    0 votes
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    Tags:   

    Conclusions: Thank you all for participating in our presentation of Personalized Learning Tools. We are so pleased with the amount of discussion, analysis and healthy debate that occurred this week.  We hope that you were able to learn more about the types of tools that are being used in classrooms around the world.  There are […]

    Continue reading Thank you from Week 8 – Personalized Learning Posted in: Week 08:
     

  • Pat A Son 2:08 am on October 29, 2012
    0 votes
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    McGraw-Hill LearnSmart, Strengths ·         Sound theoretical and technical base ·         Well-developed online presence ·         A long history with the education industry ·         A large market share in education as is the largest educational publisher in the U.S ·         A wealth of resources to draw from with their experience in the print media ·         A wide […]

    Continue reading McGraw-Hill LearnSmart, Strengths ·     … Posted in: Week 08:
     

  • teacherben 11:30 pm on October 28, 2012
    0 votes
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    http://mashable.com/2012/10/26/gift-of-the-day-nerf-lazer-tag/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+Mashable+%28Mashable%29   …just in time for the holidays

    Continue reading Augmented Reality Lazertag by Nerf Posted in: Blog Café
     

    • jenbarker 4:15 pm on October 29, 2012 | Log in to Reply

      As a parent who is constantly picking up the foam Nerf pellets all around my house, I am excited to see if my son takes to this. I hope they find a way to make it work with an iPod because there aren’t many young children who own iPhones and I’d be reluctant to hand mine over. Thanks for sharing, Ben.

    • Jenny Brown 7:09 am on October 30, 2012 | Log in to Reply

      That’s a really cool idea!

  • Peggy Lawson 2:34 pm on November 4, 2012
    0 votes
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    After considering some of the options available for free e-textbooks, which would best suit the needs of the learners in your context and why?

    Posted in: Week 10:
     

    • tomwhyte1 8:13 pm on November 5, 2012 | Log in to Reply

      After reviewing the information provided regarding free textbooks, and after reflecting on my current and potentially future practice, I would most likely not use any textbook, even if it is free.

      The reason for myself is simple. I have begun to ask in my professional practive, what should I be teaching:

      1. The Textbook – which is loosely generated to supposedly fulfill all curriculum objectives

      or

      2. The curriculum…

      The answer is the curriculum, as it always should have been (but lets be honest, never really was – teaching from the textbook, to the textbook was just too easy). Therefore, it is my mission not to assign Math Textbooks out too my students next year – but to develop Mini Lessons, Mini Projects, culminating into larger projects, which students show their understanding, and through this process, maybe we develop our own resource for future learning and review.

      For if we used a textbook someone else made, it may or may not align well with my curriculum, and better yet, it most likely will not fit with what my students find meaningful.

      Thoughts?

    • cunnian 9:05 pm on November 5, 2012 | Log in to Reply

      Hi Tom,
      Thanks for your comment. Good on you for challenging the underlying assumption of this activity; namely that a textbook is a necessary part of any classroom. In your situation, you may be able to do away with this resource which hearkens back to the days of assigning the odd questions on page 46. The approach that you describe could allow for a much deeper understanding of the concepts than what most textbooks could offer. My own concern would be whether or not such an approach would allow me to balance both depth of learning and efficiency so that I might be able to cover all of the curricular requirements. Depth versus coverage is unfortunately a familiar conflict amongst many educators who find themselves teaching full curricula.

      Before you write off this resource entirely, consider that one of the major affordances (this is most notable in CK12.org) is that you are selecting the content that appears in your text… they are flexible enough to allow you to personalize a resource for your situation. Another benefit is that such a resource may allow you to quickly create learning materials which would allow you to more easily differentiate your instruction to support those students who have gaps in their conceptual understanding. My own experience with teaching math has shown me that these students are quite challenging to support as they invariably require much more time than I can reasonably give in a day.

      Finally, your students may find it nice to have another resource available 24/7 to clear up any misunderstandings and support their learning when you might not be available.

      At any rate, my point is that, while the approach that you propose could certainly do away with using textbooks entirely, such a resource may nonetheless still find a little niche of usefulness in your classroom.

      John

      • tomwhyte1 8:48 am on November 6, 2012 | Log in to Reply

        Interesting view points, especially when you bring up the issue of breadth over depth. In Alberta, there are discussions right now on adjusting our curriculum. We do a lot, with very little depth – they want a vice-versa approach. Have a few major concepts, then cover with much more depth. From that potential reality, it is more than possible to eliminate traditional textbooks.

        Secondly, as a department head, I know how much textbooks are costing – and I know I simply use it to assign questions. For me that is a huge waste of money. Yes I realize that these textbooks are free, however the device needed to use them is not. Furthermore, this would be a huge expense placed again on the parents, an expense at this time I cannot justify.

        Thirdly, in todays modern world, and the abundance of free information, why does one need a specific textbook. For myself, that is going to the worlds best buffet restaurant and ordering a plain burger. We have the technology now to create our own materials based upon our own needs. A local district around where I teach, has eliminated textbooks and have as a district developed their own, meaningful resources for their students. Not using someone else interpretation of the objectives.

        Fourthly, by instructing based upon a textbook, I am forcing (intentionally or unintentionally) my students to work on a very linear approach to education. However, if I teach to the curriculum, I can group, and regroup lessons based upon what objectives work best together, instead of teaching each inside of their own silo, and find the free resources to support the instruction.

        Lastly, I am planning on having traditional textbooks in the room that students can sign out if they need to on a nightly basis. I realize, that some students still need that textbook, and to remove that learning resource would be detrimental to their education, something I cannot support.

        Thoughts?

        • cunnian 11:00 pm on November 6, 2012 | Log in to Reply

          Thanks again Tom. As always, you have provided a well-articulated response. I am impressed that Alberta is having discussions about making such important changes to the curriculum. I personally haven’t heard of such discussions happening yet in BC at the ministry level, but look forward to when (if) they will eventually happen.

          John

    • melissaayers 6:32 am on November 6, 2012 | Log in to Reply

      As I do not have a context per say I will again base this on the MET program. Not wanting to be negative but I find myself having to reiterate Tom’s sentiments a little on this one. I find that none of these options seem relevant for the courses I have taken to date. It seems we (as MET students) have already had the readings and material pre-selected and provided as articles and or web resources by the course designers/facilitators. Following this I use websites and online journals in general when researching for a project or activity. I have not consulted or read (in its entirety) a real or digital book for these courses (I have taken only 5 so far so I am not sure how representative this is). That said I have of course read a number of chapters out of traditional text in pdf format.

      Does this suggest in general for online higher education the traditional book as well as its digital version are no longer needed? Are websites and web content (interactive & static) more the way to go? Or will educators start to create content using the new tools that are becoming available to create digital books which incorporate the new features mentioned in the intro of the OER (( 3D images, Interactive images and galleries, Highlighting and Note-taking, Sharing))?

      For the world of online higher education I find it difficult to differentiate between web content and new fully featured e-books. They seem the same and provide pretty much the same functionality but in general web content is a step or two ahead of the functionality that is provided in digital books. Overall I think it will remain the personal choice of the educator providing the course to what format they prefer to deliver their materials.

      • cunnian 11:16 pm on November 6, 2012 | Log in to Reply

        Hi Melissa,
        Thanks for your post. I think that you are correct that ultimately it is the instructor’s choice as to which resources will be incorporated. I’m not sure that in a graduate program you would expect to see much in the way of a textbook of any kind. I’ve only had to purchase one so far for ETEC 500.

        The problem that free e-textbook companies try to address is the ‘broken market’ of the textbook publishing industry. Costs of traditional texts have become oppressive and new versions come out each year, supposedly making the previous version obsolete. Web content and commercially-produced ebooks are indeed likely superior to these free products and you would think that if they were available for a certain subject, then the instructor would make use of them.

        John

      • tomwhyte1 5:30 am on November 8, 2012 | Log in to Reply

        In my course work so far, I have purchased two “textbooks” – One was for ETEC 500 – the Educational Research course, for myself, that was needed, for my brain needs all the help it can get for statistical analysis and such. Might I have done without, and found free resources, most likely. But having the safety net of the required resource made me feel better about my chance in the course. Second textbook – is more like a book for ETEC 531 – read a chapter then you are required to answer questions based specifically on the readings.

        So, could the entire MET course be completed with free etextbooks – yes. My two courses would have to have been revamped, and maybe when an ever-greening process occurs, this is something they might look into.

        Lastly, through these conversations, it has become clear that many people value the information they are getting freely from the internet, but there seems to be a negative connotation to the word textbook, and subsequently e-textbook. Is this a backlash from our days as being a student, finding little value in what was on the printed page? I don’t know, but those of us who are gathering resources, putting them together, then providing them to our students, aren’t we doing the same?

        So is the issue, centralized resources like textbooks or e-textbooks (or even the appearance of centralization), when over the last few years, the world of education has been afforded the opportunity to explore and capitalize on a decentralized approach to gathering and applying information?

        Thoughts?

        • ETEC BYOD 5:51 pm on November 9, 2012 | Log in to Reply

          I’ll weigh in on the debate over the textbook for ETEC 500, with the same question I had for the course instructor at the time: isn’t there an electronic version of this thing? The book was expensive, heavy (i.e. expensive to ship) and as Tom mentions, the content (or as much as we covered) could likely have been replaced with free resources online. Not mention that with the multimedia capabilities of etextbooks or online resources, the material covered in out ETEC 500 paper book could have been a touch more engaging and dare I say maybe even “fun” to learn 🙂

          I think if we look e-textbooks as a replacement for good old books, we may not be happy with the change. However, if we look at the possibilities of the medium and apply the etexts in the right situations, students, teachers and stakeholders looking for accountability in education, can all benefit.

          The notion of textbooks as static tombs of outdated information doesn’t need to be the case with etextbooks, which can be living and organically updated resources. I think of them in a way, as holding tanks for all the spoils of our online hunting and gathering. For this reason, I am more excited about the possibility of creating custom etextbooks tailored to fit the needs of individual educator, department or school, rather than simply replacing an old technology with a new one because we can, or because it will make some publishers more money.

    • pcollins 8:35 am on November 6, 2012 | Log in to Reply

      That is an interesting question Melissa,

      Are textbooks… digital or otherwise… simply becoming a bit passe in higher education? Especially in light of the rapidly evolving world of digital knowledge. I mean, could a digital textbook even sufficiently keep itself up to date?

      This is my seventh course and I have only purchased two textbooks. Both of which were only really supplemental to other readings provided by the instructors. And truth be told – I was questioning why we purchased them; being that less then 5% of the book was actually utilized in the course.

      There does appear to be pressure put on higher education to move to more digital publications. This comes as political (see the newsstand) and student-led for environmental and monetary concerns. I am left wondering how much personal choice educators have with choosing their format for course materials. I know that as a high school teacher – I can only use district sanctioned text books which basically come from one of two major publishers. If I was to not purchase their texts for my class and choose instead to solely use an online resource such as the CK12 books I have made – I would be in a world of commotion.

      PC

      • tomwhyte1 8:51 am on November 6, 2012 | Log in to Reply

        I look at your last statement – a world of commotion for not purchasing textbooks… I must ask why?

        When one considers the availability of free material (which is as good, if not better) and the huge expenditures when compared to dwindling budgets, I would think schools would support innovation and exploration?

        Thoughts?

    • avninder 9:47 am on November 6, 2012 | Log in to Reply

      tomwhyte1 I like how you question new ventures instead of being impressed solely by the bells and whistles. I was quite impressed by the TED video with the sample digital book but have now realized that there may be drawbacks. Costs would be the biggest issue. On first thought by eliminating the cost of printing books, the digital books would pay for themselves but when you consider the cost of the tablets that each student would have to buy, things change. Of course if there were a BYOD system in place perhaps students would be able to utilize their tablets or computers to access the newly formatted books. I think digital books may be a better fit for higher education as most college students will have their own devices and they have to pay for their own books.

      As a MET student who has only had to purchase books for 3 out of 9 courses, it was quite a change to have the majority of the readings online. At the beginning of the program, I was quick to print out the readings in order to highlight and mark; now I am comfortable with reading from the screen although this means I have to have access to a charged computer and an internet connection.

      • avninder 10:11 am on November 6, 2012 | Log in to Reply

        I know a lot of people are meme-ed out but this seems relevant to this week’s topic: http://www.quickmeme.com/meme/353u99/.

        I was going to post the the pic itself but the copyright pop up scared me.

        • Mike Rae 7:51 pm on November 6, 2012 | Log in to Reply

          I like that meme…pretty funny.

          In my situation teaching History 12, I was bummed that the textbook I had was the same one I used in high school (15 years ago). This bothered me so I supplemented myself with the internet, a printer and a photocopier. The next year I purchased two more recent textbooks (I was reimbursed) for the course that again I photocopied and handed out readings as supplements. It sure would have been nice if I could have done all that work (I did it during the year anyway) before the school year in creating my own book.

          I’m not sure how that would have gone over in my school though which is not BYOD. And for the most part, I think that administration is used to cutting checks for traditional paper textbooks and convincing them that this was a better idea would have been a challenge in itself. But free is an enticing word when working out school budgets.

          I think that we will see these textbooks used more and more in universities, where the idea of ‘a reading package’ will be replaced by the customized ‘e-book’ because in higher education there is such a large percent of students that own devices to use them.

          I would love to see this in my school, but I think a BYOD program would have to be in place before it could work to its full potential.

          MIKE

          • tomwhyte1 5:14 am on November 8, 2012 | Log in to Reply

            I think your statement:

            “I’m not sure how that would have gone over in my school though which is not BYOD”

            really gets to the point on this issue. From the previous week, we looked at BYOD, and it is clear, at least for me, that not all schools/districts or even teachers are at the same point in their thinking or application of technology. And, again for myself, until this has progressed far enough, the introduction, and sustainability of paid or free e-textbooks cannot be achieved.

            Thoughts?

            • ETEC BYOD 5:59 pm on November 9, 2012

              It’s true, without a way to cheaply and reliably read electronically, etextbooks are not going to be a viable alternative to books. Further to the last thread then, will we want to read textbooks when the same reading device will likely have full internet access to a online universe of dynamic information – for free.

      • tomwhyte1 5:21 am on November 8, 2012 | Log in to Reply

        One must not forget the cost of updating the technology (which in the long run, might be cheaper to buy paper..). For if a student is required to continually bring these devices for the sole purpose of accessing a textbook, the wear and tear will quickly diminish its life expectancy – for lets be honest – kids are kids.

        Thoughts?

        • Pat A Son 11:28 pm on November 8, 2012 | Log in to Reply

          I hear you on this point but I think that kids view of these modern gadgets are different from how we viewed books in our time. These devices have become more than just information libraries but have status symbols and as such great care is taken to protect them. In addition digital books do not age, do not occupy physical space and can be converted to paper if needs be. BTW books are updated also but most of the time the new edition are not much better than the old ones

    • Colin 5:37 pm on November 7, 2012 | Log in to Reply

      I have to agree with what Tom is saying and that I rarely use textbooks in my class or at least trying to eliminate them. I do use it as a resource for myself to give me ideas, a general framework for a course or just for the questions. The problem with any textbook is the lag between when the author writes the book and publishes it and when it actually get into students hands (This lag is improved for e textbooks but still exists). For certain courses this is not a problem but for Business and Technology courses the world has changed a lot in that time. I find I am better off just teaching the newest and most relevant topics in my field at that time and for that I mostly use the internet.
      However, I do like the idea of free e textbooks as it would allow me to tell students to read a chapter in this book and then another chapter in another book. I wouldn’t spend the money to buy all of these books but I will for free have students look at them if I think they are valuable.
      Generally I think education is moving in the direction away from textbooks as a main teaching source and having them more as a resource. Textbooks are too linear and personalized learning is all about following different paths of information at different times. Textbooks are also too generalized for the large population and they don’t address specific issues in a certain area or the skills and interests of students.

      • tomwhyte1 5:18 am on November 8, 2012 | Log in to Reply

        I also like your idea of sampling from multiple books, however, my concern is, does that chapter truly cover the curricular objectives we have been tasked to complete? Yes I agree, that it will cover the basics, and if it is only being used for that, then why not. But if I am spending the time to sample from various etextbooks, should I not, just sample information that truly aligns with the curriculum… from the largest, freest etextbook that exists… The Internet?

        Thoughts?

        • Colin 11:08 am on November 8, 2012 | Log in to Reply

          That is the nice part about being able to pick and choose. When I go on the internet I am just looking for material that I believe covers the curricular objectives. The same is true when I look at different chapters in a book. Often there is one or two chapters in a textbook that I like how the author presented the material or I may not be able to find better information on the internet.
          Also with the internet you can get many different approaches to how the different authors present the same material. However, I find if I jump around too much that it becomes more confusing for the students as they need a more structured approach or viewpoint. Really there is no perfect source of information and I cannot write all the information myself due to time factors. Right now I have been given a new course to teach so I am in the process of rewriting the course. Most of the information is coming from different sources on the internet and my own ideas but I am also looking at different textbooks.
          Also in BC I believe you can be challenged on the resources you use in the classroom if it hasn’t been approved by an organization like ERAC. If you use one of their approved textbooks you are fine. Though this only becomes a problem if you have a parent not happy with what you are teaching their child.

          • cunnian 8:56 pm on November 8, 2012 | Log in to Reply

            HI Colin,
            You’ve raised an important issue. In BC we are limited to using resources that are approved. In the case of science 6-10, there are really only two options for textbooks and you have to choose one (or someone chooses for you). I wonder if this policy might change as quality resources become more abundant online?

          • ETEC BYOD 6:05 pm on November 9, 2012 | Log in to Reply

            I resonate with Colin’s comment about structure here. While the world is at our fingertips online, making sense out disparate pieces of information can be challenging for teachers and students.

            Undoubtedly what some teachers, especially those new to a subject, love about any textbook, print or electronic, is the fact that some else has gathered and curated the information and hopefully presented in a logical manner.

            • Peggy Lawson 6:16 pm on November 9, 2012

              I fully agree BYOD. Despite our discussions of free eTextbooks, wikis, free articles to download as opposed to having to buy a course textbook – I think the real value of a professional textbook, for which we pay authors to create, is in the compiliation of a comprehensive set of information, hopefully skillfully woven together. For graduate students it may be enough to find our own sources and bring them together to make meaning. But for K-12 and maybe undergrads – there is value in textbooks that I’m afraid we might be missing in some of our discussions here.

    • kstackhouse 9:01 am on November 8, 2012 | Log in to Reply

      I have to agree with what others have stated. In my teaching practice I have had courses with textbooks and courses without. I have found that the courses I did not have a book requred that I be much more engaged with the course and the needs of my students. Having worked on curricula writing for two NB courses I know that we are moving away from the textbook. The stance is that information is constantly changing and that resources can be better allocated than pouring them into textbooks. I do know that other courses, like Math or Sociology, do rely on texts more than the types of courses I teach. I must say though it bothers me when I walk by a Math class and the teacher has the agenda on the board…”Pages 36-45, answer all the questions and ask for help if you need it.” I have seen this! This is not inspiring teaching and I know most teachers would not do this, however there is less pressure to be engaged if you can just follow the same page order you used the previous year.

      I think that having free, if it is free, access to ebooks, ejournals, and other online resources are going to be the future of the textbook industry. The material can be dynamic rather than static, it can be updated regularly, and is cost saving for the consumer (student direct purchase or institution purchase).

      • jhodi 8:48 am on November 9, 2012 | Log in to Reply

        One of the major advantages to the e-text in my opinion is the ability to update the content with greater ease than a texbook with printing costs. Content, curriculum, teaching styles, etc. are always changing and it would be nice to have resources that have the potential to stay current.

    • teacherben 5:56 pm on November 8, 2012 | Log in to Reply

      It’s great that there are so many free options, but as Tom noted as he kicked off this discussion, it all looks a bit old-fashioned. Not only are those of us who are committed to a Constructivist pedagogy unlikely to stick with a traditional textbook approach, but the resources that I looked through so far are still heavily reliant on text as the primary delivery tool. They incorporate very little in the way of multimedia content, there is little or no interactivity and they follow a very linear framework that really does ask you to use it as your primary resource. These days, I am much less inclined to bother sifting through volumes to find the bits that I want. I am much more likely to search for resources that can stand on their own so that I can incorporate them into my own narrative. This may not be the case for every subject, but it seems to me that when we make the shift to problem-based/project-based learning, then this is more likely the approach people will take. Textbooks may have gone digital, but they still suffer from many of the same issues–largely that they represent a very teacher-centered program.

      • Jenny Brown 10:29 am on November 9, 2012 | Log in to Reply

        I am torn as to my position on the use of textbooks for learning. I agree with Ben’s approach to learning using constructivist pedagogy with project-based work but do also think that a foundation of basic concepts may be acquired through reading a linear-based book and completing the exercises found there. At the same time though, I think that true application and situational understanding of concepts should always be incorporated in learning through the use of group projects, problem solving activities and discussions. In the adult classes I teach, the social constructivist approach I often take is to first have students understand their assumptions and what their knowledge base is on a subject and then challenge these assumptions and build on that knowledge by many group activities and discussions and then finish the session with time for reflection. Many of the students also appreciate the fact that we do provide a manual for them. I don’t teach from it but it is available for them to review and complete the questions if they wish. I think this mix provides a comfort level for adult learners, many whom grew up in teacher-centered classrooms.

        • frank 12:18 am on November 12, 2012 | Log in to Reply

          Reading your responses, I’m reminded of Sugata Mitra’s vision that in the 21st century, education should be “digital, automatic, fault tolerant, minimally invasive, connected and self-organized.”
          This social constructivist pedagogy to education might have many advantages over traditional models, but as you have pointed out, it may need to be tethered and tampered with, depending on the audience and circumstance.
          Because e-books do allow for co-creation of educational learning experiences, they can provide flexibility where old models proved too rigid.
          But we should not lose sight of the fact that these technologies and the newer approaches they facilitate are still in their relative infancy, and we still have a lot to figure out before we can be confident of their ability to produce consistent and reliable experiences/results in a cost effective manner.
          In making the above points, I’m tempted to combine two seemingly juxtaposing proverbial statements: 1) Fortune favours the bold and 2) Proceed with caution. As we work to redefine the future of education, it would seem that educators will not only have to challenge their students going forward, but themselves as well. As Carl Rogers said, “The only person who is educated is the one who has learned how to learn and change.” And who is to be more educated than educators themselves?

    • Mike Rae 7:03 pm on November 8, 2012 | Log in to Reply

      business and tech conversation made me think about how valuable an up to the day text book would be for a course like that. Then it got me thinking, wouldn’t it be cool if you could somehow have your textbook ‘updated’ automatically? Or at least subscribing to certain sites, magazines, or blogs that could send you alerts like ‘you may be interested in this article for your e-textbook’.

      what do you guys think?

      • Lisa Nevoral 7:29 pm on November 8, 2012 | Log in to Reply

        Mike,

        I was thinking along the same lines. One bonus online textbooks could have over actual textbooks is the fact that they could possibly be updated with new information, then easily distributed (instead of a school having to purchase new textbooks).

        Lisa

        Lisa

      • cunnian 9:03 pm on November 8, 2012 | Log in to Reply

        I wonder if something like an RSS feed could be built into an etext that could feed relevant and up-to-date articles and other media into it?

    • Lisa Nevoral 7:26 pm on November 8, 2012 | Log in to Reply

      Hi All,

      I have to agree with Tom on his first post. Do we teach to the curriculum or to the textbook? A lot of times a textbook put out by a publisher will hit most of the PLOs, but many of the questions are trivial. I know of a few teachers in my district that are going away from using textbooks altogether and creating their own activities or problems to instruct their students. I haven’t gotten there quite yet, but in math I don’t rely on the textbook as much anymore because I have been creating problems or projects that allow students to work out their own solutions. I find that math textbooks give too much information for each question and a lot of times are not realistic of what a student will see in real life. Someone who promotes this idea is Dan Meyers. Check out his Ted Talk about this idea (http://www.ted.com/talks/dan_meyer_math_curriculum_makeover.html).

      Out of the sites provided, I would possibly use or direct my students to the CK12.org and Sophia sites. I thought they were easy to navigate and could help supplement student’s learning about things we are doing in class (ie.in Math and Science classes). Students could use these sites as resources or review sites. Sophia incorporates text with videos, but I would like to see more interactive problems. I like that CK12.org gave lesson objectives and vocabulary words. One area that it was lacking was the exercise section which stated they had no exercises. There was a contribute button, but I wonder who would be monitoring this site to see if these activities were good or appropriate.

      Lisa

      • cunnian 9:10 pm on November 8, 2012 | Log in to Reply

        Hi Lisa,
        CK12 still seems to be in its infancy so over time I would expect that there would be exercises put into that section. I am not sure if there would be a moderator per se; instead they may rely on crowdsourcing as quality control. Hadn’t seen that Ted talk before… thanks for sharing!

        By the way (and speaking of videos), the Dr. Knox Gangnam style Halloween dance video crossed my path yesterday – very impressive!

        • Lisa Nevoral 7:29 pm on November 11, 2012 | Log in to Reply

          Yes, crowdsourcing would work as quality control. If I didn’t like an activity, I wouldn’t have to use it. If you go to Dan Meyer’s website, he has lots of good math problems and such.

          The kids loved the dance. We did Thriller two years ago, so had to up the showmanship.

          Lisa

    • jhodi 9:59 pm on November 8, 2012 | Log in to Reply

      The taxpayer funded e-text would be suitable to my environment. After reading how BC is thinking about this option, it seems to have several merits. I quite like how these texts are intended to be created with the input of the institution, instructors, and publishers. It allows teachers to modify the text for a specific class. The open resource allows teachers to constantly change and modify their resources without being bound to a specific textbook. For my own sake, I would love to be able to add/subtract to my resources every semester as I figure out what works for me and what does not.

      Given that I teach high school, I think that it is reasonable to think that the majority of my students have a technological device that would give them access to an e-text. This provides convenient access to learning resources for students and a less expensive option than traditional textbooks for schools.

      Compared with e-texts with targeted ads, this is also a safe alternative for students and schools. Student information can remain safe and private without any risk of sharing personal information or work over the Internet.

      • cunnian 10:23 pm on November 8, 2012 | Log in to Reply

        Good points jhodi. Advertising in schools is still a very controversial issue. Access is another key issue… the majority of your students may have a device that permits access, but what do you do for the rest? This brings up some of the issues from last week`s topic of BYOD.
        There aren’t too many details that I’ve seen about the BC e-text initiative apart from what the government has released. It will be interesting to see how this pans out.

    • cunnian 10:32 pm on November 8, 2012 | Log in to Reply

      Using my amazing powers of observation, I think that it would be fair to say that many of you are less enamored with these resources than these Free E-textbook businesses would like for you to be. And I must admit that textbooks in my own context as a high school science teacher are infrequently used as there are so many good resources to use that are already freely available.

      Given that many of us probably have the same opinion of these resources, I can’t help but wonder why it is that we are suddenly seeing all of these free e-text start-ups appearing. What’s driving this? If teachers are rejecting the use of traditional textbooks en masse, then is this market doomed or is there still a niche which can be occupied? Would you invest in one of these resources (if possible, of course) or is this ‘broken market’ even more broken than these publishers thought?

    • Eva Ziemsen 1:09 pm on November 9, 2012 | Log in to Reply

      After assessing the resources provided, I would have to say that I would likely not use any of these free textbooks on film. It seems I am on the same page as many here. At least from what I saw, the sources were not so impressive in the area of film. Perhaps this is due to the fact that filmmaking is very niche and there is less available in this area? Perhaps I would consider using a textbook that is normally $60+ and perhaps it was available for free with ads. I would allow my students to make that decision, as they are in post-secondary.

      I personally have been surprised how little ‘books’ I am using in my studies in ETEC and other courses. I think the most common resource I use are articles in the form of PDFs through UBC’s library and journal system.

      As for textbooks in general (digital or hardcopy), there are still a few texts that I recommend to anyone studying in film. For example, sometimes people ask me, “if you could recommend one book, what would it be?” My answer is always “Directing: Film Techniques and Aesthetics” by Michael Rabiger. It’s the kind of book, that in its latest edition (published a few years ago) is the kind of book where I think someone is in good hands. If I had to replicate this book with several sources, I would be spending days compiling something comparable. Some of the postings make it seem like textbooks are going out of style, but in this context of a few key texts, I would argue that they are classics and will never be outdated or irrelevant.

      I must also say, that many teachers, as bad as this sounds, often stick to what they know and what has worked, sometimes due to time and also proven efficacy. I know my colleagues are always updating their work every year, but it is challenge to constantly incorporate new things. For a while, we thought our copyright laws were changing to be much more strict, so we all were going to have to switch gears in many ways. However, that was avoided. I think issues surrounding copyright will also affect the way we use textbooks or any texts for that matter.

    • ETEC522grp8 5:07 pm on November 9, 2012 | Log in to Reply

      Update on Flatbooks:
      Open source textbook provider Flatbooks announced this week that it will no longer provide free access to its textbooks, although it will still offer an affordable textbook option for students. http://www.nacs.org/campusmarketplace/110212.html

    • Mike Rae 4:04 am on November 10, 2012 | Log in to Reply

      Eva, I totally agree that part of the problem in education are teachers unwilling to change, and a lot of that is because they are attached to the textbook they have. eTextbooks could break that, especially if they are being updated all the time. Teachers would be forced to rethink what they are doing. Would it be more work for teachers? yes, but it would also be better teaching. If a geography teacher is teaching about about weather, wouldn’t it be more meaningful if examples were drawn from hurricane Sandy?

      I really believe that customized textbooks are the way of the future in that you could create a ‘one stop shop’ resource that aligns perfectly with curriculum and learning outcomes.

      As this thread has discussed a major problem over the years has been the dilemma of teaching to the textbook or teaching to the curriculum. eTextbooks look like a solution to that.

    • visramn 6:57 pm on November 10, 2012 | Log in to Reply

      I found it interesting to see that there are so many options for e-texts. I work with a population of learners who struggle with literacy. Hence, textbooks are not ideal for them because written text that is clumped together, as it is in textbooks becomes daunting for them. The visual components present in e-texts would be beneficial for my students and I could see how an e-text would be better than a regular text due to such components. However, I still do not think Texts are the best learning medium for them. My student do better with more hands on tasks that they find engaging and are less responsive to textbooks or information that is shared in a written format.
      If I was to choose one of these types of texts, I would stay away from the ones with the advertising because my students struggle with engagement and ads would just distract them from the educational content in the e-texts. I think I would be more likely to encourage government funded books or Foundation/granted-funded e-texts. These books are generated for learning and do not have any ulterior motive such as the ones with ads. However, they are also less likely to be as vast due to lack of finances.

      Nureen

    • jameschen 12:41 am on November 11, 2012 | Log in to Reply

      From my experience as an ESL instructor, almost all of the free e-textbook sites provided on the blog would suit the needs of my learners. Many have resources for both the teacher and the student, so it would be a matter of finding the right materials to suit the needs of both my learners and myself. I would most likely suggest Sophia’s ESL Tutorials to my learners because the website is organized in a way so that graphical information and interactive content are presented right on the website.

      To respond to the posts above, for me, the free e-textbook = low quality perspective is somewhat valid, because there is a reason why products are priced the way they are. However, our role as educators is to help learners overcome their challenges using whatever resources available. It is important for us to consider the issue of ‘haves and have-nots’ before we determine whether or not the quality of learning is dependent on the price of textbooks. As many of you have already written, good learning does not necessary mean spending more money on expensive textbooks. The issue is in how the content is taught rather than the content itself.

      – James

  • Peggy Lawson 2:41 pm on November 4, 2012
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    Respond to and/or join in the discussion of one of the following articles: B.C. to lead Canada in offering students free, open textbooks Ebook Publisher Inkling Launches Its Own Online Store: An Amazon For Illustrated Learning Content 7 Questions for McGraw-Hill’s Brian Kibby

    Continue reading Week 10: The Newstand Posted in: General, Week 10:
     

    • tomwhyte1 9:51 am on November 6, 2012 | Log in to Reply

      B.C. OER Textbooks:

      First let me begin by saying, for myself, and my experiences within the MET course and my professional experiences, at exploring a reality with no textbooks, that I believe the traditional textbook is dead, however, that is only my opinion, and I realize I am in the minority.

      Therefore, after having read this article, I felt, it is about time that a service like this was provided to both faculty members, and students. For this free’s up significant resources for students, for some faculties (such as engineering, textbooks can easily cost several hundred dollars), allowing students, in some cases, to use that money for much needed food. I wonder however, what the technology requirement or continual requirements might be to support this?

      As for faculty members, this is where I am a little concerned. For in my undergrad experience, I purchased a lot of books written by the prof. I am unaware if they made money on this, or how much money, but I am going to assume that money was made. Therefore, might they be a little reluctant to give up this extra and continual revenue stream?

      Thoughts?

      • kstackhouse 9:13 am on November 8, 2012 | Log in to Reply

        Hi Tom,
        I agree with your statements. I think the old textbook form will not be able to compete in a digital environment if it plans to stay the same. On a side note I always hated it when I saw that the Prof. was also the author of the text. I can think of at least 5 courses over my university career where this happened and in one course in particular the text wasn’t even referenced once. I was pretty annoyed and felt at the time that it was both an ego booster for the Prof. and a money grab. I could be wrong, but that is how I felt.

        I see your concern about the technology requirements in relation to the costs of accessing books. In my first year of a B.Sc. I spent over a $1000 in new text books. (Of course as a Freshman you never think of buying used…). At this time in the market that could buy you a top end tablet with money left over.

        • Eva Ziemsen 8:05 am on November 11, 2012 | Log in to Reply

          I think this is interesting, as I’ve often struggled with the idea of making a text of mine mandatory. Not that I have written a book yet, but I have 50% of it. I thought about a blog that is monetized with ads as another dilemma. What about having students buy and app that you have created? I feel less torn about asking them to do this.

    • tomwhyte1 10:00 am on November 6, 2012 | Log in to Reply

      Inkling:

      After reading the article which focussed on Inkling, one specific quote made me very intrigued:

      “The average price of the titles is about $9.99, with the option to purchase chapters for $0.99 and up.” (Empson, 2012)

      For when I read this, I think great for the consumer. Instead of myself purchasing an entire book for the one or two chapters that the prof is going to use, I can just select those portions.

      However, this sounds very similar to iTunes, and people’s belief that the ability to purchase individual songs, instead of entire albums, has wrecked the album for the music industry. I do not believe this, for before iTunes, most albums were simply a way to sell one or two songs if a group was lucky.

      Regardless, might this piecemeal approach be another nail into the coffin of textbooks?

      Thoughts?

      References:

      Empson, R. (2012). Ebook Publisher Inkling Launches Its Own Online Store: An Amazon For Illustrated Learning Content. Retrieved from http://techcrunch.com/2012/11/01/ebook-publisher-inkling-launches-its-own-online-store-an-amazon-for-illustrated-learning-content/

      • rebeccaharrison 12:04 am on November 7, 2012 | Log in to Reply

        Hey Tom,

        As usual, very good points ;). Although I like the analogy between chapters/songs vs. books/albums. I, however, do feel that the “piecemeal” approach looses something in the transmission. Without the context of the other songs on an album, you do not get the clear picture of the artist (like seeing one corner of the Mona Lisa).

        Books, I feel, are similar to this. If this is the way that we value purchasing, then will people begin to write or compose in this way? I absolutely “get” the idea behind it, and don’t discount that (particularly with textbooks) I would be tempted to buy this way. Here is a concern though: I, personally, have read a “non-required” opening, or chapter, paragraph, section, etc. from every single textbook I have ever purchased. If I were to purchase only chapters, I can almost guarantee that I would never have spent additional money to browse non-required information. Does cost-saving strip students of that important opportunity to understand information within its context, or be exposed to information they would not normally have sought out. Are we then setting up a situation where we provide a financial incentive to limit the amount of information students seek?

        I certainly see the positives. Do these concerns outweigh them, or can they be addressed somehow?

        • pcollins 10:03 am on November 7, 2012 | Log in to Reply

          Hi Rebecca,
          And to further your idea – what does this mean for the author? Are they consenting to this dissection of their material? Do they even get a choice – or does the publishing company get to decide?

          I can see the affordances of this practice with certain academic texts that I have purchased which have numerous chapters authored by seperate people and simply edited together in a book.

          However, in other situations segregating a chapter out would certainly devalue the author’s message. Does the author lose control of their academic property once they sign it over to a publisher?

          PC

        • tomwhyte1 5:37 am on November 8, 2012 | Log in to Reply

          Disagree-agreeably regarding Songs versus Albums. Yes many artists claim, that their collection of mismatched tunes, is a collective statement. I believe that they think this, and in a small amount of cases, this may actually be true. But the music landscape is not filled with artists anymore, it is filled with corporate money-making machines. Therefore, is it more important to Sony Music have a hit single, or an entire album speaking to a generation?

          As for the using of a textbook to have students understand the entire picture, that thought does have merit, but that would then require courses to be built specifically to the application of an entire textbook. With that amount of time devoted to a specific task, it would leave students such as ourselves, spending more and more time, reading a book, and less time, working with the information, discussing the information, and most importantly reflecting on the information.

          Thoughts?

          • Peggy Lawson 8:25 pm on November 8, 2012 | Log in to Reply

            I may be misunderstanding your meaning, Tom, but I don’t know if I’d agree that courses are built around textbooks, as opposed to courses using textbooks. Rarely, if ever, have I ever been taught, or taught, based on an entire textbook. Usually it’s fairly selective use of the text (but that varies considerably). However, a textbook often has a flow, and builds upon it’s content and direction. You can’t always just pick up a textbook and jump around. Sometimes you do need to complete Chapter 1 before Chapter 2 has any meaning.

            • tomwhyte1 9:49 pm on November 9, 2012

              Have you taken ETEC 531…

              Great course, built around 1 book…

            • tomwhyte1 9:52 pm on November 9, 2012

              As for my comment about the entire course to be built around a textbook, I myself have rarely seen it, other than the class I am just taking. However, what I was getting at, was I would purchase select chapters from a book – the ones I need. The ones I do not, I would never read unless personally interested, or if the instructor built the entire course around a textbook – forcing us to read and use the entire book… ugghh….

              Thoughts?

          • jenniferschubertubc 11:55 am on November 9, 2012 | Log in to Reply

            I can see the rationale between both Tom and Peggy’s responses. I cannot recall a single incident where a professor has used an entire textbook over the entirety of a course. In fact, I have found it common practice that chapters are addressed out of the order in which they originally appear. That said, I find it very helpful to have the “extra” material at hand and easily referenced through an index just in case I need further clarification of points which may not have been addressed in the required readings/assignments.

            I do find it hard to take an active part in an extremely text heavy class. Of course, that may because I am a kinesthetic as opposed to a visual learner. That is one aspect of digital textbooks, especially interactive ones, that I am most interested in. I think they open up brand new avenues to learning for those students who may get frustrated with large amounts of reading without other activity.

            P.S. I totally agree on your points about the music industry today, Tom! In fact, there is a musical (“We Will Rock You”) which addresses this very subject. Funny enough, it is based on the songs of Queen and talks of the music of the future, or Corporate Remixed Autotuned Pop… you can work out what that boils down to. 😉

      • Pat A Son 1:10 am on November 7, 2012 | Log in to Reply

        Tom the ‘what you need is what you buy (WYNIWYB) ;-)’ model has certainly given the consumer a lot of power and authors would just have to get with the program. At the end of the day despite the concern expressed by the music industry about the demise about albums the industry is benefiting greatly from online sales (Jones.2011). The problem is that the digital format has changed the way business is done and the world is now getting used to it as both consumer and producer. For example I came across an article on how the in game purchasing can be abused by game producers to make customers pay much more than they would have if they had simply purchased the game. This goes to show as educators we need to know what is happening around us and how we can best leverage the opportunities that are available to us.

        Reference
        Editorial: Eternity Warriors 2 takes in-game purchases way too far. (2012, August 24). DroidGamers. Retrieved November 7, 2012, from http://www.droidgamers.com/index.php/game-news/site-news-rants/4474-eternity-warriors-2-takes-in-game-purchases-way-too-far

        Jones, S. (2011, June 7). Music industry’s sales are up, up, up this year – USATODAY.com. USA TODAY: Latest World and US News – USATODAY.com. Retrieved November 7, 2012, from http://usatoday30.usatoday.com/life/music/news/2011-07-06-music-sales-jump-this-year_n.htm

        • tomwhyte1 5:38 am on November 8, 2012 | Log in to Reply

          A reason why Apple has removed many apps that require purchasing extras within the program that was originally advertised as free – one of the reasons why you cannot purchase ebooks through the Kobo app anymore.

          • Pat A Son 11:08 pm on November 8, 2012 | Log in to Reply

            It just goes to show how new technologies brings new issues that we have to cope with. I applaud Apple for the position they have take. On this note I have become wary of commercially produced free product. If it does not have an open source license I try to stay away from it but this is easier said than done with penetration that “free” has had on the internet. For example my free android yahoo mail reader on my smartphone has advertisements on it which is something I never anticipated.

            • jenniferschubertubc 12:00 pm on November 9, 2012

              It’s a prime case of “nothing in life is truly free,” I’m afraid. Many parents, and even adults for that matter, do not have the money to constantly be buying apps. The availability of free versions is fantastic… until they become so ad heavy that they actually become hard to use! It is frustrating, to be sure, but corporations also cannot afford to give away product. It’s when a fine balance is struck where everyone wins. Unfortunately, I don’t think we are fully there just yet.

    • Pat A Son 5:36 pm on November 6, 2012 | Log in to Reply

      B.C. OER Textbooks:

      I have always been a fan of the open source movement because of the potential it has for changing education in ways that no other model of distributing software based technologies can. I have also come to realize the limitless capacity e-books have in terms of enhancing the learning process. So to “marry” them in the way that is done here is a win win situation. The fact that one can be modified to suit ones needs makes e-books appealing. This in conjunction with the savings in cost to students and trees should encourage anyone in to look in this direction.

      By publicly funding this effort shows that the people in BC that are involved in charting the course for education are in tune with times. Efforts like these coupled with open course ware will certainly go a long way in changing the face of education by making a more level playing field.

      I just wish that it was done at the k-12 level also.

      • jhodi 8:13 am on November 9, 2012 | Log in to Reply

        I have also been a large fan of open source content and I think that it has huge potential when combined with e-texts. Not only is this a cost-efficient alternative for many schools and teachers, but it also opens the potential door to the best teachers and experts in a field collaborating on one project!

    • Mike Rae 8:46 pm on November 6, 2012 | Log in to Reply

      Hey Pat, I agree that it would be nice to see the OER textbooks make the jump from higher education to K-12, but I think it will be a while before that happens.
      It looks like the ‘families first’ initiative is a large part of the motivation for the OER textbooks. Saving a student or his/her parents around 1000 dollars a year is pretty great, and because of that, there will be a lot of public support.
      In K-12 though, the printed textbooks are not purchased (directly) by the students or parents. They are borrowed and re-used year after year until they become out of date (and often times used after that) or are falling apart. K-12 books get a lot more miles out of them than the average college textbook. The savings of the OER textbooks isn’t as direct in this setting, however I totally agree that it would be great in the long run to save schools money, allowing them to allocate those funds elsewhere (perhaps into a BYOD program, ensuring the students had devices to use the eTextbooks).

      I liked your comparison Tom of textbooks/chapters to albums/songs. I would love it if I could purchase a chapter for 99 cents rather than buy a whole book and I think most people would as well. I agree that the printed textbook is on its way to becoming extinct, but I don’t think it will kill the textbook industry. Forward thinking companies, like Mcgraw-Hill, will have to jump out in front of this movement to create other revenue streams. People will always want/need textbooks, music and movies, its just a matter of how they are delivered to us that is changing (changed).

      • pcollins 10:14 am on November 7, 2012 | Log in to Reply

        And what about the School Board’s role in all of this? Do they sign some kind of exclusivity contract with publishing companies that determine the textbooks that are put on our resources list? I did try once to get an additional resource for my Geology 12 class put on the list and it was refused – with no response as to why.

        I can’t help but feel that most first year proffs will gravitate towards whichever free digital text is being offered to them in BC because they know that the savings to the student will be significant. But is this imposing upon their ability to choose resources that they feel would be best for their class?

        PC

        PC

        • rebeccaharrison 12:52 pm on November 7, 2012 | Log in to Reply

          Interesting point, PC. Another prospect within your example: If teachers use the “free” resource and give the option of having another, perhaps better, “paid” resource, we create “haves” and “have nots” with respect to information.

          • Pat A Son 10:45 pm on November 8, 2012 | Log in to Reply

            I think the power of choice is the most important tool you can give anyone in our position and this is where I have an affinity to the open source model of doing things. From experience I have found that the exclusivity that PC spoke about comes from commercial vendors. However since it is unlikely that any one resource will meet all our needs then then it is necessary to allow teachers and students alike to choose their material with the open textbooks being an option. I think in the long run free open source anything will not replace their commercial counterparts because after all is said and done they are just new alternatives that brings afordances that were not available before.

    • melissaayers 1:34 pm on November 8, 2012 | Log in to Reply

      Just looking at the pros & cons from an environmental perspective I find the statement/fact you highlight “The carbon emissions needed to create one e-book reader equal the carbon emissions from generating 40-50 textbooks “ quite amazing & significant.

      I am not sure what others think about this but personally I think only a minority of eReader owners are likely to read 40-50 books before they end up upgrading their eReaders. New products and hardware and better screen technology is currently being released each year. I would imagine only a very few hard working/reading individuals would get an environmental benefit from switching to using an eReader from actual real books.

      For the purpose of this point of course I am choosing to ignore all the other benefits brought about by using eReaders such as portability, books price reductions etc and looking at it purely as an environmental impact.

      • melissaayers 5:35 am on November 9, 2012 | Log in to Reply

        sorry this was meant to be posted to the reading circle post!

    • teacherben 7:14 pm on November 8, 2012 | Log in to Reply

      Dan Meyer, former math teacher, now phd candidate, blogs regularly about the future of the math textbook. He have come up with some pretty innovative ideas to change the way we teach math and he is regularly invited to speak at various workshops and conferences. He was hired by a major textbook publisher to help them supposedly reinvent the math textbook (I think it may have been McGraw Hill, which is why I thought of it here). he wrote in his blog that it was a frustrating experience and after a conflict of opinion, they parted ways. He recently posted some new ideas he had about leveraging the potential for interactivity in digital textbooks and another math blogger with some programming skills decided to help make his idea a reality. It’s pretty cool.

      Here the post:
      http://blog.mrmeyer.com/?p=15536

      Here’s one of the activities:
      http://testing.davemajor.net/tacocart/
      (try to click and drag the dots and you will see how it works)

      Here’s another one:
      http://testing.davemajor.net/triangles/

      It certainly isn’t revolutionary and the programming isn’t that tricky, but to try to imagine a textbook where this sort of manipulation of objects is possible is pretty exciting. Most of the big textbook publishers that are doing a lot of talking these days about the future of electronic textbooks have, for the most part, only offered their existing, boring books as pdf’s with a little bit of click here to go there functionality. I certainly haven’t seen anything like what this fellow has done in the above examples and we probably should have by now if they were truly committed to the idea rather than being dragged, kicking and screaming, into the future.

      • jenniferschubertubc 12:12 pm on November 9, 2012 | Log in to Reply

        This is exactly what I was talking about above! The promise of truly interactive textbooks on the horizon makes me truly excited to be a part of this industry. I think of all the students out there who have a really tough time in school for the simple reason that the written word does not reach them as experience does, and I cannot help but see more success on the horizon for differentiated learners as a whole. The use of more and varied modalities can only work to enhance the learning experience for a larger population; watching students make connections and use their learning to move along in life is what makes teaching exciting… for me anyway!

      • ETEC BYOD 6:17 pm on November 9, 2012 | Log in to Reply

        Having toyed with the Apple iBooks Author App a bit myself, I’d say this level of interactivity has arrived.

        I couldn’t agree more with the notion that a PDF on its own, is not an electronic textbook. This fits with the logic that an LCD projection of a scanned overhead is nothing more than a plain old overhead, in a new disguise.

        What etextbooks really need now, is top notch content and design to make the most of the technology.

    • ETEC BYOD 6:38 pm on November 9, 2012 | Log in to Reply

      In general, there are a few features of Inklings technology, which I feel are steps in the right direction for etextbooks.

      – It’s platform independent, which is critical for BYOD models and ultimately more flexible, though a likely a nightmare for content developers
      – The curation component of its Library store is very wise and will likely become more important as an increasing numbers of textbooks become available
      – Fractional book purchases of select chapters makes complete sense
      – I think its a shame that their Habitat publishing environment is focused on professional developers, which denies small or individual publishers access to their quality publishing tools

      Most encouraging is their desire to move etextbooks beyond simple text-to-digital ports.

      As much as I love Apple, it seems Inkling has a compelling product here.

      Ebook Publisher Inkling Launches Its Own Online Store: An Amazon For Illustrated Learning Content
      http://techcrunch.com/2012/11/01/ebook-publisher-inkling-launches-its-own-online-store-an-amazon-for-illustrated-learning-content/

    • visramn 6:48 pm on November 9, 2012 | Log in to Reply

      I thought the article “7 Questions for McGraw-Hill’s Brian Kibby” was interesting. Kibby defiantly has a very optimistic perspective about the adoption of digital textbooks. He has some very good points about why digital textbooks are beneficial and makes digital textbooks sound appealing. Althought I free that digital textbooks are going to be the main means of textbooks in the future I do not think that this evolution will occur so quickly and I also do not think that print textbooks will be replaced totally. In the article they mentioned that some people simply do not like reading on a screen and prefer paper. Kibby retorted by saying that technology will evolve some more and this will combat the problem. I disagree. No matter how much technology evolves it can not replicate a piece of paper. Hence ,those who do not like reading on a digital screen may have to do so even thought they do not want to but that does not mean the issue is solved that just means they had to adapt against their will. I think issues such as these will result in paper textbooks remaining in print.
      Nureen

    • sophiabb 11:05 am on November 10, 2012 | Log in to Reply

      Re: B.C. OER textbooks

      I think the idea of OER textbooks has a lot of merit. Easy access for students, costs savings for the students (families) and definitely for the B.C. government – no printing cost and no need to purchase thousand of hard copies of books. Of course consideration must be given to cost spent to purchase devices (families and the government) and to upgrade same the ecological impact of this decision.

      I am an avid reader. I love nothing better than to curl up with a book (hard copy) and read to my heart’s and mind’s content. I am the owner of a kindle and have downloaded the kindle, kobo and nook apps to my laptop. I have purchased many ebooks. Yet, I still prefer to interact with the hard copy. However, I am now curling up with my kindle. However, my sight is taking a beating: at work I am almost always using the computer; and at home its MET work on the computer. Okay, it could be due to the natural aging process but I think this has hastened it along. Reports already indicate that there is a direct correlation between sight and computer usage [including ereader] http://www.aoa.org/documents/EffectsComputerUse.pdf . What will be medical impact of this decision?
      Sophia

  • Peggy Lawson 2:48 pm on November 4, 2012
    0 votes
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    Our Reading Circle provided you with several topics for discussion. After reflecting on the positive and negative potential’s of digital textbooks, do you think the gains of implementing this technology into schools (pre-to-post) secondary outweigh any potential costs?

    Continue reading Week 10: The Shake-Up from Digital Textbooks Posted in: Week 10:
     

    • jkotler 3:37 am on November 5, 2012 | Log in to Reply

      In weighing out the pros and cons of digital textbooks, I do believe that it is still worthwhile to implement them into classrooms. For one thing, I think that even though it may be costly at first, these devises tend to have a longer lifespan which allows the cost to be spread over a significant period of time. As well, if teachers were to regularly use them, I think that the response from students would be great both in terms of a higher rate of engagement and interest in learning as well as in their reading ability or in other academic achievements.

      • tomwhyte1 10:31 am on November 6, 2012 | Log in to Reply

        Like you, I believe that this technology should be explored. However, I cannot support a wholesale roll out of this approach until sufficient longitudinal research has been completed. For some this may seem like overkill, however, I am currently living in a Post-SmartBoard era, and wonder how much money was spent on a glorified overhead projector.

        Yes, I realize some will counter with the supposed interactivity, and engagement of students. However recent research, by Higgins et al., demonstrated that this technology does not have significant impact beyond the first year, but does increase the perception of enhanced student engagement and enjoyment (Higgins et al., 2005). As well, the perception of engagement can be explained by Thorndikes “Halo Effect”, which is in a sense having our bias’ influence our thoughts on a person or item (Thorndike, 1920).

        Might digital textbooks be the same? Is the glossy technology actually effective, or is it just glossy? Like SmartBoards, will this technology create classroom management issues?

        Or have we as educators finally got it right? Regardless, sufficient research needs to exist before schools rush headlong into another expensive bandaid, for like the smartboard, and like etextbooks – there is currently no replacement for effective and meaningful technology. For the textbook is but one resource a teacher can access, it is not the resource, nor the instructor.

        Thoughts?

        • tomwhyte1 10:43 am on November 6, 2012 | Log in to Reply

          Sorry my brain is not fully functional right now (sickness), I forgot the references:

          References:

          Higgins, S., Falzon, C., Hall, I., Moseley, D., Smith, F., Smith, H., & Wall, K. (2005). Embedding ICT in the literacy and numeracy strategies. Centre for Learning and Teaching. 1-73

          Thorndike, E.L.  (1920) A constant error on psychological rating, Journal of Applied Psychology, 4:25-29.

      • jhodi 8:44 am on November 9, 2012 | Log in to Reply

        It is interesting to me how students can be engaged by technology. As e-texts evolve, I think that they will have the potential to be much more interactive and include many types of media that will be even more engaging to the learner. In this sense, although it may be initially expensive, it is something that I think will be around for a very long time and over time will become less expensive.

        • visramn 9:02 am on November 9, 2012 | Log in to Reply

          I fully agree. Any new endeavour is not easy. It takes time and it is costly but in the end it is worth it if it engages the learners. Learners of today are hooked to technology so having a textbook on a digital medium is ideal because it is more accessible and learners are more likely to use it and be drawn to it.

          Nureen

          • tomwhyte1 9:36 pm on November 9, 2012 | Log in to Reply

            Unfortunately, engagement is not learning. As educators we focus on the engagement, and sometimes believe that effective learning is happening. We must force ourselves to separate these two, or else we easily mistake one for the other…

            • Paula Poodwan 9:12 am on November 10, 2012

              Good point that we should separate these two things: learning and engagement. However I think they are very relevant. By engaged learning, students use their cognitive processes such as creating, problem-solving, reasoning, decision-making, and evaluation. In addition, students are intrinsically motivated to learn due to the meaningful nature of the learning environment. So I think that students must be engaged first in order for effective learning to occur.

            • visramn 7:53 pm on November 11, 2012

              True. However, I believe engagement and learning have to go hand in hand. It is hard for one to happen without the other.

    • avninder 11:26 am on November 6, 2012 | Log in to Reply

      Good points. I recall hearing that pop-up books were also not conducive to learning but I could not find the resource. However I was able to find the following article:
      http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2012/jun/07/enhanced-ebooks-bad-for-children.
      Although interaction and engagement usually contribute to learning, I think it may be possible for students to be engaged with the functionality of the book and not the subject matter itself.

      • tomwhyte1 1:41 pm on November 6, 2012 | Log in to Reply

        I like your point, what are they engages with… the bells and whistles or the content?

      • pcollins 9:57 am on November 7, 2012 | Log in to Reply

        Definitely a point that needs to be addressed,

        Will some of the “enhancements” serve as little more then detractors from the actual information? And with the young students – will these enhancements override the natural abilities of children to be imaginative? In the same way that some of the Waldorf dolls lack faces so that the child’s imagination will do the work – are traditional texts with simplified or absent drawings allowing the full potential of the childs interaction to be reached more then the enhanced? This would be a great research project for a cognitive scientist to look at with brain imaging technology.

      • rebeccaharrison 1:05 pm on November 7, 2012 | Log in to Reply

        And to be fair, this happens everywhere within classes. I recently had my sister upload a video about stream health (she’s an environmental technician) and my students listened and viewed with rapt attention. They got some of the content, but the majority of questions and comments after the video were directed to our resemblance and relationship. Even though this was framed within a unit on sustainability, with lots of scaffolding and a worksheet to complete, they did not really pay attention to the content, so much as what was interesting to them. While trying to encourage them with real-life examples of jobs related to sustainability, I wound up distracting them from the content.

        So is the key while using these awe-inspiring tools to balance interesting, flashy content with cold, hard facts?

      • Pat A Son 12:54 am on November 9, 2012 | Log in to Reply

        The fact of the matter is that kid love the books according to the article and this can be leveraged to our advantage. We have to admit that enhanced e-books are a relatively new piece of technology and it may take sometime for us to understand how to reduce the distraction and increase the learning.

      • Pat A Son 2:36 am on November 10, 2012 | Log in to Reply

        In addition this study was done on three to six-year-old children and involved recreational reading i.e stories. This begs the question what would the the results be like for students who are using e-books to assist with their study of a particular subject. Here the emphasis would be using the new affordances to ‘illustrate’ the concepts in a way that no other medium can.
        We must be mindful that the technology is new and we are still figuring out the best way to make them as is seen in the article below.
        The Usability of eBook Technology
        http://www.usabilityprofessionals.org/upa_publications/upa_voice/volumes/5/issue_1/ebooks.htm

    • Pat A Son 5:31 pm on November 6, 2012 | Log in to Reply

      Against the backdrop of the technological, theoretical and philosophical shift that is taking place in education today I have to say that the gains certainly outweighs the cost as long as the technology is part of a bigger long term strategic plan to leverage IT in the school’s curriculum. A look at Wesch’s ‘A Vision of Students Today’

      @ http://www.britannica.com/blogs/2008/10/a-vision-of-students-today-what-teachers-must-do/

      tells us that our charges are at high school are not engaged as we would like them to be because the activities at school are not up to date with the technologies they enjoy out of school. As such we have to lift our game to theirs in the domain of technology and digital books provide us with one means of doing so.

    • C. Ranson 9:54 pm on November 6, 2012 | Log in to Reply

      Tom and Avninder you make some good points about digital textbooks and whether they are actually increasing literacy or just creating engagement through the bells and whistles of the interactive acitivities.

      Pat A Son I have viewed Wesch’s video in several of my MET courses, it really makes a statement about Today’s Student. I teach students just like those in the video and my belief has been that technology is what they want, interesting enough I polled my class today and asked them some questions about digital textbooks, and honestly very surprised with the responses that were given. The age of the students in the class ranges from 19 – 25 for the most part, with a few mature students 25-40.

      The following was the information reported:

      65 of 70 students bought hard copy textbooks and are not interesting in buying digital textbooks.
      5 of the 70 students have download their textbooks – 3 are free versions and all other textbooks required are not available in e-textbook.

      Most of their textbooks are published with a DVD option that comes with the hardcopy. No students purchased this version. Most said it was due to cost and why did they need both a hard and e-version.

      The students report that digital textbooks are too distracting because the device is on and can run and lauch social media, mail and tweets that disengage them in absorbing the content they are trying to read.

      Most of the students reported they need a hard copy, it is easier for them to study – I personally think they just haven’t given the digital version a chance.
      We discussed the weight of the textbooks and they reported they leave them at home and don’t bring them to class, so this appeared to be a non-health issue.

      The 5 students that own a device reported it either being an ipade or a kindle.

      • Pat A Son 11:39 pm on November 6, 2012 | Log in to Reply

        Forgive me if I am wrong but your response seems to suggest that digital text books are just soft copies of the printed version. While this is the case for most of the offering that we have now we have to remember that the digital format brings new affordances that makes reading more than just processing text and static images. It is from this stand point that I wrote in my post. Lets bear in mind that millions of dollars are being spent to develop the e-book industry from both the hardware and software level. To this end the president of McGraw-Hill Higher Education has predicted that in three years all of their offerings should be digital. He also indicated that the issues with reading digital books are technological hurdles that will eventually be overcome. In any case it is still easie

        • Pat A Son 11:45 pm on November 6, 2012 | Log in to Reply

          easier to print the ‘ten’ pages you need than to have the whole five hundred pages in hard copies.

          sorry for the incomplete post. It was an accident

          • C. Ranson 5:28 pm on November 7, 2012 | Log in to Reply

            Some versions of digital textbooks are published as a soft copy with additional functions such as highlighting, note-taking, study cards, and 3D images making it more convenient and user friendly. Other versions do offer additional affordances providing interactive activities, photo galleries with sound and voice. The sales of ipads and eReaders are escalating; and I agree publishing companies are spending millions of dollars developing the e-book industry and this is why I expected that my students would be greater users and more engaged with this technology, but that is not what they shared in their feedback. I seem to be more willing and inspired to make the digital transfer.

        • Pat A Son 11:50 pm on November 6, 2012 | Log in to Reply

        • tomwhyte1 12:29 pm on November 7, 2012 | Log in to Reply

          I agree that their are potential affordances, most of which I have heard about – much like Flash for mobile devices – but have rarely seen.

          Secondly, what does the research say about this extra’s? For we must remember, that just because we can do something, doesn’t mean we should. Education, including those that provide resources should follow evidence based practices.

          Thoughts?

          • Pat A Son 12:38 am on November 9, 2012 | Log in to Reply

            When last I looked the thought was that teaching with computers does not automatically bring any advantages over any other method. However with theories of multiple intelligences and constructivism along with 21st century learning skills at our feet I am a bit suspicious of how these results were arrived at for how we look for something will determine what we find. Thus if we are using the old methods of evaluation with new technologies and theories the can we trusts the results.For me learning is an experience that simply cannot measured by a test. Furthermore these research ignores the opinion of the learner as to which method they would prefer to experience learning by so in the end it boils down to getting one side of the picture. I am of the opinion that given a choice between static text and the digital format with all its possibilities the average student today will choose digital

            • tomwhyte1 9:44 pm on November 9, 2012

              I am sorry, but as I stated, I believe that research – not historical – but modern research should drive what we do. Not our opinions, which yes are sometimes proven accurate by research, but just as much are not.

              Research, that would also show if the method is actually effective based upon quantitative and qualitative data, not just what someone wants (which is usually what is easiest for them).

              Research, that is also based on the latest methodologies to achieve the best results, for if someone is ignoring the latest research in other fields, makes their research suspect at best.

              Many other professions base their profession on Evidence Based Practices… Too many teachers base their practices on gut feelings, feelings that were, in most cases created by their educational experiences… not research…

              Thoughts?

            • Pat A Son 2:03 am on November 10, 2012

              First let me say that I really like the way you are ‘pushing’ this discussion for it is forcing me to have a closer look at e-books than I ever had.
              Here is are two researches that show that e-book (readers) can enhance learning.

              How do e-book readers enhance learning opportunities for distance workbased learners?
              http://www2.le.ac.uk/departments/beyond-distance-research-alliance/mediazoo/media/How-do-ebook-readers-enhance-learning-opportunities-for-distance-learner.pdf
              The findings suggest that e-books increased the perceived quality of distance learning for students and make work-based distance learner’s life easier.

              effects of technology on learning – Abilene Christian University
              http://www.acu.edu/technology/mobilelearning/documents/research/effects-of-technology-on-learning.pdf

              This one indicates that a person’s learning via an e-reader device is equal to or greater than a traditional textbook

              However at this point in time there are concerns about the designs of e-books as exemplified in the articles below

              The Usability of eBook Technology
              http://www.usabilityprofessionals.org/upa_publications/upa_voice/volumes/5/issue_1/ebooks.htm

              http://net.educause.edu/ir/library/pdf/ERB0921.pdf

              Patason

          • Peggy Lawson 6:51 pm on November 10, 2012 | Log in to Reply

            Thanks Patason for the research references.

            Tom, I understand your reluctance to jumping on the eTexbook bandwagon too quickly. Like you, I’ve seen classroom after classroom grab hold of interartive smart boards as the “must have” new toy, only to see them used as expensive projector screens, too often still under the control of the teacher, while the students watch but rarely interact.

            However, i see eTextbooks as vastly different opportunities. Placed directly in the hands of the students, eBooks with mutlimedia to support visual and auditory learners, interactive activities to allow students instant feedback on their understanding, the potential – as yet unrealized – to update only portions of texts as they require updates, the ability to put an entire library of content into a single, lightweight device …. There are just too many potential bonus to automatically discount eBooks just because there is not yet enough research to prove their worth. I’m sure there were plenty of detractors who didn’t like the ideas of students even having paper textbooks in the first place – and I believe Aristotle was one. I will have to find that reference.

      • tomwhyte1 12:30 pm on November 7, 2012 | Log in to Reply

        Interesting Question/Statement – Technology is what they want…

        I wonder though, is it what they truly need?

        And based upon the results given by your class, I think for now… the answer is limited…

        Thoughts?

        • Peggy Lawson 4:24 pm on November 7, 2012 | Log in to Reply

          Good discussion, and interesting that so far we’ve just focused on one, albeit an important one, affordance of digital textbooks. The ability to pack many, many textbooks on a single lightweight device as opposed to carrying around many textbooks is just one other advantage that digital textbooks have over their paper counterparts.

          Since this is my week, we have thought of the other advantages of digital textbooks. Rather than me providing a more thourough list, I’d love to hear what other benefits you can find for eTextbooks.

          • Colin 9:57 pm on November 7, 2012 | Log in to Reply

            I do agree that the ability to pack many textbooks on a single lightweight device is wonderful. For my last year of UBC i had two of my textbooks as e texts which I was able to pull up on my phone and laptop. It meant I never had to carry any textbooks around with me and I could just pull out my phone to refer to something in the text. Also the cost to have these two texts was much cheaper than a regular textbook.
            The negative to this was with a regular text I have a physical copy of the book that I can keep and use in the future or sell to someone else. With e texts you just have access to the book for a specified period of time. For any future UBC courses I still would always go with an e-text.

        • C. Ranson 1:12 pm on November 10, 2012 | Log in to Reply

          Tom missed this comment sorry. Given the discussion our program has with Reps from the publishing companies, our biggest suppliers are Elsevier and Lippincott, the popularity of eReaders, the demands of the ipad and even the newest mini version surpassing expected sales in the first month and all the articles I have read in my MET courses, yes I assume that technology is what this generation wants.  The students all have laptops and iPads so again I assumed they would all have downloaded the textbooks that were available. Most travel a good distance on public transit so they could access them anywhere/anytime depending of the version they downloaded and the use of Wifi. It would eliminate carrying several heavy books, but apparently they don’t do that anyway. I asked my daughter who is in 3rd year university and she would prefer to have the digital version but she did mention that for her elective courses she buys used books and sells them once the semester or year is finished. This is a very organized business amongst the student population. I believe my daughter is among the converted as she does have a kindle and constantly buys books to read for pleasure so she is accustomed to the digital text. The student feedback I did find interesting was their concern or their self-awareness that when using a device all the other functions such as twitter, messaging, instagram, etc was too distracting for them. I would like to think that this generation will get a handle on balancing and prioritizing social media interaction with work/school commitments so using these devices is not distracting for them.

          BTW, thanks for creating such an interactive discussion in the threads, I really enjoy your posts and perspective on many of the weekly topics.

          Catherine

    • kstackhouse 9:23 am on November 8, 2012 | Log in to Reply

      I think that the use of digital books will be a modest transition in my setting. Currently, as I have lamented before, we have a no BYOD policy in our school. It would be tough for me to switch o digital texts until that is changed.

      Also, I agree with the statements above related to soft versions vs a different version of the text. I am not sure if just providing the same material in eformat is enough. I think that institutions, students, families will jump on board once they realize the level of hypertext and hypermedia that can be embedded within a digital text. Other features, like sharing bookmarks between devices, writing notes and forwarding them by email or uploading them to social networks will be features that people will grow accustomed to and one day we may wonder how anyone learned anything from a print textbook.

    • manny 8:44 pm on November 8, 2012 | Log in to Reply

      There is no doubt in my mind that eTextbooks offer an interactive characteristic that its paper counterpart cannot match. Of course there are pros and cons to both options that have been mentioned in the articles and discussion thread above. I am fortunate to have a class set of 30 iPads and I will share my initial experience with using eTexts for different courses.
      I predominantly teach Math and Science and Al Gore’s interactive app “Our Choice” has been received positively by most of my students. This app is great for covering renewable resources and students seem to be thoroughly engaged with the content being presented. The downside is that this app was developed in November of 2009; exactly 3 years ago. Since then, there really hasn’t been anything developed to the same scale for other subject areas. I guess this is where iBooks Author comes in and we need to invest time in creating our own digital books.
      I also asked our English department to provide me with a list of books they used in their curriculum and downloaded e-versions to iBooks. Initially, there was a novelty effect and many of the students would begin reading the book on the iPad. However, after some time, most of them reverted to the paperback versions as they felt more comfortable with them. This was usually seen among the more “avid reader” population and less within the “learner disabled” population.
      Finally, I will mention my experience with e-texts vs paper versions. Upon beginning the MET program, I noticed that there were many articles that needed to be read. I attempted to read many of them online but noticed that the annotating features afforded by apps such as Goodreader simply weren’t working for me. I can’t believe I am confessing this but ever since, I have reverted back to printing out readings as it works better for me. The kinesthetic qualities afforded by both versions seem to be different when annotating text.
      At this point it seems as though eTexts are the way of the future but not always the best option. It really depends on the type of text being read and learning preferences of the reader. As long as both options exist (which I think they will, at least during my lifetime), consumers will go back and forth between both.

    • melissaayers 5:35 am on November 9, 2012 | Log in to Reply

      Just looking at the pros & cons from an environmental perspective I find the statement/fact you highlight “The carbon emissions needed to create one e-book reader equal the carbon emissions from generating 40-50 textbooks “ quite amazing & significant.

      I am not sure what others think about this but personally I think only a minority of eReader owners are likely to read 40-50 books before they end up upgrading their eReaders. New products and hardware and better screen technology is currently being released each year. I would imagine only a very few hard working/reading individuals would get an environmental benefit from switching to using an eReader from actual real books.

      For the purpose of this point of course I am choosing to ignore all the other benefits brought about by using eReaders such as portability, books price reductions etc and looking at it purely as an environmental impact.

      • Lisa Nevoral 7:56 pm on November 11, 2012 | Log in to Reply

        Hi Melissa,

        I was also shocked when I saw the environmental impact that creating one e-book had opposed to generating 40-50 textbooks. I thought that it would be lower, but obviously it’s not.

        Lisa

    • manny 8:28 am on November 9, 2012 | Log in to Reply

      Hi Melissa,
      I too was grappling with the environmental impact argument of e-readers vs textbooks. One would think that someone who has invested in an ebook is an enthusiastic reader and may easily read over 50 books therefore outweighing the environmental impact. On the other hand, tablets are more popular than e-readers as they have multiple functions. I think the introduction of the iPad mini will directly compete with e-readers. In this instance, you can make the argument that it is environmentally sound because of the many other tasks you can complete.
      Manny

    • jhodi 8:40 am on November 9, 2012 | Log in to Reply

      As with most things, there are positives and negatives to implementing e-texts. For me, I like to consider that in our world today, technology and technological skills are becoming more and more necessary. Therefore, I think that e-texts have a lot of potential for students. The potential interactivity and pleathora of resources outweighs the potential negatives to me. However, my personal preference is to use an eReader that has a matte finish screen rather than an illuminated screen. After reading for a long time on an illuminated screen, my eyes can feel stained. However, this is a minimal problem as I can conpensate using such things as additional lighting. I do however think that a combination between print and e-texts can be the most beneficial approach. It is important that students become well-rounded learners and learn to adapt to all types of resources. As was pointed out, the voice-over that can accompany an e-text for small children is not always an acceptable substitution for reading with a parent. It is important that students learn how they learn best and which resource works best in certain situations.

    • joeltremblay 11:22 am on November 9, 2012 | Log in to Reply

      As far as obscure or different softwares for electronic reading, I actually use a fairly old, but open source reader called .cbr reader for most of my online reading. It started off for just comic books, but because of it’s versatility I gradually started using it for other things. Most of us of course use adobe reader for online documents, but for modifying .pdfs I use either Adobe Illustrator or Foxit pdf editor.

      I think that when weighing the pros and cons of different readers, I prefer online reading for every time except when I want to read something for pleasure or when I have to do research. In those cases I prefer a physical copy because of their durability and accessibility. In online courses I actually prefer to download and print the readings so that I can pick up where I left off easily.

      As far as the environmental impact, I think that it all depends on where your electricity is going and how far sighted the information in the book is because if the same book is relevant for 30 years, (grey’s anatomy or dictionaries comes to mind), then constantly using electricity to access them might actually be more harmful than using one printing of a book consistently.

    • coralk 5:17 pm on November 9, 2012 | Log in to Reply

      CourseSmart this week announced a new feature that will allow E-Textbooks to Report Back on Students’ Reading Habits: The book will be integrated into the college’s course-management system. It will track students’ behavior: how much time they spend reading, how many pages they view, and how many notes and highlights they make. That data will get crunched into an engagement score for each student. Some critics feel that this is a bit too ‘big brother’, but the company maintains that it will benefit students as it will allow faculty members to reach out to students showing low engagement. http://chronicle.com/blogs/wiredcampus/now-e-textbooks-can-report-back-on-students-reading-habits/40928?cid=at&utm_source=at&utm_medium=en

    • C. Ranson 1:35 pm on November 10, 2012 | Log in to Reply

      Interesting article. This might be a strategy for student success, there are a large number of students that arrive to college or university and have under developed studying skills and studying ethic. Some will say they skim the content, this might force them to dive into the content.

      Thanks for sharing.
      Catherine

    • Scott 3:20 pm on November 10, 2012 | Log in to Reply

      Should we use digital textbooks? Are they worth it? I say absolutely, use them and in fact, I’m not sure how we are going to avoid them in some cases. Until we have a substantial shift in teaching practices, which move away from textbook use, then why wouldn’t we use an interactive book which offers so much more than a static printed page? For ETEC 500, I researched this very topic and concluded that there is limited research at the moment on the real impact of etextbooks, however the technology is still in its infancy and in general, it has great potential.

      As long as teachers find value in using textbooks, either for convenience, academic value or simply as requested by a school board, institution or government; then why would we not begin to implement electronic textbooks? In my opinion, of the books I have sampled, the digital iterations of printed textbooks are superior in many regards.

      Other mainstream media have all gone through these same evolutionary technological rebirths: music, photography, film making, printing in general. Why should plain old textbooks be immune to an inevitable digital transformation? With so many competing interests and requirements, I have a hard time imagining an etextbook ‘standard’ at this point in time – the technology is simply too new still. What is clear to me, is what has been clear to mainstream book publishers for many years, the printed book is on the decline.

      How Adolescent Student Learning is Impacted by the Use of Electronic Textbooks:
      https://www.dropbox.com/s/r8714vgul4pchxc/ETEC500%20-%20Research%20Proposal%20-%20eTextbooks.pdf

    • jenbarker 4:36 pm on November 10, 2012 | Log in to Reply

      From my little interaction (mostly just this week) I would say that I am big fan of digital textbooks. The main reason why I like them is that they allow for students who learn in various ways to view the material through different modes such as through listening (audio) and watching (visual). As a primary teacher I tend not to use textbooks very often. I find that they lack the hands-on, concrete learning that can be gained through problem based learning and inquiry. I know that some textbooks have questions such as these and encourage teachers to provide the materials but more often than not, I have seen teachers skip these pages and instead move to the traditional question and answer pages. I believe digital textbooks could find a way to fill this void by including spaces where students can interact with materials in digital ways, creating and problem solving. Similar to how students interact with an app, this could be part of the learning in the digital textbook – “practice pages”.

      I also like their lightweight nature and the fact that they can be updated more easily than reprint a 2nd or 3rd edition of a printed textbook. Additionally I find idea of teacher’s creating their own digital textbooks and sharing these very appealing. I am all for Open Source Education and this provides a means of doing just that.

      The biggest negative I see is the cost. I am surprised that the digital textbooks are still priced so highly. As the price of mobile devices continue to drop, this will have an effect on the overall costs.

      How much memory do these digital textbooks take up? I know that video, and photos take much more than text. This could be a concern, depending on how much memory student mobile devices hold.

    • Lisa Nevoral 7:48 pm on November 11, 2012 | Log in to Reply

      In education, teachers must look at the pros and cons of anything they use in their classrooms. Does the new technology being implemented help aid in their students’ learning? Best practices should always win out over the newest gimmick or technology. Yes, online textbooks could provide a means for different presentation styles and have interactive capabilities that engage students. But does this mean that meaningful learning is occurring? It all depends on how teachers layout their projects or problems and how the textbook is used.

      I do like that an online textbook can be updated more easily and quickly therefore keeping it current. And I do see benefits of having online textbooks in post-secondary courses. But I think ultimately, the use of online textbooks and meaningful learning depends on how the teacher uses that resource.

      Lisa

    • Eva Ziemsen 8:19 pm on November 11, 2012 | Log in to Reply

      After engaging with this week’s presentation and all the resources, I am convinced that digital textbooks will become the norm in the near future. My colleagues have summarized the pros and cons very well and I thought I would add one comment about the video possibilities of digital textbooks.

      I believe, that books such as the one featured on your intro page, which incorporated “An Inconvenient Truth” will catch on very quickly. I work in the film industry (and education of course) and filmmakers and the NFB, for example, are always looking for ways to engage more viewers with their works. The film industry already has incorporated ‘transmedia’ into all funding. In other words, you can no longer have a film funded without TWO other modes of delivery (so for example, a website and a game). In the context of most documentaries, an ebook is the IDEAL way to create a work of media with the content of the film. The reason this is asked for at the funding stage is because most often you must produce work for this element. So, in the case of that book, perhaps, they had to shoot certain kinds of stills, perhaps have the writers provide copy for sections of the book, etc. In the future, you could include a proposal for an ebook and this would trigger your ‘transmedia’ funding.

      In fact, this has given me ideas of what and how to pitch the NFB on my next proposal. Thank you for that.

    • frank 1:40 am on November 12, 2012 | Log in to Reply

      The costs as listed, seem to me as more barriers to be overcome – be they environmental considerations of technology production, or greater eye strain etc. – rather than costs, in terms of what we have to give up to further push out the technological frontier of what is possible. The latter, almost sounds like an oxymoron, though I am sure some seemingly logical argument could be made in its favour.
      For me, while technological evolution is ripe with opportunity and excitement, what’s lacking often is a vision. We are running around like chickens with our heads cut off if our primary focus is on how to push technological opportunities to their next logical step, without thinking about why we are doing it all in the first place and what such innovations will mean for us.
      The ideas behind Richard Baraniuk’s talk on open-source learning have the potential to be evolutionary and revolutionary. Open source already exists in many areas and the case for making it apply to educational content seems a logical evolutionary step. Synthesizing new hardware use with, open source and content development to completely reinvent our learning and education model – what Richard deems ‘create, rip, mix and burn’ – is altogether revolutionary. And though Richard’s ideas on what this might lead to are exciting, if not only for their novelty and the potential opportunities they seem to entail for our collective future, I ask why we do it? As in, what does the architecture we are trying to build look like? And how do channel the energy we have available towards that goal?

      David Packard once asked a similar question about the existence of companies, stating “Why are we here? I think many people assume, wrongly, that a company exists solely to make money. Money is an important part of a company’s existence, if the company is any good. But a result is not a cause. We have to go deeper and find the real reason for our being.” I believe it is time we ask the similar questions of advancements in education technology, or risk worshipping false idols in educational technology, in the same way we did with our materially obsessed system of economy.

  • Peggy Lawson 2:54 pm on November 4, 2012
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    The Coffee Shoppe offered several discussion topics based on what digital textbook(s) you chose to sample.  Give us your views and findings about your personal experiences sampling digital textbooks. You also had a chance to create your own eTextbooks with CK-12 and iBooks Author.  We’d love to see your creations – please share, both your […]

    Continue reading Week 10: The Coffee Shoppe Posted in: Week 10:
     

    • jkotler 2:49 am on November 5, 2012 | Log in to Reply

      Personally, I think the idea of using digital textbooks with students is great because it can make their learning experience that much more interactive and exciting while still just as informative from the mix of text, videos, activities and assessments; something I had already thought and found in my exploration. As such I was interested to test it out, but when I tried creating a Flexbook I was somewhat disappointed at the limited subjects offered since most of it covered science and math but not much else. In any case, I did still attempt to make one from the concepts available on the site and found the process easy, however it would have been more helpful to have the short descriptions given in the search menu as well as after. I also would have liked to share my Flexbook but honestly didn’t know how as it said I need to receive permission to publish it.

    • Peggy Lawson 7:51 am on November 5, 2012 | Log in to Reply

      Jkotler you’re very right that many of the offerings for digital textbooks are for science & math. It’s a growing market and these subject areas seem to be the favourites, not just for CK12 but for a number of other sites as well.

      The CK12 site is confusing at 1st, I agree. To share your test with us, rather than publish it back to the CK12 site you can instead download it in 1 of 3 formats – PDF, mobi, or ePub. PDF will lose any interactivity you’ve added to your book. ePub might be the best – you’ll receive an email when it’s ready for you to pick up. Then you’ll be able to share that file with us, although it could be a huge file.

      Patti will likely be able to provide you with some more practical ways to share this out with students, as she loves to use it in her own classroom.

      Peggy

    • pcollins 9:28 am on November 5, 2012 | Log in to Reply

      CK12 is still a bit heavy on the science and math isn’t it? After you have published your flexbook – you will also be emailed a link that you can hang on to to share with students or post to your class site for people to access. Here are a couple of example of my flexbooks and the link that was created and archived after it was published.

      Biology 12 Textbook
      http://archive.ck12.org/flexbook/viewer/45f282bc1b21fd1310eca22c012c9749/

      Biology 12 Workbook
      http://archive.ck12.org/flexbook/viewer/f9f4e896c8f9603fb6dccc306e9e0df2/

    • Suhayl Patel 9:30 am on November 6, 2012 | Log in to Reply

      I recently created a interactive textbook with my class as a culminating activity for a science unit on heat and temperature. For obvious FOIP reasons I am unable to post it on this site. I used the idea of a digital textbook to create an interactive review package for the end of the unit. We matched the curriculum objectives with resources that we attained and inserted into the book. As I teacher, I didn’t have any say on what would be part of the book. The students went into various multimedia sites and picked what they wanted to include (YouTube, blogs, khan academy, etc)

      I think it was a great experience because it was the opportunity for students to almost create their own learning experience collaboratively.

      • Lisa Nevoral 8:55 pm on November 8, 2012 | Log in to Reply

        Suhayl,

        That sounds like a great activity. What site did you use to create your interactive textbook? How many classes did you do this for? Had you used this site before so the students knew how to create the digital textbook?

        Lisa

    • C. Ranson 12:14 pm on November 6, 2012 | Log in to Reply

      Hi Suhayl,
      Thanks for sharing your interactive textbook learning activity. It sounds like it was a very engaging acitivity for a community of learners and a exceptional strategy to direct and create their own learning, making it interesting for them. What grade are these student in?
      Catherine

    • Eva Ziemsen 7:44 pm on November 6, 2012 | Log in to Reply

      Thanks for the intro so far. I am looking forward to making the textbook activity! I have often thought about creating my own textbooks and this may be the time for investigating.
      I will report back once I have tried it.
      Eva

    • Patrick Pichette 8:17 pm on November 6, 2012 | Log in to Reply

      Digital textbooks present an interesting twist on the traditional learning methods. I definitely feel that the potential for knowledge construction can increase dramatically through the use of digital textbooks as slideshows, podcasts, and Youtube videos can be embedded in the book to help narrow the learning gap for students. The only true barrier is the hardware. Until schools reach a 1:1 ratio on digital devices to students, this technology isn’t really feasible in education other than for students looking to improve their own learning outcomes as part of the digital devices they own themselves. The other possibility lies in teachers who look to implement the inverted classroom. If that approach takes greater grasp on education then digital textbooks become a real possibility since most students have access to a digital device at home. Needless to say that this would be an area I would be heavily interested in as a content publisher.

      • Peggy Lawson 4:18 pm on November 7, 2012 | Log in to Reply

        Very good point Patrick about the digital divide. Digital textbooks would go well with a BYOD program, freeing up classroom devices for those without their own laptop or tablet.

    • Jenny Brown 10:14 pm on November 7, 2012 | Log in to Reply

      I quickly made a Flexbook on food safety adding a couple of chapters and then adding in a chapter that was already made by someone else. It was fairly easy to use but I couldn’t figure out how to create a quiz, even searching through their site I still couldn’t find any information on this. I am still awaiting publication, but honestly it should be rejected as there is hardly anything in my book. It will be interesting to see what the publishing controls are. I don’t see me using this tool in my workplace as I am not a school teacher but the concept is good.

      What I was most impressed by was iBook Author – WOW. At work, we have just started using Adobe InDesign to create pdfs that can be published online and the newer version does have many of the interactive features of iBook Author but the video made iBook Author look so easy to use (as long as you have all the content already) and the fact that it is a free tool is even more appealing, although I do have to admit that I won’t be trying it as I don’t have a Mac. Apple certainly gets it right – make an amazing tool that even surpasses other software that people pay quite a bit of money for and then make your money by having it all connected to the iTunes. It works for education too – teachers and educators can create great books easily that can be downloaded for free from the iTunes store.

      • Peggy Lawson 7:41 pm on November 8, 2012 | Log in to Reply

        My 1st Flexbook experience was also a little confusing, too, Jen. I found that you can download without having to publish, but it still took awhile to receive confirmation. And like you I am Mac-less but would love to give iBook Author a try. As you say, you need the premier content first – and it’s that content that is a key reason why paper textbooks are expensive. Those textbook authors, whether paper or digital, deserve to eat, too.

        But it is just amazing what tools are available now.

    • teacherben 1:11 am on November 8, 2012 | Log in to Reply

      I worked with a group for another MET class to create a sort of digital textbook (http://wiki.teacherben.net/home-2/edutech) in the form of a wiki. Our take was that, particularly with regard to technology, by the time textbooks come out, they are often already out-of-date. The costs are typically exorbitant and in the Constructivist classroom, where the focus is on contextualized learning situated in rich-tasks, we rarely ever use one textbooks, but rather a combination of resources. Educational technologists are there on the front lines, often introducing software into the classroom that has no accompanying textbooks in any case. So, we figured that a wiki was the best tool for the job, where a community of educators would collaborate on units and share ideas with one another. It seemed like the perfect solution. But then, we looked online to see if anyone else had thought of it and sure enough, there were myriad similar projects out there. All of them, however, seemed to suffer from the same problem. There was no actual collaboration on the units. People would join up, upload a few units and move on. One could safely assume that if these teachers were still teaching these units, they were doing so from another copy someplace else. Any more recent tweaks never made it back to the wiki. So you would see a bunch of units, many of them already a little long in the tooth, all with a single editor and none of which had ever been updated since the initial posting. So, we thought, here is where we can develop a product that will be different! We will leverage the power of social media etc… to ensure that there was a strong sense of community that would keep people coming back. We would target a specific audience (tech integrators) so that there was some common sense of purpose. We would use a ‘Design Cycle’ approach, where a project would form the focus for cross-curricular units. But, sadly, even 5 of us in a single group couldn’t agree on much. We were unable to achieve any true collaboration on a single unit. The result was a hodge-podge of ideas that never really came together. Since the course ended, I still use the wiki to post my own units and anyone who is interested is welcome to share and Google Analytics tells me that once in a while, people do visit and poke around for a while, but I never get comments back. It seems to me that this may be a direction that things take in the future. I couldn’t imagine myself monetizing my work in any way, even when the units are properly tweaked, but I can certainly see using them to earn a little social credit and this may someday get me a job someplace because of a connection I made with someone who I was sharing lessons with (In fact, I am on the hunt now, if anyone knows of any tech teaching jobs coming up in Canada next year, I would be much obliged if you would drop me a line.. 😉

      • kstackhouse 9:28 am on November 8, 2012 | Log in to Reply

        Great points. I agree that textbooks can have a tough time staying current by the time they reach the hands of the student. Our district has a wiki style portal where we can upload, edit and view lessons, projects and rubrics from teachers that chose to post there. It is an interesting collection of information. It is also great to think that it is peer reviewed. We only upload the ones that we are excited and proud of. So, while this is not a “text” it is a collection of the materials and lessons that fit with the curriculum and objectives of the course. It is housed in an internal wiki space though, as technically the IPR and work created while under contract belongs to the employer.

        • kstackhouse 9:49 am on November 8, 2012 | Log in to Reply

          Replying to myself here because I forgot to talk about the Connexions TED Talk. While at first I thought this sounded too utopian to be true…I then started to think of Wikipedia and other open courseware and software movements. The idea of ripping and remixing text and then being able to burn it is really amazing. I hope this movement or others like it continue to grow.

          • teacherben 5:14 pm on November 8, 2012 | Log in to Reply

            Some people are more comfortable editing text written by other people and some people struggle with it. Throughout the MET, for example, I have participated in quite a few projects where wikis were used and most of the time people prefer to leave comments and ask you to fix up your text yourself. It may be a teacher thing, or a generational thing but there does seem to be a strong sense of authorship that is tough to crack. Has your experience with wikis in your district suffered from this? Do you see people going in there and modifying existing units or is it mostly functioning like a repository?

            • kstackhouse 5:47 pm on November 8, 2012

              For the most part it has been a repository of lessons. Although this source has only been up and running for a short time. I think that as more people join in and participate there might be more tweaking of the works loaded. I know what you mean about editing the work of others or seeing that your work has been edited. This takes some getting used to. I think as it is practiced more people will become more comfortable with it.

            • Jenny Brown 9:28 am on November 10, 2012

              You both have brought up interesting points about true collaboration. I would agree that for most people, including myself, this is still a somewhat daunting and uncomfortable task. I feel that in group work (both for courses and in the workplace) there is still always a primary author (be it for a section or for the entire document) and many don’t want to offend others by changing their text, even minoring editing, which is often needed. But with the push towards more collaboration within schools, workplaces and even online with Web 2.0 tools, I think this is changing. With collaboration, a better product can be produced but only when there is a very open, supportive and constructive environment – an environment that is in stark contrast to competing with your classmates and colleagues to produce the best product and receive personalized praise.

    • teacherben 6:22 pm on November 8, 2012 | Log in to Reply

      iBooks author is a great resource since it resembles software that people are already pretty familiar with (powerpoint) and it enables the user to create textbooks that resemble the world wide web more than they do a traditional textbook. Unfortunately, it uses proprietary formats that are a pain and everyone has to import a file and drag it into iTunes and install it on an iPad in order to be able to read it. I am currently trying to find a way to read it on a desktop and/or convert it to a more user-friendly format. For those who are implementing a BYOD program, iBooks is currently not an option while a format like ePub would be fine. Unfortunately, there is nothing quite as slick as this for making ebooks for other platforms. I’m sure there will be in time.

    • manny 7:30 pm on November 8, 2012 | Log in to Reply

      I believe iBooks author came out around the same time as iTunesU and there is no doubt that it is a fun way to assemble your own digital books. As Ben mentioned above, the cross compatibility is always an issue when working with and apple based product. For those of us who are ok with using Wikipedia in the classroom, it also has a neat option in which you can create your own book that will show up in your iBooks catalogue. Upon opening wikipedia, you will notice that there are some links on the left hand column. If you click on the print/export link you will see a section that says ‘create book.’ Just follow the instructions for the book creator and you will have a compilation ready within minutes. A really cool feature that has been around for a while but not too many people are aware of.
      Manny

      • Peggy Lawson 8:06 pm on November 8, 2012 | Log in to Reply

        Thanks for that neat Wikipedia tip Manny – I did not know that. I see that it only produces essentially noninteractive formats – PDF and OpenDocument – but still a nice option.

    • jhodi 7:50 am on November 9, 2012 | Log in to Reply

      I noticed last year when I signed out a math textbook to each of my students as well as gave them a PDF code so that they could download the e-text version of the textbook, students were a little bit heasitant at first to use the PDF version. This was until they realized that this meant that they would not need to carry their textbooks home with them every night anymore. Several students downloaded the PDF version of the textbook onto their iPads or personal devices and used this exclusively in and out of class. I found that students really liked being able to have it with them whenever they needed it so that they could work on their math homework in their down time, whenever and wherever that may happen be.

      I downloaded a PDF from CK-12 onto my iPad dealing with midpoints and segment bisectors. I did like the resource in its compatibility and ability to include multimedia links to the Internet (some of which did not work for me though). It was also nice to see that one specific topic in math was broken down into several small sections for download. This makes it easier to align with my curriculum because I can pick and choose which resources fit my curriculum specifically. I have looked at other e-texts in the past and I have found good and bad resources. E-texts that are very large in file size and take a long time to load reduces the convenience of the resource. I would like to see more open resource e-texts that could be manipulated by the teacher first, then published for a specific course.

      • Lisa Nevoral 9:05 am on November 10, 2012 | Log in to Reply

        Hi Jhodi,

        That’s great that several of your students downloaded the PDF version of the math textbook. I had the opposite at my school. We didn’t get textbooks for all students, but instead all the math classes had a class set and students had access to the online version at home. Many of my students would come in at lunch or before school to finish their work because they didn’t like using the online math text, but instead the physical one.

        Lisa

    • Eva Ziemsen 9:44 am on November 9, 2012 | Log in to Reply

      I signed up to Course Smart and reviewed many film-related books, which is the area I teach. I found that there was a good selection of books, including textbooks I used to read in my undergrad. It was interesting to see the digital versions of these. I think students would like these because they are easier to transport.

      However, it forced me to think about how I would feel about buying a digital book as a student. I do know that I personally like having hard copy books from my film school days on my bookshelf and I estimate that students today would still wish to have a few key reads in hard copy. However, perhaps it depends on the subject and also the price point. I used to buy all my books used at a discount. I did not go to the effort to compare prices of hard copies of these books, but I assume there is some savings by buying digital.

      As for my experience, I found it quite smooth once I had my account set up. I like the highlighting option, and notes as well. Very helpful for annotating. One thing that I was somewhat surprised to see missing from the film books is that there are no videos embedded in the books. Unless I did not look carefully enough, I did not see any with videos. This may be due to the fact that it would be very expensive to secure rights to videos. However, I do know that publishers pay quite a lot of money for alone the rights to the pictures from films. Perhaps, as ebooks progress, including videos is only a matter of time.

      iBook Author will not install on my computer as I am not in charge of my OS (my tech dept is). I will have it updated very soon. I did watch the videos and I am very eager to try to make an ibook. From the look of it, I think this is very empowering and I would endeavor to create a book in this manner (instead of a hard copy).

    • joeltremblay 11:09 am on November 9, 2012 | Log in to Reply

      Taxpayer funded e-texts: This model has potential but my opinion is biased because I currently exist within the B.C. system and know how strapped most districts are for cash.

      E-textbooks with targeted ads: I’m not crazy about the data mining taking place, but most of us use Facebook and Google and they do the same sort of advertising. Depending on how invasive this is it might be a viable choice but because of privacy issues having to do with minors/students it could be too risky.

      Foundation or grant-funded e-texts: The fact that this was a scam doesn’t bode well for it’s potential, especially considering the founders pedigree (one of them being a co-founder of Sun Microsys), because if they couldn’t make it work, with their considerable assets, who could?

      I think that the most viable choice, IF we have only these three to choose from then the first one seems like the best option but I still think that we need to hold our various representatives accountable for continued funding of public education.

    • Lisa Nevoral 8:56 am on November 10, 2012 | Log in to Reply

      As I was going through CK-12, I thought that this would be a good site for students and teachers to use a resource and allow students a site that would allow them to create review material on their own. I could also see the value of being able to use the Flexbook option to create your own material to give to your classes, if current textbooks don’t do this for you. But as stated by many already, unless there is a 1:1 ratio of computers, I don’t know if this is feasible for many classrooms right now, unless they are online courses.

      In saying that, I am only thinking at the K-12 level. At post-secondary institutes, I think online textbooks would be a good option. How many times had I bought a textbook, used it for a semester and then resold it right away? Some of the books I kept, just as you could keep an e-textbook (although at some point it may become incompatible with your computer as if it is upgraded or you buy a new one). When I first started this Master’s program, I would print off all the material, but now read from my laptop. I didn’t think I would ever get to the point where I would just read off the computer.

      Lisa

      • C. Ranson 12:00 pm on November 10, 2012 | Log in to Reply

        Lisa you share some interesting observations, first that your students prefer to use the hard copy version of the math textbook in class when they have access to the online version at home. I have similar observations with my students who are post-secondary and report they “just like to have the textbook in their hand”, they too mention the process of buying used and re-selling books as an advantage of paper text. The second observation about starting the MET course and printing all the articles, highlighting important points, making notes on the paper version for the first several courses and then making the transition to downloading the articles or book chapters to your computer and using the online version is the same experience that I have had. There is most definitely a transition period and once the student/learner is ready I do suspect that digital text is the way of the future. The publishing companies are moving in this direction, technology and media is driving the transition and I do believe education will follow. There are some interesting points about using additional resources and not necessarily a required textbook, I do think this is common in post- secondary education but curriculum outcomes are usually link to a subject textbook as the main resource. I do teach one course currently that does not have a required textbook, the resources are websites, journal articles, chapters in their main textbooks that are required for other courses and the student feedback is this creates more work for them as they have to navigate through various resources. I believe it promotes and improves their study and research skills as they have to read and find the relevant material.
        Catherine

    • visramn 7:36 pm on November 11, 2012 | Log in to Reply

      I personally do not have any other type of textbook reader than and iPad. I have looked at textbooks on my iPad and thought this was a neat tool but I struggle with reading on a screen and find it difficult to focus. I have had a look at other peoples readers. For example, I have looked at books on a Kindle. I personally found this very similar to an iPad and I also felt like it was better on the iPad. However, my exposure to using reading devices such as these is minimal so I do not think I have enough exposure to make an educated judgment. I do like the fact that these devices make textbook manufacturing more environmentally friendly by saving on the use of paper.

      Nureen

    • visramn 7:51 pm on November 11, 2012 | Log in to Reply

      I found Ck12 to be a fairly user friendly program for creating digital textbooks. I like that it had content in so many subject areas available that could be added and personalized. This is great because the content in a textbook can be curtailed to the class being taught. I am a visual learner and found it very helpful to watch the video that was provided that gave an intro on how to create a digital textbook on this site. Whenever I work with a new program or software I always google a video and watch it so that I have an idea of how to work with the program before actually exploring the program. In this case, I was able to navigate around the site and work on my own e-textbook more easily because I had been exposed to the procedure through the video.
      I like that these textbooks can be accessed from different places and feel that students may be more likely to refer to their textbooks in other settings outside of school if they can access them from their devices. This makes it easier because they do not have to lug around heavy textbooks. However, I also am unsure of long term success of digital textbooks or of textbooks in general. I think learning is evolving and becoming more interactive and I feel that learning from textbooks is a way of the past that will eventually be pushed aside.
      Here is a link to a beginning draft of a textbook I created:
      http://www.ck12.org/user:dmlzcmFtbkBnbWFpbC5jb20./book/basic-geometry/r6

      Nureen

    • frank 10:05 pm on November 11, 2012 | Log in to Reply

      I’m curious what the cognitive differences are of learning from a text-book vs a tablet.
      I imagine that this is different across cohorts. So an interesting area to research and develop on are the kind of skills people need to become effective learners from digital sources vs traditional pen and paper, and how to design digital textbooks with applications that facilitate improved learning and cognition.
      My guess is that learning on tablets will become more interactive in the future, and what will facilitate how we evolve in this regard will be experimentation and the data that come from various approaches we try. Exciting new frontiers ahead in E-textbooks.

      PS. what the heck visramn?

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