Week 12: INTERACTIVITY 1B: VIRTUAL WORLD AS AN OLE
(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:Page 4 RSS Toggle Comment Threads | Keyboard Shortcuts
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Eva Ziemsen
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Eva Ziemsen
Week 12: INTERACTIVITY 1A: OLE IN THE CLASSROOM
Post your answer to the questions regarding the two videos here. To what extent are the teachers in these two videos using the components of their OLE? Are they adhering to the values and principles of open learning?
Continue reading Week 12: INTERACTIVITY 1A: OLE IN THE CLASSROOM Posted in: General, Week 12:-
kstackhouse
Having personally used Twiducate (stopped using because it was too slow to load), Edmodo, and to a limited extent wikis I think that the teachers in this example were using the tools as OLEs. They were using constructivist and connectivist principles in their use of allowing students to work, collaborate, and engage with the materials. One boy mentioned being able to get his quiz results right away so he knew how he was doing. I used the same feature in Edmodo and students could check their score and they could try again if they felt like they had a better handle on the material later on. I also loved the badge feature in Edmodo and we had fun creating badges and how they would earn them. I used this as a way to help them decide what would be considered milestones in the course. I also loved being away from school and having students ask me questions on Edmodo that I was able to answer for them while waiting in the Dentist’s office. Parents loved the fact that their students were so engaged with the course materials and connecting with their peers in relation to the topics and activities. Text notifications and the mobile app made Edmodo a great choice in my high school setting.
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adi
I agree, these platforms are great for keeping communication channels open and immediate, and I can see how parents and teachers love them. It’s also interesting that you’ve used these OLEs; you can give us a hand-on opinion. Do you feel one or the other is better suited for creating an OLE in all the sense of the word? In other words, using it not only as a means of communication or for uploading material, which one teacher mentioned, but to provide enabling context, resources and tools to enhance learning?
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kstackhouse
I am not sure I could speak on one being more suitable for OLE than the other. I think that each one could be used in the sense described by the group’s presentation. I think it depends on the teacher and how they have approached using the resources. I think each one has its merits, and would recommend Edmodo for class use. One of my students said it was like having FB in the classroom. He was excited to be using it…and Macbeth was not his favourite unit, so having Edmodo in place was something that encouraged him to participate when he might not have otherwise.
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adi
I found that interesting, too; that students say it reminds them of FB. I’ve taught English Lit, too. How did you use Edmodo for ‘Macbeth’ that you think made it more fun for your students?
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kstackhouse
We had links to external sites (videos, virtual tours, recordings, etc…) available in their resources that they were able to follow. Each asked them to respond to certain points in the play. For the biggest part the ability to check with their peers was the most engaging part. Shakespeare should be seen and heard, so reading it at home by yourself is tough for many students.
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Peggy Lawson
Some of the comments that struck me while watching the videos was how the teacher used the sites to engage the students in various ways. Posting student photos in , for example, Edmodo helped draw the students to the site, which then held all relevant materials – notes, self-test quizzes (great for automatic feedback for students), calendar (to help develop time-management skills), etc.
Collaboration was another key point – how the students posted questions that other students helped answer, and the wiki annotations that promoted constructivist learning.
I’ll add one more, regarding how the online discussions and wiki annotating gave students time to think before they posted, unlike live classroom discussions. To me that is a huge plus of LMS systems and other online discussions, like our course blog here. Everyone can have a voice, not just those who can sometimes dominate all classroom discussions.
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adi
It’s interesting you used the term LMS. Different web sites you look at will refer to these online platforms as either an LMS , CMS or even as Social Netwroks. Then I came across the following PPT that explains the difference between an LMS and a CMS http://www.slideshare.net/ebloomsie/lms-vs-cms-a-summary#btnNext, and what stuck out was that in their opinion, an LMS manages learners while a CMS manages content, and the latter lends itself for greater content creation. Would you agree? Could this be the success of platforms like Edmodo and Schoology vs LMS like Blackboard, Connect or Vistas? Are LMS the best option for creating an OLE?
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Peggy Lawson
Thanks for the link Adrianna. I don’t know if the slideshare convinced me of significant differences between an LMS and CMS, but I’ll admint my own personal experience is much more on the LMS side (Blackboard & Moodle); from the video glimpses of Edmodo and Schoology I didn’t notice much difference in functionality than what I can accomplish in Blackboard with it’s discussion boards, grouping functionality, calendar, wikis (in the newer Blackboard), blogs, etc.
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adi
I’m also not totally sure of the difference, as I have also only had experience with LMS. However, my impression is that a LMS is considered more on the administrative side and a lot more fixed in terms of content creation than an LMS. However, I agree with you in terms of functionality. If anything, when I first watched the first video, if felt that more the teacher was using it a repository tool. This alone is not adhering to the principles of an OLE, it’s simply uploading and depositing materials but not necessarily enhancing learning. Thoughts?
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avninder
I think both teachers used their respective OLEs appropriately as many of the acitivities were rooted in constructivism. There were also opportunities for the students to start new discussions and reflect which demonstrates the “open”ness of an open learning environment. However, it seemed as though the instructor using Edmodo used many other features availble such as the calendar and posting videos. I’m not sure that this means she used the OLE more appropriately but I think it may have resulted in students being more engaged in the site itself not just the subject matter.
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adi
I personally felt the first teacher used the tool as repository, while the second teacher had students constructing knowledge together. Effectively, we do not get to see exactly how the first teacher actually used the tools and what the content of what she uploaded consisted of. For example, what exactly did they do with the videos she posted? Engagement, however, is indeed important, and she does appear to achieved that.
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Scott
I’m working to compare the two videos, however I remain unclear about the definition of enabling contexts, as referred to in the interactivity question and the Slideshare slides.
The Slideshare presentation notes that enabling contexts can be externally imposed (which I understand); however, both externally induced and individually generated contexts, involve the learner generating the problem – so what is the difference between the two then? Can anyone clarify these definitions with an example perhaps?
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Patrick Pichette
Hi Scott,
With externally induced contexts, students are provided with a relevant problem space without being given any particular problem to solve. It is clear from the problem space that there are issues to work but students are encouraged to describe and delimit the problems while working towards solving them afterwards.
For individually generated contexts, students identify their own context based on particular needs and circumstances for the subject matter that they are currently involved with.
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Patrick Pichette
In other words, the difference is strictly in whether the problem space has been pre-defined by the instructor (externally induced) or if the student is the one defining the problem space (individually generated).
The similarity lies in the fact that for both externally induced and individually generated contexts, students are the ones defining the processes and tasks to solve the issue. With externally imposed contexts, the student is given both the problem space as well as the processes and tasks.
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Scott
Thanks for your explanations Patrick.
I’m afraid however, I’m still just not clear on the subtleties of the distinction here. Any chance you can offer a real world example of each?
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adi
Probably the best way to describe the three types of enabling context is in terms of how much learning is controlled, and how teacher or learner centered they are. In the case of externally imposed enabling contexts, the instructor/domain provides both the problem and the means for solving it; in externally induced enabling contexts, the instructor generates the context, but the learner generates the problem to be addressed; finally, in individually generated enabling contexts, the learner generates both the context ad problem.
An example of externally imposed enabling contexts are simulation learning games where students adopt a role within the environment and the problem and/or performance needs are explicitly delineated. A good example of this is “The Great Solar System Rescue” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qj0Plod9YjY .
In externally induced enabling contexts may consist of scenarios, problems or cases where the learner generates the situation to be solved and the means to do it. An example of this is “The Adventures of Jasper Woodbury” http://mmcisaac.faculty.asu.edu/disted/week1/5focustc.html.
In the case of individually generated enabling contexts, the specific context cannot be provided in advance because the instructor cannot know what it will be; the learner establishes the enabling context based on needs. Personal interests, issues or problems guide the strategies employed, be it a graduate student’s research interest, or a person wishing to solve a personal problem, e.g. planning a 3 day hiking trip.
Hope this helps.
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Scott
Indeed, these explanations and examples have helped me a great deal – thank you 🙂
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teacherben
it seems to me that most of the people using Edmodo were doing much the same thing online that they already did in the classroom. It was being used as a productivity tool more than anything else, but most of the functionality that has highlighted by the users could just as easily be done using more traditional tools. Students commented on how much they like the calendar features. Teachers liked being able to post assignments and give quizzes. This is nothing really new.
On the other hand, the wikis afforded the possibility of the collective construction of knowledge that is central to Constructivist pedagogy. Students shared their own original thoughts and feelings about poetry, they contributed their own research through social bookmarks. This teacher was essentially crowdsourcing the unit and students were given much more ownership over how the unit evolved over time.
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adi
My impression was similar. What’s more, I came across lost of examples where teachers use Edmodo as a repository platform and tool for communicating with students, but do not exploit its full potential. On the other hand, I found an example where a Social Studies teacher creates enabling context that promotes divergent and mediated learning, amongst other things. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b7scmRQkTaU&feature=plcp
Thought from people on other ways these platforms could be used as more than just repository platforms?
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Mike Rae
I agree with Ben that the wiki was more constructive than the edmodo, but I think that both would qualify as OLEs. Both platforms encouraged students to work together and ‘off’ of each other. By the teacher in the wiki giving instruction to annotate the poem, we saw how ‘friends’ in the class were able to communicate with each other about the line, building on each others comments.
I thought that it was cool that two friends in the class would never call each other up at night to discuss what the last line of homework meant to them, but through this OLE, it gave them the opportunity to discuss it.
The similarity to Facebook is a huge advantage of these environments to make students comfortable and familiar with the idea of logging in and posting, checking notifications, messages, and interacting with each other. I thought the teacher’s idea of posting pictures was an interesting hook to get students coming back to the edmodo, but where does the line get drawn of it becoming a social networking site or an educational site? maybe it HAS to be both?Thoughts?
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adi
Interesting point. In this blog http://www.edmodo.com/public/wazmac-demo/group_id/1224665 , they mention that edmodo is marketed as ‘Social Networking for Schools’ and that Schoology leans more towards LMS with a social network feel to it. As to where the line is drawn, I feel depends on the teacher; both can co-exist. Aside from the social studies example role play I mentioned in a rely to Ben, there’s this one http://www.edmodo.com/public/wazmac-demo/group_id/1224665 where admittedly the teacher has used it a repository platform, but carefully put together to create externally imposed enabling context with a specific problem for students to work on, and aside from the video provided, this teacher also provides additional resources http://www.edmodo.com/folder/456542 . So I guess if properly used, you can combine its uses.
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teacherben
No question, Edmodo qualifies and I’m confident that many teachers are using it effectively. It even allows students and teachers to communicate across different schools, if enabled. There’s a lot of potential there. I just didn’t see that in the video.
I had a particularly positive experience many years ago when I set up something called Elgg on my own server. It is a social network that looks a lot like Facebook did back in the early days. Nice, simple, clean. I just threw it at my students with no real idea how they would use it. On their own, they started to meet up in the evenings to discuss homework assignments. Another teacher and I ended up joining in for 20 minute blocks each evening to answer questions and offer support, but it was the kids that originally set things up (grade 5 kids, if you ca believe it.) They created their own groups based on their own interests and some of those did take off. In some cases, a group was created, people joined and within a week, it was dead, but others remained active. This is not unlike what we find on any social network. They used it to meet up on weekends and used it to share music and pictures and all sorts of stuff. At the end of the year, I set up a new system with a new database for the next class and forgot about it. But a few months later, logged in to find out that these kids were still using it–even some kids who had moved away to other schools were using it as a way to stay in touch. I think this was very empowering for the students and really did highlight the power of student-centered teaching tools. These days, all of my kids use Facebook, so anything I introduce would come off as artificial. At the same time though, I don’t want to use Facebook to engage with them since I have my own, private life on there. I know that many of them use it as a tool to share their learning and support one another though.
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jenbarker
After reviewing the videos, I am in agreement with both Mike and Ben. I found the first video (Edmodo) did NOT demonstrate very many OLE values. The features of the calendar, ability to view grades, and see homework is simply organization and may assist in increasing students self-regulated learning skills. All of these features were imposed by the teacher and didn’t allow for personal inquiry or divergent thinking. Never was it mentioned that students were using Edmodo create or generate content. Although I liked that the teacher mentioned that she was sharing photos/celebrating the learning happening in the classroom on Edmodo I think should she have provided the students the ability to post similar photos, it would have represented learner autonomy and self-directed learning as the students would be able to pick and choose what they would like to share and evaluate the learning by discussing why they chose the photos they shared. Overall the first video didn’t represent to me meaningful values characteristic of OLEs.
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jenbarker
I believe the second video is far more representative of the values of OLE. The teacher mediated the learning but by encouraging the students to make their own annotations she encouraged divergent thinking. The students had autonomy to choose which part of the poems they wanted to respond to. It allowed for communication between members of the class and allowed for all the voices of the classroom to be heard. The activity had the students generating content through a concrete experience.
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adi
Your observations are very good. If you look at the slide, and the differences between ‘directed’ and ‘open elarning’, then it would appear the teacher in video one does appear to be ‘carefully engineering external conditions’, while the teacher in the second video provides opportunities for ‘manipulation and experimenting’. In the end, it’s like any tool; it’s how you use it. Before it was blackboards and textbooks, now this. Are there better tools than others? Some argue, for example, that an LMS structure is too rigid for creating an OLE and has to many restrictions for plug ins etc. What do you think given your experience with the different platforms MET uses?
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frank
I think we are seeing the evolution of some interesting tools in this course, though we may not be using them directly because switching back and forth between them might add confusion given our constraint that we only communicate online. I would love to see our postings get upvotes & downvotes by the class, so that we can each get some sort of feedback on our work, for example.
I think you are right to juxtapose the differences between (very) directed learning in video one vs. open learning in video two Adelpaso. In that regard, it seems to me that the tool being used does matter. In the Second video, we see much greater application of OLE principles and values as Jen has pointed out, whereas in video one, we pretty much see a typical class do things they would otherwise do, with online tools. If OLE’s have the potential to facilitate an evolution in learning towards say social constructivism, then how they are engineered and designed matters.
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Scott
I have quickly summarize the OLE values of each video presented as follows:
Video 1 – Edmodo
Resources: Handouts, Weblinks
Tools: Quizes, Calendars, Polls, Discussions, Notepad, Grading, Blogs, Help Forums, Notifications
Scaffolds: Help forums, Quiz Feedback, Notifications
Enabling Context: Teachers provided some problems and the Edmodo platform encouraged externally induced contexts, allowing the students to generate problems to be addressed using the peer directed forums.Video 2 – WiKi
Resources: Weblinks, Handouts
Tools: Collaborative text editing and used external social bookmark tool called Digo.
Scaffolds: Structured Units and Collaborative Emphasis
Enabling Context: Highly teacher generated problems, leading to externally imposed contexts, facilitated by Digo tool.Based on the information presented in the videos, in my opinion the Edmodo platform is richer in its OLE tools and affordances to learners than the Wiki platform. I was already familiar with both OLEs, however I was to unaware of the Digo social markup and bookmarking tool used in the Wiki video. It seemed easy to use, engaging and effective. It’s a site that I have added to my own toolbox of online resources and one I’d recommend to colleagues. It also reminded me, that sometimes the simplest tools work the best.
As a final comment, while I appreciate that the Edmodo platform was agreeable to students due its similarity to Facebook, I’m not entirely convinced that a Facebook style environment is what I really want in my classroom. It also raises questions about who is going to moderate and be responsible for all the social oriented content that will be generated while students are logging it outside of class.
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manny
Hi Scott,
You hit a great point in terms of the similarities between such as edmodo/schoology to facebook. The obvious advantage is the hope that the learning curve wont be too much for students and it is something that is comfortable and inviting for them to use. I have tried Wiki’s and WordPress in the classroom and they didn’t quite work to the same effect. The point about discussion moderation is a BIG issue that seems to arise whenever one considers using these platforms. A lot of teachers are against utilizing such platforms as they don’t want the headache or responsibility of moderating discussions outside the classroom. Personal discussions on such sites is definitely a concern and the parameters of usage would have to be clearly laid out before jumping into such platforms headfirst. -
adi
Great summary Scott; you’ve really grasped the concept. I only just recently started using Diigo http://www.diigo.com/ (changed over from Delicious), and it is indeed an amazing tool. Here’s an example of what someone from ETEC 540 did with Diigo http://slides.diigo.com/list/mrspen/collective-wisdom-teaching-blogs-for-elementary
And adding to your summary, I thought I’d share a mind map I made of what an OLE is; I also find summaries useful http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/254/openlearningenvironment.jpg/
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Scott
Thanks for the feedback and mind map – it’s terrific!
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manny
The Edmodo and Wiki examples given in this activity strongly emphasize the collaborative features that OLE’s afford. When comparing this style of teaching to direct instruction, it is evident that there is much more interaction occurring between peers than in the traditional learning environment. According to the definition “OLEs aim to provide learners with opportunities to learn by solving both well and ill-defined problems, by interacting with resources, tools and peers, and by collaborating with others. The videos presented showcase students interacting with the resources and each other but the problems presented seem defined. I have seen examples of moodle, edmodo, and schoology used in instructional practice and noticed that it is usually a compilation of teacher activities presented on an online platform. This is still a step ahead of direct instruction but I think the true power of these tools lies in the ability of students to collaborate in inquiry based learning through the presentation of ill-defined problems.
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adi
I agree, it is ‘a step ahead’ , but we do have a long way to go. Some believe the problem resides in the fact that constructivism (an underlying learning theory of OLEs) is a learning theory, but not an Instructional Design Model. It comes back to applying theory to practice, or teaching as you preach. It’s not easy and often involves a lot more work on the part of the teacher.
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jhodi
You are correct in that we still have some work to do in moving away from direct instruction. I try as much as possible to create activities for my own students that require groups of students working together to solve a problem. I encourage students to use eachother as learning tools as well as their own math base to learn how others view a problem and how they can learn from their peers. I have noticed however, when the math concepts get more and more difficult, it can be harder to develop genuine activities that fit into the time constraints of a class. Developing these activities can also be quite time-consuming compared to direct instruction, but very worth it!
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rebeccaharrison
I agree with most that both sites showcase some OLE values, however the second video presented a model I would be more interested in using in my classroom because it allows students to be more collaborative and invested in the process of creating a learning environment. Each individual in the class is then responsible for the content and flow of the site. In addition to concerns noted above with moderation, I would also be somewhat concerned with accessibility for students and also requiring students to have more “screen time” outside of the classroom to be able to keep up with expectations in the classroom.
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adi
You point out something important: ‘time’. These tools are great, but they do often require a longer time commitment on the part of the student. I don’t know about you, but I have never dedicated so much time to any f2f course I’ve taken as I have with MET. Keeping up with posts, readings, assignments, evaluations; it’s often quite overwhelming!
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Jonathan
Rebecca and Adel —
From what I’ve observed of the two videos Edmodo is being used as a repository but it isn’t clear how she is further bringing out constructivist aspects. What is exciting in all of this is that she has them engaged. The second step to bring out the constructivism wouldn’t be too far away. While she never explicitly states what types of projects she is engaging in like the Wiki video — she can easily implement the constructivist aspects into her Edmodo. I haven’t personally used it, but I have viewed classrooms that do use it.
I do, however, have Wiki experience and I do initially use it as a repository and build out from it. As the students get more familiar with it — the projects become more complex (to a certain extent as they are only Grade 2). The important point is to draw upon the engagement because after that having them work in it is simply taking the next step.
Having used the Wiki, I can say that it is difficult to maintain a dialogue. It is good when students are able to meet F2F and discuss what is happening on a page/project and move forward. I can see many benefits coming out of Edmodo as it provides a more streamlined conversation. These sites merely becoming a launching point for students to engage in more constructivist learning. It isn’t about just using these tools but mashing them all up!
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adi
Good point about sometimes needing to meet f2f; blended learning and complete online learning are not the same. A blended learning OLE is probably easier to achieve than one that is solely online.
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tomwhyte1
For myself, both of these tools Edmodo/Wikis(Other Embedded Tools) provide the technology to potentially allow a teacher to create a Open Learning Environment, however it is important that neither of these tools on their own are Open Learning Environments. For it is how the tool is used, that creates the environment, not the tool itself. For a hammer is not a home, but a hammer provides the ability to create a home.
Contexts – both can be a repository for assignments that have internal – external – or even student directed contexts. However, I do believe that the Wiki environment does provide a better OLE – in that students can use this environment for all forms of the work, where Edmodo at best, would be a delivery mechanism for assignments students completed elsewhere.
Resources/Tools: Both are web based, and therefore all various internal and external resources to be utilized to assist learning. However, again I believe the inherent functionality of Wiki’s provide more flexibility in this regard.
Scaffolds – for myself, this is based again on the teacher and the assignments they provide, not the resource itself. Therefore, I feel the judgement on this area should be focused on the classroom teacher, not the resource delivering their pedagogical approach.
Thoughts?
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adi
Excellent observation regarding judging the teacher rather than the resource. While putting together material for this project I came across some very creative uses of all these tools, adhering very much to the values and principles of OLEs. So I guess you won’t achieve the values of an OLE unless you use its components accordingly. However, all the marketing out there sell you LMS and CMS as if alone they can enhance learning. Not so, as you rightly point out. Thanks.
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visramn
I believe these teacher did a good job of using all the different components of their OLE’s to engage their learners. Both of these online learning environments included tools that allowed for students to collaborate and to have a voice. They both allowed for students to work at their own pace. Students could relate to the OLE’s because they saw them as being similar to social interfaces they use in everyday life, such as Facebook. Therefore, drawing the students in and making them more interested in the information and tasks presented. The teachers posted videos and other interactive and visual tools that helped reach out to different types of learners with different learning styles. The calender feature was a great way of helping students with accountability and with insuring they completed their assignments ( this method sure beats having to run after students and repeatedly reminding them to hand in assignment). I think the teachers did a great job of using the OLE functioning capabilities to set up an effective learning environment. Their efforts and proper use of the OLE was evident from their students success and positive outlook on learning The thing that stuck out to me the most was the comment one of the girls made in the Wiki video about being able to think about what they are writing and post more thoughtful comment. I think this is one major benefits of online leaning environment. A lot of students who may not voice their opinions in traditional learning environment may do so online because they have time to compose their thoughts and they do not feel like they are being watched by their peers or being judged.
Nureen
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adi
Good observation; time to reflect is important. You probably would not get so much participation in a f2f class; especially with the shy students.
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jenniferschubertubc
One word that jumped out at me in the discussion of these tools was “community.” When I reflect upon my experience as a student in the classroom, I can remember feeling like I was part of a social community but not necessarily a learning one. I feel like, in those days, assignments were handed out and completed. In my case, being a very young perfectionist, there was always a healthy dose of competition involved. I can remember some teachers posting top ten lists of who achieved the best scores on tests. It was meant as a motivational tool, but I can now see where it created a separation, or a type of “every man for himself” feel to our success in the classroom.
What I enjoy most about hearing about the use of OLEs in the classroom is the excitement from the students in regards to their use. In both videos, students extolled the virtues of collaboration and learning not only from the one teacher standing at the front of the classroom, but from each other. I think, regrettably, that many students of my generation find this a foreign concept. It wasn’t until I started my studies in the MET program that I began to see the value in sharing ideas, experiences and knowledge. Gone was the competition, leaving more room for scaffolding knowledge from that of others.
One of my main motivations for enrolling in MET studies was to ignite a fire in teachers who are scared/tentative to use new technologies in the classroom. It surprised and saddened me to find so many of my colleagues against continued learning in this realm, relegated and comfortable in their long term teaching routines. Whether we like it or not, the times are changing; students are becoming more and more comfortable with technology and spend a large amount of their free time using it to connect with friends and live their lives. If we can successfully pair social technology with educational technology in OLEs, it will be much easier to reach even the more reluctant students as we’ll be meeting them on common ground and in their comfort zone, so to speak.
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Lisa Nevoral
Hi Jennifer,
I too see the value in sharing ideas, experiences, and knowledge online and think there are some students that may feel more comfortable sharing their ideas or thoughts online than a f2f class. It gives them a chance to think about their responses, search out answers, and reflect upon what others have written. I have found in the MET program that I do all three, as well as learn from others. What I would like to see more of is how OLEs can be used for student-directed learning. I guess what I’m searching for is more “concrete” examples.
Lisa
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jhodi
It seems that these teachers are using these learning tools as OLE’s. These teachers are creating an atmosphere for students to collaborate and that encourage participation and interest from the students. The students seem to enjoy having all of the material outlined for them, but take responsibility for their own learning and ensure that they are using the tools provided to them by their teachers to the best of their abilities. The social networking atmosphere of Edmodo really creates a positive collaborative community space for students to engage with their material and peers. These tools rely on the use of consistent routines for the students that help support each learner to succeed. The online nature allows students the freedom to work from anywhere, but holds them accountable for keeping up to date in the class.
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jameschen
One of the things I noticed in both of the videos is the increased level of engagement for all the students interviewed. By making good use of the affordances offered by the tools they had, the teachers framed lessons so that students found themselves using the platforms to track their learning progress and collaborate with each other even when they were away from school. This shows that the teachers were able to go beyond the principles of OLE.
James
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Lisa Nevoral
Hey All,
In video #1, the school used Edmodo. I think the teachers were adhering to many of the OLE principles. They included resources, such as links to websites and videos or posted their own notes for absent students. They used tools to gauge student levels such as quizzes and polls. The calendar allowed students to see what was coming up, what their assignments were, and when their assignments were due. Students were able to post questions to the teacher or whole class for help or clarification; therefore, collaboration was occurring. What I was unsure of was how much self-discovery was actually occurring or if it was mostly teacher driven.
In video #2, the teacher used a wiki site. Her example was using collaborative skills where students could post their own ideas or respond to others. Students were interacting and discussing online which allowed them to maybe pick up on new ideas or information that they hadn’t thought about before.
It appeared to me that there was lots of student engagement and the teachers used the sites in slightly different ways. As well, I think some students may feel more comfortable to participate or answer questions than they do in a f2f classroom.
Lisa
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Eva Ziemsen
Week 12 Introduction – Open Learning Environments
Welcome to week 12, and this week’s topic Open Learning Environments (OLEs), prepared by Eva Ziemsen, Julie Kotler, Sophia Barton-Bucknor and Adriana del Paso. One of the principles of an Open Learning Environment is to provide hands-on, concrete experiences with opportunities to manipulate and experiment. Hence, as the topic of OLEs is so broad, we […]
Continue reading Week 12 Introduction – Open Learning Environments Posted in: General, Week 12:-
teacherben
Congratulations on having one of the most engaging presentations of the term. Without having specifically measured the lengths of entries, I would guess that you also had some of the most lively discussions. A lot of people felt compelled to return over and over to keep the conversation going. Well done folks!
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melissaayers
A $20 tablet
I came across this article this morning and thought I would share it. I wonder what implications it could have on education in Northern America if we ever decided to issue a low cost tablet device such as this for all students. How a $20 tablet from India could blindside PC makers, educate billions and transform computing as we […]
Continue reading A $20 tablet Posted in: General-
Suhayl Patel
I think this is a great initiative, especially for countries where affordable educational technology is only available to the upper class. I also came across an article this morning in Canadian Business about a tablet that’s 35 dollars, also in India. The idea of providing technology for students in less fortunate coutries/communiteis has been a focus for EdTech companies for a while (eg. 100 laptop/netbook in some areas in Africa). Now although this would provide for access to a “computer”, there is still the issue around the infrastructure (within organizations or at home) to support enhanced learning by leveraging that device (wifi, apps, maintenance, etc). I’m assuming that students would purchase these netbooks and use them as a BYOT device. In our organization we have some infrastructure in place to allow for BYOT devices to be used in the classroom but experience enormous difficulties to make effective use of it. But this is an amazing start and I look forward to seeing how they manage this, and hope to learn from their work.
Thoughts?
Thanks for sharing this Melissa,
Suhayl
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visramn
Thanks for sharing this article Melissa. I agree with Suhayl. The idea of this tablet is great but the infrastructure in many of the countries it could be used it may not be conducive. I taught in Africa for a year. The school I worked in did not have much technology but the technology that was present was not useful most of the time due to other issues that limited access and capabilities of the technology. Internet connection, lack of electricity, etc, are major issues in countries that are on the other side of the digital divide. Any technology that is presented in these setting can not be used to its full potential until these issues are addressed. The article you posted reminded me about a project with a similar intent that I had learned about in a previous MET course (http://one.laptop.org/ ).This organization wants computers to be made cheaply so that more kids can have access and they also look at making these computers in a manner that addresses the power issues faced in communities it will be used in.
Thanks for sharing the article about the $20 tablet. It defiantly got the wheels turning in my head.
Nureen
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frank
Good afternoon,
One of Touch screen’s revolutionary advantages is that its direct and intuitive interface, which makes computer use and access readily available to everyone.
One barrier to achieving this goal however has been cost, and countries such as India have realized that to empower their populations with 21st century skills and know-how, getting them access to the technology that can drive them there is critical. I’m excited to see how the $20 tablet will evolve. -
Ranvir
The invention of low cost computer such as the Ubislate can bring enormous change and revolution in developing countries by bringing the internet to the masses. With education becoming becoming more available and in many cases even free (MOOCs and the Khan Academy’s..), the low cost hardware will make education easily access to the poor and significantly help in spreading literacy an enlightening the impoverished.
My sincere thanks to Mr. Suneet Tulli for trying to make this dream become a reality and for inspiring others to innovate and use technology for the betterment on humankind.
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teacherben
I think it is unlikely that this sort of tablet would ever appear in North American schools. We have been seeing pretty good low-cost tablets in Asia for a long time and even the ones that could get into Canada without a lawsuit from Apple would be unlikely to get much traction in the market. Canadians are pretty cautious about new technologies. Things that take off in other parts of the world, such as mini-discs and VCD’s, never made a blip. People seem to want trusted name brands and are willing to pay. And as far as schools go, the boards are so strict about what you can buy and who you can buy it from that again, I think it would be unlikely we would see them. I remember when I taught grade 1 in Peel, there was a shortage of computers in the school and we couldn’t choose our own distributor. We had to buy the machines from the the authorised Peel company for 2500 bucks a machine, even though I was able to buy a better one at College and Spadina for 500 bucks. The 2500 dollars got us a service plan, but they always took over 2 months to come to repair them in any case, so it wasn’t much help. At any given time, there were several machines in the lab with sticky notes on the screen saying it didn’t work.
Here’s a fun website where you can see the newest Chinese brands and various knock-off devices and read reviews of them:
http://www.gizchina.com/
In many cases these days, their specs are as good as the big names but the prices are less than half.And remember, that Indian machine is subsidised by the government. It costs 80 dollars to buy one yourself.
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Scott
Good point Ben, about the tablet being government subsidized. Do we really want the Canadian government involved in underwriting technology purchases? As you say, the cost to bring one of these low cost tablets to North America would be at least quadruple the price, to cover shipping, duties, taxes, distribution, marketing, service, support, language naturalization and bilingual packaging… the list of fees goes on and on. It makes us realize once again, the enormous coast barriers we place on entrepreneurs, trying to bring new technology to market. As you also note , there are bound to be features which infringe on at least one patent held by Apple, Samsung, Google or some other manufacturer – which will only add to its cost.
So, I see these devices as solutions only for the country which subsidizes them. Which begs the question – who is going to develop apps for it? It might be ok for online activity, but with such a limited market, I imagine its app ecosystem will be hard to develop.
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Jonathan
Ahh enabling technology.
These devices are outstanding. The focus should be about enabling technology and by that I mean allowing students to have access to a computer. The most important aspect of having a computer is access to the internet through a web browser.
Technology access to more people means more access to information. The applications that surround it are great to extend ideas but if a simple internet connection can be established then the opportunities are endless. Many great programs work through the web browser as well.
This got me thinking of the Sugata Mitra TED Talk where he ran “Hole in the Wall” experiments. Essentially Mitra told students what they needed to learn, left some computers, told them he had to leave and that he would be back in a few weeks with a test. It’s fascinating to see the results as students self taught themselves the material they needed to know for the test.
The computer is a resource/tool in this case that the students taught themselves with.
These low cost tablets are awesome for increasing the distribution to more people. I’m with @teacherben on the idea that they wouldn’t make it to North America. There tend to be many problems with these types of devices. In North America we tend to have a highly curated selection that needs to pass many regulations before they can be sold here.
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Jonathan
Forgot to include the Sugata Mitra link TED talk link:
http://www.ted.com/talks/sugata_mitra_the_child_driven_education.html -
Jonathan
Oops! How embarrassing. I just realized that of course the group linked Sugata Mitra – in the next phase (Touch, I just finished putting in my responses for Voice 😉 My apologies for the redundant link.
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pcollins
An enormous round of applause for your contributions…
And our sincerest appreciation for taking the time to drop in and explore the offerings of the ETEC 522 – Digital Bookstore. We offer a momentous thank you to all of you for contributing your reflections, comments and feedback. The immensity of the discussion was incredible. It is directly through the scope and richness from the […]
Continue reading An enormous round of applause for your contributions… Posted in: Week 10:-
tomwhyte1
I would like to thank each member of this weeks group in regards to not only presenting an interesting and relevant topic to today’s education, but also facilitating multiple dynamic conversations.
Tom
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pcollins
It was a pleasure Tom,
And what a great source of insight! Being able to engage in the multiple discussions this way, and share with people’s thoughts and experiences. I learned just as much from our discourse as I did with the production side of things….
PC
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joeltremblay
Week 11: Beyond
After watching the videos in the beyond section, post your cross curricular outlines below.
Posted in: General, Week 11:-
teacherben
You are also welcome to use this space to respond with your thoughts to any of the content that you saw on the Beyond page.
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Doug Connery
The Weeks Fly by.
As I was reading through the postings here in Voice, Touch and Gesture, I started to wonder how these technologies compare to the other six modules we have been exposed to and played with since October 1. Yes the weeks fly by. So here is what we have seen recently:
Week 5: Apps
Week 6: The Cloud
Week 7: Augmented Reality
Week 8: Personalized Learning
Week 9: BYOD
Week 10: Digital textbooks
Week 11: Voice, Touch and Gesture
1. From an educational perspective, which do you see as having the most promise in the short term and long term for your teaching practice?
2. From an investor’s perspective, which would you buy into?
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visramn
I think a lot of these overlap so it would be difficult to choose one. However, I would have to say BYOD is one that is currently very relevant in many schools. I personally can see how the adoption of BOYD in schools is changing the dynamic of schools because this is an initiative that has been taken on in the school district I work in.
As for the near future, I would have to say voice, touch and gesture is going to become a huge part of learning and education. So many learners respond better when their learning interactions are visual and tactile. Not to mention, learners of today are drawn to technology so it is inevitable that learning is going to move towards newer innovations such as these.
Nureen
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Jenny Brown
Great questions to pose Doug. I will focus on Question 2. All of these have investor opportunities (although I am not sure how to approach BYOD) and obviously all have risks but also potentially high payoffs.
• For apps there is a lot of competition and it seems like popularity spreads mostly through word of mouth. Look at Angry Birds, which is wildly popular. It may be difficult to predict what apps will really take off.
• The cloud, in my opinion, is the future but I think only a few large initiatives will make it to the top and you have to convince the public to buy your product or solicit really good advertising.
• Really amazing application of Augmented Reality is still a ways off and I would see this as a high risk investment but one with potentially huge payoffs. Because the technology still has a ways to go there are potentially good investment opportunities out there.
• Personalized Learning I think has more limited investor opportunities than some of the other technologies but educators with the inside scoop of the pain point and if the product addresses it well might have an advantage investing in personalized learning technologies.
• For digital textbooks, I think the players are already in place and it might be difficult to penetrate the market.
• For Voice, Touch and Gesture, I think the opportunity is similar to that of apps. You could invest in a great technology that just doesn’t pick up or if you are savvy enough (and lucky enough) you invest in one that really makes a presence in the market.
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lullings
Hey Jenny,
I though I would weigh in there with some trends that I have noticed here in Ireland in relation to apps.
I am not sure if it is due to our shattered economy or to a general trend world wide but apps are now not carrying the strength they had. A lot of companies including one of the national broadcasters are abandoning their apps and are choosing in favor of putting a link on the app store. This allows an icon to be downloaded but it actually just links back to their site.
In the majority this is really only being done when the companies website is adaptive. This means that it actually responds to the size of the screen that is requesting the information. So if an ipad is requesting the site it then sizes itself dynamically for that screen.
This allows for easy updates of the site which will filter down to the ‘app’ as its not really an app in the traditional sense. The biggest company to do this was google. Since IOS6 Apple have ditched the google maps in favor of their own which are really bad. So google had a choice to go out and design, build and submit their own app or create a link app download to their site. They chose the latter.
As a result it could mean less of a app driven market and more of an integration between the app style market and the rest of the web experience.
Does anyone else have experience with this?
Stuart
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Jenny Brown
Hi Stuart,
I don’t have first hand knowledge on the possible decline of the apps market but just some thoughts:
If information is non interactive, a link to the site that formats to the type of device is a good choice. When you write a website, someone can see the page on different devices with very little development effort.
An app is a better choice when information is highly interactive because it needs to be optimized to work smoothly on the device.
Apps require more development effort as different devices require different programming languages and apps require more maintenance to keep them updated for the operating system.For example, talking about Google, if we look at Google Docs (a website running in a browser) – it works really well on a larger screen (doesn’t matter if it is a PC or a Mac) but it not optimized for smaller devices. Microsoft Word, on the other hand, is an app that has a lot more functionality that needs to be optimized for the device it is being used on (PC, Mac and coming soon official Microsoft Office apps for smart phones).
So I think that both web-based and app based information will prevail as there are specific uses and advantages to both.
Doing a short search about the Google Maps App, it looks like it will be making a comeback to the iPhone: A new report from The Wall Street Journal suggests that Google has already distributed a version of Google Maps for Apple’s iOS for testing. The insider that spoke to the paper explained that Google is trying to make sure that the native Maps app will be ready for prime time before submitting it to the iTunes store – though the exact timeline hasn’t been given.
Apple aficionados can breathe a sigh of relief knowing that help is definitely heading their direction, as it’s now only just a matter of when. If there’s still any doubt, Google did say that its goal is “to make Google Maps available to everyone who wants to use it, regardless of the device, browser, or operating system”. http://www.androidauthority.com/google-maps-app-inches-closer-release-apple-ios-132034/
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Patrick Pichette
From the topics that were explored, I think that Voice, Touch, and Gesture has the highest investor and educational potential in the short term. The technology is still has yet to make its way in classrooms on a widespread basis but its ability to equalize learning opportunities across all age, geographical, socio-economical, and racial ranges gives it the greatest chance to give education a facelift. As the technology is can also be interlinked with apps, the cloud, augmented reality, personalized learning, BYOD, and digital textbooks, it also gives it a higher level of penetration into education from many different angles. I see the greatest potential in personalized learning tools and will be exploring ideas in this field making use of voice, text, and gesture technology.
As for long term potential, I think augmented reality may have a chance in this area as it isn’t quite ready for adoption in an educational market but should likely heavily penetrate the consumer markets in the next few years. My fear is that this technology will likely be boom or bust in many cases so it’s difficult to gauge the area to invest in that could lead to a successful venture. From an investor’s perspective, this could definitely be a high risk, high reward area to explore.
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lullings
Personally from an investor’s perpective voice, touch and gesture would be the most appealing (hope I am not just favoring this week!)
The main reasons for this is that its new, adaptive and most of all it can be brought into a multiple of different environments (games, education, health etc). This would be essential for creating a large customer base and allow for cross learning which would continue to improve the product/service.
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visramn
I have to say I was blown away by the different technologies out there. It is amazing how everyday objects that are in our home such as mirrors and windows can be turned into a technologically functioning devices. I found all the videos so interesting and am excited to see the surfacing of these technologies all around me. I personally think this era of innovation is amazing and way beyond my imagination.
Nureen-
teacherben
If you have a chance and live in a big city, look out for any tech exhibitions. They are always a lot of fun. I went to one in Hong Kong a month ago with something like 10,000 vendors showcasing all sorts of crazy stuff. I pretended that i had my own company selling educational hardware and software and discussed purchases in the thousands of units and got estimates for shipping and all sorts of things. i was a laugh and definitely an educational experience. (If you are prepared to purchase a minimum of 1000 units, you can buy a Chinese-made tablet with specs similar to the new Nexus 7 for under $70USD per unit.)
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kstackhouse
A few thoughts on each of the topics….While many of the videos showed cool and neat things I kept thinking…How lazy are we going to become? We complain now about having to get up to change the channel, then we complain about not being able to find the remote, so we create a voice activated system or a gesture system…Next we will have eye scanners so the TV can respond to our eye movement…Just Kidding, unless someone thinks this is a good idea and we can make some money from it…If that is the case, let’s talk. 🙂
I just wonder where does it stop, maybe it doesn’t. I personally would not want the interactive goggles to look around. I like looking at nature and taking it in without seeing it through a screen or having AR info floating around.
I can see that the windows or table top monitors could be something that people will really go after. From an educational standpoint I think that these systems will be great collaborating and sharing tools. I think there are some exciting potentials here. I also think the DIY movement is the best way to take advantage of Connectivism and Constructivism learning approaches. I could see a cross curricular project where the Environmental Science, Biology, and Computing courses work together to solve issues like energy and create systems and models to try to develop understanding and solutions for the issues tackled.
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teacherben
Surprise! We already have TV’s that you control with your eyes:
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teacherben
My dream is to have glasses that can zoom in. My eyesight is pretty poor and I live in cities where I am always surrounded by things that I just can’t make out. If I could just make a little gesture and my glasses would zoom in so I could make it out, that would be awesome.
Apparently DARPA is already working on such a thing. Funny how so many of these ideas start with the military:
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2010/12/23/darpa_computational_cameras/
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kstackhouse
Thanks for the links. That is hilarious…I guess I will have to think of another scheme to get rich. 🙂
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sophiabb
Yes, that would be great. Mine is very poor and getting worse by the second from all this computer usage. No need for progressives that seem to be hit and miss.
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jenbarker
Ken ~ I laughed when I read your post. I am one of those lazy people that would love to be able to command any light switch in my house to turn off with my voice. I don’t consider myself a lazy person by nature but I think that when I choose to sit down and relax, technology such as this affords me an ability to truly relax. In a house with five people our remote continually disappears. I think being able to control the television with our voice would solve an ongoing problem. I am not sure this makes us more lazy or if simply solves a problem.
We built our house three years ago and remote technology such as this existed for light switches, thermostats, and stereos but they were very expensive at the time. I see an environmental benefit to these technologies. One example would be that I could control the heat of my home while on vacation. 24 hours before arriving home I could turn the heat in my house up and keep it down for the week prior. This would save energy and money.
Thanks Ben for opening my eyes to all the great possibilities arising. You appear to be on the cutting edge of what is available in technology.
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melissaayers
Ken, I like to think of it as me being efficient not lazy when I see how cool many of these technologies are and I want to integrate into my daily life 🙂
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jhodi
I would love to see an app used to create generative art, such as what was seen in one of the videos, that could then be used in a math class to explore scale drawings and how you could use a phone to zoom in and out and explore the scale used each time.
Jhodi
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teacherben
There are tons and tons. Processing (that was used in the video) is a language that is frequently used to create generative art and there are sites where people have uploaded their projects so you can have a play. Try openprocessing.org or studio sketchpad.
Here’s an amazing on the a guy I know created:
http://www.openprocessing.org/sketch/64760(He has created over 100 tutorial videos to get you started: funprogramming.org)
If you have an Android phone or tablet, then you can create your own apps from other people’s work and run it on your device. Here’s how:
Install Processing on your computer. Install the Android SDK on your computer. Find a Processing sketch that you like on one of those sites and copy/paste the code into Processing on your computer. Plug in your Android device. Click the button that says ‘Android’ then ‘run on device’ and it will install. Presto!
Processing is a great way to teach about generative art since it is so easy to learn. You could have kids creating awesome visuals in a couple of lessons.
Have fun!
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cunnian
I must say that I was incredibly impressed with the Makey Makey toolkit. I hadn’t seen this before and initially had difficulty thinking of how I could apply this in my classroom largely because what it affords is so new to me. After some consideration, I came up with an idea to use this in my IB technology 8 class for students to design and create a new video game controller for the video games that they will already be creating using Scratch. The advantage is that they can create an input device that best suits the game that they will create. This will require them to think more deeply during the design cycle about the game that they create and how the user will interact with it. Fun idea, but not cross-curricular.
Another idea that would be cross-curricular (but completely impractical) is to use voice-activated robotics in my French class as a means of improving pronunciation. Students could identify, practice and input terms that they find hard to pronounce and then determine if a francophone could operate their robot. This I would be a more engaging way of having students practice and apply their learning in a way that gives them feedback in a novel way.
A final and, admittedly, still somewhat impractical use of this would be with my student rowing club. The blades (oars) could be rigged up as input devices and interface with a drawing program on a mobile device. As they row in, a pattern should emerge on the screen which they could then interpret to determine if they are pulling in the most efficient way.
At any rate, these are some ideas that immediately came to mind. This is definitely a cool technology that I will have to get my hands on!
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teacherben
Your MaKey MaKey/Scratch idea is great and totally do-able. You could also do it with a Scratch Board/PicoBoard which was designed specifically to work with Scratch or with the MaKey MaKey. I bet that your kids would surprise you with how many ingenious ways they come up with the use it to input a ‘key press’. I would love to see the rowing one. It would be a bit trickier, but could be done. I went to a workshop a couple weeks ago with one of the guys from the original Scratch development team and we played with MaKey MaKeys for a while. That was my first time using one. Another teacher and I built a system that attached to his glasses so we could see how long he had been wearing them. We used Scratch as well, and I figure that your blades in the water would be measured the same way–it just counts up so long as the key is pressed and stores that in a variable. Cool. Thanks for sharing. Both the MaKey MaKey and the Scratch board cost about 50 bucks a pop though which is a bit steep, although I’m sure you can get your money’s worth out of it. Apparently the newest Arduino model, called the Leonardo, can also be recognized as a keyboard when you connect it, so it can do basically the same thing (and a whole lot more) and those only go for 25 bucks apiece. If you want to give it a try, keep in touch. i have a grade 7 class doing Scratch projects right now and will probably try to do something similar.
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sophiabb
Whew! I am really impressed by all the technologies presented. Why am I feeling obsolete – both as an educator and a parent?
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teacherben
I just found a cool project. A group of hackers have been working together to help a well-known graffiti artist who has ALS and is now completely paralysed from head to toe. All that he can move is his eyes. So they hacked a Sony playstation 3 and used parts to make something they call Eyewriter (http://www.eyewriter.org/) that allows him to paint with his eyes. Amazing what people can do.
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joeltremblay
Week 11: Gesture
Activities: 1. Record your experiences with Flutter below. 2. Present any examples or links that you have seen or ideas you may have generated where education could benefit from this quickly emerging technology.
Continue reading Week 11: Gesture Posted in: General, Week 11:-
manny
1. My initial experience with Flutter was a positive one. Upon downloading the software, it is really user friendly and easy to use. However, when I used it with my music library in iTunes, I realized that it does take a while to learn all the commands. Furthermore, you have to frequently repeat the gestures as the camera doesn’t always pick them up (this could be a result of camera angle). Another limitation is that you need to be within 1 to 6 feet of your computer and I am beginning to wonder whether this will truly take off given this limitation. There seems to be a few wrinkles that need to be ironed out and I guess this is why the NMC Horizon report has suggested a few years before its successful inception.
2. Upon my initial experimentation with this technology, I could see it being used in education in a myriad of ways. Apart from simply using gestures for controlling your PC/Mac, I think the gesture recognition aspect of the software could prove to be very helpful in education. It would be great to teach sign language in which it could perhaps decipher whether the students are learning the correct methods. I also think it could have a place in courses such as Drama and Physical Education in which body movement represents a huge portion of the curriculum. Although I don’t have specifics right now, I look forward to seeing what our cohort comes up with and adding more specific examples throughout our discussion this week.
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Suhayl Patel
I totally agree with everything you said Manny, but what instantaneously came to mind for me was the idea of collaboartion in a classroom with a large output. Students would be able to contribute to class learning more actively and everyone could see the contributions as they’re recognized and displayed. Students don’t have to come to the IWB to write.
While helping specific individuals/groups, the teacher could show the entire class soemthing that is worth mentioning, from their present location instead of from the front of the class.
The possibilities are really endless, and it’s innovative technology like this that makes me miss that I’m not in a classroom anymore.
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jkotler
Hi Suhayl,
Like you and Manny, I too believe gesture technology can be used for a variety of subjects and collaboration among students. Building on those ideas though, I also think it could be a great way to make a classroom that much more inclusive wherein students with physical or learning disabilities can use it to participate alongside their classmates.
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tomwhyte1
I myself did not have such great luck with this program, however that is besides the point. I like many of you, envision this technology to help many students, either at home or at school learning various activities. The original idea presented was sign language, however, imagine a coaching program embedded with Gesture Technology for Dance Classes, Hockey Practices, etc. Yes I realize that major sports utilize similar technologies, but would not Gesture Technology allow an affordable option for schools and potentially the home.
As well, if we extrapolate this technology say inside of a pencil. I could imagine the new Pencil 2.0 (combination of gesture technology, and maybe a light signal mechanism) as being a great resource learning how to print for young students, to even handwriting for older students.
In a traditional learning environment, I believe some thinking would have to occur. In regards to the physical layout of the class, line of sights to students, proximity between students (for I would not want someone gesturing and accidentally hitting a fellow classmate).
Lastly, I would be interested in how this technology could be used on a regular basis to combat health problems, such as excess weight and the issues associated with that.
Thoughts?
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Doug Connery
Hi Manny:
Great points that you have made about Flutter and gesture. I wonder though with the 1-6 foot distances that you mention as limitations to Flutter, if they are reasonable for an App on a mobile device. How often would you be more than 6 feet from your iPhone? I can see six feet as a limitation for larger applications such as were given as examples by the larger players.
Doug.
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joeltremblay
I think possibly, the 1-6 foot limitation coule be an issue for people who want to sit on their couch and use the computer to watch movies etc. I have a friend who uses his TV as the screen and sits on the couch with a wireless keyboard and mouse and flutter seems to be the next evolution in that direction.
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Pat A Son
Even before trying flutter I am so impressed by the potential of this technology I will like to share my thoughts here.
I believe that this along with voice have the greatest potential of enriching the learners experience as far as NUIs are concerned. I consider gesture based computing a form of “extended reality” in that the learner is able to interact with a computer based environment in an almost tactile way. As such the only thing between the user and the environment is the display screen however it “transparent” to the experience and the user for all useful purposes is a part of the environment in the computer. A learner is in fact in the matrix 😉 and just like Neo in the hit movie series is now empowered to do thing that is not possible and that has limitless potential as far as education is concerned. The keystone of this technology is the new level interactivity it brings to the teaching/learning experience. This can enable one to passively explore a CG environment by walking and navigating the landscapes and architecture there. This could be anything from an ancient world to an alien civilization, through the body of an organism or some man made technology. Like Neo the power of this technology is that is that one can not only see but they are now able to affect the world in such a way that the world in turn is able to affect them in a profound way. In other words their interaction with the environment provides learning opportunities that is not possible by any other means.
BTW why is it that game developers are some of the first ones to exploit this technology?
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Jonathan
Flutter was a lot of fun! Totally enjoyed the experience. I’ve been eagerly looking around for people to show this to. The only problem with this great program is that it has just a few gestures. Doesn’t it give you a craving for more gestures?
To answer/add on to Patason’s response: I think game developers are putting a lot of research and development into this technology because their is a financial reward to it. Their only requirement is that it has to be entertaining. This is much different than education sector which is responsible for making the technology engaging and educational. Two hurdles compared to the video game industry.
I remember a while back when there was a video game that first had this technology in a Street Fighter/Mortal Kombat type of a game that allowed players to kick and punch and the character would respond to their physical actions.
Now we are into the later stages where the Kinect is doing this in homes.
Kinect’s obvious implications is the promise of teaching dance in a natural way. Of course you are relying on the input device of the camera to read when you are a successful and unsuccessful dancer which may not be the greatest judge but it still has an opportunity to flourish.
In the classroom — i see the physical nature being great for students that need to move and interact to learn. Amazing to think of a great big display that students can gesture and interact with for information.
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Pat A Son
Yes Jonathan I agree that that game developers are prepared to invest in their game because of the financial rewards it can bring. However don’t you think that the kid who is willing to plunk out ????$ for a video game will be willing to do the same for a lesson, unit or module that leverages video game technology. As and example to this I remember downloading and playing wolf quest (http://www.wolfquest.org/) for another MET course. In this game you are wolf who has to survive, find a mate and raise a family in a semi-realistic real world environment that essentially teaches ecology from gaming standpoint. All of my children(3) and nieces and nephews were all hooked on the game before that summer was out. They saw this game in the light as any other video game and am sure they would prefer learning about ecology this way as against the traditional textbook mode.
That being said I agree with you that the video game industry is different to that of education but I believe the difference the education is not seen as a for profit endeavor by educators. The textbook industry is the biggest exception to this. In addition in my opinion we are still grappling with how to leverage new affordances such as gesture in our ‘game’ while gamers are light years ahead of us in this respect. In essence we educators have to start to see education as more than just a prerequisite for the members of a society but as money making enterprise in its own right.
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teacherben
For those people with an interest in programming, i just discovered a library called OpenCV that works with Processing (and most major languages and platforms) that allows you to use input from your camera in your programs. It focuses on what is called ‘real time image processing’ which uses live input through a camera to do stuff. It can do things like compare one frame to the next. So, for example, if it sees the same background (no one there) for a long time, then suddenly sees a big change in the colour of the pixels (because someone walks into the frame) then this could be used to trigger an event, like music playing, or a message being put on a screen or power being turned on for some other device. Hopefully I will get a chance to play around with it this week but it looks promising for yet another option for some DIY gesture fun.
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avninder
Using Flutter was interesting but as it has already been mentioned, it takes awhile to learn all of the functions. I have used Kinect before and unfortunately the gesture commands were different. In Kinect the ‘go left’ function can be completed by a swipe not a thumb pointing in the direction like in Flutter.
If gesture software were to become mainstream I think it would be important that some standards are followed, similar to how ‘x’ always means exit in a window.
Like most touch/gesture technology I think there is a huge opportunity to leverage this capability for visually impaired or otherwise challenged students. To use on a large scale in a regular classroom however, one would have to consider design and the value that is added. I think gesture based technology will make certain tasks easier but not necessarily better for learning on a large scale. So once again it comes back to cost.-
teacherben
I think there’s no question that it will become mainstream and costs are already coming down. As you saw with Flutter, it can already be done with a single webcam, although it uses a fairly rudimentary system of what is called ‘blob tracking’ which is based on the computer recognizing ‘blobs’, blocks of darker pixels on the screen, and then compares one frame with the next to see if the blob moved. But to do more advanced tracking of movements, you just need two cameras. The cameras on our laptops, when purchased in bulk, cost about two dollars (can you believe it?) So it won’t be a big deal for the to install two of them on a laptop. Look out for the upcoming Microsoft Xbox Surface gaming tablet that will certainly set a new trend with gesture-based input. (We will probably see a proliferation of gaming tablets for a while, so companies can try to make money on two fronts, but then sooner or later, there will be a convergence and all tablets will be equipped with this sort of stuff.)
In the meantime, you can pre-order the Leap, which has similar functionality to the Kinect, but is supposedly 200 times more sensitive, works on multiple platforms and will only cost $70USD. It comes out in a couple of months:
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Pat A Son
I could not use flutter because it doesn’t work with AMD processors
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visramn
I also found this to be a very interesting program but struggled with it initially. Like any new technological feature, it took me some time to learn now to use it properly. I actually could not even get it to work on my computer initially and I began to become very frustrated because it looked so easy in the videos.
I think this type of tool could creates many opportunities in an educational setting. The very first thing that came to my mind was special needs students who do not have the manual dexterity to work with keyboards and touch screens. This type of tool can open up so many doors for individuals who have such disabilities. Thus, allowing for them to become more active in their learning. I also think this type of tool is great for group work and collaboration.
One concern I had with this is that gestures have different meaning in different cultures. Hence, a technology like this may have different gestures in different areas and my not be able to be applied cross culturally. For example, some cultures may find certain gestures to be rude or they may have an inappropriate meaning or some cultures may use a gesture for a different purpose in everyday life and may find it difficult to adapt to the one used in software such as this. Thus, resulting in gestures having to be changed for different societies.
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Peggy Lawson
Late to the discussion party, and not much new I have to offer but agree that gesture has great potential in computing – for special needs students, phys ed, etc. Flutter was a neat little experiment that gave a simple taste of the great potential.
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kstackhouse
As others mentioned it take a few minutes to get used to using Flutter. I did not get a chance yet to try it with Quicktime or Keynote. I think those might be areas that would be great for everyday use and in presentations.
One area that I think this type of technology could really have an impact is in coaching. It would be great to have a player take a slap shot, pitch a curve ball, or shoot a 3-pointer with a system monitoring their movements. It could then be used to analyze their form, offer suggestions for maximum efficiency and correct technique. I could see golfers to be the first to really adapt to this since there are already so many golf simulation games and places to “drive” a ball indoors. As a coach I would love to be able to use this technology.
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jhodi
One area where gesture-based computing could provide educational benefits is in the realm of virtual field trips. Some virtual field trips such as those set up with a museum are designed to feel like walking through a museum. It would help with the immersive feeling for students to be able to use their body to navigate around the museum like they would if they were actually there. Using an app such as LookBackMaps could allow students to intuitively navigate around Google maps and locate historical sites and research information.
Jhodi
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jenbarker
I tried out Flutter and really enjoyed it. Not a gamer myself, I think I found its novelty more exciting than anything else. I also found it took awhile to learn the gestures and don’t really find it any easier to use than clicking the mouse. The fact that you need to be within a short distance range from the computer is a limitation when using Flutter with iTunes. Thinking of the scenario of a party, I personally would find an remote easier to use to switch songs than I would gestures. I like the affordances it provides for people with unique needs such as the woman who had the stroke. In terms of use in an educational environment, I think it there is great possibility here. I have never liked that the Smartboard allows only one child/person at a time to move or change the screen. Gesturing might improve this technology to engage more learning in action.
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rebeccaharrison
I also couldn’t get it to work with my “at home” systems (and I have no music/videos on my computer). Alas! However, I get the gist of it. I like the point of it being useful for teachers who could access the board from any point in the room. Also, allowing for mulitple contributions would give some great opportunities. What if students could use it to collaboratively build models from different eras? Like a really educational/interactive version of Age of Empires. I can see this eliminating a lot of technology as well (which is more to the landfill), but if I’m correct, this could move us towards less “stuff”? Is there any information in this field for environmental impacts?
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C. Ranson
I downloaded flutter and currently using it with my iTunes library. I am having no difficulty with the hand gestures, you just have to ensure your hand is being captured by the camera and not moving too fast.
The videos capturing how gesture applications can be utilized for communication with stroke victims, individuals with syndromes and the elderly are brillant and I would anticipate that this area will continue to advance in the future.
Thanks of the Learning.
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Lisa Nevoral
Hey All,
I wasn’t able to use Flutter, but I have used Kinect to play games such as bowling and target shooting practice. Gesture technology is truly amazing. I can see the benefits of this technology in an entertainment aspect (such as gaming or turning on your TV and browsing through the channels), to helping people with disabilities. On the educational front, not only do I see the benefit of being able to project or move things around without having to physically use a computer or mouse, but also the ability gesture technology has for teachers to create interactive assignments for students. I think it would be relevant in science classes where students would be able to use gesture-based computing to do experiments or dissections. Students would be able to do the actual procedures of cutting into or opening up a specimen (if having a real specimen was not possible). They could also rotate the object around to see the specimen from all angles. I could also see this technology being used in a physics class.
This technology allows students to be actively involved in their learning, instead of passively receiving information. It lends itself towards student-centered activities, therefore taking the focus off of the teacher and onto what is trying to be taught and learned. Students can explore, simulate situations, find answers, and collaborate with others. But as with always, if this technology is introduced into a classroom, teachers must make a shift on how they teach that leads their students to this type of active learning.
Lisa
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jenniferschubertubc
I do not have access to a computer that I can try out Flutter on, but I did want to mention some advantages I have come across with gesture technology. In both my elementary Life Skills classroom and my Profound Mentally Handicapped High School classroom, we often used the Nintendo Wii system for adaptive Physical Education. Regardless of mental ability to understand the game or physical capability (most PMH students needed hand over hand assistance), all students were exposed to the idea of cause and effect. (Their own physical actions were creating something “fun” to happen on the screen.) As I discussed in the touch screen forum, it was hard to determine if the PMH students actually made this connection, but the life skills students certainly did and had a ball. (It also helped that we created Mii avatars for each one of them. They were so excited to see cartoons of themselves and took such pride in making themselves to things on the screen.) Since a big part of our Life Skills curriculum was working on gross motor skills, Wii “play” fit in perfectly. Now with advancements, like the Kinect system, making remotes obsolete, this technology will only continue to enhance students’ experiences and access to interactive activities.
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Doug Connery
Thanks everyone for contributing with your experiences with flutter and for your ideas of how gesture based technology can be used in education. Here is a summary of your observations and comments to date. Fell free to keep commenting to end of day Sunday.
In summary, flutter was a great introductory experience using gesture technology. According to the gesture poll, five of you have at least one gesture based app on a device and 14 have none. In general, your observations were positive that the program worked and has potential. some of the problems were: recognition of limited gestures, it takes time to learn functions and sometimes it did not recognize gestures. Also, several people mentioned that they did not have the technology to support the App. Advisability is always an issue with newer technology.
Here is a list of suggestions you provided where you think gesture could be used in education: sign language, drama, physical education, science – biology, dance, coaching and sports – hockey, golf, ect, health education, ecology, and computer programming, printing and writing. I am sure I missed a few. Several mentioned how gesture could be used to improve education by increasing collaboration and interaction, virtual field trips, improved interactivity of SMART Boards.
Many of you saw a real need to use gesture based computing to help students, adults and the elderly with disabilities (mental, physical visual), syndromes by allowing them to be included in classroom and everyday activities.
For me, I learned tons about gesture, voice and touch while working on this module with my mentors Ben, Stuart, Frank and Joel. It was almost embarrassing how little I knew about these technologies when I started this project. Now like after going through the other modules in this course I am much more knowledgeable and a little wiser.
Doug.
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Eva Ziemsen
I was unable to use Flutter due to (once again) my OS being out of date and still not having an update. However, after reading more about it, I was completely sold by this technology. I believe it would be highly useful, as many have mentioned, for those with special needs and also the elderly. I started to envision what would happen if you combine gesture technology with virtual reality. I believe York University has a lab wherein you exist and gesture and you are also in a virtual reality, however, I do not have details on this. I am sure gesture will become part of the norm and will eventually replace many input devices (such as a mouse).
One other idea I had related to gesture and my field, filmmaking, is that it would be great to incorporate gesture recognition into cameras. For example, when filming a documentary, most often the subject moves in ways you cannot predict. Of course there are already things like auto focus or exposure, but perhaps cameras will be able to respond to the director’s hand while the filming is taking place. What is often done is that the director and camera operator have a code (similar to baseball) and 1 means, close up, 2 means medium shot and 3 means wide shot. They have a silent secret code, because they do not want to interrupt the flow of the interview. If the director could gesture this with their hand, and a device near the director’s hand could read this, it would result in a more streamlined mode of working. Of course, it will also lead to machine errors, but it should be interesting where this takes us.
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teacherben
Here’s a cool new thing.. This company has found a way to use acoustic sensors to recognize the different sound signatures of different touches–so your cell phone would know the different if you were touching the screen by sliding a finger or sliding a knuckle across the screen. It could tell the different between different paterials, so you could have a stylus with a ‘pen’ end and an ‘eraser’ end.
http://www.engadget.com/2012/11/18/qeexos-fingersense-lets-touchscreens-listen/
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melissaayers
Like others mentioned I also find the best application of gesture is for students with disabilities. I like flutter and think its great on a PC/laptop for finding and/or closing applications, increasing/decreasing volume and iterating though music tracks etc.
I echo the concerns of others about the cultural and usability significance of gestures. I agree with their being a need to come up with a set of standard gestures and their meanings. This will make applications much easier to use as does it now when web designers adhere to defacto standards such as using blue for hyperlinks etc, search box placement and home buttons/links on websites.
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joeltremblay
Week 11: Touch
After reading the Touch page and watching the videos, please answer the following 3 questions: 1. In your experience, how have you witnessed touch improve technological and educational access across age groups, as well as geographical and socio-economic barriers? 2. What do you think this innovation might lead to (opportunities) in how we provide and […]
Continue reading Week 11: Touch Posted in: General, Week 11:-
tomwhyte1
1. Professionally no – as a school just beginning to explore BYOD technology, and before that having little to no technology inside of the classroom, this reality has never existed yet. Personally, I have watched my now 4 and 6 year old navigate extremely well throughout my iPad to play various games and participate in multiple learning activities. (Which on a side note, I do not believe my children are naturally gifted at technology, as many people do… what I do believe is that the people who invented the interface has made it so natural and easy to figure out, that age is almost now a non-factor). Lastly, due to my location in the world, I have not experienced geographical nor socio-economic improvements due to touch technology, I have heard of the extremely inexpensive tablet computer before, and I am interested. However, I am concerned about the longevity of the device, which may lead to more disposable tech… Thoughts?
2/3. For myself, these questions are very similar, for myself, it is very similar to the touch screen desk that appeared in one of the TED Talk videos. For I envision, desks such as these for each student, containing textbooks, audio files, etc… Which would allow the promise of interactive education to occur for each individual student… Thoughts?
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tomwhyte1
Secondly, even though Apple made Touch technology common for the consumer market and profitable for themselves, it is important to remember the many milestones that have occurred before:
http://www.npr.org/2011/12/23/144185699/timeline-a-history-of-touch-screen-technology
I myself remember some of these… 🙂
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Peggy Lawson
Thanks Week 11 for a great start on some interesting topics – I’ve just started experimenting with some of the voice apps but want to jump to Touch technology.
Interesting timeline Tom. It’s always important to remember that even with the rapid leaps in technology, there are still small steps along the way. I found one key step absent in the timeline link you posted – interactive white boards (e.g. smartboards). While these companies likely didn’t create many new touch technologies, they certainly made huge inroads into education. But it took many years – I remember seeing SMART Board vendors trying to sell their wares many many years before they have just suddenly become very common in my own school division. Alas, most schools spent thousands on single touch boards, and now of course multi-touch is the standard.
While I think IWB (Interactive White Boards) have great potential, I’ve seen too much money spent recently on them just because schools see them as a “must have” to demonstrate they have “integrated” technology. Already, many of them are almost obsolete due to multi-touch. And iPads.
My point I guess – by the time many schools are ready to really invest in a technology, it is already being surpassed by something better. For expensive technology – this is a major consideration. Schools need to invest – but is big and expensive the best option if you are late to join the game?
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lullings
Hey Peggy, thanks for the post.
I am getting the feeling from your post that that a school is a large entity that is slow to change and adopt new technology. When it does change it has to go for proven technology that might be already surpassed due to accountability and costs.
Do you think that a school should be broken up into classes and let teachers decide their use of technology. This would allow for early adopters and trials of the newest digital resources due to the reduced volume and faster adaptability?
Stuart
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tomwhyte1
Personally, I think that would be a great idea. However, I am unsure a district would allow such approaches, as volume purchasing reduces prices, and consistent technology reduces IT time and subsequent costs.
However, as a classroom teacher, I would fully endorse such an approach.
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manny
Thanks for sharing some of your reservations regarding white boards Peggy. Unfortunately, when technology (or anything new for that matter) is introduced in the classroom it usually undergoes a pilot phase for a period of about 2 years. I am currently part of a pilot project integrating iPads within our school district. However, according to Moores Law, by the time it is ready for full implementation, it would probably already become obsolete. Sort of a catch 22 but something that we must live with. I guess the alternative is to do nothing at all and i’m sure we would all agree in that avenue is not an option if we want to remain on the cutting edge of innovation.
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Peggy Lawson
Thanks for the extended discussion. For a large division such as mine, where tech support can be an issue, allowing every teacher, or even every school, to go in their own direction, with their own technologies, is a poor option these days, as desirable as it might initially seem for individual schools.
I agree pilot projects are likely the best approach, but as you suggest Manny & others, by the time to pilot is done technology has moved on (iPad 1 > 2 >3). But iPad versions, in the end, are less critical than the iPad itself.
To me the lesson is then …
(1) Make sure the technology is not just a flash-in-the-pan that will be totally obsolute within a year or 2; thus it needs to have some established life span already;
(2) realize that having the most recent version (e.g. iPads) is not the important critical factor. Tailor instructional technology implementation for the lesser version of the technology, once the technology itself has been determined to be worth the investment.
I’m sure there are more points to add – suggestions? Alterations to points 1 & 2?
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Colin
I think it would be ideal to let teachers choose what technologies they implement in a classroom. I understand the disadvantage to servicing and purchasing of equipment but it would allow for a lot more innovation. When a teacher has a choice in what technology they are using it makes them feel empowered and they are more likely to be effective using it instead of just being assigned a smart-board. Different styles of teaching does lend itself well to different kinds of technology. Technology is just a tool that needs to be wielded correctly by the user for a specific purpose.
The other point is that educational technology is dependent on teachers to evaluate their usefulness. If teachers or other users of educational technologies don’t find that it is useful then they just don’t use it. The result is that technological advances will focus only on what is successful. This evaluation process gives direction and focus to further research. That is why I think the decision should lie with the teacher and not the school district. I often find that the people buying the technology often buy into the marketing pitch instead of what is really needed.
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Suhayl Patel
If I may, I think that’s a great question. All too often, we are so stringent on rule and bureaucratic guidelines and processes that by the time we get what we want, or a decision it’s too late and the technology is obsolete. I have experienced this first hand with many forms of technology, and recently with the iPad. By the time the decision was made to go ahead and allow for the purchase for the iPad2, the iPad three was already out. But, there were lessons learned for our organization. We are less strict on what can be purchased. We try to focus now on how the technology requested will meet the school development plans (SDP), whether it’s hardware or software. If there is a need for a specific form of technology and it meets the SDP, then a simple Privacy Impact Assessment form is filled out, and it’s approved rather quickly. I think this will allow for more time with the current technology instead of being technological laggards.
Thoughts?
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lullings
Thats great Patel, so you are saying that schools can act independently according to their own SDP?
Does this mean the district has no control over what the school spends as long as they are in their SDP?
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frank
Hi Tom, thanks for sharing.
Though Apple has become the corporate faceplate of Touch in recent times, you are certainly right to point out that its history goes back way deeper, and in that regard, Apple has just been a good entrepreneur of bringing this technology to mainstream market.
Perhaps a contemporary version of the Electronic Sackbut that first incorporated touch might be the Hydraulophone – a touch operated acoustic instrument that operates hydraulically.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tgU0OZkGhGII agree with you that with cheaper versions, longevity will likely certainly be an issue as, with any replica type manufactured product. But I think if we take a long view on this, then through iteration, those cheaper manufacturers of tablets will also learn how to improve the quality of their products, just as anyone else would. The goal of a creating a $20 tablet is a noble one, but no one said it would be an one to achieve, and certainly, not a static one across time.
As for the future of touch, I wanted to focus more on the fundamentals of what I see to be the most important attributes of Touch. However, take a look at this video of MS LABS’ Vision for 2019, in which Touch: Touch helps us improve cross-cultural communication, learn visually in ways previously not possible, manage and navigate our lives in smarter, simpler and more convenient ways, and even shift our perspectives across space and time. The future of touch is ripe with opportunity; where do you think these opportunities lie for the field of learning and education?-
tomwhyte1
First off, thank you for sharing this video, it shows what I currently believe, in that Touch technology is most likely the next evolution of the interface with technology. much like the mouse was before it. In that, like you said, it allows us to potentially navigate our lives, in smarter, simpler ways. For like the video you shared, touch technology is only as powerful as the accompanying gestures provided, and this is where I myself have some difficulties imagining the future.
For you mention, that touch technology (which must include gestures to utilize the technology), will improve cross-cultural communication. But whose culture are we developing the touch/gesture combo’s on? Will all gestures be western in origin? Take this website for example:
http://westsidetoastmasters.com/resources/book_of_body_language/chap5.html
It is vital, that we consider that the entire world does not view our gestures the same way we do, nor is it our right to force our Western gestures to the rest of the world. Something, I know you are not saying, nor implying, but it is something that we sometimes forget – as was evidenced in the One Laptop Per Child Program – heavy western influence and assumptions, led to issues with the program.
Lastly, I will focus on the point you made in regards to using touch to learn visually. While at first glance, this may seem opposite, upon reflection I was reminded of the Minority Report Scene:
And yes, like you, I believe this technology, with consideration and careful thought could enhance areas of education. I wonder though… Even if it may help, could anyone in the near future afford classrooms full of touch desks?
Thoughts?
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teacherben
I am not sure who the ‘we’ is that is forcing anything on anyone. As noted above, there are a few big names in the game such as Apple and Google, but this is not the 1990’s. There is hardware being developed in India by Indian companies and hardware being developed in China by Chinese companies. if you are willing to spend a weekend learning how to do it, you can produce your own interactive hardware in your garage for a few dollars. The tools are easily available for anyone to learn to write their own software that leverages these technologies. The process has been democratised in a big way. I can write software to share with just my own classes with no intention of ever sharing it with the outside world and i can do this without even having to write a single line of code. And the tools I can use to do this are free.
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tomwhyte1
While agree that the world of technology is opening up, and the examples you provide for hardware being developed is becoming and will continue to become a more global venture. And lastly, I also agree that it is not the 1990’s.
My concern is fundamentally the operating system in which the hardware runs, more specifically, the large companies you mentioned like Apple, Google, and even Microsoft etc… is “What are they basing their touch/gesture technology on?” Are they going to create an industry standard like the WHMIS system? Which is the same around the world, regardless of language or cultural norms. If they do that, what touch/gestures are they going to base it on? For in my above post, I showed how even common gestures have multiple messages around the world. My guess is, the default would be western, as these are primarily Western Companies entrenched in western values and norms. I myself have an issue with that.
Or, it could be approached like you mentioned, with various individuals and companies creating what they want, how they want. The benefit here would be the customization of products to local areas, the downside is the cost to mass produce this. And yes I am not talking about the hobbyist in his garage, I am talking about large multinational corporations who like to earn profits. For it is these companies that for at least the near future will drive the majority of this industry.
Regardless of this concern, I do see an overall educational benefit of this technology, especially for the young and elderly who have either developing or deteriorating manual dexterity.
Thoughts?
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teacherben
I understand your concerns and I think there’s no question that western sentiments seem to dominate the industry but I still think that you may be underestimating the ease with which companies can and will be able to customize the experience for their own users. With Android, Google provides a core which is itself based on a lot of other people’s technologies (the kernel is Linux-based, for example) but the user interface is highly customizable as evidenced by the many variations that we see with Sense on the HTC phones (a Taiwanese company), Touchwiz (Motorola) and more. Here is a list of 42 launchers that have been created to replace the stock Android one, each one replete with its own library of gestures:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Android_Launchers
A couple of years ago, there was a group of Chinese hackers (white hat) that had been mucking around customizing their own Android rom (custom firmware) for their own purposes. They borrowed ideas from a bunch of different phones and added a lot of their own stuff. They made this custom ROM available for download, so other people could replace the operating system on their phone with this modified Android one. It uses a lot of unique gestures to control it and has a lot of unique characteristics. It became very popular in the Android community and since they made their code open source, a lot of other people started customizing it for their own market/language as well. Their ROM is called MIUI. Their company is called Xiaomi. They managed to get some backers and scraped up enough money to get started making their own phone. A year later, they had sold half a million phones. Then they made a deal with China Unicom and sold another million phones.
If you picked up one of these phones, you might not recognize it as Android at all. They replaced the existing voice recognition software on it with one made by a Chinese company that works better with the Chinese languages. They included software so that you can draw Chinese characters with your finger to launch applications. Not bad for a few guys that started in the garage.
The programming involved to replace one gesture with a different one is not a whole lot more difficult than mapping a different combination of keys on a keyboard.
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adi
Thanks for the link to body language. I agree not everyone uses the same gestures, and I also feel there’s a certain westernization of education. For example, though I found Sugata Mitra’s experiment ‘Hole in the Wall’ interesting, I did not approve of when he responded that the programs did not need to be translated into Hindi, because children learned how to use them intuitively. Since the end of the British colonies, English imposed itself as ‘the’ language to communicate in, and myths emerged about learning in an ‘English Only’ environment and preferably with ‘native speakers’; all imperialistic notions. Unfortunately, this is now the case with technology and the WWW; most is in English. So though these technologies afford many things when it comes to education, I also think we should question their effect on minorities, cultures and other language systems.
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frank
Oops.
Here’s the Microsoft Office Labs vision 2019:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8Ff7SzP4gfg -
manny
1) Through my experience, I have to look no further than my 3 year old daughter and her interaction with touch technologies to see its overwhelming impact. An important observation that I made is similar to Sugata Mitras observation on people living in remote areas. In this instance, if you observe an infant utilizing touch technology, an interesting phenomenon occurs. They begin to understand the cause and effect relationship and similar to the boy experimenting with “the hole in the wall,” they realize that their hand gestures can control the occurrences on a screen. What became fascinating to me is how this technology aided in my child’s verbal communication. Of course as parents we model the language for them but coupling it with technology takes it to another level of comprehension. An important note to be taken away is that touch technologies don’t discriminate in the users ability to use them.
2) The beauty of the NUI technology to its GUI and CLI counterparts is the ease at which it can be learned. For this style of touch technology, the learning curve is quick as was demonstrated in the Sugata Mitra video. In essence, this provides an even playing field as students can concentrate on the content and not the procedure of operating a computer.
3) The primary way for districts to facilitate the innovations provided through touch technologies is simply to embrace the hardware that affords it. Tablets are making their way into mainstream education and the hardware seems to be popping up more frequently. When implementing new innovations such as this one, cost usually becomes one of the main counter arguments/concerns. I believe that this is where the BYOD initiative comes into play and helps offset some of the fiscal concerns around integrating touch technologies.
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avninder
Like others who have posted, I have witnessed touch screens being used by small children who seem to quickly learn and master have to navigate various platforms as they become intuitive. I like the point made in the OER that we have been making learners adapt to fit with technology instead of having technology fit with learners. I would hope that the future of education would include the use of more intuitive technology with gentle learning curves to provide ease of use to everyone regardless of their experience or background. Will we ever get there? I believe so. In my lifetime? Maybe with higher education and organizations, but in the public education system and remote areas of the world, it will be very difficult. The MET video mentioned that it would be ideal to use technology in less fortunate areas before well-developed ones. Of course there are many issues with this, the big ones being funding and access.
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teacherben
Haven’t we always had to adapt to technology? From pencils to spears, there has only been so much that we could do to customise our user experience. I would venture that the purpose of education is a combination of teaching students both how to adapt technology to suit their needs and to adapt themselves to suit the technology available.
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Jenny Brown
1. I think one of the huge advantages to touch is the improvement of learning and communication opportunities of mentally and/or physically challenged children and adults. I thought this article: http://articles.latimes.com/2012/sep/05/news/la-heb-ipod-touch-autism-20120904 provided a good example of how an iPod touch really helped an adult with Down syndrome, who could not read, tell time or understand a calendar, keep her job. Another article showed how a young autistic student is now able to write for the first time using iPad’s touch-screen and how a school is using iPod Touch for each of their autistic students. http://www.nj.com/news/index.ssf/2011/01/apple_ipad_itouch_may_help_peo.html
2. Children are not as assimilated as adults and therefore are better explorers. Touch would (and already does) lead to more learning opportunities for even younger children. As many of you have probably experienced (and some have already mentioned), even two year olds can become pretty good at using touch pads; it was my friend’s 2 year old daughter who showed me how to change the views on the Magic Piano app.
3. I think touch technology will greatly impact the types of tools purchased by schools – more iPads/tablets and less PCs. Schools need to stay ahead of the technologies (taking this course, reading the Horizon reports and being part of Ed tech communities) so that they can lead and facilitate the innovations that touch can provide by hopefully getting the tools in place while they are still current.
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Scott
I think Jenny has touched on, pardon the obvious pun, what is undoubtedly one of the truly important benefits of using touch and gesture based NUIs – it’s affordances for mentally and physically challenged learners.
To highlight this point, just last night on CBC Radio’s As It Happens, they interviewed two teachers from the Toronto area, that worked with a researcher from OISE/UT, to investigate the effectiveness of iPads as a communication and instructional aid for students with Autism. The gesture based NUI of the iPad proved to be an effective method of ‘reaching’ the students, which allowed for more sustained opportunities for academic and social instruction in the classroom. The efforts of the two teachers earned them both Prime Minister’s Awards for Teaching Excellence. To learn more about this research, you may want to listen to the complete interview on CBC’s podcast found here: http://podcast.cbc.ca/mp3/podcasts/asithappens_20121113_25689.mp3
I believe many of us feel we have lived long enough with input technologies from centuries past. Heck, the clumsy QWERTY keyboard layout we all use today, was invented in the 1800’s with the goal of avoiding jamming manual typewriters when adjacent letters were struck! Touch technology in general is a much more intuitive way to interface with digital devices and when combined with the emerging technology of haptic* feedback, touch based interfaces will continue to revolutionize how we interact with technology.
Personally, I can’t wait for a touch screen iMac, which by all accounts is already sitting on a desk in Sir ‘Jony’ Ive’s design lab in Cupertino!
* For more information on the emergence of haptic technology in education, check out these links:
http://news.vanderbilt.edu/2012/03/haptic-tablet/
http://www.bristol.ac.uk/news/2012/8821.html
http://tinyurl.com/a8nf768-
teacherben
As we were beginning to research this area this was an area that stood out for us too. We thought it was so important that, for a while, we were considering focusing the entire week’s discussion on Accessibility. At last year’s Hong Kong Electronics Expo, I met a Canadian guy from Calgary that runs a company that is entirely dedicated to creating alternative input systems for people with disabilities and with special needs. He had devices that could go in your mouth so you could control your computer using your tongue and by blowing air through a tube. He had eye-tracking technologies. All sorts of cool stuff. The prices were through the roof though. No individual could afford these things on their own. They would need support from a school board or some government institution. I think a lot of the more recent developments that we have posted about here show that there is a convergence happening where a lot of these technologies that were previously targeted at the disabled are also able to help all sorts of people to be more productive.
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rebeccaharrison
That’s a very valid point. Often times technology that is useful to address one type of learner is useful for all learners, in the same way that a teaching strategy that you implement for a student might be applicable for all.
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Jonathan
1) Absolutely technology has improved. Has access to these devices improved as well? I think you only need to look around at how the prices for these devices have gone down and how many people are looking at them as a replacement device at home. I think that people are quickly finding that they can’t be a replacement but do many of the similar things. While I haven’t observed these devices transcend across socio-economic barriers — the mere fact that they can be purchased for sub $200 makes me think that they are. The lower end tablets and devices are also making their way into 3rd World countries as well as Melissa mentioned in a post about $20 tablets and the group’s references to $35 ones as well.
2)I think the innovation has lead to and will continue to drive the way for students to more intuitively engage with material. On one hand the student is looking at a computer to access information but the interactivity and one on one intimacy that a child can have — can allow for mistakes to occur more fluidly and have the child continue practicing and learning a concept. For children with different learning needs the ability to have touch software interpret their writing strokes can be powerful.
3) Manny nailed it with his reference to the “Moore’s Law”, it is difficult for schools to lead because they often want to be certain about technology they are placing in the classrooms because of the enormous costs involved. However, the most positive change that we can bring as educators is to embrace what is given and use it to its fullest. The applications can often become overwhelming and cost prohibitive. Finding alternative solutions (and developers often know this) — and finding a way to bring the skills to our children is ultimately what is most important. Schools need to be educated as do the teachers on what these devices can bring to the classroom.
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jkotler
In reflecting on my own experience, I have seen how the element of touch has greatly improved technology and education across age groups via the Smart Board. In considering why this is the case, I believe one of the most significant reasons, among other things, is that it inherently offers some form of interactivity which then captures the learners interest thereby encouraging them to engage with the device and the learning material itself.
In regards to geographic and socioeconomic barriers, I cannot speak much to its improvement from a personal standpoint, but I can say that after watching the Ted Talk with Sugatra Mitra, I was very much impressed with the results from his experiments with young learners in India and believe that it can be used as a key example of how touch technology can be similarly and highly effective for children across a range of socioeconomic and geographic locations if they are given access. As such, I think that embedding touch technology within education can lead to more valuable learning and higher academic achievement among learners and so while it may come at a considerable cost to the school and would require teacher dedication, it would be worth it.
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frank
Thanks for your thoughts.
Some things I’m reading/hearing:
Touch’s intuitive and direct interface may empower individuals with autism and other learning disabilities to become more fully participating members of society.
– Agreed. In the same manner that Touch enables 2-year olds access to using a computer like never before, Touch technology and haptics research are developing numerous ways to assist individuals with disabilities and special needs live fuller lives. So far, much of the evidence of the success of these efforts is anecdotal. And it is easy for the non-scientist – such as myself – to downplay the heterogeneity and complexity involved in creating effective technological solutions to such long standing problems. However, I do believe that NUI is a game changer and that its convergence with voice and gesture will significantly alter what is possible for the disabled and special needs in our lifetime. Agree/Disagree?We can infer from Moore’s Law that the rate of technological change will outpace the rate by which schools can evolve and adapt to useful technologies in a timely manner.
Some solutions proposed:
1) try to keep up by staying informed and educating educators on developments in this area – i.e. dedicate more time and resources to education technology (oh.. I see where you are going with this 😉
2) you can’t keep up with it all, so focus your efforts around your School’s Development Plan (SDP), and what you need to adopt to achieve its goals.
3) promote more project based initiatives and empower teachers to carry them out as a way of experimenting with what works, before investing heavily into it – some have pointed out that such a pilot mechanism already exists, but it does not help address Moore’s Law.
4) the issue of technology cost is prohibitive. How do we increase access to technology without having more funding to facilitate it?– These are all good analytical points in their own right. And I don’t mean to pull a Tyler Durden on you guys, but why don’t you all just come out and say it?
We are witnessing the end of the Industrial Revolution, and the system we have built for this era – be it our education system, or other hierarchical models of business/governance – are grossly inadequate to tackle the challenges we face in the future of the digital economy. An economy whose success will not be driven on compliance, or Command-and-Control as with the Industrial model, but with letting go of control to make way for co-creation and social intelligence mechanisms, to which perhaps this course can serve as a contemporary reference.
Fact is, in the information age, no matter how hard you try, you will always be too late.
And that fact is not inconsequential.According to McKinsey & Company’s research paper entitled “An Inconvenient truth about change management: Why it isn’t working and what to do about it,” 70% of organizational change initiatives fail.
They fail because in the direction we are heading, wisdom lies in crowds, and not in the heads of a handful of executives and their SDP.
They fail because SDPs do not embody a program or an ecosystem that is needed to sustain change in the long-haul.
Finally, they fail because in the 21st century, if your focus is on a project and not building a community of knowledge needed to leverage learning experiences (the NMC or our course for example), then you have failed to leverage and access the knowledge you possess as an organizational whole.As for cost, that too was a big impediment in the industrial era. But as Ben has pointed out, in the digital age the means of production are available to anyone – and concurrently, their costs are relatively minimal.
For example, Sugata Mitra did not need millions to show that those who were poor and in remote locations could learn through technological access. And the Khan Academy started with just Khan sitting at his pc and video recording tutorials for his cousins youtube; now, they these videos reach millions because the net makes them scalable.
If we look into the future, the issue is not a crisis of cost or the way to achieve our goals and objectives. At stake is a crisis of vision in modern education; one that has yet to fully realize that the technology we’re building is completely redefining the challenges we face and what is possible.
The Nobel Laureate Paul Samuelson once remarked “when events change, I change my mind. What do you do?“ In the 21st century, technologies such as touch, voice and gesture are changing the world in which we live. We can no longer afford to let our romantic attachments to the educational pedagogies we once grew up determine the way forward. If it is to be pertinent for the future, our education model must reflect the new realities of the digital economy. And I would argue that to achieve this, our education needs a new raison d’être. Perhaps that is why we are here. -
visramn
1. In your experience, how have you witnessed touch improve technological and educational access across age groups, as well as geographical and socio-economic barriers?
A few year back I had a student in my class who could not speak or hear and was in a wheelchair because she could not move most of her body. She had a system that was touch based that consisted of different pictures that she could click on to form sentences that would be orally relayed by the machine. This was a great tool for helping her communicate with her peers and teacher. Later on in the year, her parent purchased a Ipad for her that she started bringing to school. The Ipad allowed her to pick up on many skills due to the various apps she could use. I got to see her knowledge base, confidence and communication ability/skills grow a lot in a year and was impressed by the power of touch technology and how it improved her leaning capabilities.
I have also noticed that touch technology has allowed for very young children to learn how to navigate and use tools that might not have been possible in the past. I have seen children as young as one years old click on a screen and try to manipulate what is happening on the screen. I have also seen how they pick up on these skills quickly and can be using the device and doing something productive by the time they are around three years old. It is amazing to see what these children are capable of and how easily they learn tasks. They can not read what is on the screen but the simple process of looking at objects, touching them and manipulating them allows them to gain knowledge. This is very similar to what Sugata Mitra observed in India. Children may not have the language skills but the simple ability to see and touch allows them to learn when using technological devices.
2. What do you think this innovation might lead to (opportunities) in how we provide and access education in the future?
I definitely think this innovation will open many doors in the educational realm. I think that touch devices will allow for a lot more personalization of learning and for more collaboration amongst students. It will also open a lot of doors for students with special needs.
3. What are some ways schools might need to change, in order to lead and facilitate the innovations that touch can provide in educational technology and access?
The main way would be updating of hardware and software to allow for capabilities such as touch screens to be present. In some parts this could also be accomplished through allowing of BYOD. I also think this will result in a restructuring of curriculum design and implementation. Learning will become more personal,each individual will be in charge of their learning and will be able to expand on their learning in the way that is most conducive to them self. Thus, this would require a restructuring of the age old parameters of knowledge delivery and reception.
Nureen
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frank
Thanks for sharing Nureen.
I agree that a solution to this problem might be BYOD and getting students to become greater participants and drivers of their learning. If we move forward with this aim in mind, what will students need to succeed and how will this change the roles of schools and teachers for students?
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adi
I think question # 3 is key, “What are some ways schools might need to change, in order to lead and facilitate the innovations that touch can provide in educational technology and access?” The Horizon Report on Singapore, in the ‘Top Ten challenges’ (pp 19-20), mentions several important things, like the challenge to get teachers to adopt technology; integrating 21st century technology in schools that still function as if they were in a 19th century setting; adapting assessment to portray the kind of learning these new technologies afford, among others. However, perhaps the answer to these and other problems should be left to a group of kids to solve. Judging by Sugata Mitra’s experiment ‘Hole in the Wall’, I’m sure kids would come up with a lot of useful and practical solutions for the sake of having access to these new technologies.
(Thank you to this week’s team for introducing us to this very interesting experiment. If anyone wants to read up more about this, here is the site http://www.hole-in-the-wall.com/ .)
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jhodi
Hi,
You bring up an interesting point. I wonder how our perspective as educators form our view of these technologies compared to the perspectives of the students. We look at a technology and think ‘how can I use this to help students learn’, whereas students look at a technology and genuinely explore it, find entertainment with it, and can learn as a result, sometimes by accident. I think that it would be very useful for us as educators to just sit back and watch these students to see what type of learning is occurring as a byproduct.
Jhodi
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kstackhouse
1. I have not witnessed large changes to accessibility and change for large groups of students in my region. I do see that SMART boards as a touch technology is being used to impact how teachers and students interact with the material on the screen. On a smaller scale though I have witnessed how the iPod and iPad are being used with students with accessibility issues while using various apps. Some of the gesture controls that are available through both products have proven to be beneficial for many students. These are easy to change and adapt to the needs of the user. This allows them to control the device when vision or fine motor issues might normally cause problems.
2. I also think that the features mentioned in number one will continue to improve and will provide more opportunities for others. Some of the touch features in unison with the voice features we have looked at will continue to change the way people interact with their devices. Opening more doors for participation and collaboration for a wider group of learners. The best feature as presented on the Touch page comes with the ability to participate with these complex features without needing to be specialized or trained to use them.
3. Schools need to change, period. The system is not set-up to allow for innovative use of technologies in large school districts that follow centralized decision making practices. Decentralization will be the only way that schools and teachers will really be able to benefit from innovative products. Applications for grants for faculty is another way to motivate teachers to apply and become creative and strategic in their use of innovative technologies.
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Paula Poodwan
1. In your experience, how have you witnessed touch improve technological and educational access across age groups, as well as geographical and socio-economic barriers?
I have no personal experience using touch technology; however, through my search over the internet, I have come across lots of research that agreed that one positive result of using touch technology in the classroom is to promote collaborative learning interactions. For example this research “ Are multiple-touch surfaces better than single-touch for children’s collaborative interactions?” http://oro.open.ac.uk/19510/1/os-cscl2009.pdf interestingly concluded that the single-touch condition allowed only one child to interact with the digital content at a time, whereas with the multiple-touch condition, the children could interact with the digital content simultaneously. Results also showed that touch condition did not affect the frequency or equity of interactions, but did influence the nature of children’s discussion. In the multiple-touch condition, children talked more about the task; in the single-touch condition, they talked more about turn taking.
2. What do you think this innovation might lead to (opportunities) in how we provide and access education in the future?
Collaborative learning is important for 21st century learners; it helps students to become critical thinkers. Therefore any devices that can help promote this type of learning should be incorporated in the classroom.
In my opinion, touch technology will have more opportunity to thrive in a global classroom. Compared to voice and gesture technology, touch technology has a more international concept. People around the world tend to interpret and receive the meaning and benefit of touch in the same way. For example, babies that come from different cultures can benefit the same from a loving touch of other human beings.
3. What are some ways schools might need to change, in order to lead and facilitate the innovations that touch can provide in educational technology and access?
In order for schools to implement touch technologies, they must firstly see the benefits of using it.
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frank
Hi Paula,
I agree that a stronger case needs to made for the value proposition of having technology integrated into our education programs.
I would also suggest that we consider whose roles and interests would be threatened by pursuing such an approach and get them involved in the change process by finding ways that they too might benefit.
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Lisa Nevoral
Hey All,
1. I have not witnessed an improvement in technological and educational access across geographical or socio-economic barriers, but I have seen a bit across age groups. My friend’s son is almost 3. The other day, he was showing me pictures of their trip to Edmonton that were on her IPhone and was able to enlarge himself and flip through the pictures. Although it was pretty cool that he could do that, I was more fascinated when he hit the home button, scrolled through several screens, found the game he liked, and started playing it. As someone else has mentioned, the makers of touch technology make it fairly easy to navigate from screen to screen, but that he understood how to hit the home key and find the game was still pretty fascinating.
2. I think that in the next 10 years we may go towards multi-touch desks or tables in the classrooms. Interactive whiteboards have some capacity of multiple people touching the screen, but it is fairly limited. With multi-touch desks, more people can interact with the table or desk and with the people around it at the same time. A multi-touch desk is not controlled using a mouse or keyboard, so it provides a way for everyone to interact with the system. We can already see this trend of touch screens with IPads (or similar devices) and with many cell phones.
Here are some of the concerns I have with interactive or multi-touch desks:
a) The cost – how much will it cost to have these desks placed into one classroom, let alone into a whole school?
b) Vandalism or destruction of these desks – students at my school like to change the keys on our laptops or write on their desks. How would we prevent damage to the interactive desks from occurring?
c) Does interactivity with technology actually improve students’ achievement? I think this heavily depends on how the teacher structures the lessons around the use of these interactive desks.
d) Further teacher training – teachers will need PD opportunities to come up with good lesson plans to use these desks.Lisa
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frank
Lisa,
You mention some very real and legitimate concerns about cost and vandalism. I wonder if as an education provider, you might have some suggestions as to how we might mitigate these risks – perhaps based on what we’ve learned from integrating some technology into schools already.
As for PD for teachers, are there different ways we can go about this? For example, by having math teachers share their experiments and success stories with others like them? Also do teachers necessarily have to be the experts or can they some in ways let technology do the heavy lifting, while they become better facilitators of student learning and exploration?
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jhodi
I have noticed the change in technology to shift towards intuitive touch technologies. For example, a computer mouse has advanced from an independent object connected to the computer via a cord that moved a pointer on the screen in the same direction as you moved it on the table, to a trackpad for your finger moving a pointer on the screen on a laptop, to a tablet where your finger literally is the mouse and controls the pointer. Other technologies are becoming intuitive as well, such as the arrow on an iPhone that says ‘slide to unlock’. Technologies such as this could be used without the words; one could probably gather that they need to slide the flashing arrow in the direction that it is pointing without any words attached to it. Some of the best applications of touch technologies that I have seen have been used with students with special needs. I have seen great apps on the iPad that allow students to use their fingers to navigate and move things around. Students that could not use a mouse with a computer screen have been able to use their fingers to touch what they need to on a tablet. I think that one of the largest benefits of touch technology is it’s ability to communicate the same message across all languages using symbols, sounds, and intuitive gestures.
Jhodi
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jenbarker
I tried to use Vocaroo this morning but after ten times I gave up. I am not sure if it was due to a setting I had on my computers (I tried both my laptop and iMac) but my voice sounded mottled and was almost inaudible. So instead I used a screencast program called Jing that I love. It records a portion of your screen and allows you to talk to it. I use it when responding to student’s papers and/or lesson plans as you can scroll through the document on the screen and use your cursor/arrow to point things out and talk to them simultaneously.
On my Jing I gave a review of Siri. Here is the link to my Jing. http://screencast.com/t/Alj9CGtd
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jenbarker
Ok I am very embarrassed as I posted on the wrong thread. The above post should have been on the voice thread. I went into the dashboard to try to edit my post and couldn’t find it. When I click on my posts it only shows 11 of them and I have made way contributions than that. If anyone knows how to help me, I would greatly appreciate it. Sorry for incorrectly posting.
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rebeccaharrison
1. In your experience, how have you witnessed touch improve technological and educational access across age groups, as well as geographical and socio-economic barriers?
I haven’t seen this myself. What I’ve found, mostly, is that those who don’t have geographical or socio-economic barriers are the ones who are able to afford/access technology. As was mentioned in the website, it is these people who would benefit most from this kind of technology that are often unable to use it.2. What do you think this innovation might lead to (opportunities) in how we provide and access education in the future?
I would hope in the future that it would be able to reach those people who need it. I see technology as a leveller, except that, as it is so expensive to acquire, these levelling possibilities are often unrealized. Touch could provide (as mentioned in previous posts) a whole host of opportunities for students who have physical limitations.
3. What are some ways schools might need to change, in order to lead and facilitate the innovations that touch can provide in educational technology and access?
Perhaps, as Peggy mentioned, we need to look at separating funding. If you wait for the bureaucracy in a district to play its course everything will be outdated. Perhaps the way we fund and “administer” education needs to change? Traditional classrooms might not be the way our students are going to be most successful. Who drives that change though? Students? Teachers? Administrators? Technology experts?-
frank
Rebecca,
You are right to point out that technology, like education itself, is a great leveller.
If we recognize this, then bringing technological access to the remote – be it because of georgraphy, socio-economic or mental and physical barriers – will empower them to become valuable participants in our societies; and that is something that benefits all of us.
To do this however requires leadership. And in collaborative leadership, each and every one of us has a role to play, be it as a student, teacher, administrator or technology. Would you not agree?
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jenbarker
1) In your experience, how have you witnessed touch improve technological and educational access across age groups, as well as geographical and socio-economic barriers?
Definitely I have seen touch improve technological access across age groups as similarly mentioned by both Scott and Jenny who discuss how it has been of great assistance to students with special needs. Additionally, as Manny discussed the intuitive nature of touch technology allows people of all ages to interact. I have just begun using iPads in my classroom and I am surprised at how few questions the students as of me as compared to when we are using iMacs in the lab. They seem to be able to figure things out on their own.
2) What do you think this innovation might lead to (opportunities) in how we provide and access education in the future? AND 3) What are some ways schools might need to change, in order to lead and facilitate the innovations that touch can provide in educational technology and access?
What I find most captivating is the discussion brought forth by Sugata Mitra showing how without teachers students demonstrated the ability to learn through technology. It connects to another theorist Seymour Papert who argues against learning by being told and instead believes learning should be acquired through exploration. Papert and others such as Ivan Illich believe that technology will not improve school but eventually replace them in the future. There is a great video of a discussion that took place between Paulo Friere and Papert on this topic. Here is the link https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4V-0KfBdWao&feature=share&list=PL4UARNpBiEHpGbm7Vs4RbIgVTkKJ1HO5k
I find myself leaning more towards Friere’s hopes for the future of education. Although I see the need to incorporate technology in education, I hope that it doesn’t replace teachers. In the future I hope the system of education (our current model) goes through massive changes to reflect a paradigm… one that focusses less on covering content and more on understanding it. One that encourages personalized knowledge, collaboration, and critical thinking. I see the need for teachers to help guide and facilitate this process.-
sophiabb
Question 1:
I understand the fascination with touch devices. I am, my children certainly are, and even my husband is as well. Papert makes in point in Mindstorm that we should leverage an active engagement with computer cultures to “develop new ways to think about thinking” and not as is done “in most contemporary educational situations where children come into contact with computers the computer is used to put children through their paces, to provide exercises of an appropriate level of difficulty” (http://www.arvindguptatoys.com/arvindgupta/mindstorms.pdf). Touch devices seem intuitive and lends themselves to users doing more – they have the potential to facilitate active engagement with the computers/devices. I have witnessed this with my daughter who is dyslexic bit has been activity engaging with the computer for meaningful learning. By not focusing on spelling errors, etc, she has been better able to search, find, make the linkages, and process and produce in her own way, using technology. Touch devices are a great tool for learners and in particular for special needs learners.
Questions 2 and 3:
I think touch devices lend themselves to “learning that happens deliberately without teaching” and “without curriculum” (Papert, 1980) – a classroom of one kind of approach. While this approach holds some appeal to me however I wonder about its practical merit. Planners/decision makers grapple with the constraints that limited financial resources have on the expansion of schools, adequacy of materials, hiring of staff, including teachers and purchase of or upgrade of current technological resources. Given the fast rate of technology obsolescence; a wholesale adoption/incorporation of this device might not be fiscally prudent. I like to think the use of computers in the constructivist sense is growing; more educators are seeking to use educational computer programs and – devices to incorporate affordances such as scaffolding, organizing, reflection, visualization and problem-solving into their lessons. While I think touch devices are great and could really facilitate many of these, I think that this can be achieved by incorporating many of the Web 2.0 GUI technologies/resources as that are available.
Sophia-
sophiabb
jennbarker, please ignore this post. I meant to post as a response to the question in general and so I have re-posted in the correct area.
Sophia
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Patrick Pichette
1. In your experience, how have you witnessed touch improve technological and educational access across age groups, as well as geographical and socio-economic barriers?
The biggest impact that touch technology has had on education is in its intuitive adoptive nature. Touch technology provides a means to communicate by using a very natural gesture as opposed to mice and keyboards. In doing so, it allows the young, the old, the physically and mentally challenged to communicate using an interface that does not require much learning at all. The biggest hurdle at this point is making this technology available to all in an affordable way.
2. What do you think this innovation might lead to (opportunities) in how we provide and access education in the future?
We’ve already seen how the interactive nature of touch technology can motivate students to participate in their education. If the technology becomes widespread and affordable, it should provide equal opportunities for students requiring a more hands-on approach to learning. Touch based learning allows students to explore a greater amount of content that becomes available just at their fingertips.
3. What are some ways schools might need to change, in order to lead and facilitate the innovations that touch can provide in educational technology and access?
As for how schools need to change, it is mainly in the delivery of education. Schools will need to focus on a student-centred learning approach as opposed to the more common teacher-centred approach. Teachers need to learn that they must not be masters of content but rather become facilitators of content, resource guides, mentors, and support pillars for students. The student will need to take more responsibility for the learning and knowledge construction and actively participate in the journey. One major change for schools would be the introduction of technology resource department that constantly searches and analyzes new content, applications, and approaches to education in order to facilitate and support teachers’ adoption of these resources in class. It is becoming impossible to keep on top of educational technology and available resources as many companies are trying to capitalize on the booming market. Schools will need to assist teachers in finding the right tools for their students, for the curriculum, and for assisting teachers in providing the richest educational experience possible.
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sophiabb
Question 1:
I understand the fascination with touch devices. I am, my children certainly are, and even my husband is as well. Papert makes in point in Mindstorm that we should leverage an active engagement with computer cultures to “develop new ways to think about thinking” and not as is done “in most contemporary educational situations where children come into contact with computers the computer is used to put children through their paces, to provide exercises of an appropriate level of difficulty” (http://www.arvindguptatoys.com/arvindgupta/mindstorms.pdf). Touch devices seem intuitive and lends themselves to users doing more – they have the potential to facilitate active engagement with the computers/devices. I have witnessed this with my daughter who is dyslexic bit has been activity engaging with the computer for meaningful learning. By not focussing on spelling errors, etc, she has been better able to search, find, make the linkages, and process and produce in her own way, using technology. Touch devices are a tool for learners and in particular for special needs learners.
Questions 2 and 3:
I think touch devices lend themselves to “learning that happens deliberately without teaching” and “without curriculum” (Papert, 1980) – a classroom of one kind of approach. While this approach holds some appeal to me however I wonder about its practical merit. Planners/decision makers grapple with the constraints that limited financial resources have on the expansion of schools, adequacy of materials, hiring of staff, including teachers and purchase of or upgrade of current technological resources. Given the fast rate of technology obsolescence; a wholesale adoption/incorporation of this device might not be fiscally prudent.
I like to think the use of computers in the constructivist sense is growing; more educators are seeking to use educational computer programs and – devices to incorporate affordances such as scaffolding, organizing, reflection, visualization and problem-solving into their lessons. While I think touch devices are great and could really facilitate many of these, I think that this can be achieved by incorporating many of the Web 2.0 GUI technologies/resources as that are available.
Sophia-
frank
Sophie, you make well researched and articulated points.
I think you hit the nail on the head with your argument that technological advance frees us up from previously labour intensive constraints such as teaching, and allows us to think more about thinking (meta-cognition) i.e. what it is we value about learning and how to use new technologies to better achieve them?
While fiscal elements are very much an operational reality, I don’t think that you mean to argue that special needs children should have their access to enabling technologies such as touch limited by this constraint. And I would argue the same logic holds for the geographically and socio-economically remote. Surely tradeoffs have to be made, but the end goal should be to give everyone access to the technologies that best allow them achieve their greatest potential along Maslow’s hierarchy of needs. And just as Touch requires us to challenge our beliefs about the role of education, I would argue that is will also require us to challenge our thinking about how to finance it, or at least, how to spend the money we have allotted to it already.
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C. Ranson
Touch technology is everywhere, and across all age groups. Outside of every Apple store you can witness the lifecycle sitting at tables participating in the Apple Learning classes. I personally have made the transition with several of my devices and the “Beyond” section for this week’s presentation is fascinating. I now have downloaded Dragon Dictation to my iPhone, using Flutter gestures on my iTunes music and have been exposed to some new ideas to include in my curriculum for teaching the delievery of care of the special needs patient.
In my experience (adult education) I have not witnessed how touch technology has improved technological and educational access across students, nor do I witness geographical and socio-economic barriers to accessing technology in the college environment. The student population is diverse both geographically and socio-economically – they have access to technology on campus both touch and non-touch and most appear to be suited up with BYOD – tablets, laptops and mobile devices. Similar student activity occurred prior to the launch of touch technology devices. I don’t see it as just touch technology improving access but the advances in technology addressing access and improvements, technology and pedagogy together is impacting the transformation of education. Digital learning is promoting interactive ways of learning, constructivist learning that is facilitated and self-directed, and touch technology has provided improved applications and methods for users to access and deliver information and perhaps this has impacted the way curriculum is delivered and addresses various learning styles such as touch, visual, interactivities, engagement. Touch has replaced the mouse and offers advances for the user, making it easier to navigate through information. Voice and gesture applications are advancements that are promoting interactive ways of communicating, teaching and learning. Gesture creates fundamental advances in teaching and learning for healthcare programs to offer ways to communicate and learn for groups of people such as those physically & mental disabled, and the elderly. Post- secondary education has transformed into a business venture offering education, the student is the customer and resources such as technology are in place to service the student who is the customer. Educational institutions that offer current resources and methods of learning are also creating a competitive edge in attracting future customers. In my educational institution technology/research and innovation is part of the 2020 strategy.
Catherine
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jenniferschubertubc
1. In your experience, how have you witnessed touch improve technological and educational access across age groups, as well as geographical and socio-economic barriers?
I have been fortunate enough to have worked in a few classrooms that have incorporated touch technology to increase accessibility to the curriculum for special needs students. My older students (ages 14-22) were classified as Profound Mentally Handicapped with capacities determined to be those of infants. With hand over hand assistance, these students were presented with lessons in cause and effect that corresponded directly to their own actions. Though it was virtually impossible to determine whether or not the students actually fully understood the relationship between their actions and results, some did progress to activating touch technology on their own, with and without prompting.
My younger students were enrolled in a life skills class where we focused on simple literacy and mathematic skills as well as working on fine and gross motor skills. By utilising a removable touch screen on the existing school computers, students with lesser dexterity who may not have been able to move a mouse, could still access reading programs like Starfall. This school was on the lower end of the socio-economic scale of the district, but due to the efforts of the teachers in the program, the administration knew of the benefits and made budget allowances for such technology that could contribute to student success.
2. What do you think this innovation might lead to (opportunities) in how we provide and access education in the future?
I do think that children are going to be exposed to and start using this type of technology earlier and earlier. The Christmas adverts I am seeing here in the UK advertise many lower end, toy-like, child-friendly substitutes for iPads and e-Readers. I do think that the availability of such toys will be largely determined by socio-economic status, thus possibly contributing to the digital divide. In education, I have witnessed pilot programs (in the US) to provide every child within a school with a laptop. One school in particular was extremely successful, but the program was stopped when district funding ran out and other schools complained that they did not get the same opportunities.
3. What are some ways schools might need to change, in order to lead and facilitate the innovations that touch can provide in educational technology and access?
I think that administration needs to look at the budget very carefully, taking all costs into consideration and weighing the advantages of adaptable technology. (New books versus an update of existing technology, etc.) In this vein, I would hate to see schools adopting technology but not keeping up with it. I would compare this to using very out of date textbooks, which still occurs, especially when budgetary constraints become tighter.
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Eva Ziemsen
1. In your experience, how have you witnessed touch improve technological and educational access across age groups, as well as geographical and socio-economic barriers?
No, I personally have not witnessed touch improve technological and educational across age groups. I have traveled a great deal, in the context of education, and I have not yet seen the impact of touch impact in other parts of the world. For example, I was recently in Bhutan, where i was teaching a screenwriting workshop. Most people in Bhutan have some kind of access to a computer at home, but I would estimate that less than 1% of people own a tablet. I would be surprised that even the King of Bhutan (who is actually now the Prime Minister/ democratic leader of Bhutan) would even have an iPad. I was also in Rwanda about 6 years ago. Of course the touch revolution only happened more recently, but again, I would argue that most people in Rwanda do not have an touch device, as many do not have power or running water.
Obviously the touch revolution has impacted the developed world heavily, however, I have not been involved with classes that have made use of this technology.
2. What do you think this innovation might lead to (opportunities) in how we provide and access education in the future?
I think initiatives such as the one by Mitra is truly inspirational and one way innovation in this type of technology will help impact the future of education in the world. I heard of Mitra’s Cloud Grannies a while ago and was very moved, as I believe more of these experiments should be undertaken. This coincided with the time that I started my PhD in Online Film Education. From my own perspective, I believe innovation will allow the developed world help the developing world. However, this very much depends on Internet availability.3. What are some ways schools might need to change, in order to lead and facilitate the innovations that touch can provide in educational technology and access? I think BYOD will come into effect very quickly in order to accommodate touch technology, without causing major budgetary disasters. We recently had a coordinator’s meeting at my institution, where the topic of discussion was, taking computers out of the labs (because our students prefer to bring their own) and reinvesting into other kinds of technology that is not affordable by students.
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Eva Ziemsen
One last thing, I wanted to mention. A friend of mine, made the film MADE IN CHINA. It premiered at Hot Docs this past spring. It is about the city in China where most things are made, including Apple products.
http://www.hotdocs.ca/film/title/made_in_chinaUnfortunately, the conditions where these people work are not good at all, and the hours or these assembly factories are inhumane and many workers commit suicide. I feel obligated to relay this information in this context, as I was very disturbed to know that the world’s consumption of tablets (and most other things) is having such a detrimental impact.
Furthermore, the environmental damage by the waste or technological devices is also something we must consider, as the waste is only increasing exponentially. There are many relevant films and youtube clips on this subject matter as well.
Food for thought.
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jameschen
1. In your experience, how have you witnessed touch improve technological and educational access across age groups, as well as geographical and socio-economic barriers?
The only experience I have regarding touch in education is the SMARTBoard. I am not sure if it helped improve educational access because my experience with the SB is somewhat limited. One thing I knew it did was to help students interact with content without the restraints of a mouse and keyboard. I cannot say it helps students see content on a different level because the projections were 2D and the SB I tried was limited to single touch. From this experience I cannot say that touch has improved technological and educational access across age groups/geographical/socio-economic barriers.
2. What do you think this innovation might lead to (opportunities) in how we provide and access education in the future?
With multi-touch and 3D displays, I think education can be accessed on a different level. Perhaps it would enable learners to read, write, interact with the content (i.e. do science experiments) more “naturally” as they would using concrete learning objects but with the added support of multimedia and internet access. Being able to use one’s fingers to rotate, zoom in/out, and flip 3D objects would help tactile learners interact with the content more effectively and enhance the learning experience.
3. What are some ways schools might need to change, in order to lead and facilitate the innovations that touch can provide in educational technology and access?
In order to achieve this, schools would need to have access to the hardware that supports touch. This can be achieved by fundraising or partnering up with companies such as Apple/Microsoft. The former would require large sums of money and the latter might not provide enough hardware to the majority of students. These matters need to be discussed with the School Board and their respective PACs.
James
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joeltremblay
Welcome to Week 11: Voice, Touch and Gesture
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
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!
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jenbarker
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.
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visramn
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
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lullings
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.
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joeltremblay
Week 11: Voice
Most of us are aware that some form of voice recognition software exists. However, not a lot of us have actually tried it, so this section is designed to get you to interact with some form of voice recognition software during a regular daily activity, and then record your experiences, (both positive and negative), with […]
Continue reading Week 11: Voice Posted in: General, Week 11:-
manny
Hi all,
I decided to briefly discuss some of the pros and cons to using the Dragon Dictation app. The Vocaroo software asks for access to the camera too but I don’t believe it makes a recording, just wondering if anyone else experienced that. Anyways, enjoy……-
joeltremblay
Hi Manny,
I actually use the PC software to do essays and film reviews. It definitely works better than the app because it has the chance to learn from your voice and the accents therein. I’m curious if you think it changes accuracy due to accents etc. because I’ve found the Iphone app to be less accurate when I drop into Canadian drawl.-
rebeccaharrison
I believe my hyperspeed drawl is also unappreciated. Here’s my take on it. I could see it being really fun to do with friends. For instance: who can come up with the most wildly inaccurate dictation. I’m really interested in what it does for education in the future though….
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Mike Rae
I had a similar experience Rebecca. Not perfect, and I found myself trying to do a recording that was perfect. My school is all ESL, so I doubt too that I would be able to use it in my teaching right now.
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joeltremblay
Interesting that it came up with curse words Rebecca and Mike, especially since it pulls from your phones current dictionary (The one that you constantly update when you send texts etc.) 😀 Sorry it wasn’t more useful for you. Do you think the tone of voice rather than the speed had anything to do with it?
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visramn
Hi,
I used the app Vling. Click on the link to hear my views on this app. http://vocaroo.com/i/s1qXtWcNco2p.
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Thanks,
Nureen-
joeltremblay
Hi Nureen,
I’ve found that Vlingo is definitely accurate and is quite useful for hands free control of your phone. What were you using it for specifically? (feel free to reply via vocaroo if that’s easier for you).-
visramn
I used it for emails, texts, to navigate on the internet, etc. I found that it could not understand names and kept pulling up different names. But that could be because many of the names in my address book might not be in the word bank they use.
Nureen
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Jenny Brown
I uploaded Vlingo to my iPhone and found it easy to use but not accurate. For more of my thoughts click on the link: http://vocaroo.com/i/s1Cj45Ri7g8C
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joeltremblay
Hi Jenny,
I use Dragon on my Iphone over Vlingo usually although I have both. I’ve found that the accuracy is a little bit better as far as sentence structure goes but it doesn’t have the hands free functionality that Vlingo does unfortunately. Thanks for trying it!
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teacherben
I recently had a pretty good experience using gesture and voice with my android phone. There is a keyboard called Swype that everyone should try. It is fantastic. Instead of typing on individual keys, you put your finger down on the first key of the word, then slide to the next letter and the next without lifting your finger. After just a few minutes of playing with it, I was typing about 20 words a minute on my cell phone. I have now been using it for a couple of years, but it was recently acquired by Nuance, the same company that makes Dragon, Naturally Speaking software. Between the two options, I was able to take an idea that I had in my head for a picture book, and get the whole thing written, page by page, with just a cell phone.
One thing I did find however is that different writing mediums seem to promote a very different flow of ideas. The research seems to bear this out. For example, here’s an article that discusses how handwriting seems to stimulate the brain much more than typing:
http://www.nhs.uk/news/2011/01January/Pages/writing-versus-typing-for-learning.aspx
As someone who once aspired to be a writer, I definitely found that stuff I typed and stuff I hand wrote was very different in style. Now, with this sort of sliding, gesture-based keyboard and voice dictation on the table, it will be interesting to see what new research reveals.
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joeltremblay
Hi Ben,
Isn’t that similar to what Samsung has done recently with their smartphones? Interesting that they have tried to apply to keyboards as well.-
teacherben
They just included the Swype keyboard by default instead of the stock Android one. Same keyboard.
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Jonathan
Quick review on Siri (Iphone), Siri (Mac) and Google (iPhone). I don’t usually use voice commands through my phone so it was nice to have an opportunity to play around with it again. I’ve created a Vocaroo (thanks for introducing us to it — super neat) about my thoughts:
http://vocaroo.com/i/s01JsQakIitT
The surprise find for me was the Google one in the end. I found it was able to predict my speech fairly accurately and quickly. I did a bit more research and found that indeed it was fast. Take a look at this one video where the person races Siri against Google!
http://gizmodo.com/5956433/google-voice-search-vs-siri-whos-the-best-iphone-assistant
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joeltremblay
Hi Jonathan,
One of the benefits of any google software tends to be the accessibility of it and how much more the developers listen to the community so I’m really not that surprised by the gizmodo article although I wasn’t aware of that in the first place. Thanks for thinking outside of the box and using Google voice as I completely forgot to include it 🙂 -
Scott
I concur with Jonathan on this one, internet searches on my iPhone 4 are a pleasure with the most recent voice enable search app from Google. The speed in particular is simply remarkable.
While I have found Dragon Dictation and Search convenient at times in the past, the lack of full integration with iOS, limits its overall usefulness I think. Which highlights an annoying problem many people have recognized, with technology of all sorts today, namely that because tech giants, such as Google and Apple, have ‘issues’ with each other on a bushiness or IP level, we the customers often suffer as as result.
Google’s voice technology appears to be superior to Apple’s at present, or at least for internet searching, yet Apple’s on going patent disputes with Google and other manufactures, mean that in some cases Apple customers are being forced to use an inferior product. This very situation recently played out with the whole map fiasco in iOS 6, which has left Apple customers with a poorly implemented map app compared to Google. Similarly, I believe my iPhone 4 has the hardware capability to use Siri, however software licensing constraints with Nuance, prevent the phone from being able to use this innovative new feature.
As a form of NUI, voice control is very exciting and still in its infancy really. I only hope that there can be more ‘democratic’ implementations of the technology in future.
BTW, I wrote this entire comment quite efficiently using Apple’s built-in voice dictation function, one of the stand out features in its latest desktop operating system, Mountain Lion.
Happy dictating all.
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joeltremblay
Interesting the complexity of the speech above. Especially abbreviations I’ve found that voice recognition software has big issues with. I’m curious if you were doing a lot of editing or was it just really accurate?
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kstackhouse
Great points Scott. I have not upgraded to Mountain Lion yet. When I was researching the Lion speech commands info it seemed pretty basic. It reminded me of those functions available to my iPhone 4. I think for many of these features time and resources will only make this technology better. As you mentioned they are still young.
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joeltremblay
I’m interested in just how different the functionality of the two operating systems are. I wonder if there are net comparisons out there as all I was able to find were comparisons between dragon and Mountain Lion or someone talking about the benefits of it:
http://www.gottabemobile.com/2012/07/29/osx-mountain-lion-review-dictation/
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avninder
My vlingo review
http://vocaroo.com/i/s1IAQzWBrzEU-
joeltremblay
How was Vlingo as far as commands etc.? What worked for you and what didn’t?
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avninder
A humorous clip showing how voice activation is far from glitch free:
http://www.complex.com/tech/2011/10/video-jack-donaghy-predicts-the-future-of-television-sets-
Mike Rae
love it…Jack is great, and I agree with him, not a big fan of the remote getting lost. I always thought that a page button like on a cordless phone would be nice if it was built in.
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sophiabb
My Vocaroo review
http://vocaroo.com/i/s0WuSHJyHCu1
I tested this voice software for podcast possibilities. I found it to be very clear. I liked that I was able to download as an MP3 and was able to open in Media Player as well as Quick Time. I was also able to edit it.
Sophia-
joeltremblay
HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA… I was trying to figure out exactly what the hell this was!!! Too funny 😀 I’m guessing vocaroo was useful for you if you’re using for something other than this course 🙂
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sophiabb
Here is the correct link: http://vocaroo.com/i/s11GVVOnlOM6
Sophia
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joeltremblay
I’ve actually started using vocaroo for a lot of activities in the class including film reviews etc. Something else you can do is when you go to the link you right click on the player and save as an MP3 as well if you accidentally click the wrong thing.
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sophiabb
Thanks for the tip.
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Pat A Son
My Voice talk review
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joeltremblay
It’s a little strange talking to the computer sometimes. My students always look at me funny when i’m doing it.
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Pat A Son
That’s because the technology is new to us and we haven’t gotten used to it yet. Most people I am sure would prefer to control the computer by talking to it that typing or using a mouse because for us talking comes more naturally. Furthermore with the push by some software maker to have the user personalize their software at the interface level in a way makes the user experience a personal one. This fits in with the idea of personal learning that we looked at here before and all the option that we looked at this week voice has the potential to make computer usage almost like communicating with another person. Maybe this can make the difference for learners who are technologically challenged in one way or another.
As I said on vocaroo the current offerings are all dead and robotic when the day comes that CG generated voice sounds more natural and is more customizable it serve as the pathway by which a learner may be able to grasp a difficult concept.
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Mike Rae
dragon dictation review:
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joeltremblay
Thanks for the participation Mike,
Interesting that you had some problems with the exclamation and the curse word censorship. My wife and I tend to use it for shopping lists etc. and have ceased using pen and paper and instead just speaking at Dragon and texting the list to each other. -
jhodi
Hi Mike,
I quite enjoyed listening to your experience. I also tried to get punctuation and I found that some things worked such as saying ‘period’ or ‘exclamation mark’, but that does make me wonder what if I meant period in the sense of a hockey game or something and not the punctuation? I found some issues with the app’s accuracy. I was frustrated with the app in that I would have to read over what I said and make corrections to the words because it would have totally different words than what I said. I do wonder how this app would work with different accents?
Jhodi
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kstackhouse
Here is my recorded reflection on using Siri. http://vocaroo.com/i/s0WQybGWkDuy
Thanks for providing this activity. It gave me an excuse to spend some time trying to use Siri, which I have not done before.
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joeltremblay
The issue about quick responses seems to be wide standing which is really interesting considering that apple always pushes the response time during their commercials. False advertising maybe?
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kstackhouse
I’m not sure if it is false advertising or optimistic that one will have a good signal all the time. When it comes to simple things, like playing a song or dialing a number the response time was fine. It was when I asked for more detailed things like the movie listings or directions that there seemed to be more pauses. I think we have gotten spoiled with the immediacy of Google, Bing, and Yahoo searches that if something takes 4 seconds we start to think it is broken.
This reminds me of comedian Louis C.K.’s talk when on the Conan O’Brien Show on technology and how it is wasted on us. The bit was called “Everything is Amazing and Nobody is Happy”. It seems as though the original has been removed from youtube, but you can watch his stand-up version but it is not censored.
He also does a great bit on Twitter, social networking, and smart phones. He talks about how we are living our lives through the little screen on the camera. This is similar to the point I was making about the AR goggles in another thread.
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jenbarker
After reading Scott’s post I was really excited to try dictation on my iMac but unfortunately although I have upgraded to Mountain Lion, it doesn’t appear that I have the dictation feature. In my system preferences I only have “Speech” as an option. Scott, I am surprised that your text was written with correct punctuation. Did you have to edit it?
I am going to try Siri on my husband’s iphone tonight and will post my Vocaroo later. In the meantime, what is the name of the Google app everyone seemed to like? Do you download it from the app store and does it cost anything?
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teacherben
You enable voice commands in your Mac in the Accessibility section in the system preferences. It’s the last item on the list–“Speakable Items”. (I am on Mountain Lion too–btw, have you noticed a loss of battery life since you upgraded? My Mac was only a year old and my batter went from 6 or 7 hours down to about 3 after the upgrade, and it’s sluggish and awful. i wish I stuck with Snow Leopard.)
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jenbarker
Yes Ben I have noticed the same thing. I don’t go anywhere without my charger. BTW I don’t have an Accessibility section. I went to system preferences, and under the section system, I have a microphone labelled Speech. I clicked this and was able to turn speakable items on and off but it won’t allow me to convert voice to text. It only answers a couple of questions.
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teacherben
In my system preferences, in the system section, I have an icon for Accessibility and I also have an icon for Dictation and Speech. Once enabled, I just have to click on fn twice to turn it on.
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adi
Hi,
As a language teacher I have always been interested to see what voice recognition machines do when you speak with an accent. I downloaded Assistant Personal Secretary for my phone and said: “Hello mate, got a light? Oh, and could I have a glass of water, please?”, but it clearly did not understand my ‘cockney accent’ (http://vocaroo.com/i/s0rCj0CL38QM). This voice recognition programs that transcribe what they hear still have a long way to go, particularly if you take into consideration that there are more speakers of English as a Second Language than native speakers. Still, it was a lot of fun. Vocaroo, on the otehr hand, I have used in my classes and think it’s a great tool.-
teacherben
As the technology gets cheaper and more accessible, I think we will see this change. While it is possible to ‘train’ these programs to better recognize your voice, we are likely to start seeing add-on packs and so on for more regional accents in the same way that we already do for different languages. Many of these programs are already modular and allow users to add additional functionality by downloading extra bits.
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teacherben
Here is an interesting overview of accents research and voice recognition software. It was an interesting read and outlines some of the challenges in terms of getting it to work:
http://www.phon.ucl.ac.uk/home/mark/accent/
As he explains, an accent mismatch between the speakers used to ‘train’ the software as it was developed and the user can lead to up to a 30% error rate. And it would appear that the solution is not going to be a one-size-fits-all program but rather by leveraging the modular nature of the software and including ‘language packs’ that may be based on specific accents rather than different languages.
I am willing to bet that once some open source players get in on the game, then individual groups will be able to create their own language packs based on a very specific regional accent. For example, as this technology is integrated into the browser, as happens with most technologies sooner or later, a company like Mozilla or Google may use an open architecture that will allow these sorts of plugins.
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joeltremblay
Hahaha… I like the translation that it provided for you. I wonder if the accuracy is representative of the entire population or if it is just localized to the Cockney accent? Also, Dragon for your home computer actually learns your accent and builds up a dictionary the more you use it so as you use it, it trains itself to your voice.
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Lisa Nevoral
Hey All,
Here is my Vocaroo: http://vocaroo.com/i/s0Tc6DOwnwOj. Note-I have a cold and did not use a microphone, so quality not so good.
I have recently purchased a Galaxy S3 and of course there is voice recognition program with the phone. I have two options – one that is like Siri in Apple (S Voice or Galaxy) or a Google Option. The S Voice gives me options to use voice recognition to do things with the phone, while the Google Option allows me to search things on the Internet. The S Voice is pretty finicky. It doesn’t always do what I want, but maybe I need to pronounce my words better. I can see where voice recognition could come in handy (such as using it for a “To-Do list, texting a message to someone, etc.). I think I just need to play around with it a bit more.
Lisa
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joeltremblay
Interesting the difficulties you had with it. I wonder if that’s only on the G3 model since most people have reported google phones being superior as far as voice recog goes with reference to the comparitive apple products?
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Lisa Nevoral
Hey Joel,
S Voice is a personal assistant and knowledge navigator for Samsung Galaxy SIII and Samsung Galaxy Note II. Apparently, it can help with opening apps, setting my alarm, updating Facebook, telling me the temperature, help send texts or place calls. I just find that it doesn’t always recognize the words I say very well. The Google option on my Android seems to understand what I’m saying much better and is quite fast finding me information.
Lisa
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teacherben
A company called Maluuba, that makes a voice recognition app for Android that is apparently better than Siri, just released their API so that other apps can tap into its functionality. So if you were working on an app, say an ebook, you could make it so that if the user has maluuba installed and running, they could interact with the book, turn the pages, whatever, using voice. Nice.
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C. Ranson
I downloaded both Vliingo and Dragon Dictation to my iphone through the itune store, took seconds. I had difficulty accessing my contacts through Vlingo, the voice recorded messaging worked well. I then downloaded Dragon Dictation and this application works fabulous. The voice recording of message is very accurate, with each pause a comma was added and you had to indicate a period. http://vocaroo.com/i/s0ZD6FuHKvrI
Catherine
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joeltremblay
Hi there Catherine,
Good to hear that you spent the time to actually compare the two services and that you were able to ascertain which was more compatible with your understanding and abilities.
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jhodi
I downloaded the Dragon Dictation app on my iPhone and found some positives and negatives to the app. I also noticed afterwards that this same program is on my work computer (I had seen the logo before, but had never tried opening it), and tried it on there as well. Here is the link to my Vocaroo recording:
http://vocaroo.com/i/s1w5koO8gXIPJhodi
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joeltremblay
Thanks for the reply Jhodi. Good to hear that you attempted a couple different options and didn’t get frustrated and walk away from it the way I might have done in your situation.
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jenbarker
I tried to use Vocaroo this morning but after ten times I gave up. I am not sure if it was due to a setting I had on my computers (I tried both my laptop and iMac) but my voice sounded mottled and was almost inaudible. So instead I used a screencast program called Jing that I love. It records a portion of your screen and allows you to talk to it. I use it when responding to student’s papers and/or lesson plans as you can scroll through the document on the screen and use your cursor/arrow to point things out and talk to them simultaneously.
On my Jing I gave a review of Siri. Here is the link to my Jing. http://screencast.com/t/Alj9CGtd
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joeltremblay
Hi there Jen,
I was having problems with it yesterday and the day before at the school but I believe that was due to the internet connection and more importantly, the uploading ability of your line. It could also be due to Vocaroo itself having issues but who knows. Thanks for adapting and posting the alternative Jing though as I’m sure other people have had this issue. -
jameschen
My Vocaroo recording on my voice recognition software experience is at http://vocaroo.com/i/s0zSG8gFEUqy.
I think voice recognition technology would benefit students with a disability who are unable to write/type using their hands. Another educational benefit could be to help English Language Learners improve their spoken English by trying to train the software to recognize their voice. Other than this I wouldn’t recommend educators to make use of the technology – unless they have extraordinary patience.
James
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joeltremblay
Hi James,
Because of the quality of the vocaroo recording, you have a somewhat Siri esque quality to your Vocaroo recording. It’s interesting as it sounds like you typed it and a software speak it for you. Sorry it didn’t work out well for you, but we appreciate the perseverance.
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joeltremblay
Alright everyone,
As your guide through the mystical lands of futuristic and sometimes prehistoric voice command software, I bid you adeau and thank you for participating in our activities. Thanks you for your insight, ideas and professionalism. Cheers! -
melissaayers
Thanks to the group for introducing this activity, as well as introducing us to the Vocaroo tool.
I have been interested in voice recognition for many years (since I started my computer science degree in fact) but have been disappointed by how slowly it had evolved over the years. However it look likes significant improvements have been made thanks to the introduction of competing mobile devices I think.
I tried Siri a while ago but like many others have reported here the experience was not too fantastic and I gave up not long after I started. I found it made too many errors.
In contrast I have recently been playing around with the Google Voice and find it amazing, the advancements in this technology are clear and I am sure the improvements will keep coming for both this product as well as in Siri and Samsung’s version. It’s something I will definitely consider using in both in a classroom and daily life.
Just for fun I tried Dragon Diction with the language set as French (Canadian) and it was a complete disaster, I know my accent in French is not that great but it was really nothing like what I said – not even a word. Once I switched it back to English it was a lot better but still made quite a few mistakes. I think I would need to get used to it a bit before I find it completely useful.
Overall I found that google voice was the best product for my dictating (and searching) needs.
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joeltremblay
The best part about the desktop version of Dragon Dictation is that it keeps track of the different nuances and tendencies that you have within your diction. The mobile app is somewhat limited in that capacity unfortunately and because of that you get the mistakes you talk about. Just last night I was using it for something, but was quite tired because of a particularly gruelling schedule of late and it was making all kinds of mistakes.
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Paula Poodwan
Question Concerning Assignment 4
Hi David, I just want to make sure I understand your instructions correctly for Assignment 4. Do we grade ourselves based on the A4 Rubric or do you grade us based on our participation description? Thanks in advance for your clarification. Paula
Continue reading Question Concerning Assignment 4 Posted in: Questions & Answers-
David Vogt
Hi Paula –
Sorry for missing your question until my weekly round-up. The answer is, “yes”.
Ultimately I’d love to institute a reliable ‘social’ process for grading participation in the course, meaning that your own sincere evaluation of your contributions to the cohort, calibrated in some way by the crowd, and relative to it, would serve as your A4 grade. However, I don’t believe this is practical yet, and it may not be for some time (anybody have any brilliant suggestions for making this work now?).
So your A4 submission is your own assessment of your contribution, relative to the cohort, and I’ll refer to this as I review my record of your actual contributions. I will then assign an A4 grade.
Thanks,
David
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Paula Poodwan
Thanks David, much appreciated 🙂
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Patrick Pichette
One of the biggest hurdles in the participation grade is in the tool that was used to encourage participation. I have never participated in a 20+ person blog before and have to admit that given the choice, I would prefer not having the experience again. 🙂 Personally, I found it rather dizzying trying to navigate and relocate posts I had contributed to or conversations I wanted to follow.
It’s been an interesting approach to creating an online presence but I’ve felt completely lost for most of the semester as I struggled to find the topics I wanted to follow. If anything, I would highly recommend moving the majority of the discussions to a discussion forum as opposed to a blog. Where discussion forums have an advantage are in its use of a hub model that provides a very organized structure to allow students to easily locate and follow topics of interest. Often, there are also subscription options that students can use to receive notifications of contributions to topics of interest.
As for how to evaluate participation, I think that depends on what you desire to evaluate. My recommendation would be to include a main topic each week for which a contribution is expected from your students. As your current structure involves students contributing to a great deal of the content through the weekly technology topics, you could also have each group create a post for which all students would have to provide an insightful response. I really liked this student-centred approach as it felt as though we had a great deal of impact on the direction discussions could be taken and I imagine it makes for a very unique footprint left by each cohort. I’ve also seen a few courses for which students are asked to contribute a response to a two classmates’ assignments contribution as part of their participation grade. I found this really valuable as it allowed me to obtain a few different perspectives on my contribution to further direct me in the knowledge construction process.
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David Vogt
A3 Advice
Pursuant to Peggy’s recent A3 post, and some other queries via email, I’m posting this general announcement to welcome any questions about Assignment 3 that might not be answered or sufficiently clear in the instructions and rubric in the course requirements. As per the course schedule, your A3 is due at the end of Week […]
Continue reading A3 Advice Posted in: Announcements, General-
joeltremblay
Thank you David,
This explanation is MUCH appreciated. -
Doug Connery
Hi David, thanks for the info.
As the November 25 due date draws near, I have some questions.
Will you create a Venture Forum Category for us to link our submissions to?
Just to be clear, we create a new post here and upload our elevator pitch (video) and venture pitch (video or written) and embed them in the post. This is where Kaltura comes in, automatically I assume.
Then we wait for you to assign each of us 10 ventures to review. We comment briefly on 7 and in more detail on our top 3 and then choose and justify one or more of the top three to fund. This needs to be done by the last day of classes on Friday November 30.
Thanks David.
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jkotler
World Reader
Instead of responding to the discussion on the articles given in the Newsstand, I wanted to provide another link to a video about an amazing organization I recently learned about, World Reader. Since they began they have sent more than 200,000 e-readers to children (and schools) in Ghana, Kenya and Uganda, and their mission is […]
Continue reading World Reader Posted in: General-
Peggy Lawson
Thanks Jkotler. That’s a nice story. If I watch from a more unbiased view, I might wonder how much the eReader itself played in increasing reading fluency – maybe it was just good teaching? Are the students more likely to carry around an eReader more than a regular book? Is the eReader more economical than physical books, and how do they keep them powered? I like hearing good stories, but would be interested in some of these underlying questions, too. So I further explored the site and found some answers.
We’ve had discussions along these lines in some of my other classes. As MET students we obviously all have strong feelings about the power of technology in the classroom. But in some specific cases there are other factors that need to be addressed. I think the eReader project shown in your video is a great project – I don’t know if the video did full justice to the program.
Peggy
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pcollins
I appreciate the link. The idea behind this is fabulous. It really makes the impact from open-source learning visible. I agree with Peggy that the program seems much more influential then what the clip shows.
PC
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tomwhyte1
Thank You From Week 9 – BYOD
The BYOD team would like to thank all of you for participating in the discussions and activities we created for this topic that is not only occurring in the world of education, but is also a significant reality in many other professional areas. The conversations were enlightening as well as engaging, and many of you […]
Continue reading Thank You From Week 9 – BYOD Posted in: Week 09: -
Peggy Lawson
Assignment 3
Hi David – Can you remind us of the timeline for Assignment 3? When should we have our materials all ready to present. The end of Week 12, which is ….. ?
Continue reading Assignment 3 Posted in: General -
Peggy Lawson
Week 10: The Coffee Shoppe
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
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.
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Peggy Lawson
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
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pcollins
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
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.
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Lisa Nevoral
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
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C. Ranson
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?
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Eva Ziemsen
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
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.
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Peggy Lawson
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.
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Jenny Brown
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.
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Peggy Lawson
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.
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teacherben
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.. 😉
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kstackhouse
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.
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kstackhouse
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.
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teacherben
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?
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kstackhouse
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.
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Jenny Brown
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.
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teacherben
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.
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manny
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
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.
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jhodi
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.
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Lisa Nevoral
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
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Eva Ziemsen
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).
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joeltremblay
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.
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Lisa Nevoral
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
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C. Ranson
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
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visramn
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
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visramn
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/r6Nureen
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frank
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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Peggy Lawson
Week 10: The Shake-Up from Digital Textbooks
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
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.
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tomwhyte1
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?
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tomwhyte1
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.
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jhodi
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.
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visramn
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
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tomwhyte1
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…
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Paula Poodwan
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.
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visramn
True. However, I believe engagement and learning have to go hand in hand. It is hard for one to happen without the other.
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avninder
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
I like your point, what are they engages with… the bells and whistles or the content?
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pcollins
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.
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rebeccaharrison
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?
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Pat A Son
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.
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Pat A Son
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
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Pat A Son
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.
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C. Ranson
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.
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Pat A Son
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
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Pat A Son
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
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C. Ranson
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.
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Pat A Son
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tomwhyte1
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?
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Pat A Son
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
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tomwhyte1
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?
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Pat A Son
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.pdfThis 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.htmhttp://net.educause.edu/ir/library/pdf/ERB0921.pdf
Patason
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Peggy Lawson
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.
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tomwhyte1
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?
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Peggy Lawson
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.
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Colin
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.
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C. Ranson
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
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kstackhouse
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.
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manny
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
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.
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Lisa Nevoral
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
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manny
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.
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jhodi
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.
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joeltremblay
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.
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coralk
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
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C. Ranson
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.
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Scott
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
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.
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Lisa Nevoral
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
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Eva Ziemsen
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.
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frank
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.
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Peggy Lawson
Week 10: The Newstand
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
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?
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kstackhouse
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.
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Eva Ziemsen
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.
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tomwhyte1
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/
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rebeccaharrison
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?
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pcollins
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
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tomwhyte1
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?
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Peggy Lawson
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.
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tomwhyte1
Have you taken ETEC 531…
Great course, built around 1 book…
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tomwhyte1
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?
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jenniferschubertubc
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. 😉
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Pat A Son
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-farJones, 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
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tomwhyte1
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.
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Pat A Son
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.
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jenniferschubertubc
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.
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Pat A Son
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.
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jhodi
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!
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Mike Rae
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).
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pcollins
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
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rebeccaharrison
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.
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Pat A Son
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.
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melissaayers
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.
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melissaayers
sorry this was meant to be posted to the reading circle post!
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teacherben
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=15536Here’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.
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jenniferschubertubc
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!
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ETEC BYOD
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.
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ETEC BYOD
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 toolsMost 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
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.
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sophiabb
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
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Peggy Lawson
Week 10: The Business Lounge
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
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?
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cunnian
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
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tomwhyte1
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?
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cunnian
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
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melissaayers
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.
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cunnian
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
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tomwhyte1
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?
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ETEC BYOD
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.
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pcollins
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
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tomwhyte1
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?
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avninder
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.
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avninder
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.
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Mike Rae
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
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tomwhyte1
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?
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ETEC BYOD
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.
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tomwhyte1
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?
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Pat A Son
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
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Colin
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
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?
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Colin
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
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
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.
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Peggy Lawson
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.
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kstackhouse
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).
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jhodi
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.
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teacherben
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.
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Jenny Brown
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.
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frank
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?
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Mike Rae
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?
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Lisa Nevoral
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
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cunnian
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?
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Lisa Nevoral
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
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cunnian
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!
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Lisa Nevoral
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
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jhodi
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.
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cunnian
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.
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cunnian
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?
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Eva Ziemsen
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.
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ETEC522grp8
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
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.
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visramn
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
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jameschen
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
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Peggy Lawson
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
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
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Colin
I found it interesting when I came across this article where 72% of students surveyed in Ontario said that cell phones should not be used in the classroom as an educational tool. Some gave the warning that it is just too distracting for them to use in the classroom. This makes me think whether students […]
Continue reading I found it interesting when I came acros… Posted in: Week 09:-
manny
Hi Colin,
This reminds me of a study I had read in a previous MET class. According to this study, an experimental group of students ranging in ages were asked to submit their mobile devices for a period of 48 hours. The results indicated that some of the students who were accustomed to using social media exhibited high levels of anxiety and depression similar to those withdrawing from drug addiction. Through my experience, when a student receives a bbm, tweet or facebook message, the temptation to check it is too high. There is no doubt that mobile devices pose a distraction and I think this is something we need to live with and accept if we wish to use them in education.
Manny-
ETEC BYOD
Interesting points, regarding the distraction factor. I would like to point out though, that the adults are (in my opinion) just as bad as the kids in terms of it being a distraction.
However, I also believe that this powerful tool should not be ignored, because at this time we are unfamiliar at its use, or even how to use it properly. Does more research, and strategies need to be implemented, yes. Should effective PD be developed for all age levels and professions, yes (especially considering when one of my staff members say a man texting, while riding a motorcycle).
Pandora has opened the box, and yes, all that is left inside is hope… So on that vein, what might we do as adults, educators, and potentially parents, to help ourselves and those around us learn appropriate use?
Thoughts?
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Kent Jamieson
For me i’m reminded of the discussions i’ve had around tech being a distraction and the fact that the pencil was once deemed ‘new technology’, and i’m sure it was fascinating, controversial and quite a hot topic of discussion. However, it is now an invisible resource, which i hope mobile devices to be one day. We’re far from that day, as we are just beginning to implement resources and programs that put digital distractions into the hands of students. I’m not arguing against the fact that cell phones don’t distract students, I just feel as many do in this class in that their potential clearly outweighs their detriment.
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Peggy Lawson
Thanks for posting the link to the stories about that survey Colin. The distraction factor is very real, but I was surprised by the results . I’d be interested to see a wider sample being surveyed about this question. My initial tendency is to think that we need to help teach our students to deal with these distractions, putting phones aside while we deal with tasks at hand.
Peggy
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Colin
Thank-you everyone for your responses and I do agree that I would have liked to have seen a wider sample of student surveyed. I always assumed that students would embrace having BYOD but if this survey is to be believed then teachers might actually face some resistance from students to the idea. That said I do believe that it is important for students to learn educational uses for their devices as well as to learn to manage the distraction factor of their cell phones.
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kstackhouse
Thanks for bringing this up. I am not sure that students would actually oppose it. I know that when I introduced Edmodo to my class last year they were very excited about the text notices and the app. I think that the distraction is an interesting factor. I think students need to learn how to be polite and purposeful mobile users. There are a number of issues related to what would be common sense etiquette practices that many people fail to practice. Talking to someone while texting someone else really bothers me, most students do this when together. As mentioned above, the temptation to check a notice is very high. However, I think we should model how to handle this. We can’t check our notices while we are teaching or during a parent conference. Students should learn more about this. Our school has discussed creating PSA videos to address some of these issues. Another common problem is the way technology is interrupting our sleep. I do random surveys with my classes and it is becoming more common that more students are being woken up by their devices throughout the night. The shocking part is to hear how many people feel compelled to reply to a text that woke them up at 2 a.m.!
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Patrick Pichette
I agree with the others regarding the distraction factor. However, even if cell phones can be distracting due to the constant notifications we receive, I still believe that the educational and increased productivity outweigh the distractions it provides. Having said that, I think it’s extremely important that students be made aware of how to configure their devices in a manner that reduces distractions. I look at my cell phone and how every application seems to think that it is so important that it needs to notify me whenever it is done something. To minimize the distractions, I’ve configured my device to disable all applications from the Notification Center other than the ones I truly need there. On top of that, I’ve disabled Sounds and Lock Screen access for all applications that I do not need this constant disturbance from. This has drastically reduced the number of distracting pop ups, buzzing sounds and lock screen light ups that I witness on a day-to-day basis. Most people don’t spend the time doing this which means they receive way more distractions than they should.
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Kent Jamieson
Out of this world AR app – Spacecraft 3D
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
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
Great application of the technology – thanks for sharing it Kent.
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Pat A Son
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
Augmented Reality Lazertag by Nerf
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
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.
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Jenny Brown
That’s a really cool idea!
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coralk
Thank you from Week 8 – Personalized Learning
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:-
Doug Connery
Thank you Week 8 – Personalized Learning for your great research and work.
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kstackhouse 11:23 am on November 19, 2012 Permalink | 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 Permalink | 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 Permalink | 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 Permalink | 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 Permalink | 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 Permalink | 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 Permalink | 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 Permalink | 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 Permalink | 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 Permalink | 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 Permalink
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 Permalink | 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 Permalink | 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 Permalink | 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 Permalink
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 Permalink
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 Permalink | 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 Permalink | 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 Permalink | 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 Permalink | 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 Permalink | 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 Permalink | 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 Permalink | 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 Permalink | 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 Permalink | 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 Permalink | 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 Permalink | 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 Permalink | 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 Permalink | 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 Permalink | 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 Permalink | 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 Permalink | 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.
Pat A Son 9:00 am on November 22, 2012 Permalink | Log in to Reply
You’re welcome Sophia
Jonathan 5:15 pm on November 24, 2012 Permalink | 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 Permalink | 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 Permalink | 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 Permalink | 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 Permalink | 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 Permalink | 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 Permalink | 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 Permalink | 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 Permalink | 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 Permalink | 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 Permalink | Log in to Reply
Appreciate your practical point of view Doug. Great discussion.
sophiabb 9:55 pm on November 21, 2012 Permalink | 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 Permalink | 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 Permalink | 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 Permalink | 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 Permalink | 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 Permalink | 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 Permalink | 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 Permalink | 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 Permalink | 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 Permalink | 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?
sophiabb 9:32 pm on November 22, 2012 Permalink | Log in to Reply
Hi Tom,
Great questions. While I don’t have all the answers – as you’ve stated, it’s not a one size fits all – these questions are good at guiding our decision making process. I find these articles provide some interesting ideas on setting up and use: http://www.jofde.ca/index.php/jde/article/view/696/1156 and 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.
tomwhyte1 7:44 pm on November 24, 2012 Permalink | Log in to Reply
Thank you for the share.
For recently, at school I have been pushing research/evidence based practices.. not – this is what my gut tells me to do…
Tom
visramn 7:31 pm on November 22, 2012 Permalink | 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
sophiabb 8:51 pm on November 22, 2012 Permalink | Log in to Reply
Hi Nureen,
Nice list of pros and cons.
Scott 1:24 pm on November 23, 2012 Permalink | 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 Permalink | 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 Permalink | 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?
sophiabb 3:01 pm on November 24, 2012 Permalink | Log in to Reply
Hi Ranvir,
Thanks for adding to the discussion. Yes, the educational affordances of virtual learning environments seem great for the medical sciences.
My question is not whether it contributes to “superior learning” but: how does it contribute to learning and what ways can we use this in a constructivist manner?
I agree, that we are still in the earrly days of research/evaluation.
Not to dispute Scott’s bottom line, but to contribute to your research, I have included links to the following research:
The Evolution of Constructivist Learning Environments: Immersion in Distributed, Virtual Worlds
http://www.virtual.gmu.edu/ss_pdf/constr.pdf
Presence Pedagogy: Teaching and Learning in a 3D Virtual Immersive World
http://www.isetl.org/ijtlhe/pdf/IJTLHE453.pdf
The Use of Three Dimensional Interface within a Virtual Learning Environment and the impact 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
jhodi 5:19 pm on November 23, 2012 Permalink | 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.
sophiabb 3:11 pm on November 24, 2012 Permalink | Log in to Reply
Hi Jhodi,
Great contribution to the discussion.
jameschen 2:16 am on November 25, 2012 Permalink | 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