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Thursday, July 30, 2015

5 Unique Google Apps that You Haven't Seen . . . yet.

It is amazing what Google is continually innovating. As if it is not enough for them to create revolutionary ways to organize, access and create data, they are constantly pushing the envelope with new inventions.  You should review this WHOLE page before enjoying the videos to learn about what can happen in the World of Google.

Gmail Tap


Gmail Motion


Gmail Blue


Gmail Nose


Gmail Fiber

These are AMAZING applications.  They are creative, thoughtful and probably FAKE.  (I told you to Review This WHOLE page before enjoying the videos.  =-)

Z

Friday, July 17, 2015

Dr. Z Has Gone Pink!!!

You know, Angela Maiers says that when you engage in social media at least 30% of it should be personal.  Including the personal part in your blog provides an opportunity for your readers to see who you are and what you do.

Here It Is!!!  Time for RAGBRAI!!!

Every year I get together with 20,000 of my best friends who I haven't met yet and we ride our bikes across Iowa in a week.  This is called RAGBRAI (Register's Annual Great Bike Ride Across Iowa).   The route varies each year but it is a great way to see Iowa.  This year the route is 462 miles. 

This is my 13th year.  It is an annual extravaganza that is too exciting and fun for words.  I find that riding RAGBRAI provides a great sense of accomplishment so that what I confront the rest of the year doesn't seem so daunting.

I ride with Team Flamingo.  I am Z-Bird.  It is a great group of friends who train all spring to get ready for this trip.  As you can tell, we really get into the Pink Flamingo thing.  If you go to our website you will see some pretty scary pictures.

I just wanted to tell you that life involves more than using technology to support learning.  Life is filled with opportunities to do new things and confront new challenges and meet new people who interestingly become part of your life.

Go out and do something CRAZY this week.  Maybe I will see you on the RAGBRAI road.

Monday, July 13, 2015

Developing Innovation through Invention



While I was at the ISTE conference in Philadelphia last month, I had the opportunity to meet with Bob Greenberg who recorded a few minutes of me talking about how we might integrate this into our classrooms. This is the basis for the presentation I shared at ISTE on using Rube Goldberg in the Classroom to teach STEM with our students.

Bob Greenberg's Brainwaves Video Anthology

Bob Greenberg has been recording a number of education leaders for his Brainwaves Video Anthology.  These recordings include discussions with leaders in education like Alan Kay, Sir Ken Robinson, David Jakes, Vicki Davis, Julie Lindsey, Yong Zhao, Noam Chomsky, Robert Sternberg, Nicholas Negroponte, Tony Wagner, Linda Darling-Hammond - The liste is endless. 

Watch a couple of these videos and share them with your friends.  Share in our comments what you learned while watching them discuss their ideas.

Z

Monday, July 06, 2015

11 Tips for Keeping Up with Technology

11 Tips for Keeping Up with Technology
Theser are some great tips for keeping up.  It was created by @sylviaduckworth The main message is "Don't try to keep up with it all and build your networks of colleagues to help you keep learning."

Do you have any tips that you would add to this?  Please leave them in the comments section.

Z

Tuesday, June 30, 2015

Rube Goldberg Leads Our 6th Grade Students through STEM at ISTE

Join the Rube Goldberg Learning Community
Based upon the discussion at the end of our ISTE session, I have created a Google Doc where you can add your ideas and examples about how to engage Rube Goldberg problems in learning.   

Rube Goldberg in STEM
How do we teach STEM using exciting and crazy devices like Rube Goldberg Inventions? 

Today I have the opportunity to share my ideas and experiences with doing just that. I will begin by introducing the facets of STEM education along with 8 essential elements for Problem-Based Learning which is the basis of effective STEM education.

Here are some of the materials I used and the resources I have consulted for this presentation.   Some of the materials I will be covering are also covered in previous Dr. Z Reflects postings so you will find some links at the bottom of this post.

Rube Goldberg-Related Resources:

Are Your Educational Games Actually Worksheets with Points? Here are 6 ways to Find Better Learning Games

I was just reading Cool Cat Teacher when I saw this posting.  It is an interesting topic but it was more interesting when I realized that I spent the last couple of days with the author, Kae Novak, here at ISTE.  She really knows gaming and I am learning a great deal as I work with the ISTE Gamers.  I will be movinging forward with introducing gaming into my fall classes and I am learning A LOT.

Pedagogical Tips on Gaming Successfully in the Classroom.

  1. Understand what makes a good game.
  2. Become a Game Master.
  3. Find good games.
  4. Learning best practices.
  5. Connect with other teachers using games.
  6. Consider how games can teach more.

You should go the the full posting at Cool Cat Teacher to read the rest of the discussion.


Monday, June 15, 2015

4 Fundamental Problems With Everything You Hear About the Future of Education

Jordan Shapiro - Author of 4 Fundamental Problems with Everything Your Hear About the Future of Education
Jordan Shapiro
I am going to the TIC conference in Dubuque this coming week and the ISTE conference in Philly next week. I have been attending Educational Technology conferences for over 2 decades and have always loved going there.  I learn a lot from the sessions and I get to connect with friends that I have developed over the years.

This morning I read an article in Forbes by Jordan Shapiro.  This article, 4 Fundamental Problems with Everything You Hear About the Future of Education, included some insightful comments that I would like to share with you here. Below, I have listed the 4 myths that Shapiro enumerated along with some of my own narrative. I strongly suggest that you read the whole article connected to the link above to get the full flavor of the message.


  1. Kids are bored and technology will provide better ways to engage students. - I agree with Shapiro when he says that it is about the teacher, not the technology. Unfortunately, the biggest barrier I have with the future teachers that I teach is that many of them have the belief that we need to integrate technology for technology's sake.  Not the case. Technology can provide opportunities for learning that would not be otherwise available but it can still be used badly. We can use video conferencing to connect 6th grade classrooms in different countries but if their activities are limited to teacher-led worksheet filling-out, there is little value. 
  2. More data-based adaptive technologies will lead to child-centered curricula. - Intelligent tutorials are useful devices in building skills, but they aren't the answer to building child-centered curricula. If you have a skillset that your students need to learn, it has been shown that students can learn faster using adaptive technologies.  BUT the key is how these skills will be applied. This can't be done using data-based adaptive technologies.  Problem-based learning can provide the valuable learning experience that students can have when applying those skills.
  3. Video games will finally contextualize academic content - Video games can present problems in a context but does that necessarily align with the real world?  When learners play "against the machine", they learn in the the context that the programmers provided.  When learners play against each other in a game like Civilization, they are provided a context within which they are working with other people. The game provides the playing field and the contestants provide the human emotions and decision-making processes from which they will learn. Experiencing the actual decision-making process that a person will undergo when negotiating a treaty or deciding about attacking a fortress can provide insight that couldn't be learned from a book.  When students have these experiences together, they can come to class and discuss their feelings and learn more about what historical figures might have done.
  4. Learning should be more fun. - Shapiro points out that learning is NOT fun. Learning is an experience where you are stretched.  It is a situation where you are drawn from your comfort zone and expected to succeed. Can this happen in games? - Yes.  Is this necessarily fun? - No. It is challenging. Being challenged and having a safety net so that you can try new things without the chance for a huge loss can provide a sense of accomplishment but it doesn't need to be fun. 

While you can see that Shapiro and I don't see eye-to-eye on everything, you should read his article.  It has a lot of good points in it.

I just downloaded the .pdf of his book, The Mindshift Guide to Digital Games and Learning.  I haven't read it yet, but look forward to experiencing his advice.

What do you think about these points?  Please provide a third-leg to our discussion.

Z