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Tech Learning : The State of STEM
Interesting article in Tech & Learning about STEM. Describes Obama's "Educate to Innovate" and STEM's Report Card which is a report card that says less than 1/2 of respondents have a STEM program in their schools. Discusses future of STEM.
Pages
Friday, March 15, 2013
Learning Makes a Difference 03/15/2013
Sunday, March 03, 2013
Using Digital Learning to Promote Deeper Thinking
Digital Learning is NOT about computers.
Digital learning IS about incorporating the new access to information and tools that is available through technology. This increased access provides learners with an opportunity to make learning meaningful. It enables them to feel as though they are integral in the learning process.
GettingSmart.com has created the infographic below to demonstrate how a variety of tools create opportunities for students to become involved in deeper learning.
Getting Smart also has released a 28-page report of How Digital Learning Contributes to Deeper Learning. This report is downloadable and it is FILLED with suggestions and resources for making learning meaningful to students. This is a MUST READ report for educators who want to make learning more than memorizing facts.
Digital learning IS about incorporating the new access to information and tools that is available through technology. This increased access provides learners with an opportunity to make learning meaningful. It enables them to feel as though they are integral in the learning process.
GettingSmart.com has created the infographic below to demonstrate how a variety of tools create opportunities for students to become involved in deeper learning.
Getting Smart also has released a 28-page report of How Digital Learning Contributes to Deeper Learning. This report is downloadable and it is FILLED with suggestions and resources for making learning meaningful to students. This is a MUST READ report for educators who want to make learning more than memorizing facts.
Related articles
Monday, February 18, 2013
Second Life: Another Perspective on Virtual Reality
Creating an
account is the first step in exploring Second Life. It is simple to create your
account and define yourself with an avatar. You can begin by exploring the many
lands that populate Second Life for free. Later you may want to create your own
space by buying a plot of land for a minimal cost. You can create your own land
of imagination and elaborate your dreams in ways that can only be explained
through experience.
Second Life is
actively used in education. It is estimated that as many as 300 higher
education organizations teach courses or conduct research in Second Life. Here
is a directory of academic organizations who have a
presence. Eighth grade through twelfth
grade schools had a presence in Second Life until 2011 when Linden closed the Teen
Second Life Grid.
Innovative
technology has been integrated to the training sessions in many of the
companies and organizations. Companies use Second Life for product demos,
virtual fairs, or 3D presentation of
data. Virtual training can be presented in a gaming format. Virtual learning
environments can be enriched with embedded Youtube videos, slide shows, and
even links to websites outside of Second Life.
Want to get started? Here is a blog posting giving step-by-step
instructions on creating an account in Second Life: http://goo.gl/nBL1Z
- Second Life in Higher Education
- Second Life Language Learning Video
- Science Learning Opportunities in Second Life
Wednesday, January 30, 2013
Student-Centered Online Learning?
Student-Centered Online Learning? Is it possible?
This is one thing that I have been having problems with in my online learning classes. Years ago, I was teaching online though Adobe Connect and some other video conferencing tools but I was unsatisfied. I wanted all of us to be able to see each other online, but we just didn't have the bandwidth. I would complain to our technical gurus but they just reminded me of the laws of physics that limited the amount of data that could be shoved through a digital hose at one time.
So, I began to teach online like the rest of the professors where the students watched me and then responded by typing their comments in the chat box (see lower left box above.) The problem was that it was too ME-centered. Yes, some of you may have just dropped your gum hearing me say that, but learning isn't about the teacher talking. It is about the students interacting in the process of discovering new ideas.
Anyway, this is the way that I have been using video conferencing as a teaching tool for the past couple of years and it has been less than rewarding. I would talk and students would type. I was proud of my ability to read the scrolling written discussion as I spoke and incorporating it into my talk without a stutter. It just didn't have the interaction that I typically have in a face-to-face classroom.
Last semester I was teaching my Selection and Integration of Instructional Technologies course to our Instructional Technology Masters students. One of the assignments involves small groups of students finding journal articles that relate to our study module. They lead online written discussions about the articles but then they also have to lead a video-conferenced discussion as well. This process involves these students using their webcams to show their likenesses and then leading the discussion. Please note, I (Dr. Z) turn off my webcam AND mute my microphone so that I have no input into the discussion except for an occasional text message telling them that we need to "move on."
I LOVED this!!!! This is the way it SHOULD be!!!! Students are sharing their ideas and leading the discussion. They are taking control of their own learning and I am sitting at the side guiding the process in a forwardly direction - whatever that may mean.
SOOOOOOOO, I am teaching my Selection and Integration class again this semester. I have been talking and the students have been typing in the notes section. We haven't begun the Articles assignment yet, but I wanted to get the students more involved tonight. The question was - How?
I begin each class (before we begin recording) by verbally greeting each student. I expect them to respond verbally. I even ask them to use their webcam when available, but they seem a little shy for that. Tonight, we were discussing the definition of Literacy and New Literacies. I began the discussion but asked students to use their webcams when they responded. It was slow at first, but most of them allowed us to see them as they spoke. I shared the screen with them for while, but eventually turned it off and the light "only shone on them." I spoke to provide some direction occasionally, but found that just sitting quietly when students weren't talking was quite successful because teachers can't stand "Dead Air" and they rush to fill the void.
As class proceeded, the students took over. See the screenshot ↑↑↑↑↑ UP THERE ↑↑↑↑↑ The students are in charge and Dr. Z is no where to be seen. HOOORAY!!!
It was a successful evening and I look forward to our future discussions. Many of the students mentioned that they enjoyed the process and looked forward to doing it next week and in the future.
I believe that this is a significant step in my journey to make my online courses more student-centered. Online learning is not necessarily 21st century learning. It can be just as 19th century as boring lectures in the flesh only they can do more damage across a larger stretch of land. =-)
The key is in the pedagogical design that places students at the center of their learning experiences.
What do you do to help your students take control of their learning in your online courses?
Z
Related articles
Saturday, January 26, 2013
EduCon 2.5 in Philly this Weekend!!!
Here are the guiding principles behind EduCon
- Our schools must be inquiry-driven, thoughtful and empowering for all members.
- Our schools must be about co-creating — together with our students — the 21st Century Citizen.
- Technology must serve pedagogy, not the other way around.
- Technology must enable students to research, create, communicate, and collaborate.
- Learning can — and must — be networked.
You can see the schedule of presentations down the right side of the page.
Wish I was there, but instead I can watch the conversations through live streaming video. You can TOOO!
- You have to begin by signing up and creating a profile. http://educonphilly.org/
register - Go to the Conversations and find ones that interest you. http://educonphilly.org/conversations
- You just need to select the conversation and then sign-in.
- The list of conversations look appetizing and the people presenting them are leaders in our field. These aren't lectures, they are interactive sessions with attendees discussing ideas and the presenters facilitating discussion.
- You can watch it occur as it happens because they are using YouTube Broadcast to stream the presentations. The greatest part is that if you miss a session, the session is posted immediately for your enjoyment.
You can also follow some of the happenings through Twitter using #educon
This is a MUST experience.
Good luck and enjoy your first Virtual conference.
Saturday, January 05, 2013
End of the Semester Humor
Does this sound like your interaction with some students?
Brittany and her professor discuss her success in class.
Another student complains about his grade.
Hope you had a good semester.
Z
Brittany and her professor discuss her success in class.
Another student complains about his grade.
Hope you had a good semester.
Z
Wednesday, December 26, 2012
Your Class Might be Learner-Centric If . . . (a work in progress)
flickr.com/superkimbo |
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I woke up this morning thinking about learner-centric learning environments. Hmmm, is that dedication or distraction if you dream about 21st century learning?
Anyway, I had the opening phrase "Your class might be learner-centric if . . . " on my lips when I awoke. I am interested in making a conscious effort to make my courses learner-centric.
Many of my activities and my teaching philosophy tends to be learner-centric, but I want to finding a set of guidelines that I could use in refining my courses.
So I began my search for such a list and composited the list below. This is a work in progress, so please provide me with feedback or your ideas about the list.
Please note that I have stated that your class MIGHT be learner-centric if it has these characteristics. A learner-centered learning environment is more than a few characteristics. It is an overall learning experience that can be created when these characteristics are present.
Add your ideas to the comment section down below.
Your class might be learner-centric if: (apologies to Jeff Foxworthy . . . )
- · Your students talk more then you do in class.
- · Your students are working harder than you.
- · Your students are explicitly learning the required thinking skills for mastering material in the discipline.
- · Your students are reflecting, analyzing and critiquing what they are learning and how they are learning it.
- · Your students have some choice about which assignments they complete.
- · Your students help create the assessment criteria/rubrics.
- · Your students are collaborating as learning communities.
- · You share the learning commitment with your students.
- · You and your students see learning individually and collectively as the goal of education.
- · Your students demonstrate their knowledge in unique ways.
- · Your students are actively engaged in individual and group learning activities.
What do you have to add?
Monday, November 26, 2012
Steve Jobs: Self-Proclaimed Hippie
Steve Jobs was one of the most fascinating people of the 20th century. He was a visionary, marketeer, designer, and self-proclaimed hippie (see the end of the video.)
I just wanted to share with any Jobs-Heads out there that last night I found a 1995 video, Steve Jobs: The Lost Interview, on Netflix.
It was terrific!!!!!
This 72-minute video takes place when Jobs wasn't employed by Apple. He had been released from employment by John Scully and was running his new computer company, Next.
I found the video absolutely fascinating. Jobs talked about using a computer when he was 10 years old. He led us through his whole developmental process from creating a "blue box" to creating and marketing the Macintosh. The greatest part of this video is that it provides insight into how Jobs thought and what he valued.
Robert X. Cringley led this 1995 interview. I have been a big fan of Cringley as well since the early 80s.
Hope you enjoy this video. Tell me what you think.
Z
Related articles
Monday, October 15, 2012
ITEC 2012 - Making Learning Meaningful for Millennials
What does it take to make learning meaningful to your millennial students? That is a question that should be on the lips of every teacher. The first thing that we need to do is realize that our students today are different than 20 years ago. They are the first generation to live in a digital world. They may not be born knowing how to use technology, but they have grown up in a world where digital answers have always been available and they are Digitally Comfy (as Angela Maiers says).
I am sharing my ideas about how we can best address our Millennial students' needs.
Here are the resources that I used. If you have additional ideas, please add them to the comments below.
We will be using technology throughout the session so let's begin with some of the opening resources:
Twitter: For all of your twitterers, we will use the hashtag #ITEC12 When you tweet, include this hashtag in your message so that others can follow along with your ideas. If you want to see what was posted, click on the hashtag above and it will show you what has been said.
Collaborative Notes: We will also use collaborative note taking. This is a Google Doc that I created and then laid open to the world for anyone to edit. This means that you just need to click on the link and it will take you to the Google Doc. You don't have to sign-in but you will be known as Anonymous???? when you are entering your ideas. Go ahead and add the info that you find interesting. Go out on the web during the session to find relevant information and add the link to the document.
The Slideshow
Who Are the Millenials?
- Millennials: Confident. Connected. Open to Change. (article)
- Echo Boomers by L. Franklin Devine (video)
- Emerging Instructional Technologies
- Educational Technology and Design
- Seminar: How to Write a Grad Paper
- Selection and Integration of Instructional Technologies
- Boomers, Gen-Xers and Millennials: Understanding the New Students. (article)
- Is Google Making Us Stupid? (article)
- How Millennial Are You? (quiz)
- Networked Student (video)
I hope that this session has been useful for you. I am interested in knowing if and how this material has been useful to you. I hope that this is just the beginning of our connection.
- Subscribe to this blog using the link in the right column.
- Send me an email at zeitz@uni.edu
- Follow me on Twitter: @zeitz
- Let's visit on Skype: leighzeitz
Z
Sunday, August 26, 2012
What Happens when Reality Meets Virtual
I just had to share this video with you. Here we have a real frog trying to get lunch off of the screen of a smart phone.
What do you think? Do you see any metaphors for life? Z
What do you think? Do you see any metaphors for life? Z
Tuesday, August 21, 2012
What Characteristics Make 4th Graders Better Keyboarders?
Keyboard (Photo credit: Shane Pope) |
The Almena Method is quite different than your typical instructional model for teaching keyboarding. Almena King developed a series of mnemonic jingles to assist in remembering the key locations. Once you learn these jingles, you can recite them to yourself to assist in remembering the location of the keys.
Here is a brief overview of the study we completed:
This study evaluated the effectiveness of using the Almena Method keyboarding program to teach keyboarding to 4th grade students. Student characteristics were evaluated to measure their effect upon keyboarding success. Seventeen Midwestern fourth grade students of a mixed sex, ethnic, and racial orientation were involved. Students participated in daily 30-minute keyboarding lessons for four weeks. Students tended to increase their keyboarding speed by 33%. Age affected success inversely. Younger students improved more than older students. Music Experience had a positive effect. Larger-handed students improved the most. Gender and athletic background didn’t have any effect upon keyboarding improvement. Specific student characteristics can make a significant difference in student success.
Here is a link to the complete article: http://www.iste.org/Store/Product.aspx?ID=2523
What do you think? Does it fit your experience in student keyboarding?
Z
Related articles
- Have Kids Learn to Touch Type Before Going Back to School
- Amazing Computer Key Boards
- Top 10 reasons why an iPad won't replace a laptop for your college student
- SnapKeys calls for the death of the QWERTY keyboard
- Gates: Tablets in the classroom won't work without keyboard
- Is Keyboarding in the Classroom Archaic?
Thursday, August 16, 2012
Tools for Educators to Collect Their Own Resources
blog.empowerlms.com |
Readings, Watchings, Listenings and Doings
As a professor of at the University of Northern Iowa, I don't use textbooks. I have a great deal of resources that my students must master, but they are collected in a textbook. I make my resources available through the Web. Millennials or Generation Y students are not readers of books. They read a great deal but it is from screens for the most part. This group of learners (ages 11 - 28) work best with multimedia. This means that they want to read, but they also want to learn information and build knowledge through video, audio and activity. They want to learn through interactive learning opportunities even as they encounter new information.
Readings: This is where we refer the students to online articles and readings in books (printed and digital). Just because we don't use textbooks, it doesn't mean that we don't use books. There is a plethora of information contained in the tombs of knowledge.
Watchings: Our students are visual learners. Pew Internet estimates that Millennials spend as much as 8 hours on the screen per day (watching TV, viewing YouTube, interacting with Facebook, etc.) This is the medium that is best for their learning. I find many videos on YouTube, Edutopia, and other subject-specific sites. Sometimes I create my own videos to address specific needs.
Listenings: Our students are multi-taskers. Many of them are audio learners. I have found a wealth of resources in podcasts. The beauty of using podcasts is that they can listen to them on their iPods/phones while they are walking or working out. Learning while jogging may seem blasphemous, but we are learning all the time. Why not include coursework in the informal learning that we do.
Doings: Learning by doing is the key to meaningful learning. This is where you ask your students to complete surveys, research information, collaborate in problem solving, or ???? Your actual assignments will probably be described on a different online page, but these are usually the activities that lead to the final assignments.
Here are some examples of my RWLDs:
- Coordinating Technology in an Educational Setting
- Emerging Instructional Technologies
- Selection and Integration of Instructional Technologies
- Seminar: Writing a Graduate Paper
While using a blog is a simple way to organize resources for class, Apple has released the iBooks Author. This is a much more sophisticated but simple way to create your multimedia RWLDs or Digital textbook. The best thing is that as we create these books for our courses we can share them with other educators.
Apple has not only created a tool that enables us to create our own digital textbooks, they have also developed/uncovered a market in digital books. They are using their iTunes store to distribute their interactive books for $15 each.
How does this fit our quest into using digital books in your class? What do you see as how you can make your resources more interactive and instructional for your students?
Related articles
Wednesday, August 15, 2012
Bye Bye Textbooks . . .Hello eBooks.
Here is an infographic that shares some interesting facts about how digital textbooks are taking the place of printed textbooks. It is the first of a series of postings I will be providing about what is happening with textbooks.
Courtesy of: Schools.com
Courtesy of: Schools.com
Related articles
- Some universities require students to use e-textbooks
- Amazon goes for college crowd, launches rental textbook service
- The Banality of Textbooks
- Digital Textbooks: Are They Better Learning Tools?
- Kno Starts Renting K-12 E-Textbooks
- Majority of College Students Prefer Buying Used Textbooks over Renting Textbooks, New Textbooks and eTextbooks, Says New Study from Textbooks.com
Thursday, July 12, 2012
iGoogle Disappears November 1, 2013
On June 8, Google announced that it would discontinue iGoogle on November 1, 2013.
The official explanation for this change in marketing strategy is "with modern apps that run on platforms like Chrome and Android, the need for iGoogle has eroded over time."
What this really means is that Google has decided that they cannot successfully market ads to a personalized environment like iGoogle.
What will be in its place? Google probably envisions Google+ working as a handy substitute. It doesn't have the features of iGoogle, but this means that Google will be updating Google+ to try to accommodate the present needs for an RSS resource center.
Many users who use iGoogle as their start page, may replace their control dashboard with NetVibes or ProtoPage or My Yahoo. Lifehacker provides a good comparison of NetVibes and ProtoPage in a recent posting. They are both great alternatives for iGoogle.
If you are interested in making Google+ your homepage, I believe this would be in the form of a Business Page. There are already tutorials about making Google+ Business Pages like this one from Social Media Examiner. It could be pretty cool to have your Google Hangout on your opening page. You could talk with your friends at the beginning of your day and never get any work done. =-)
NOTE: Discontinuing iGoogle is part of a "spring cleaning" that Google appears to be doing to streamline their offerings.
What will you do? Do you use iGoogle to organize your PLN or with your students' PLNs? How will this affect how you organize your life?
Z
Related articles
The official explanation for this change in marketing strategy is "with modern apps that run on platforms like Chrome and Android, the need for iGoogle has eroded over time."
What this really means is that Google has decided that they cannot successfully market ads to a personalized environment like iGoogle.
What will be in its place? Google probably envisions Google+ working as a handy substitute. It doesn't have the features of iGoogle, but this means that Google will be updating Google+ to try to accommodate the present needs for an RSS resource center.
Many users who use iGoogle as their start page, may replace their control dashboard with NetVibes or ProtoPage or My Yahoo. Lifehacker provides a good comparison of NetVibes and ProtoPage in a recent posting. They are both great alternatives for iGoogle.
If you are interested in making Google+ your homepage, I believe this would be in the form of a Business Page. There are already tutorials about making Google+ Business Pages like this one from Social Media Examiner. It could be pretty cool to have your Google Hangout on your opening page. You could talk with your friends at the beginning of your day and never get any work done. =-)
NOTE: Discontinuing iGoogle is part of a "spring cleaning" that Google appears to be doing to streamline their offerings.
- Google Video stopped accepting submissions in 2009 and will be moving its content to YouTube soon. if you have videos on Google Video you have until August 20 to migrate, delete or download your content.
- Google Mini, a customizable search engine, will discontinue at the end of July.
- Google Talk Chatback has been discontinued.
What will you do? Do you use iGoogle to organize your PLN or with your students' PLNs? How will this affect how you organize your life?
Z
Related articles
Are These REALLY Things That Will be Obsolete by 2020?
Flickr: Corey Leopold |
In short, here is a list of the soon-to-be-gone stuff. You can review the list and then read a more in-depth discussion of them at his blog. Provide your opinion in the comments section.
Will these be gone in 2020?
- Desks,
- Language Labs,
- Computers,
- Homework,
- The Role of Standardized Tests in College Admissions,
- Differentiated Instruction as a Sign of Distinguished Teachers,
- Fear of Wikipedia,
- Paperbacks,
- Attendance Offices,
- Lockers,
- I.T. Departments,
- Centralized Institutions,
- Organization of Educational Services by Grade,
- Education Schools that Fail to Integrate Technology,
- Paid/Outsourced Professional Development,
- Current Curricular Norms,
- Parent-Teacher Conference Night,
- Typical Cafeteria Food,
- Outsourced Graphic Design and Web Design,
- High School Algebra 1, and
- Paper - Really?.
Z
UPDATE: Here is an interesting article talking about the Internet of Things and many changes coming in the near future: Are You Ready for These World Changing Technologies in 2018?
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