Teach with Tech
This blog is the sounding board for the Instructional Consulting office in the School of Education at Indiana University in Bloomington.
They do a really good job at addressing some of the newer technologies and are emphasizing Blogging and Podcasting in Education at this time.
They offer some Podcasts that are available through iTunes or via a link on the blog. These are high quality and getting better each time.
I recommend that you check them out.
Saturday, February 18, 2006
Wednesday, February 8, 2006
My Teacher Took My iPod
Technology must be appreciated on a higher level when it takes on the role of muse (My Teacher Took My iPod).
I have to laugh as a technologist, a teacher, and teacher trainer. This speaks to me on so many levels :)
I have to laugh as a technologist, a teacher, and teacher trainer. This speaks to me on so many levels :)
Friday, February 3, 2006
CNN.com - Exam measures students' 'information literacy' - Feb 3, 2006
CNN.com - Exam measures students' 'information literacy' - Feb 3, 2006
Great! I think that this is a good "assessment" for schools to have.....wait..... "the nonprofit Educational Testing Service..."
Forget it.
ETS = money-maker. I put no faith in this. I wouldn't mind checking it out though.
----------------------
update:
Here is the ETS informational site for the ICT Assessment (http://www.ets.org/ictliteracy). If the demo is any indication this assessment simply sucks. What is this really measuring? When are people going to learn that some abilities should not be measured through standardized assessments.
I have no doubt that there are abilities that "information literate" people possess. There are likely even concepts that they have mastered that they can apply across contexts (represented mostly by different softwares). However, these concepts are inextricably linked to the interface (software) being used. Though, information literate people may be able to move from one software to another with very little effort, it really depends on how standardized the interfaces are. That is where this assessment drops the ball.
ETS has equated information literacy, in this regard, to the ability to use standardized interfaces (see the "search" example). It seems to assume that information literacy exists independantly from information sources (media).
Now, I will, reluctantly, report on the positives. ETS is great at getting at concepts and they are getting better at developing scenarios to get at these concepts. These scenarios do help to assess some of the abilities and concepts that information literate people do possess. In the very same "search" example, the test does throw in some hurdles that test the ability of test-takers to adjust their search strategy in order to find relevant information. This is key.
I could write forever on this topic, but I should probably get back to work....processing information.
Great! I think that this is a good "assessment" for schools to have.....wait..... "the nonprofit Educational Testing Service..."
Forget it.
ETS = money-maker. I put no faith in this. I wouldn't mind checking it out though.
----------------------
update:
Here is the ETS informational site for the ICT Assessment (http://www.ets.org/ictliteracy). If the demo is any indication this assessment simply sucks. What is this really measuring? When are people going to learn that some abilities should not be measured through standardized assessments.
I have no doubt that there are abilities that "information literate" people possess. There are likely even concepts that they have mastered that they can apply across contexts (represented mostly by different softwares). However, these concepts are inextricably linked to the interface (software) being used. Though, information literate people may be able to move from one software to another with very little effort, it really depends on how standardized the interfaces are. That is where this assessment drops the ball.
ETS has equated information literacy, in this regard, to the ability to use standardized interfaces (see the "search" example). It seems to assume that information literacy exists independantly from information sources (media).
Now, I will, reluctantly, report on the positives. ETS is great at getting at concepts and they are getting better at developing scenarios to get at these concepts. These scenarios do help to assess some of the abilities and concepts that information literate people do possess. In the very same "search" example, the test does throw in some hurdles that test the ability of test-takers to adjust their search strategy in order to find relevant information. This is key.
I could write forever on this topic, but I should probably get back to work....processing information.
Wednesday, February 1, 2006
englishdroid.com
englishdroid.com
I don't remember who suggested this site, but thank you, thank you, thank you! (they are probably in the blogroll to the right) It has enough content that I'll probably spend months going to it now and again.
If you are defensive about the English teaching profession or your own teaching, don't click on that link above. Please don't do it. Go to Dave's ESL Cafe and laugh at how bad other teachers' lesson plans are :)
Whoever runs this site is a genious and I bow down to you :) Sir or Madam, you are funny and have a unique insight into the profession.
I don't remember who suggested this site, but thank you, thank you, thank you! (they are probably in the blogroll to the right) It has enough content that I'll probably spend months going to it now and again.
If you are defensive about the English teaching profession or your own teaching, don't click on that link above. Please don't do it. Go to Dave's ESL Cafe and laugh at how bad other teachers' lesson plans are :)
Whoever runs this site is a genious and I bow down to you :) Sir or Madam, you are funny and have a unique insight into the profession.
Frappr! - My Frappr
Frappr! - My Frappr
I'm still trying to figure out how to utilize Frappr. The maps are neat, but I'm getting really sick of seeing them everywhere. I've seen them used for online conferences...good use. I've also seen them used for a local discussion forum....bad use. It's better with a geographically distributed group.
I'm not sure what else to do with it. I could upload photos, but why? I've got Gigs of photos on my own gallery site. It would be nice if I could add URLs to that gallery to populate these sites. It would make my life so much easier.
I'm still trying to figure out how to utilize Frappr. The maps are neat, but I'm getting really sick of seeing them everywhere. I've seen them used for online conferences...good use. I've also seen them used for a local discussion forum....bad use. It's better with a geographically distributed group.
I'm not sure what else to do with it. I could upload photos, but why? I've got Gigs of photos on my own gallery site. It would be nice if I could add URLs to that gallery to populate these sites. It would make my life so much easier.
Main Page - Wikibooks, collection of open-content textbooks
Main Page - Wikibooks, collection of open-content textbooks
This is an interesting step in the utilization of Wikis. Wiki Books is a site that allows people to "build" books collectively (ideally). It is also available in a number of languages (I'm sure that translations are not far off, if they don't already exist).
I have to admit that I haven't found any "books" that have been significantly developed yet. However, if Wikipedia is any indication, they are not far off.
APA is going to have to figure out a better way to cite these kind of sources. Maybe instead of author, they could indicate "consensus"?
This is an interesting step in the utilization of Wikis. Wiki Books is a site that allows people to "build" books collectively (ideally). It is also available in a number of languages (I'm sure that translations are not far off, if they don't already exist).
I have to admit that I haven't found any "books" that have been significantly developed yet. However, if Wikipedia is any indication, they are not far off.
APA is going to have to figure out a better way to cite these kind of sources. Maybe instead of author, they could indicate "consensus"?
ARE YOU READY TO "MOODLE"?
LLT Vol9Num2: ARE YOU READY TO "MOODLE"?
I like this review of Moodle. Brandl touches upon a number of the reasons that I like the system. Not only is it open source, it is somewhat easy to install and manage on the admin side and it is easy to learn and use on the instrutor/student side.
I have used it for 3 classes now (one fully in Moodle and 2 using the Moodle Wiki). I have only had one problem with it over the last year and that was really an issue with my hosting service. They updated to a new version of PHP that made my installation of Moodle barf (technical term :) All I had to do was spend about an hour in the Moodle discussion forums and I had everything fixed and ready to go. Gotta love that community.
Indiana Univesity is current using Sakai 2.0 as the basis for its OncourseCL CMS. This system has improved greatly in the last year and I'm sure it will continue to improve in the future. That is not the point, however.
The point is that this system is FAR inferior to Moodle with a vastly bloated administration and development team. It is confusing to use as both an instructor and student. It puts far too much control in the hands of administrators and much too little control in the hands of instructors and students. The model is short-sighted and doomed to failure.
I was once told that anything could be added/fixed in OncourseCL. All I had to do was contact a developer in Michigan who would determine whether it was worthy or not. If it was determined to be worthy, it would be put in a que and addressed in due time. At that pace, I'll be collecting Social Security before my issues are addressed.
Oops, a posting on Moodle became a rant against OncourseCL...go figure :)
I like this review of Moodle. Brandl touches upon a number of the reasons that I like the system. Not only is it open source, it is somewhat easy to install and manage on the admin side and it is easy to learn and use on the instrutor/student side.
I have used it for 3 classes now (one fully in Moodle and 2 using the Moodle Wiki). I have only had one problem with it over the last year and that was really an issue with my hosting service. They updated to a new version of PHP that made my installation of Moodle barf (technical term :) All I had to do was spend about an hour in the Moodle discussion forums and I had everything fixed and ready to go. Gotta love that community.
Indiana Univesity is current using Sakai 2.0 as the basis for its OncourseCL CMS. This system has improved greatly in the last year and I'm sure it will continue to improve in the future. That is not the point, however.
The point is that this system is FAR inferior to Moodle with a vastly bloated administration and development team. It is confusing to use as both an instructor and student. It puts far too much control in the hands of administrators and much too little control in the hands of instructors and students. The model is short-sighted and doomed to failure.
I was once told that anything could be added/fixed in OncourseCL. All I had to do was contact a developer in Michigan who would determine whether it was worthy or not. If it was determined to be worthy, it would be put in a que and addressed in due time. At that pace, I'll be collecting Social Security before my issues are addressed.
Oops, a posting on Moodle became a rant against OncourseCL...go figure :)
The iPod Took My Seat - Los Angeles Times
The iPod Took My Seat - Los Angeles Times
These articles drive me crazy. They say that students don't come to class, because they are getting what they need online. Do they even hear themselves? If the students are getting what they need online, who cares if they come to class.
GOOD professors should either ask what they can do to add value to face-to-face interactions OR whether they can just move their entire class online. Why waste valuable classroom space if it's not necessary?
These are the most dangerous professors. Those who either have the technological savvy to put materials online or have tech support to do so. They fool themselves and others into believing that cutting edge technology is synonymous with cutting edge teaching. They then represent themselves as "in the know" and crusade again these very same technologies when they "don't work."
It's their methods that don't work. The technology works fine. None of those students in the article complained about the technology. However, more than a few complained about their instructors.
I would love it if once, just once, a news article like this one would try to get a balanced perspective.
These articles drive me crazy. They say that students don't come to class, because they are getting what they need online. Do they even hear themselves? If the students are getting what they need online, who cares if they come to class.
GOOD professors should either ask what they can do to add value to face-to-face interactions OR whether they can just move their entire class online. Why waste valuable classroom space if it's not necessary?
These are the most dangerous professors. Those who either have the technological savvy to put materials online or have tech support to do so. They fool themselves and others into believing that cutting edge technology is synonymous with cutting edge teaching. They then represent themselves as "in the know" and crusade again these very same technologies when they "don't work."
It's their methods that don't work. The technology works fine. None of those students in the article complained about the technology. However, more than a few complained about their instructors.
I would love it if once, just once, a news article like this one would try to get a balanced perspective.
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