EdVentures in Technology
teaching, learning and change
July 10, 2007 at 10:19 pm · Filed under EdTech, Higher Education, PSU E-Learning Blog, TechTalk
I’m down in Boston, Mass. and today was day one of Blackboard’s user conference. Steven Leavitt of Freakonomics fame gave the opening keynote and did an admirable job. My takeaway points:
- Incentives matter - For both good and bad. Leavitt opines that anything worth winning is worth cheating for. My take, if you make the prize too valuable, people will often cheat to obtain it (he sites the example of tax returns prior to the requirement to include your dependents SSNs and the overnight “disappearance” of over 7 million children that tax year). But also, folks like to feel like they are valued and therefore it is important to ensure that the incentive is relative to the task.
- One small idea can tip the balance - In the example above, a single IRS employee made the suggestion twice over a period of years. His suggestion, once acted upon, has meant an over 30 billion dollar increase in revenue. You never know when your one simple suggestion could have such an enormous impact, so act!
- Education is ripe for a revolution - We’re still trying to teach the same way we did 40 years ago. The corporate world has evolved, why hasn’t education? By the way, Leavitt also mentioned that the idea of tenure in the world of higher education has to go because it no longer serves it’s original purpose and now simply ensures that mediocrity is rewarded. I’m sure that will stir the pot with educators but perhaps he has a point.
I just finished listening to Tapscott’s Wikinomics, perhaps I should now add Leavitt’s Freakonomics to my list.
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July 5, 2007 at 8:00 am · Filed under PELI, Teaching & Learning
Well, it sounds as if everything went well last night with the arrival of our 15 participants in this year’s Pakistani Educational Leadership Institute, or PELI for short. Although their departure wasn’t all that smooth as it appears that they were caught up in the chaos surrounding a siege on a mosque. Apparently the shooting started while they were leaving for the airport and they just made the airport before the curfew went into effect! Our ITA colleague in Pakistan, Beena Raza, is still sorting through some things back there.
Their transit took them through Heathrow and even with all the recent trouble over there, it appears that it didn’t slow them down as they made it into Logan Airport around 8:30 p.m. EST last evening. As I type, they are probably still making up for lost sleep and aren’t due to make an appearance until our brunch around 11 a.m. local.
The focus of this year’s Institute is on assessment. As this is the fourth year that the Institute has run, it was felt that it was time to bring over some of the senior educational leadership and close the loop on our prior work. I’ll keep folks apprised of our progress as the next three weeks unfold.
[tags]peli, peli2007, pakistan, education, leadership[/tags]
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April 10, 2007 at 12:30 pm · Filed under Diigo Links
K1-2 Online Conference 2007
- 8-27 October 2007
Call for Proposals will open soon. - post by edventures
E-Learn 2007
- 15-19 October 2007: Quebec City, Canada
Call for proposals due: 26 April 2007 - post by edventures
SITE 2007 Conference, Society for Information Technology and Teacher Education
- 3-7 March 2008: Las Vegas, NV
Call for Proposals to be announced - post by edventures
ED-MEDIA 2007
- 25-29 June 2007: Vancouver, CA
- post by edventures
Open Education 2007 Conference
- 26-28 September 2007
Proposals due 18 May 2007Sponsored by the Center for Open and Sustainable Learning (COSL)
- post by edventures
Teaching with Technology Idea Exchange 2007
[tags]conference, professional-development, pd, education, technology, teaching, learning[/tags]
April 6, 2007 at 11:59 pm · Filed under Twitter Log
- @jutecht: Mornin’ Jeff #
- @jutecht: I’m still recovering from shoveling nasty wet snow - wishing I was somewhere warmer right now
#
- Hitting the rack and looking for inspiration somewhere… #
- Working with a faculty member on a Student Response System pilot. Anyone else using these and have an opinion? #
- Back in my office #
- Working on a review of PacktPub’s Moodle - A complete guide to successful learning using Moodle. #
- @jefflebow: Wish I could head down there with you, PodcampNYC sounds like a blast. #
- @elsua: The problem with snow days is that work in addition to snow accumulate!!! Now I’m shoveling virtual snow
#
- @elsua: I’m ready for spring! Waiting for the rock to dry so I can go climbing! #
- Ok, so the new My Google Maps tool - ROCKS! Here’s to the death of boring history classes! #
- Check out the C-Net vid - http://urltea.com/3xu #
- @elsua: So where are you at geographically these days? #
- Filling out course proposal for #
- Grad course: Teaching & Learning in the 21st-century classroom #
- Heading to lunch #
- Wes Fryer’s podcasts 142 and 143 have thoughts spinning about evolving the model of education we use - it’s broken - how do we fix it? #
- Education leapfrog - abandon an evolution in education in favor of a radical leap forward. #
- Think cell phones in developing nations, they bypassed landlines almost entirely. #
- Education leapfrog - abandon an evolution in education in favor of a radical leap forward. #
- Testing VoIP on campus #
- Turned in winterim course proposal, yea! #
- Dreamhost mySQL FTL? #
- Dreamhost mySQL back #
- Upgrading my WP blogs to 2.1.3 #
- @brlamb, @dnorman: Yah, brag about shorts, we got nuthin’ but snow here.
http://flickr.com/photos/63586135@N00/448631253 #
- Correct snowfall pic link: http://flickr.com/photos/edventures/448631253/ #
- Heading home to celebrate Hunter’s 7th & Ethan’s 3rd birthdays tomorrow. Yup, you got it same day three years apart. #
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April 4, 2007 at 12:30 pm · Filed under Diigo Links
Being the good doobie that I am, I decided it was time to take action when my wife Michelle started telling me how much she would love to enrich her classes by integrating more technology in the form of microscopes that can take digital images and connect to a projector, tablet PCs for drawing and developing in real-time with her class, perhaps even an Integrated White Board. So I began searching through back issues of E-School News and looking online for grants that we could apply for as funding in her district is pretty much non-existent. The links that follow are the superficial ones I found on short notice and some deadlines have already passed but I included them as they appeared to be annual grants and so it would give me time to prep for the next round.
Please feel free to contribute your own links if there are grants out there that you are aware of. Specifically, the grants should support science, education and technology through the purchase of appropriate technology (hardware, software, subscriptions to online resources) and/or training.
Some of the links below aren’t grants but rather awards for exemplary teaching. I’m biased but I think my wife rocks when she tells me about some of the wild projects and activities she does in her classes to get them excited about science. So now I just have to translate that into something that an award committee would value. I welcome suggestions as I am a n00b when it comes to grantwriting and awards!
Enjoy!
Google Directory - Reference > Education > K through 12 > Supplemental Funding > Grants
- An interesting compilation, Google-style, of supplemental funding in the form of grants for K12 schools.
- post by edventures
NSTA - SeaWorld/Busch Gardens Environmental Educator of the Year
- Award: $5000 and all expense paid trip to NSTA National Conference
- post by edventures
SeaWorld Environmental Excellence Awards
NSTA - DCAT Making a Difference Award
- Recognizing excellence in science programs. $2500 to enhance the program. Award includes attendance for winner at the NSTA National Conference. Deadline 15 Oct 2007
- post by edventures
NSTA - Ciba Exemplary Middle Level and High School Science Teaching Award
- Award for Middle- and High-school teachers demonstrating exemplary science teaching. $2000 award, 1-yr NSTA membership, $500 to attend NSTA National Conference. Deadline 15 Oct 2007
- post by edventures
NSTA - Sylvia Shugrue Award for Elementary School Teachers
- $1000 award and up to $500 to defray cost of attending the NSTA National Conference on Science Education. Deadline 15 Oct 2007
- post by edventures
HP US Philanthropy: K-12 HP Technology for Teaching grant
- HP grant including:
- Tablet PC
- Digital projector
- Digital camera
- Printer/scanner/copier (PSC)
- $500 stipend
- Professional development opportunities
- post by edventures
NSTA - Awards, Grants & Competitions
US NSF - National Science Foundation
National Endowment for the Humanities Grants
Verizon Foundation
- Education and literacy grants for K-12 and non-profit organizations.
- post by edventures
Presidential Awards for Mathematics and Science Teaching
- NSTA grant for excellence in science teaching. Deadline 18 January
- post by edventures
[tags]grants, science, education, awards, teaching [/tags]
March 26, 2007 at 8:30 am · Filed under Diigo Links
Dozens in GOP Turn Against Bush’s Prized ‘No Child’ Act - washingtonpost.com
- A glimmer of hope on the horizon? Legislation presented in both the Senate (S.893) and House (HR1539) intends to free states from the testing and curricular restrictions imposed by No Child Left Behind.
- post by edventures
No Child Left Behind - ED.gov
- The grand-pappy of all inconceived education legislation.
- post by edventures
HR1539: Academic Partnerships Lead Us to Success Act (A-PLUS)
S.893: Academic Partnerships Lead Us to Success Act (A-PLUS)
[tags]nclb, aplus, legislation, education[/tags]
March 25, 2007 at 8:44 pm · Filed under Teaching & Learning
The Washington Post had an article about Republicans turning against President Bush’s “signature domestic achievement” No Child Left Behind. So why haven’t we heard more about this?
Why the sea change? Apparently some legislators have been paying attention to the carnage left in the wake of this ill-conceived plan.
Once-innovative public schools have increasingly become captive to federal testing mandates, jettisoning education programs not covered by those tests, siphoning funds from programs for the talented and gifted, and discouraging creativity, critics say.
Hmm, ya think?
Apparently the frustration experienced by those in education has risen to the level of attention as two bills, one in the Senate and the other in the House, are being proposed which would allow states to opt out of the mandated testing and curriculum standards. Is there a glimmer of hope on the horizon?
If you are interested, check out House Resolution 1539, Academic Partnerships Lead Us to Success Act of 2007 (A-PLUS), and Senator Jim DeMint’s Senate version of A-PLUS, S.893, for more information.
[tags]nclb, legislation, education[/tags]
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February 23, 2007 at 8:35 am · Filed under EdTech
This came in from our state EdTech listserv, and I thought I would share it for those who are interested in advocating for the restoration of EETT funding:
The Administration recently released its proposed FY08 Budget which calls for the total elimination of critical education technology funding. Specifically, the Administration’s Proposed FY08 Budget would zero out the Enhancing Education Through Technology (EETT) program. Combined, the proposed FY08 budget cuts education technology by $290 million alone.
Before the House and Senate put forth their budget proposals, send a letter to your congressional representatives asking them to save EETT. CLICK HERE to enter your zip code and send a letter with this important message.
These proposed cuts come at the same time that the Administration and Congress are concerned that America’s students lack sufficient academic background in math and science, imperiling their personal and the nation’s competitiveness in the global economy. Denying education technology knowledge and tools to America’s k12 students and teachers not only does not advance that agenda, but undermines it.
With the House and the Senate working on a budget resolution over the next five weeks, now is the time for members of Congress to hear from you that education technology funding must be restored. Now is the time to make your voice heard in support of the EETT program.
CLICK HERE to enter your zip code to send your letter to the House and Senate asking to save EETT and to fund it at $700 million.
Every letter generated during this crucial time will make a difference. Even if you already took action a few months ago, please send another letter and spread the word to your friends, family and coworkers. Your voice matters!
Tell Congress to KEEP AMERICA COMPETITIVE and save funding for EETT!
ETAN updates are brought to you by the Consortium for School Networking and the International Society for Technology in Education
[tags]eett, education, technology, legislation [/tags]
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February 10, 2007 at 11:48 am · Filed under Diigo Links
-
- Another voice for a sea change in the praxis of higher education, this article has some pertinent insights into how those of us in higher education must begin to address and challenge some of the older paradigms which are inhibiting our ability to transform our praxis into one more suitable to the 21st century. - post by edventures
- A great article on internet-based teaching and learning resources by Bryan Alexander, Research Director for the National Institute for Technology and Liberal Education. It touches upon practical uses of blogs, wikis, podcasts and virtual worlds in addition to social imaging. One topic that I think would be of particular interest to librarians is that of social bookmarking – using online tools to create and share dynamic lists of readings or resources that might be specific to their area of specialization. - post by edventures
EDUCAUSE Quarterly | Volume 30 Number 1 2007 Annotated
suppose for a moment that it’s the 1930s…”
…You’re the captain of the luxury liner, the Queen Mary, steaming across the Atlantic to New York. Suddenly, you hear a low drone. You look up and see a Pan Am Clipper, winging its way from London to New York. Would you realize that the age of steamships is about to end? Would the steamship company understand that its business actually is transportation, not ships?
Students offer Net advice to colleges | CNET News.com
ALA | Using technology in teaching and learning
The Creative Educator
February 9, 2007 at 1:29 pm · Filed under Higher Education, Teaching & Learning
The following post was sent to me by a colleague who had found it by way of a Google alert for electronic portfolio. The post is apparently from a faculty member, although the author is anonymous. While I didn’t agree with everything the author wrote and find the tone rather antagonistic, many of the arguments (stripped of their vitriol) spoke to me as I struggle with where higher education is today and where it needs to go to better serve the needs of our learners as opposed to simply continuing the aged paradigms of a time long gone.
The author recognizes that there is blame to share, beginning with the trustees and continuing through the administrative ranks. But who does the author feels is at the root of the problem?
I blame most of all the professoriate. This is who has let me and the world’s entire educational enterprise down. They are supposed to be intelligent and wise and to know better. In the classroom, they act like they know it all, so why aren’t they actualizing that comprehensive vision outside the classroom?
The post is lengthy and can be found in its entirety here. But I’ve culled out some of the nuggets that held meaning for me:
The information revolution will not eliminate the teacher, merely liberate him to become a better teacher. The only cost to the teacher will be preparation. She must become fit to teach, able to use the wonderful new tools that are transforming our discipline.
People need high touch as much as they do high tech. They always will. While computers will continue to get better and better at freeing the classroom teacher from the routine elements of instruction, they will never be able to inspire.
Teachers must abandon their role as the definitive source of information and become facilitators instead. Their new role is not to instruct but to guide discovery.
The whole purpose of the teacher is not to posture as an authority but
to share knowledge and understanding, to empower students.
All organizations, all humans , are resistant to change. Our teachers teach the way they are taught, because that is what they know. We cling to what is safe and familiar.
As much as I found the piece engaging, in as much as it echoes some of my own personal beliefs about the state of the educational machine. However, given my current advocacy for digital literacy and critical analysis in the age of Google, I wanted to apply a bit of triangulation to assess bias and authority. As I did, a couple of things stood out and concern me about how this piece would be received by others.
- The author is anonymous. Although the author espouses a desire for educational reform, civil discourse, etc. the choice of anonymity seems to me contradictory. While I would like to believe that this was written by a peer to the professoriate that he rails against, the lack of background diminishes the argument. The About page presents an almost farce-like face to the blog.
- In reading the authors earlier posts, while they are certainly thought provoking, the tone and language suggests a biased perspective as opposed to a global one.
But even without the external validation, and although as I stated earlier I didn’t necessarily agree with everything the author wrote, much of the perspective centering around the evolving nature of information, knowledge and learning has a ring of currency and truth.
[tags]education, highered, college, university, professor [/tags]
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