EdVentures in Technology
teaching, learning and change
January 31, 2008 at 12:30 pm · Filed under Diigo Links
Profs compete for students’ attention | Tech news blog – CNET News.com
tags: attention, digital-native, edtech, learning, multitasking, teaching
2008 Horizon Report (pdf)
tags: 2008, edtech, education, educause, horizon-report, nmc, technology, trends
How Should Colleges Assess And Improve Student Learning? (pdf)
tags: assessment, college, learning, university
Moodle Information | ITRC
tags: lms, lms-project, moodle
Top News – Report looks at schools’ success with Moodle
tags: lms, lms-project, moodle
November 8, 2007 at 12:30 pm · Filed under Diigo Links
GabCast
VoiceThread – Featuring
LibraryThing | EdVentures’ Catalog
Scratch | About Annotated
Scratch is a new programming language that makes it easy to create your
own interactive stories, animations, games, music, and art — and share
your creations on the web.
Scratch is designed to help young people (ages 8 and up) develop 21st century learning skills.
As they create Scratch projects, young people learn important mathematical
and computational ideas, while also gaining a deeper understanding of the process
of design.
That Scratch Is Spreading! « Mr W’s Blogging Great Thing Annotated
Weblogg-ed » From Scotland to Stockton, Learning Scratch Annotated
So I wasn’t there to see it, but Tess and Tucker learned
Scratch this afternoon from Andrew, an 11-year old from “across the pond” from Perth, Scotland, during their weekly Tuesday “
supplementing school” class.
April 27, 2007 at 12:30 pm · Filed under Diigo Links
This edition of Diigo Links is brought to you courtesy of the MIT OpenCourseware Initiative. The following links are courses that I’ve culled that speak to a number of interests I have, particularly in the areas of anthropology/ethnography, digital media and social software.
Enjoy!
MIT OpenCourseWare | Writing and Humanistic Studies | 21W.785 Communicating in Cyberspace, Fall 2003 Annotated
This class covers the analysis, design, implementation and testing of various forms of digital communication based on group collaboration. Students are encouraged to think about the Web and other new digital interactive media not just in terms of technology but also broader issues such as language (verbal and visual), design, information architecture, communication and community. Students work in small groups on a semester-long project of their choice.
MIT OpenCourseWare | Writing and Humanistic Studies | 21W.784 Becoming Digital: Writing About Media Change, Fall 2005 Annotated
The computer and related technologies have invaded our daily lives, have changed the way we communicate, do business, gather information, entertain ourselves. Even technology once considered distinctly “modern” – photography, the telephone, movies, television – has been altered or replaced by faster and more dynamic media that allow more manipulation and control by the individual. Anyone can now create stunning photographic images without a processing lab; and film no longer earns its name, as the cinema often presents images that were never filmed to begin with, but created or doctored in the digital domain. What are the consequences of these changes for the media and arts they alter? How does digitizing affect the values, ethical and aesthetic, of images, texts, and sounds? How do these technologies change the way we spend our time and relate to other people? In the age of the digital, what becomes of property, of history, of identity? Through a series of careful comparisons of images, texts, movies, games, and music – pre-digital versus post-digital – this course will analyze the ways in which these media and our responses to them have changed in the digital era; and we will ask about the value of these changes.
MIT OpenCourseWare | Science, Technology, and Society | STS.360 Ethnography, Spring 2003
- This course is a practicum-style seminar in anthropological methods of ethnographic fieldwork and writing. Depending on student experience in ethnographic reading and practice, the course is a mix of reading anthropological and science studies ethnographies; and formulating and pursuing ethnographic work in local labs, companies, or other sites.
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MIT OpenCourseWare | Engineering Systems Division | ESD.85J Integrating Doctoral Seminar on Emerging Technologies, Fall 2005
- This team-taught subject is for doctoral students working on emerging
technologies at the interface of technology, policy and societal
issues. It integrates concepts of research strategy and design from a
variety of disciplines. The class addresses problem identification and
formulation of research topics, the role of qualitative and
quantitative research methods, and the use of various data collection
techniques. Coursework focuses on students’ thesis proposals,
faculty-student study panels, critical evaluation of research design,
and ethical issues in conducting research and gathering data. - post by edventures
MIT OpenCourseWare | Anthropology | 21A.750J Social Theory and Analysis, Fall 2004
- This course presents a survey of social theory from the 19th century to the present. The focus is on (a) the social grounds from which the theory arises; (b) the utility and limitations of older theories for current conditions; (c) the creation of new theory out of contemporary conditions; (d) sciences and technologies as the infrastructures upon which social institutions depend, are shaped, and shape.
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MIT OpenCourseWare | Electrical Engineering and Computer Science | 6.805 Ethics and the Law on the Electronic Frontier, Fall 2005
- This course considers the interaction between law, policy, and technology as they relate to the evolving controversies over control of the Internet. In addition, there will be an in-depth treatment of privacy and the notion of “transparency” — regulations and technologies that govern the use of information, as well as access to information. Topics explored will include:
*
Legal Background for Regulation of the Internet
*
Fourth Amendment Law and Electronic Surveillance
*
Profiling, Data Mining, and the U.S. PATRIOT Act
*
Technologies for Anonymity and Transparency
*
The Policy-Aware Web
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MIT OpenCourseWare | Science, Technology, and Society | STS.069 Technology in a Dangerous World, Fall 2002
- Aim is to analyze important current events for what they reveal about
the nature and working of our technological world. Starting point is
connection between technology and terrorism. Subject also explores how
a human-built world can foster insecurity and danger, and how human
beings respond. Many invited guests help develop a strong
interdisciplinary approach (science, engineering, social science,
humanities). Topics include technological risk and remediation,
sociotechnical systems, imagination of disaster, technology and
identity, technology and religion, technology and education, and
technology and trust. - post by edventures
MIT OpenCourseWare | Comparative Media Studies | CMS.610 Media Industries and Systems, Spring 2006
- This course examines the interplay of art, science, and commerce shaping the production, marketing, distribution, and consumption of contemporary media. It combines perspectives on media industries and systems with an awareness of the creative process, the audience, and trends shaping content. There will be invited discussions with industry experts in various subject areas. - post by edventures
MIT OpenCourseWare | Media Arts and Sciences | MAS.966 Digital Anthropology, Spring 2003
- Digital Anthropology is a Spring 2003 applied social science and media arts seminar, surveying the blossoming arena of digital-artifact enabled experimental sociology/anthropology. We will emphasize on both (a) Technology Testbeds – systematically deploying research lab prototypes and corporate pre-production products in a sample human organizational population and carefully observing the social consequences, and (b) Sociometrics – using digital artifacts to better observe and measure the complex social reality of interesting human systems. - post by edventures
MIT OpenCourseWare | Media Arts and Sciences | MAS.965 Social Visualization, Fall 2004
- Millions of people are on-line today and the number is rapidly growing – yet this virtual crowd is often invisible. In this course we will examine ways of visualizing people, their activities and their interactions. Students will study the cognitive and cultural basis for social visualization through readings drawn from sociology, psychology and interface design and they will explore new ways of depicting virtual crowds and mapping electronic spaces through a series of design exercises. - post by edventures
MIT OpenCourseWare | Media Arts and Sciences | MAS.963 Technological Tools for School Reform, Fall 2005
- This course explores the potential impact of modern technologies on the school reforms debate. The first part of the course provides an overview of the current state of the school reform debate and reviews the ideas in the progressive school reform movement, as well as examining the new public charter school in Cambridge as a case study. The second part of the course requires critical study of research projects that hold promise as inspirations and guidelines for concrete multidisciplinary activities and curriculum for progressive charter schools. The course concludes with a discussion of the challenges in scaling the successful innovations in school reform to new contexts. - post by edventures
MIT OpenCourseWare | Media Arts and Sciences | MAS.963 Techno-identity: Who we are and how we perceive ourselves and others, Spring 2002
- The nature of human identity – how we think of ourselves, how we perceive others – is a mutable concept, changing with the rise and fall of religious beliefs, social mores, philosophical theories. Today, we live in a world in which science and technology are among the most powerful forces reshaping our culture – and thus our definitions and perceptions of identity. In this seminar, we will examine the impact of science and technology on identity. - post by edventures
MIT OpenCourseWare | Media Arts and Sciences | MAS.962 The Nature of Constructionist Learning, Spring 2003
- This course examines the philosophical and theoretical foundations of constructionism as a paradigm for formulating and evaluating new theories for learning and approaches to education. One of the goals of this course is to help new learning researchers situate their work within the constructionist framework through readings and projects that will focus on the rich interplay between the process of knowledge construction and the development and co-evolution of ideas, learners, tools, and contexts. - post by edventures
MIT OpenCourseWare | Media Arts and Sciences | MAS.961 Designing Sociable Media, Spring 2001
- This course is about social life in the on-line world. Its focus is on how the design of the interface influences people’s interactions with each other and shapes the cultural mores and structures they develop. We will examine the ways social cues are communicated in the real and the virtual world, discuss the limits imposed upon on-line communities by their mediated nature, and explore directions that virtual societies can take that are impossible for physical ones. - post by edventures
MIT OpenCourseWare | Media Arts and Sciences | MAS.961 Ambient Intelligence, Spring 2005
- This course will provide an overview of a new vision for Human-Computer Interaction (HCI) in which people are surrounded by intelligent and intuitive interfaces embedded in the everyday objects around them. It will focus on understanding enabling technologies and studying applications and experiments, and, to a lesser extent, it will address the socio-cultural impact. Students will read and discuss the most relevant articles in related areas: smart environments, smart networked objects, augmented and mixed realities, ubiquitous computing, pervasive computing, tangible computing, intelligent interfaces and wearable computing. Finally, they will be asked to come up with new ideas and start innovative projects in this area. - post by edventures
MIT OpenCourseWare | Media Arts and Sciences | MAS.714J Technologies for Creative Learning, Fall 2004
- This course explores how new technologies can help people learn new things in new ways. It analyzes principles and strategies underlying the design of innovative educational technologies and creative learning environments, drawing on specific case studies such as the LEGO Programmable Brick and Computer Clubhouse after-school learning centers. The course will include hands-on activities, analyses of learning experiences, and design of new tools and activities. - post by edventures
April 13, 2007 at 11:59 pm · Filed under Twitter Log
- @librarianmer: Glad to hear you arrived safely. Good luck in NY! #
- Trying to figure out YackPack on my PBwiki #
- It looks like I’ve got a message but I can’t see how to play it back. Scratch, scratch, scratch??? #
- Have I mentioned how much I HATE dial-up!!! #
- Um ok, I’m getting it now. Turns out that little number in the bottom right is just identifying that someone else is on the page with me. #
- Wondering how useful a sync tool like the YackPack widget would actually be in a collaborative environment… #
- At TLC Meeting to kick off the morning. #
- Just got back from planning our summer classroom tech upgrades – it’s gonna be a busy time! #
- Upgraded Skype to 3.1 and installed TalkAndWrite Extra for whiteboard augmentation. #
- Prepping for a PBwiki presentation after lunch. #
- Listening to the first part of the wiki workshop #
- Back from wiki workshop – low turnout
#
- Exploring BlogBridge Feed Library and having a bear of a time editing folders. #
- Turns out there is a FeedLibrary bug on this hosted site. Techs are investigating. #
- Still playing with FeedLibrary. It’s got a lot of potential to open up RSS to my faculty! #
- Heading home for the weekend. Got a test run of BlogBridge’s Feed Library up at http://plymouth.blogbridge.com #
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April 9, 2007 at 11:59 pm · Filed under Twitter Log
- @jutecht: Hey man, how goes the WPMU battle? Any progress? #
- @jutecht: Let me know if there’s anything I can do to help. I’ve got some folks at PSU who might have some ideas tomorrow morning our time. #
- @grahamwegner: Glad to hear you’re all feeling better. At least you still have the chocolate waiting for you
#
- Catching the BoSox at Texas, but suffering thru the ESPN commentators. YUK!!! Thanks for the reminder timlauer! #
- Joe Morgan ain’t no RemDawg that’s for sure! #
- @jutecht: Congrats J! Glad to hear you got it worked thru! #
- Dates for the 2007 K-12 Online Conference: 8-27 October. I can’t wait! #
- Off to Registrar interview and then to meet with the Uni. Pres and VP for Finance on fund raiser tech support. #
- CIO running interference with the Pres, so I’m at lunch! #
- Writing a review of Moodle: A complete guide to successful learning using Moodle by William H. Rice IV, May 2006 Packt Publishing. #
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April 4, 2007 at 11:59 pm · Filed under Twitter Log
So for those wondering, these posts are tests of the Twitter to blog option of the Twitter Tools Plugin. I’m curious to see if or how this stream of consciousness post adds value to my blog. Probably less interesting to those following on RSS but personally, I’ve been finding utility in Twitter from the standpoint that folks Tweet on things that wouldn’t necessarily be blog-worthy but have value to those in their network. As an example, I’ve shared a few interesting Tweets with Luis Suarez, D’Arcy Norman and Jeff Utecht and added a new node (and kindred spirit) to my network – Jeff VanDrimmelen of UNC-Chapel Hill.
If you are curious about Twitter, feel free to add me to your list http://twitter.com/edventures as the search features leave a lot to be desired. Right now I use the trial and error method. Find someone I know, check out their friends and add those that are mutual and in some cases, make new connections I might not have otherwise.
Not sure how long I’ll keep posting these Twitter updates. I do wish there was a way to set it to post privately so that I can continue to log my days but not bore the world.
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March 21, 2007 at 8:31 am · Filed under Diigo Links
blog of proximal development » Blog Archive » Passion-Based Learning Annotated
- Are passion based teaching and learning incompatible with NCLB and standards based assessments? Or do we just need to take some time to create a bridge between the two?
- post by edventures
learning today can be “passion-based and deeply personalized.”
David Truss :: Pair-a-Dimes Annotated
It has been eerie. Unsettling.
I’ve been restless. Dissatisfied.
… and I don’t think that I am alone.
WikiHome – JotSpot Wiki (continuouspartialattention) Annotated
To pay continuous partial attention is to pay partial attention — CONTINUOUSLY.
I can’t teach properly at teaching.mrbelshaw.co.uk Annotated
- I can empathize with Doug. How do we challenge this dominating paradigm in our school culture?
- post by edventures
I’m growing increasingly frustrated in the teaching profession. I can’t teach the way that I want to, and I find it extraordinarily difficult to teach in the ‘traditional’ manner which is assumed and seemingly expected by all around me.
Julie Lindsay Presentation Links / ECISIT07
- Julie Lindsay’s ECIS IT Conference presentations on Using Web 2.0 Tools, Wikis that work and Podcasting in the Classroom.
- post by edventures
CITE Editorial: Research on the Effectiveness of Technology in Schools: The Roles of Pedagogy and Content Annotated
Editorial: Research on the Effectiveness of Technology in Schools:
The Roles of Pedagogy and Content
February 24, 2007 at 8:50 pm · Filed under EdTech, TechTalk, Web 2.0
This post was written in and posted from Word 2007. The latest version of Word allows you to post to a number of popular blog engines with some limitations. I didn’t have any problem connecting to my blog, but I wish that the ability to upload files to my Flickr account was built in to the interface. I’ve attached a quick image to see if Word 2007 can post to the blog I host.
UPDATE: Worked pretty slick. Thanks to Weblog Tools Collection for bringing this to my attention. For those who would like a tutorial, check this link.
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January 20, 2007 at 1:12 pm · Filed under Connectivism, Creativity, Learning Theory, TechTalk
Jeff Han’s amazing work with how we interact with our technology is not a new item, the video and buzz has been circulating on the ‘Net for more than 9 months. Yet it took Tim Lauer’s post, Jeff Han article in FastCompany, and another on Touch Interfaces… last week for it to sink in.
My issue of FastCompany (February 2007) arrived this week and I’ve only just now gotten a chance to sit down and flip through it. The article about Jeff Han (available online here) and his work on the touch interface is amazing and as I reflect, it strikes me as a way to kinesthetically interact with our technology in a much more organic and natural way than we ever have before. I also took the opportunity to view the FastCompany video clip thanks to Bryan Alexander and the TEDtalks video linked to by Tim. What I have seen resonates within me. It makes me wonder how this interaction will affect our learners. Will it improve accessibility? Is it intuitive enough? Will it lead to advances in learning?
We all have those kinesthetic responses: your PIN at the ATM, your password on your computer, phone numbers that you can only remember when your fingers simulate the act of keying them in. We don’t really have to think about them, they happen almost autonomically. But this action involves only our fingers, what would happen if our interactions utilized and/or required more of our body? What if recollections were based on physical gestures? I envision a musician or rock climber for whom their knowledge manifests itself in a physical form. Consider the new opportunities for kinesthetic learning that could be incorporated into the Wii system. There is already talk of creating a surgery sim but what else could be developed which would tap into this new tool for learning?
Data is no longer uni-dimensional, and as Han has shown it can be now represented visually in three dimensions. Think Minority Report meets the Matrix where tables, graphs and data can have a physical structure. How will this new way of visualizing and physically manipulating information allow us to retain, reuse and reconstruct knowledge? With visionaries such as Han, we may well find out within the next few years.
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January 17, 2007 at 12:20 pm · Filed under Random Thoughts
I’ve seen this “quiz” floating around the blogosphere for the past few days so I thought I’d give it a whirl. Now bear in mind I’m no programmer. I know enough to ID php or html in a line-up and wrote a bit of BASIC in the good old days of my TI-99A and the Trash-80 TRS-80, those silly choose your own adventure games but that’s about it. So how did I fare on this quiz? Take a look…
The description fits me to a T, but what the hell is PROLOG anyway?
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