Tag: necc09

At least failures give us real examples

There is now some distance between the NECC experience and the present. This is true on several dimensions – I have had time to reflect and I have completed the drive home (3500+ miles round trip).

I find that I am beginning to find the “dataless” pronouncements of some who advocate for positions I actually suport to be quite annoying. I can attach this annoyance to names, but this is not my point. I take offense in the implication that truth is obvious to those who understand and asking for evidence is somehow an indication that I lack insight, intelligence, or a degree from the appropriate graduate program (the one that did provide me a degree mant years ago did require I offer data in defense of the claims I made in my dissertation). I am not requesting standardized test data – this is the straw man you attack over and over again. I am simply asking you for working examples in the wild of the great variety of real kids with parents (or not) of real incomes.

My request is simple – don’t complain and enough of the rhetoric – offer me something a little more concrete.  Enough of what others do wrong where they work. Forget about your next speaking gig and the fee it will bring. Spend some of your energy working to create a productive working example of what you advocate in a real working educational setting.

Consider, for example, the Microsoft and Philadelphia School of the Future. The story of the SOF has been covered in eSchool News over the past couple of issues (June and July – current issue requires login). This is not a story of success, but it at least is a story. There is something concrete to consider. What happens when an effort is made to translate vision into reality? What can go wrong? Why did things not work out? Are the concerns that may have led to the disintegration of SOF avoidable?

Perhaps this was a failure. Perhaps this was something concrete that can guide future efforts. At least it was more than words.

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Wandering the Outside Aisle – 2009

I started a practice in 2004 of writing a post based on my exploration of the NECC trade show. I called this practice “wandering the outside aisle” because the idea was to locate a new product/service advanced by a small company. These companies tend to purchase small floor areas around the outside of the trade show pavilion.

I decided that my selection this year would be yolink.  Yolink provides a browser plugin that offers some improvements on the traditional search process. There are probably many different ways to use the product (actually a plugin and a space reserved for you on the company server), but the basic idea works something like this.

1) Do a traditional search or load a web page with many links.

2) Do a re-search by using yolink within these findings (using the original search term or new terms)

yolink1

Yolink will locate the links, find the search terms within the content these links access, and display this content.

2) You can move to the sites by clicking a paragraph of interest (or)

3) Select a resource to save and share

yolink2

Select from the paragraphs containing the search terms those that you wish to save

4)

yolink3

The selected paragraphs and a thumbnail of the site will be saved to your acount (or sent to your email address or another of several other options for sharing).

This all strikes me as pretty cool and potentially useful in the process of collecting online information. I sometimes wonder how processes such as these are legal – you do seem to be moving the paragraphs from a site into your possession (if I understand what is happening). I also cannot explain the business model allowing this service to be offered. I assume the copyright issue is somehow not an issue. I will leave it to the company to worry about their bottom line.

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NAEP Technology Literacy

I attended an information session for the NAEP effort to assess technology literacy. A couple of issues to note – 1) this effort is not intended to offer state by state feedback and 2) the definition of technology is broad encompassing not just computers and the Internet, but also technology systems, maintenance and troubleshooting, technology in the natural world, etc

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Is there still a market for desktop apps?

We spent a good part of the day at a NECC (now just ISTE according to the opening remarks) presession sponsored by the Constructivist Consortium. We received some great software at no cost and had an opportunity to explore what the new products had to offer. Mostly, though, it was a opportunity for like-minded folks to catch up and talk shop.

I spent most of my time exploring Transform from LCSI (remember Logowriter from the old days), but also at least opened Animation-ish from FableVision. What these tools have in common is a very open design allowing students to create a range of projects. PBL and creativity are key concepts for these folks.

I spent several hours exploring Transform – mostly simple things and seeing what I could remember about LOGO. My sun moves slowly across the sky and the cow appears.

transform

I wonder about the future of desktop-based educational software. Everything I saw today was pretty cool and clearly more sophisticated and capable than what we used 10-15 years ago. Perhaps programming as problem solving or programming as as computer literacy will make a come back. With clould apps, netbooks, and tight budgets, will cool software generation the necessary traction to attract of critical mass of schools/teachers? I don’t have a position on this one. I am inclined to suggest that there are open source and cloud alternatives (Squeak, Scratch) that will attract those willing to explore in this space.

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