Weekly Tech Tip - Research, Collaborate, Create, Publish and Repeat

Weekly Tech Tip:

Last week I sent everyone the results of our student technology survey. Today I came across a fascinating article that can help inform our analysis of this data. UCLA recently did a study on the effect internet use has on our brains that seems to support some of our findings. A lot of this data proves things we already knew, namely that engaging students in projects that require higher-order thinking results in greater student achievement and more cognitive growth. However, this also means we need to keep this in mind when we are designing learning activities and assessments for our students. One general area that this study finds very positive benefits with is student blogging and website building which is a rather low-impact activity we can integrate into many of our classes. In this screencast I talk through the findings from UCLA, contrast them with our school's survey results, and show where you can go to get students involved with blogging or building websites. If you are interested in integrating this into your classroom don't hesitate to ask for assistance.

• How Using The Internet Is Changing Our Brains

• What the web is teaching our brains

• Digital Backpack

Blog Carnival:

• The Colonialism of Michelle Rhee or TFA v BoA by Ira Socol at Sped Change

• Crossing America: An Education by Ira Socol at Sped Change

• These horses are out of the barn by Doug Johnson at Blue Skunk Blog

• Readin', Writin', and Creatin' by Barry Bachenheimer at A Plethora of Technology

Link Stew:

• Devdutt Pattanaik: East vs west -- the myths that mystify - TED Talk

• Designing Education 3.0 - fascinating projection of the future of education

• Videos, Games Help Preschool Literacy, Study Says

• Teachers begin using cell phones for class lessons

• Willingham: Six practical reasons arts education is more than a luxury

• k-12 Online Conference Schedule - This is a free online conference

• Memoov - Animation Studio online - Free online tool for making animations

• Homepage - Creaza - Collection of powerful online tools. Includes movie editor, audio editor, concept-mapping, and cartoon building applications.

• iLearn Technology » Blog Archive » 20 iTunes Feeds for the 2.0 Teacher

• The Differentiator - interesting teacher tool for generating higher-order student projects.

• National Gallery of Art NGAkids STILL LIFE interactive

• gazelle.com - Site that will give you money for your old electronics and computer equipment or recycle it for free.

Weekly Tech Tip - Data Mining (results of a technology survey given to 7-12 students)

Tech Tip:

This week's tech tip is not so much a tip but rather a report. Earlier this week all students grades 7-12 at Goodhue Schools took a survey about their own personal computer use, what they have access to at home, and their attitudes toward school (click here if you would like to see a copy of the survey questions). The survey produced some interesting results that should help us to make informed decisions regarding technology policy, purchases, and instruction. Please take a moment to look over these results. Did you find any of these results surprising? Does knowing this information change anything about what we expect of students or what we can or should do?



Link Stew:

• Pranav Mistry: The thrilling potential of SixthSense technology - This amazing new technology apparently is going to be given away as free open source software and building instructions. Allegedly one of these devices could be build for as little as $300.
  

• WatchKnow - Videos for kids to learn from. Organized.

• Nintendo DS Browser - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

• University of the People – This is a free online global university that is in the process of being accredited. Interesting and fantastic implications.

• Dron & Anderson (2009) "How the Crowd Can Teach" - Fantastic paper on open source network learning. Discusses in depth the seemingly contradictory relationship between forms of learning made possible by web 2.0 tools and traditional institutions of learning such as schools, colleges, and universities.

• 20 Mindblowing Concept Laptop Designs