We’re Back!!!

Jan 122009
 

I was fortunate enough to teach EC&I 831 last year. It’s an online, open graduate course focused on educational technology. I had a wonderful group of students registered in the course, and before long, we had a wonderful network of informal learners that became an important part of the course experience.

And, we’re back! In fact, I have two open access courses running this semester. See ECMP 455 (undergrad) and EC&I 831 (graduate). In both courses, one of the main assessments is based on the reflection and development of a personal learning network (PLN). I am hoping that I will be able to help students build their PLNs, and have them reflect on the types of activities and experiences they have. I am hoping that their discoveries will help us understand more about PLNs, how they form, and their implications for teaching and learning.

In terms of the open access, in a nutshell, I am in a process of “thinning the walls” for my students. We began with private conversations about connectivity and networking (this is new for most students), and I am hoping that students will slowly emerge themselves in the more public spaces. Some have already taken the plunge and can be found on Twitter and in other spaces. If you look in the “participant directory” of each course site, you will be able to see their shared biographies. Some have already developed short introduction videos (posted to Youtube).

There will be synchronous events that may be of interest to many of you. To start with, in EC&I 831, Dr. Richard Schwier will be joining us Tuesday (Jan. 13/09), 7 p.m. (CST) to take us through a brief history of technology in schools. From my discussions with Rick, he’s got some really neat things up his sleeve and I know this will be a great session! I’ll be information on how to join this event (for those interested) via Twitter shortly before the session.

I invite you all to help, and would love if you could engage these individuals, help them with their questions and concerns, and support their learning. I am hoping that this will be an important experience for all of us!

Doctor Use SMS to Save Boy’s Life

Dec 032008
 

From Times Online:

Doctor Saves Boy Via SMS

A doctor volunteering in war-torn Congo performed a complex amputation to save a boy’s life by following instructions sent by text message from a colleague in London.

Read the rest of this story here.

Talkin’ About School & Society

Nov 122008
 

My colleagues, Dr. Patrick Lewis and Dr. Marc Spooner, are initiating a series of informal discussions that will hopefully help bridge the spaces between university scholars and the general public, and hopefully result in some very important conversations with people in our community. I am excited that I have been asked to lead off the first conversation which will be themed around “The New Interactive Classroom: Education, teaching & globalization.” See the official poster below:

Talkin' About School & Society - Poster

Come join us for snacks, drinks, and most importantly, conversation. Invite anyone who would be interested, and it doesn’t have to be people connected directly to education. We’re hoping for a great turnout!

This first event is scheduled for November 24/2008, 7-9 p.m. at the upper level of La Bodega in Regina, Saskatchewan. I hope to see you there!

Internet Addiction?

Nov 112008
 

Several people I know have recently confessed of their perceived addiction to the Internet. I do not think this diagnosis can be described as broad as “Internet addiction” without getting a better understanding of what exactly draws them to connect (e.g., socialization, information, gaming, combinations of these, etc.). In any case, I believe that addictions associated to existing and emerging technologies are real, and understanding these will be of increasing importance to educators, parents, and our youth.

Internet Addict!

Chinese doctors recently “released the country’s first diagnostic definition of Internet addiction” in the midst of increases to psychological disorders attributed to Internet overuse. The country will officially designate hospital psychiatric units to treat cases of Internet addiction.

So, do you fit the bill?

Symptoms of addiction included yearning to get back online, mental or physical distress, irritation and difficulty concentrating or sleeping. The definition, based on a study of more than 1,300 problematic computer users, classifies as addicts those who spend at least six hours online a day and have shown at least one symptom in the past three months.

See full article here.

Update: There is a better article on the same development at the Times Online.

Photo Credit: nataliejohnson

College IT Index – Class of 2012

Sep 262008
 

Peter Schilling (not this one), IT Director of Amherst College, has crunched the numbers and has come up with some interesting statistics regarding the 438 newly enrolled student population. Here are a few notable points:

    - Percentage of applicants that applied online = 89%.
    - Registered devices (computers, iphones, game consoles) on the University network – 370 students registered 443 devices.
    - 14 students brought desktop computers, while 93 brought iPhones/Touch devices.
    - Likelihood of a student in class having an iPhone/Touch – 1 in 2.
    - 432 of 438 students were involved in the Amherst College Facebook group, and had posted 3,225 posts by mid August.
    - Total number of students on campus this year that have landline phone service – 5.
    - Classes 2009 and 2010 are more likely to own Windows machines, while classes of 2011 and 2012 are most likely to own Macs.

Times are changing. This survey has really made me want to do something similar here on campus.

View the complete Amherst College IT index here. See also the Benoit College Mindset list.

Open Doctrine? K-12 Online Conference Teaser

Sep 222008
 

Here is the teaser and introduction to my K12 Online Conference presentation, in the form of a personal attack ad. As mentioned earlier on this blog, my presentation will be titled “Open, Social, Connected: Reflections of an Open Graduate Course Experience.” A portion of the presentation will be devoted to the idea of openness in education, and how the actualization of this concept helped to create a transparent culture of sharing among students and other course participants.

I hope you enjoy the teaser and I invite you to participate in the rest of the coming presentation at the K12 Online Conference.

Video thumbnail. Click to play
Click To Play

Thanks to Dan Carr for his narration and for helping bring this concept to life.

Oh … and there’s an edupunk version. :-)

New Lifelike Animation Technologies

Aug 192008
 

Watch Emily speak about Image Metrics, “a marker-less performance driven animation company.”

Emily – the woman in the above animation – was produced using a new modelling technology that enables the most minute details of a facial expression to be captured and recreated.

Very neat stuff. Read more at timesonline.com.

MS Unwrap Mosaics: Video Editing

Aug 182008
 

Unwrap Mosaic, a technology being developed by Microsoft, provides some very neat possibilities for video editing.

Read more here.

Mosquito Ring Tones

Jun 012008
 

I remember reading about the Mosquito a few years ago, a device which was designed to prevent teens from loitering in private places by emitting high frequency noises only audible to youth. I now just noticed free Mosquito Ringtones, ringtones that teens can download and use which cannot be heard by their teachers.

This is likely old news, but very interesting.

Clarence Fisher Inspires ECI831

Mar 062008
 

Clarence Fisher was our guest presenter in EC&I 831 this week. Clarence was incredibly inspiring and he helped us all better understand how geographical characteristics, particularly remoteness, is no longer a barrier to rich, global learning opportunities.

The recorded Elluminate session is available. The Ustream version is also available below.

Thanks so much Clarence for being a part of our learning experience. I know you have gained many new fans, and we look forward to learning more from you in the future.

Shares(ki) Tells His Story

Feb 282008
 

Dean Shareski was our guest in EC&I 831 this past Tuesday. Dean did an incredible job of sharing his story of virtual and face-to-face experiences with his “personal research team”. This team includes many well known educators, Dean’s colleagues, his students, family and probably you … the person reading this. Dean’s presentation was engaging, there were several lessons learned, and my students have reacted very positively in their own blogging spaces.

Dean’s Slide Deck:

You can also experience the entire presentation through the recorded Elluminate session.

Thanks again Dean. This was a terrific presentation, and you have represented yourself very well within the growing list of amazing EC&I 831 presenters.

History of Educational Technology (Dr. Richard Schwier)

Feb 052008
 

We were very fortunate to have had Dr. Richard Schwier present to the students of EC & I 831 on the History of Educational Technology. Rick is a professor of educational technology and media at the University of Saskatchewan and he’s been one of the most influential individuals in my educational life. And as far as credibility goes, you need only to look at his long list of publications and awards to realize that the man knows what he is talking about.

The session was done in Elluminate and with Rick’s permission, I have provided several pieces below. The slides have been uploaded to Slideshare.net. I attempted to synchronize audio with the slides, but Slideshare just wouldn’t take the audio. I have also included a link to the Elluminate session. Finally, I have provided a video link hosted by blip.tv.

Slides at Slideshare:

Blip.tv Version:

Video thumbnail. Click to play
Click To Play

Elluminate session and wiki page.

Regarding the Blip.tv Version:
I wanted a rich copy of the presentation in something other than Elluminate. Brian Lamb suggest blip.tv a while back and I have been hoping for a chance to try it out. I am sure there are many easier ways of doing the same thing on a Mac, but this was the process I used to complete the blip.tv version.

    1) I ran the Elluminate version, and isolated the part of the screen I wanted recorded. For some reason I wasn’t able to record the audio and video together, so:
    2) I recorded the video using Quicktime Pro (not free) pointed at Camtwist (free).
    3) I recorded the audio using Wiretap Studio (not free), a GREAT audio tool for the Mac.
    4) I combined video and audio in iMovie ’08, and exported as a (default) .m4v file.
    5) I uploaded this raw file (217MB) to blip.tv. It took less than 1.5 minutes to upload, and no conversion was necessary. I am incredibly impressed by this service!

If anyone runs into problems with the huge blip.tv version, let me know. I am in ideal conditions, as it is after 1am and I have the University network all to myself. I’d like to see how it performs for the rest of the world, I assume not very well.

 Older Entries  Newer Entries