In class today we watch a podcast of Alan November where he talks about how schools and teachers are taking the technology out of the classroom because they are afraid. Within the discussion in class we talked about how teachers and schools and banning this and banning that in an attempt to maintain control over the learning of the students. Alan November talks about exactly what I think is the solution: Teachers need to stay on top of the emerging technology. Join Facebook, join Myspace, buy an ipod, get a cell phone. Why ban all these technologies instead of embracing them? Use them. They are not going anywhere, in fact there are more and more of them all day. Moore's law in regards to microchips is that they will double every year, imagine that for a second. DOUBLE. That means all the technology we have today will be double come next year. Why would we as educators want to limit this? I personally think it is mainly that teachers did not have to change as rapidly before and now are not willing to change any more than they want. These teachers want to be the dictators, when in reality it is the students who are the dictators.
PS...Allan if you are reading this I would reward your son, just make sure he understands why.
Monday, June 18, 2007
Wednesday, June 13, 2007
How has Information Changed
Responding to David Warlick http://davidwarlick.com/2cents/2007/06/13/how-has-information-changed/
Mr. Warlick starts off his blog by explaining how information is networked in todays age and how it has changed dramatically from the days when you had to find a book in your house or go to the library to research a topic. Now you can simply log on to the internet and have access to anything you desire. This really is amazing, and true. Consider Wikipedia, you go to look up any subject and other topics that are related to that topic are linked withing the document. This means that you can go and view something on Computers and read up on Apple Inc. and within one click read a biography on Steve Jobs. Whereas in a library you would have to find the section for Biographies, find the section for Steve Jobs and hope it is in the library at the time. Wikipedia really is amazing for its networked data. Try playing "Seven Degrees to Kevin Bacon" on Wikipedia :D.
Mr. Warlick goes on to talk about how this information is becoming increasingly digital. I can't argue with that and I feel that with children also becoming more adapt to digital "things" that educators need to embrace these digital "things". Mr. Warlick talks about how this digitization allows us to search quickly and effectively for the information we want and desire. Used properly this can only lead to good things in my opinion. However that is a big if and leads me to remind my self of the mapping concepts I have learned in my Ecmp 355 class.
Because of this networking of informations classrooms are also becoming networked within the information, through blogs, wikis or any other type of information. Schools are now connected to the outside world as compared to before this change in information when schools were only connected as much as the information within the school would allow them to be.
Mr. Warlick starts off his blog by explaining how information is networked in todays age and how it has changed dramatically from the days when you had to find a book in your house or go to the library to research a topic. Now you can simply log on to the internet and have access to anything you desire. This really is amazing, and true. Consider Wikipedia, you go to look up any subject and other topics that are related to that topic are linked withing the document. This means that you can go and view something on Computers and read up on Apple Inc. and within one click read a biography on Steve Jobs. Whereas in a library you would have to find the section for Biographies, find the section for Steve Jobs and hope it is in the library at the time. Wikipedia really is amazing for its networked data. Try playing "Seven Degrees to Kevin Bacon" on Wikipedia :D.
Mr. Warlick goes on to talk about how this information is becoming increasingly digital. I can't argue with that and I feel that with children also becoming more adapt to digital "things" that educators need to embrace these digital "things". Mr. Warlick talks about how this digitization allows us to search quickly and effectively for the information we want and desire. Used properly this can only lead to good things in my opinion. However that is a big if and leads me to remind my self of the mapping concepts I have learned in my Ecmp 355 class.
Because of this networking of informations classrooms are also becoming networked within the information, through blogs, wikis or any other type of information. Schools are now connected to the outside world as compared to before this change in information when schools were only connected as much as the information within the school would allow them to be.
Tuesday, June 5, 2007
David Weinberger Video on Knowledge
http://stream.ltscotland.org.uk/LTSprojects/SETT2006/weinberger1.wmv
Weinberger talks about how knowledge is changing. What is knowledge? Weinberger talks about how there are 7 traditional methods of knowledge. There are many assumptions we have made about knowledge based on what we think we know based on Aristotle and Greeks.
This is a lengthy video but take a look it is slightly interesting, Weinberger puts out some interesting ideas on Meta-Data!
Weinberger talks about how knowledge is changing. What is knowledge? Weinberger talks about how there are 7 traditional methods of knowledge. There are many assumptions we have made about knowledge based on what we think we know based on Aristotle and Greeks.
This is a lengthy video but take a look it is slightly interesting, Weinberger puts out some interesting ideas on Meta-Data!
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