I have to constantly straddle the security vs the practicality restrictions with students using school owned devices. Software restrictions, account and filesystem permissions all constantly ensure that ones time is often spent trying to circumvent the security you put in place yourself.
Portable apps are applications which can run entirely without installation. They range from pirated versions of Office and Adobe CS4, through to open-source ported solutions like OpenOffice. OpenOffice is an excellent ‘thing’ to have around when dealing with students work. It will open almost any file that you need, from the pesky MS Works files, through to the old school WordPerfect.
Edutopia by The George Lucas (yes, of StarWars fame) Educational Foundation has an excellent resource about the Top 10 tips for working/teaching with New Media.
Briefly summarised, these are:
Break the Digital Ice
Use Web 2.0 solutions like VoiceThread to get better aquainted with your students.
Find Your Classroom Experts
Take advantage of your student’s technical KnowHow – ask your learners, who is doing what in their spare time with technology?
Get Off to a Good Start
At the beginning of the year, use Web 2.0 tools to help students better manage their own learning.
Think Globally
Turn your classroom into a Gateway for learning about the world.
Find What You Need
Be creative with your supplies and furnishing. There are a load of US-based examples to put you in touch with corporate.
Make Meaning from Word Clouds
Use word clouds to encourage lively conversations about words with tools that convert text into visual displays
Work Better, Together
Use Collaborative workspaces in your classroom.
Open a Back Channel
Take input on how your class works. Ask for feedback
Make it Visual
Use visuals to inspire, create curiosity, brainstorm and engage your learners.
Use the Buddy System
Spend time with your peers sharing and collaborating. We have loads of resources available to us in Education Queensland. Consider the use of the ListServs, ICT Community and the fantastic guys at the Learning Innovation Centre.
We use Audacity extensively at school. Unfortunately because of restrictions on the students login, it is difficult to use the LAME library to export the files to Mp3s when created a pod-cast.
What I have found works a treat then is to use something called FlicFlac - this is a single executable that allows you to drag/drop your completed WAV file onto the program, and it simply exports it to Mp3. Super simple!
Stephen Heppell says the main difference is that Flexible Learning Spaces sometimes requires the input of an ‘expert’ to reconfigure the learning space. You might need the janitor to unlock some walls, or a simple cherry picker to adjust a layout.
Agile learning means that the learning space can be modified and adapted on the fly.
Stairwells take on new meaning, (assuming you are not focussing on the WHS aspect) – they can be readily used for a brief amphitheatre reconstruction.
The thing that stood out from the webinar I participated in, was that Stephen said we should even be reconsidering the use of data projectors in the room, because of the technical nature of them at times, as well as their light requirements. Adding lighting control such as curtains or blinds simply blocks a room out and we need students to engage with their environment.
This doesn’t always have practical application, but its certainly some interesting food for thought. He is recommending the use of LCD flat panels – even multiples in a classroom, instead of just the one big screen at the front.
He also talks about the use of mirrors to allow students to engage with the teacher, as well as other learners.
I had an ipod classic 5G (the U2 model) a few years ago, and I loved it while it worked – but gravitated towards alternative solutions in the portable mp3/mp4 player space.
I have of late been encouraging myself to give Mac a go. I am a dyed in the wool user of MS/PC based products, but think this narrow mindedness may need to change.
What really got me going with this device, is the new inclusion of a video camera. Now while I don’t have one, the Flip has always been something I can see has filled a real void in this market. Cheap, reliable and simple technology to use to record both voice and video.
Its pretty hard to beat for $188 bucks.
This importance of ‘good-enough‘ I think is an important one. Especially in the classroom.
Now for under $200, a student can have a voice recorder and a video camera. Instant pod/vod-casting at the tips of your fingers.
Small, damn small
Lets look further at this device. Its tiny. Really simple to use. To kick the video camera over, you just need to select that option from the menu. Simply point and click. The main pain I can see with it, to hold it without your fingers going over the lens you need to either hold the razor thick edges, or whack your thumb over part of the screen.
The tech specs state that it will absorbs your surroundings at 640×480 at 30 frames per second. This higher than average frames per second (average being 25 fps) means that its a very smooth video experience.
Using the nano for video inside is a downside. If the room is well-lit I couldn’t imagine it being a problem, but I haven’t had a chance to examine/test this further in a classroom environment, or even in the shadows of a building with bright sunlight nearby. I noticed some shadowing when just filming inside near my laptop’s screen.
Your eye on the world
The lens is small, I guess it doesn’t need to be any bigger, and right next to it is the microphone. This microphone is quite sensitive, but also quite directional. It picks up audio quite nicely from the talent, but if you are speaking while filming it deadens your voice a little.
I haven’t tested it fully for length of time in recording, but from my estimates I think I could get at least 1 hour of record time, which is more than enough for the most avid learner creating content.
The files are easy to access from windows explorer. I was quite surprised that these didn’t show up as video files from within iTunes (even version 9), but you need to enable disk access mode and then browse to it as if it were a flash drive.
I’ve included below finally a short clip of the video it creates. This is taken in a shopping centre, middle of the day. I think the light levels would be brighter than the average classroom.
At times I loath to admit it, but I’m a Microsoft fanboy. I’ve done my dabbling in Linux – it has a very real purpose, I’ve always drifted back to PC’s.
Until now. I fear I may have succumbed to the marketing as I may have fallen in love with Mac. I don’t know how, and at what point I fell, but I can no longer retain my composure over what it appears that they can do.
The 1:1 program I am involved in at school, I’m heavily considering going Mac. I have the Mac people coming to see me this week, and I’m looking forward to it.
One of the main reasons that I think its time to migrate (at least in part), is that it appears the apple juggernaut is unbeatable when it comes to educational technology. I’m going into this with open eyes, but one of the main reasons that I think I will move is I will be forced to examine my pedagogy. As I know PCs so intimately with my pedagogy and delivery, I feel that it might be a good opportunity to re-evaluate my teach practice… Stay tuned!
It appears that authentic games with curriculum connections have more validity in the classroom.
Authentic (COTS – Commercial Off The Shelf) games allow students to engage at a deeper level than a game developed purely for educational purposes. One contributing factor I feel would be simply the commercial aspect.
The COTS games can afford to spend the time to make the game detailed and engaging – and production of the game would rarely begin without a detailed market analysis and effort spent on story-line.
Was sent this interesting link yesterday from a mailing list. It speaks about removing traditional PC labs from around a school, and bringing technology to be further integrated into the classroom.
Edutopia
