Pushed to limit today!

I felt I was leading you to the near frustration point with all that was presented today -- and it was only half of what I had planned! Please slow me down if I'm racing down the track too fast. Thanks for being patient and taking your time with this learning.

What I didn't tell you is that Sugata Mitra returned to the TED conference this last Fall and presented a follow up. I've posted it on the class website, but also below. (I learned how to embed this into my blog just tonight! I'll show you if you're interested. Pretty easy.)



I'll be in touch with our change of schedule. Thanks for flexing with me on Feb 22. Remember, we won't have class for sure that evening, and we're looking to use eLuminate, the web collaboration software that Gary has access to.

Have a good week and we'll be in touch, soon!

Go to my survey

In the Trenches with Technology

I received an interesting and hopeful email from a colleague today who works with my TeacherSource web project (something I'll share with you later on). Part of the deal is she was given a MacBook laptop and 8 iPod Touches and some software and a bit of training (though not much), and was asked to report back how she's using these tools. She teaches MS Literacy to mostly underachieving middle school students in a school loaded with high achievers. She's found the going a bit tedious and frustrating since our district wireless network is a throw together of consumer-based and old Apple Airport devices (you've seen them--they look like a flying saucer!). Mobile devices have stretched that network in ways we couldn't predict, but now are in the process of turning it over to an enterprise wireless system--one that's industrial-strength, as it should be for a school district our size.

Though frustrated that the devices won't work just like she'd like them to, her hopefulness and great attitude shines through. She says:

"I'm not one to jump to technology as the be-all end-all - I believe strongly in the simple technologies, pencil and paper. Too often technology is used as glorified worksheets, developing only skinny knowledge. But I see this technology as a way to develop and access higher-level thinking skills: analysis of their own data, self-evaluation/reflection. I have been stunned at how the kids are really "hearing" their miscues and understanding them. Most reading assessment is "hidden" - we listen and give feedback, but they can't "hear" it. "

This teacher is a veteran, in-the-trenches middle school teacher. She's seen the wave of "new this and new that" come into her classroom--and she's dealt with it. Some good, some not so good. But this kind of technology seems different and deeper.

She sums up her email simply and succinctly:

"...sorry to ramble on - I am having fun figuring this out."

That's all I needed to hear.