Category — TechLearning Posts

(cross-posted at TechLearning)

“Five years from now on the web for free you’ll be able to find the best lectures in the world… It will be better than any single university.”

Bill Gates, August 6, 2010 at Techonomy Conference

Holy cow… I can’t believe I’ve just started another blog post with a quote from Bill Gates! (You can go HERE to see my previous use of “Gates Wisdom.”) The question is: Is he correct? Is this the future for my daughter’s college career? Will I actually be able to persuade her to save her money and get all her education for free from the web? Will there be a way for her to get credit for knowledge gained on her own and to prove to her future employers that she in fact received this outstanding education as Bill Gates predicts? How will this work? There must be a way to document “seat time” on the Internet just as easily as “sleep time” in actual brick and mortar classrooms.

Apple announced this week that files downloaded from iTunes U have reached 300 million! If we take a conservative guess that on average those files are an hour long (which many lecture files are), then we’re talking about 300 million hours of learning. Surely we should be able to at least pull a few Bachelor Degrees out of that pile.

When I presented a workshop about Podcasting this past summer, teachers reported that the biggest “take away” for them was learning about iTunes University. A majority of the audience had no idea that it existed. I took extra time showing all the goodies that iTunes U had to offer and shared my own experiences of courses and presentations that I’ve downloaded (for free) from the 3 categories offered by iTunes U: “Universities & Colleges,” “Beyond Campus,” and “K-12.” Again and again, audience members asked me,” And this is all free?”

Free, free, free, free, free. Teachers love free.

This summer I’ve been enrolled in an amazing course at Yale: “The Civil War and Reconstruction Era, 1845-1877 with Professor David Blight.” Having previously listened to 30 some hours of the audiobook, “Roots” in my daily drives to and from work, I wanted to learn more about the Civil War, and in particular, Reconstruction. My first approach was to search Amazon for books on the subject and immediately found myself in a sea of 2,500 results, with  absolutely no idea which were gems and which were stinkers. Sure, the reviews helped a lot, but I wanted to find an expert; someone who could give me a complete picture of events leading up to the war, as well as make the history come alive and have relevant connection to present day. “Who better than a professor?” I thought.

Within minutes of searching iTunes U, I found Professor David Blight’s incredible course from Yale. This was my first Yale download (I’ve mostly hung out at MIT’s page) and I was amazed to find that not only could I download the complete audio of Prof. Blight’s course (27 lectures), but that I could also go to the Yale site and watch the video of his presentations! On top of that, I no longer had to worry about all the great books and resources that were mentioned in the lectures that I wanted to follow up on but couldn’t write down while listening to the audio and operating a car because… the entire transcript of the lectures are also posted online! Not to mention the syllabus… and the paper assignments he gave the students… and the Review paper for the Final Exam.

Free, free, free, free, free.

I’m coming up on the last stretch of the course (Lincoln’s just been assassinated, and we’re heading for Reconstruction), and I cannot express how wonderful an experience this has been. I will sorely miss the profound examinations and the detailed telling of the story from this amazing professor, in his sometimes whimsical, sometimes somber delivery, with a syrupy Midwestern drawl that makes me feel like I’m listening to “Prairie Home Companion” with Garrison Keilor.

I understand the Civil War better than I ever have before and if there’s anything that Prof. Blight doesn’t know about the time period or hasn’t shared in these lectures, I can’t even imagine what it could be.

My plan is to read all 27 transcripts when finished with the audio… not only as a review, but to also highlight and capture essential points, insights, and resources that I wasn’t able to when just listening to it. Prof. Blight has provided me with an armload of books to read after that, and of course, now when I return to Amazon, I know exactly which books are the gems and will definitely hone in on the works that Blight himself has produced (note: the ones I can afford; ah, textbooks!).

Question: Was the experience of listening to the audio lectures equal to or comparative to the experience of actually sitting in the classroom at Yale? Of course not (after all, it’s Yale!). But for me and for thousands and thousands of others, it was the only way into this opportunity of a lifetime (invaluable and for free!), and I can truly say, we live in amazing times.

Personally, I think I enjoyed the lectures more not being in the classroom, sitting for an hour each session. All summer long, I mowed the grass with Prof. Blight. Took long walks with Prof. Blight. Went jogging with Prof. Blight. Drove to the beach with Prof. Blight. Most of the time, when one hour’s program ended, I went right into the next lecture, not having to wait for days as his students had to do when it unfolded in “real time.”

In short, it’s been a great summer hanging out with Prof. Blight. I have a much better understanding of our country’s history. I realize parallels between a divided nation of the past and events playing out in our country today.  Gosh darn it… I feel smarter! My deep thanks and gratitude go out to Professor Blight and Yale, and all the other folks putting great content out there for free.

Here’s my closing thought: Not only are these resources (free!) great for teachers like me, or, as I’ve often heard, great for Advanced Placement classes or students identified as Gifted and Talented, but I think it’s essential that we introduce these resources to all students. It’s apparent from my experience training teachers this summer that most people don’t even know of the existence of such resources. Students should also realize their availability and value, and perhaps will be equipped to take advantage of a better education at a significantly decreased financial commitment, as Bill Gates professes.

Another reason I think students need to know about these resources —in particular, the University offerings— is that they can have an opportunity to “sit in” on real classes and sample many disciplines as they begin to formulate college and career decisions during high school. For instance, a student may think “I want to be a psychology major,” and then listen in on a sampling of University lectures and realize that this is not really what his/her calling is. How many of us changed our major in college once we realized it really wasn’t our “cup of tea?”

A great site to point students to is “Open Culture” (http://www.openculture.com/), where:

“Open Culture editor Dan Colman scours the web for the best educational media. He finds the free courses and audio books you need, the language lessons & movies you want, and plenty of enlightenment in between.”

They even have an iPhone app!

Free, free, free, free, free.

(cross-posted at TechLearning)

“Thank god for charter schools. There is no room for innovation in the standard system.”

Bill Gates, August 6, 2010 at Techonomy Conference

Welcome back to school, USA! Okay, I’m sure that I’m a bit early for most of you, but it’s right around the corner and many of us are at least back in the classroom, getting them ready, printing name labels, sharpening pencils, dusting off books, etc., etc.

Many of your returns are being greeted by the new Common Core State Standards (CCSS) (click here to see if your state has already signed on), promising a fix for many of education’s woes, or at least a better foothold for your state’s “Race to the Top.” I’ve spent some of my beach reading this summer trying to get my head around CCSS, and I think Jim Burke’s post best sums up my own thoughts and worries, but I mostly appreciate Jim’s proactive response to his concerns by breaking ground on a new wiki “called Learning in America at http://learninginamerica.wikispaces.com/ in order to index open educational resources to the new standards.” Head on over there, join, and help build.

Jim articulates his reason for the wiki as such:

“If we must have national standardization, then we should at least not become enslaved to large oligopolistic educational publishing outfits.  Let’s open up the possibilities of local decision making in the methods and resources we use.”

Thank you, Jim for providing educators with a reminder that no matter how “standard” things get, we still have the tools and power to keep building and innovating, no matter what confines we find ourselves in.

••••••••••••••••••

The opening quote to this post (by Gates) is sobering, and, hopefully at the very least, an exaggeration. Definitely go check out the other positive things that Bill Gates is saying in his talk at the Techonomy Conference (you can see an article at TechCrunch as well as view a partial video of his talk here). Gates talks about how much of education (he doubts F2F will ever go away for the younger grades) will be moving online, becoming more accessible and more affordable. If you listen to Richard Halkett’s presentation at the Building Learning Communities Conference from this summer, you’ll hear the same prediction.

What does this mean in the shadow of CCSS? Are we going to see more freedom for students to choose online “a la carte” education programs/services/opportunities and have the power to build a curriculum that best serves their needs/ambitions/passions? Or will we see a nationalized approach dominate what’s offered even online? Somehow, I don’t see the two movements living in perfect harmony.

I’d love to hear more discussion from TechLearning readers about CCSS in the comments below. I’ve started my own collection of articles on CCSS at this diigo address. Admittedly, the list is predominantly “con” articles (what can I say? I’m an Alfie Kohn groupie), but, with your help, I’d love to balance it out with both sides of the issue. Thanks for any links and thoughts.

(cross-posted at TechLearning)

Let’s face it: if Dorothy never looked behind the curtain, she would never have made it back home.

••••••••••••••••••••••

Geeks and “Fanboys” (note: I use both terms in a complimentary as well as self-identification fashion) across the world got a thrill this past week when they got a never before glimpse “behind the curtain” at Apple. At a special press conference, Steve Jobs revealed state of the art “anechoic chambers” and gave a sliver of explanation about how Apple tests their iPhones (and other devices) for connectivity by a team of very smart PhD scientists and engineers. Apple made this rare offering to the press as evidence and defense to the recent clamor over the purported antenna issues that the recent iPhone 4 is suffering. It was a good move: provide “drool-worthy,” top secret goodies and divert attention, even if only temporarily, from the negative press and criticism flooding the airwaves. You can click here to see a take on the story from macrumors.com, or here for a similar story from Engadget. Or shoot over to the Apple site and watch Steve Jobs himself scold the press for not getting the story correct, complete with pre-show entertainment from Jonathan Mann and his “The iPhone Antenna Song.” It’s all good fun: iPhone 4 owners are promised “bumper” cases and we all learn a truism from Mr. Jobs (one we’ve possibly been afraid to ever admit to ourselves): “This is life in the smartphone world. Phones aren’t perfect.”

Much like the Wizard of Oz, I’m sure Apple never wanted to reveal any of their secrets and have this little “heart to heart,” for certainly, if we know nothing else about the company, we know they aren’t big on transparency. It feels good to hear one of our most famous CEOs reveal candidly that the tech world is flawed. That there are “weakspots.” That “reception will be dropped.” That “Nobody’s Perfect.”

The biggest take away from the presentation comes at the end when Mr. Jobs declares that Apple works incredibly hard for their users, and that they really, really… love us. Truly. That’s what he says.

Wow… who knew transparency could feel so warm and fuzzy?

I think most of us appreciate the level of transparency displayed at the press conference. I, for one, would love to hear a whole lot more. It certainly makes me feel better about purchasing an Apple product. I’m not sure this defensive move on Apple’s part will change the high level of secrecy that surrounds their designs and plans, and perhaps it shouldn’t (sites like macrumors.com would be lacking material if this were to happen).

Perhaps the mystery and unknowns that surround Apple products help drive sales and we’ll just keep drinking the Kool-aid no matter what. However, even though we may have a fondness for the Wizard of Oz at the end of the movie when he hands out his trinkets to Dorothy’s friends, remember that initially he’s a scoundrel, hiding the truth, making up reality as he goes along. It makes it hard to ever really trust the guy.

••••••••••••••••••••••

Last week, I once again had the great fortune to be invited to present at the Building and Learning Communities conference, put on by the November Learning Group in downtown Boston. This year’s conference was, as in the past, stellar, but this year has a special place in my heart as this time around I was accompanied by my 12 year old daughter, Zoe. She co-presented with me, got to see every keynote presentation, helped me podcast those and the workshops I attended (she even went out on her own and captured Peggy Sheehy’s session while I recorded another session), helped Angela Maiers present along with Adora Svitak, and, in short, was transformed by the event. I know she’s getting ready to write her own reflection about her experiences, so I don’t want to steal her story here, but I do want to share one salient quote she offered during a podcast we recorded on our way home from the conference (you can find it here). I asked her, if she could tell me in one word what she thought of the conference. Her answer: “Inspiring.”

What was inspiring? I asked.

“To see all these people who are really wanting to make their classroom a better place for students and to make the learning community better and more innovative and creative more like… kids want to learn in it.”

See… she saw behind the curtain. Never before in her entire career as a student had she been privy to seeing over a thousand teachers come together to talk about making learning better. And this was not boring or unconnected to her, but rather “Inspiring.”

It made me think a lot about teaching: in our roles, are we the Grand Wizards of Oz, hiding everything behind the curtain, or are we explaining why we’re doing things? Do we include our students in designing the learning? Do we admit that we’re not perfect (that there are “weakspots.” That “reception will be dropped.” “Nobody’s Perfect.”)?

This conference had a small representation of students, but much more compared to most conferences I’ve attended (not including the MLTI conference which was primarily students teaching students). I’ve been asking for a while, when attending conferences, “Where are the students?” I think people are starting to understand that they need to be included as well, and it was interesting to see adults picking the brains of the students that were present at BLC2010, as if recognizing that they were a rare commodity at such an event. In fact, at one point, Alan November asked the audience to “imagine” that they had two younger students sitting next to them at the conference in order to really appreciate the message from Adora’s Keynote. Perhaps it isn’t enough to imagine it and we really need those students there.

••••••••••••••••••••••

I’ve been reviewing learning theories and processes this week (Constructivism, Instructional Design, ADDIE, etc.) and as I reflected on my experience on the conference it got me rethinking what little I know about Malcolm Knowles’ adoption of the theory of Andragogy. According to Wikipedia:

“Knowles asserted that andragogy (Greek: “man-leading”) should be distinguished from the more commonly used pedagogy (Greek: “child-leading”).

Knowles’ theory can be stated with six assumptions related to motivation of adult learning:^[1][2]

1. Adults need to know the reason for learning something (Need to Know)
2. Experience (including error) provides the basis for learning activities (Foundation).
3. Adults need to be responsible for their decisions on education; involvement in the planning and evaluation of their instruction (Self-concept).
4. Adults are most interested in learning subjects having immediate relevance to their work and/or personal lives (Readiness).
5. Adult learning is problem-centered rather than content-oriented (Orientation).
6. Adults respond better to internal versus external motivators (Motivation).”

While I certainly agree with the above, I wonder why some (if not all) of these same assumptions can’t be applied to children as well. It’s Number 1 that I find myself particularly stuck on, and not able to get past. Is there truly a distinction that only adults need to know the reason for learning something? Or, doesn’t that also apply to children/students? Shouldn’t students also want to know the reason for learning something? Is that already an intrinsic desire which we haven’t recognized because we don’t believe students would actually be interested in it at an earlier stage of development? Or have we’ve neglected to serve that need due to masking instruction behind too many “curtains”? Have we ever shown what really happens behind the scenes with instruction? Have we welcomed students to be co-contributors of curriculum? Even if this “motivation” truly doesn’t exist at an earlier stage of development, shouldn’t we still teach students to appreciate and question the reason for learning something?

Certainly, my daughter expressed to me that she had no idea what teachers were really doing at a conference like Building Learning Communities. She knew her teachers often go to conferences, and I’ve told her plenty about how conferences work, but she had to see first hand the passion and the work involved in order for us to become better teachers. Again, she didn’t find what she witnessed as “boring.” She found it relevant to herself as a learner, and found inspiration.

I am left with questions… many questions. I invite you to grab one from the list below, or grab the whole batch and take a crack at them. I’d love to hear your thoughts. Thank you in advance.

••••••••••••••••••••••

Questions:

• Does Apple’s stock/value increase or decrease when they tell us they love us?
• Does Apples stock/value increase or decrease when they “pull back the curtain” and admit they aren’t perfect?
• As teachers, are we “Wizards of Oz” who mask our intentions, hopes, and purposes of our lessons behind the curtain and never admit that we aren’t perfect? Would our stock/value increase or decrease if we pulled back the curtain?
• Can students be brought into the building of curriculum… even as early as Kindergarten?
• What are your thoughts about a rule that you can only attend a workshop/conference if you had a student accompany you?
• Can we engage students by giving them a curriculum co-creator role?
• Are you going to answer these questions yourself, or will you ask a student to help you with them?

—————————
References:

“Andragogy – Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.” Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. N.p., n.d. Web. 21 July 2010. <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Andragogy>.

Doctorow, Cory. “Why I won’t buy an iPad (and think you shouldn’t, either) – Boing Boing.” Boing Boing. N.p., n.d. Web. 21 July 2010. <http://boingboing.net/2010/04/02/why-i-wont-buy-an-ipad-and-think-you-shouldnt-either.html>.

“July 16 Press Conference.” Apple Events: July 16 Press Conference. N.p., n.d. Web. 20 July 2010. <events.apple.com.edgesuite.net/100716iab73asc/event/index.html>.

Slivka, Eric. “A Look Inside Apple’s Wireless Testing Facilities – Mac Rumors.” Mac Rumors: Apple Mac Rumors and News You Care About. N.p., n.d. Web. 21 July 2010. <http://www.macrumors.com/2010/07/16/a-look-inside-apples-wireless-testing-facilities/>.

Topolsky, Joshua. “Inside Apple’s ‘black lab’ wireless testing facilities — Engadget.” Engadget. N.p., n.d. Web. 21 July 2010. <http://www.engadget.com/2010/07/16/inside-apples-black-lab-wireless-testing-facilities/>.

(cross-posted at TechLearning)

I should have put this post up a few weeks ago… before ISTE 2010. Currently, I’m looking hard for either audio (podcast) or video (vodcast) captures of presentations from the conference, and I’m either looking in all the wrong places, or they haven’t yet been posted, or they don’t exist. I hope I’m just being a “numskull” and you’re going to put the link to the entire conference experience in the comments below.

So far, I’ve found a great link showing a plethora of bloggers writing about the conference (can be found here on the ISTE2010 site), and I’ve found this wonderful “braindump” from Bud the Teacher and I’m sure I’m going to find others, but if there are videos or audio posted at the actual ISTE site from the conference, then they’re not easy to find (I’ve spent almost an hour there so far today). Again… it could be me. Just call me a “numskull” and send me the link, and I will be most grateful.

I wasn’t able to go to ISTE this year (in fact have never had the opportunity), but even if I had attended, I’d still want all those captures of the presentations that I wasn’t able to attend, or even the ones I did get to attend in order to re-listen, re-experience, remember.

I’ve written about this before here (you can find 2 posts in particular: here and here) and in fact, the former link actually has me putting out a “call to arms” for folks to audio-capture conferences and workshops. The posts describe ways to successfully capture presentations at conferences attended, and even some suggestions on how to share those.

One salient point in both postings is that most presenters will gladly give you permission to podcast their sessions. All you have to do is ask. I have only had 2 people ever refuse the request, and so I’ve been able to share bundles of other people’s amazing presentations at my blog.

Next week, I’m off to my favorite yearly conference: Building Learning Communities put on by the November Learning Group. In the past 3 years that I’ve attended the conference, I have been able to get permission to podcast every keynote presentation except one. If memory serves, I’ve been able to podcast every “workshop” presentation I’ve ever attended at the conference.

Last year, I looked around and I couldn’t find any other podcasters. I was never able to find any audio from presentations that I wasn’t able to attend (either because I was presenting or in another presentation). I’ve already spent the early part of this week painfully trying to decide between which presentations I will attend and which ones I will have to miss because they are happening concurrently.

So… here goes my “call to arms” once again. If you are attending the BLC 2010 conference next week, would you please, please, please bring a recording device (again, see this post for ideas of how to record and share) and ask the presenter if you can podcast the session. It’s so, so, so much easier than you think: most of you already have phones that can record the session (iPhone people, I’m especially looking at you!).

Also, trust me: most presenters will be honored that you asked and will give you permission.

You can either share them yourselves on your own blogs, wikis, etc. or if you’d rather, you may send them to me and I will give you full credit for the recording of the presentation and post them at my “Bit by Bit” Blog. Simply contact me in the comments section (or email, etc) and I will let you know the easiest way to share the file with me.

Out of the hundreds of presentations that will happen, I usually only get to see (and podcast) about 10 (including my own). I sure would like to be able to catch all the others.

Thank you in advance for your help!

(cross-posted at TechLearning)

It’s that time of year: EARLY INTERVIEWS for the next school year. Many teachers beginning their careers, or those seeking new schools, will be donning their best attire, shining up resumes, polishing portfolios and heading into waiting rooms outside of administrators’ offices, readying themselves to do their best to stand out amongst all the other interviewees sweating it out for the same position.

First of all, congratulations to you for actually getting the interview after beating out hundreds of other applicants. Secondly, if you’re not getting that call back yet for the interview, remember that many districts have three phases of hiring: Early (usually starting early June), Mid-Summer (usually mid-August), and the “Oh-My-God-So-and-So-Just-Quit-and-We-Need-To-Fill-This-Position-3-Days-Before-School-Starts” phase. So don’t freak out yet. It’s early.

No matter when you finally get that interview, I’m going to tell you how to nail it with an airtight sales pitch. Without a doubt, continue planning on doing all the great things you’ve already readied for the interview: show that portfolio and your “Greatest Hits” of Units/Lessons; share anecdotes of your finest accomplishments in life; convey your willingness and flexibility to take any position offered; express your flexibility and commitment to recess and lunch duties, etc., etc.

But… here comes the big wind-up: Before you walk out of that room, convince that interviewing committee that they are making the deal of a lifetime by hiring you because for the price of one teacher, they are getting thousands upon thousands upon thousands of teachers.

Don’t just say it. Prove it.

Whip out that laptop and show off every single one of your global Professional Learning Communities that you belong to: all the Blogs, Wikis, Nings, Skype Contacts, Facebook Groups, Elgg Groups, LinkedIn Connections, Diigo/Delicious Followers and “Followees,” Shelfari/LibraryThing Friends, GoogleWave Connections, Twitter Friends/Groups, etc., etc. etc.

Better yet, prove to them how quickly you can get help from your Professional Learning Communities by taking one of their interview questions and “Tweeting” it out or pulling someone in from Skype in REAL TIME! In other words, when they ask you a question like, “How do you teach young children to read?” (note: actual question from an interview), certainly answer the question yourself, but also demonstrate with Twitter/Skype (or any other quick tool), how you would call upon the larger power of your Professional Community to find BEST PRACTICE, discuss resources, and gather anecdotes from Veterans in the community.

Let your Professional Learning Networks know ahead of time when your interviews are so we can be there with you, ready to serve, ready to give character recommendations, ready to prove your “super powers” of being a true Global Educator who will enrich any school with an entire “team” of teachers backing you up, challenging you, bettering your practice, ready 24/7.

What a deal the district is getting with you! Congratulations on your new job!

(Thanks to Cheryl Oakes for the genesis of this idea!)

(cross-posted at TechLearning)

A few weeks ago, I posted a question to you — my Professional Learning Network — to help me prepare for an upcoming presentation to administrators on “What should they see as evidence of Technology Integration in classrooms?” I want to first thank you all for your replies posted at my own blog site, the TechLearning site, and at the survey provided for your answers. There’s still plenty of time to answer the question at any of the above sites as the workshop won’t take place until later this summer, so please jump in to the conversation if you haven’t already!

The responses have been thought provoking and varied and will serve as excellent topic points for administrators to consider. You can view the responses to the survey HERE. Again, thanks to all who have contributed.

Reading through all the responses so far, certain themes stick out for me in answer to “what administrators should see during a 3 minute walk-through”:

• It is the students, more than the teacher, who are using the technology.
• The teacher’s role is that of facilitator/coach.
• Technology is being used to interact/collaborate with others (inside the school community as well as outside; locally as well as globally).
• The technology should just be another tool in the classroom and not stand out anymore than any other tool (i.e., as natural as the pencil).
• Technology is used for reflections and sharing of learning.
• Technology is used to enrich the learning.
• Students have “transliteracy” skills: able to “search, gather, analyze, synthesize and apply and create information from many different formats.”
• Students are able to transfer skills across platforms/software.
• Technology is used spontaneously and is seamlessly integrated.
• There is evidence of digital products/publication (namely, on the Internet).
• Students own the learning.
• Evidence of critical thinking.
• Tasks should have “real world” connections.
• Students are engaged, creative, and excited.
• 3 minutes is not enough time to effectively assess technology integration.

One of the quotes that really had an impact on me was from Tammy Morris, an Educational Technology Specialist from Inspired Impact, LLC:

“I prefer the term “infusion” over “integration” because we have been integrating technology for years, and the picture we have of technology integration is still a rather disjointed scene. Technology infusion, on the other hand, flows smoothly in the classroom. It’s the heart, or the base, of student learning.“

I really like that term infusion over integration as well. “Infusion” suggests a bonding to the curriculum, so intertwined that you can no longer separate it. (Tammy Morris has also published her thoughts about what an administrator should see over at her own site.)

Another key point that responders made is that many of the observations mentioned above have absolutely nothing to do with the technology integration, but rather illustrate “effective teaching.” As Tammy asks, “Isn’t it the same [thing]?”

Thanks again for your all current and future responses!

(cross-posted at TechLearning)

I’ve been asked to do a 1 hour presentation later this summer for school administrators on the topic of “What should they see as evidence of Technology Integration in classrooms?” Specifically, this is a guide to what administrators are looking for during a “3 Minute Walk” when visiting classrooms, collecting evidence for future Teacher evaluations.

I’m starting to gather my ideas together for the presentation. One of the  things I already know I want to talk about is the value of a Professional Learning Network (PLN). It has been my experience that PLNs are one of the most important sources to support and sustain successful technology integration into the classroom. Much of my own success of an integrated curriculum comes from what I have learned from my own generous PLNs (through Twitter, Facebook, Edtechtalk.com, numerous Ning groups, Classroom 2.0, blogs, etc.). To put it bluntly, I couldn’t do it without them. True, administrators may not be able to see evidence that teachers have joined or established PLNs during a “3 Minute Walk,” but at some point this needs to be a part of the conversation and possibly a part of the evaluations.

So, to demonstrate how transformational and powerful PLNs can be, I would like to open up this post to YOU —my PLN— and ask your advice for administrators:

“What should administrators see as evidence of Technology Integration when visiting classrooms?”

I thank you in advance for posting your ideas and thoughts in the Google form linked below. I will give you (my PLN) full credit for all ideas gathered and together we will demonstrate how much can be accomplished thanks to the technology tools that bring us together.

Again, thank you!

PLEASE CLICK HERE TO FILL OUT THE SURVEY

(cross-posted at TechLearning)

Let me begin with a huge shoutout to Will Richardson who wrote this week’s post already for me. Seriously: I’ve been getting ready to write about my ideas of a “Smarter Book” for awhile, and Will pretty much captured a lot of my thinking in his recent fantastic post.

So go read Will and hear me whispering in the background: “Ditto, ditto, ditto” when he talks about his:

• love for books
• surprise that reading ebooks on the iphone was surprisingly satisfying
• love for the large real estate of the iPad
• his frustration for the limitations/disjointedness of his highlights and notes entered in the Kindle app (making them unsearchable, inability to be “remixed,” etc.)

And when you get to point where Will talks about Ted Bongiovanni explaining the solution to that last point, no longer hear me whispering “ditto,” but, rather, hear my jaw dropping and hitting the floor. It’s awesome! (I’m not going to tell you what this solution is; you have to go to Will’s post to get this “golden egg.”)

Will goes on to ponder:

“I keep thinking, what if I had every note and highlight that I had ever taken in a paper book available to search through, to connect with other similar ideas from other books, to synthesize electronically?”

This is where Will really beat me to the punch and wrote my own thoughts for me. (Thank you, Will!)

That’s the smarter book that I want. I want to be able to take notes, make highlights, tag, categorize, and even remix sections into libraries (or collections) for my own future use. In other words, whenever I’m reading a professional book and I come across a salient quote about, lets say, the “benefits of video gaming in education,” then I can capture and categorize that for future use. As it stands now, all of my highlights and notes in physical books are trapped isolated in their own separate islands. They’re disconnected, whereas I want to put parts of them together… in many different categories and “marriages” with other sections from other books. In short, I want the ability to tag and bookmark and even share parts of books just as I already do on the Internet. When I find an article about the “benefits of video gaming in education” on the Internet, I bookmark and tag that page into a category called “Gaming in Education” (using diigo) that can easily be called upon and retrieved at a later date when I need it.

But I must say, I even want more. I want a tool that is so smart, that when I’m reading a new book and I start to make notes, highlights or tags, the computer will actually suggest what categories I may want to place it in. For example, the computer could notice that I’m reading an article (anywhere… not just in an ebook, by the way) about gaming, and suggest, “I notice this passage relates to concepts that you’ve previously captured in the category called, “Video Gaming in Education. Would you like me to tag and add this passage to that collection?”

That would be awesome, wouldn’t it?

But wait… I still want more. Let’s say I’m writing an article about the benefits of gaming in education. I want to be able to say to my computer: “Computer, I’m looking for any information that I’ve collected about this subject as well as any information I’ve collected about the positive or adverse effects of video games in general.”

And still… I want more: “Computer, also collect articles tagged from others (say, from diigo) on the same topic that were created after ‘such-and-such’ date.”

And yes… even more… When reading an ebook, I want to be able to see what others are tagging, highlighting and commenting about certain sections; who else is currently reading this book so I can chat with them in real time (UPDATE: I just found out that I can at least see highlights from other people who have the read the same book within the Kindle app!); articles connected to the book or concept within a passage that are on the Internet; links within the book to multimedia, such as interviews by the author to visually demonstrate or clarify the content; links to historical background, alternative points of view, or controversy; etc., etc.

It sounds an awful lot like many of the tools we’re using on the Internet right now, doesn’t it? I can, for instance, ask Google News to send me alerts whenever someone writes an article about “Video Gaming in Education.” I can go to a site, such as Wikipedia, which will point me in the direction of alternative points of view and controversy. I can search tags and bookmarks in diigo or delicious to see what others have collected.

If I can do much of this with text and information on the Internet, why can’t I do this with a book?

I will close this post with an article/video from Macrumors that reminds us of the concept of the “Knowledge Navigator” and talks about possibilities that may be just around the corner with Apple’s acquisition of Siri.