Tech tools from a nerds perspective

New technology is one of the most important aspects of learning in the classroom.  I always remembered having so much fun on the old Macintosh 128k and the latest gadgets in the classroom.  The problem wasn't the technology but the way it was used.  The integration of technology was lacking and not nearly as practical.  Chapter 4 talks about a new model called The New Technology High School model which uses in-depth- and problem based learning that involves teamwork, critical thinking, and communication skills (Solomon and Schrum, p78).  Technology is everywhere and it isn't going away.  Look was what happened today, Apple and Intel released a new type of digital I/O port called Thunderbolt.  Thunderbolt is exceptional technology because of innovation and forward thinking.  You can transfer a 5GB file simultaneousness to and from an external hard drive with thunderbolt while watching a 1080p HD movie on the same external drive. Yes I know (tech jargon) but the rate at which technology is going - wait times will be nonexistent.  How is does this apply to new tools in education or the professional settings - well honestly it has everything to do with it.  I hate to sound cliche, but new innovative technology can impact a classroom dramatically.  With this nearly instant technology, classrooms could leap ahead of most professionals today. I believe that education should "buy into" the latest innovations.  Granted, money is always difficult to come by, but that is why specials grants and programs exist.  Being able to collaborate using new technology like Cisco Telepresence can reshape the classroom into something more interactive and enjoyable.  

High-End version of Cisco Telepresence

Image using a scaled down version of this in a classroom - students would eat this up, being able to see and interact with children from around the world.  This is the future, education should find the means to include this into the curriculum.  The only way this will be possible according to the New Technology High School model is to find out how to balance pedagogy and technology. (Solomon and Schrum, p79).

From experience, being in a professional setting where I see technology daily, I find that the New Technology model does have its place here as well.  Collaborating with others is almost as simple as a double click, for instance - I signed up for a webinar called Apple iPad and iPhone in the professional enterprise market.  All I had to do after I signed up was click a link - install gotomeeting - and launch it after it was installed.  Pretty simple...Once I entered the webinar I was greeted by more than 100 people live all at their workplace listening to the same exact person explaining how iDevices have penetrated the enterprise segment, and the impact Apple has created.  Another promising tool that I enjoy is Podcasting / screencasting.  This has allowed many people to learn from others; one-on-one.  This type of learning is great for constructive feedback, learning on our own pace, and sharing socially with others.  Recently here in the IT department at McNeese we bought Camtasia for Mac and PC.  We will be developing "How-To" videos on various technology related topics.  Here is an example that I made entirely with my iPhone 4 and Flash CS4 ( no this is not my voice - another Tech did the voice over )

To view this at better quality visit http://ns.mcneese.edu/wireless/iOS.mp4 All of the animations were made in Flash with images I captured with my iPhone4.  ***Tangent*** If you have an iPhone you can press the sleep button and the home button at the same time which takes a screenshot of whatever your doing on your iPhone. ***Tangent is now over*** Developing tips and ticks like this is a great way for feedback in education and the professional world.  It also allows for social networking which can lead to trends that impact the digital world.  Chapter 4 makes me wonder what haven't I experienced?  Let me explain - browse through the chapter and you see text like "New Tech", Blogs, Wikis, Podcasting, Flickr, Media, etc... I know I'm not the only one who has encountered these tools before graduate school.  Makes you wonder how we are going to teach this to the kids and professionals involved with it daily! Its all about being creative, unique and ubiquitous - never let your ideas go undeveloped.  Figure out fun and enjoyable methods to collaborate while staying up-to-date with the latest tech trends, and innovations.

The inner geek.

Being involved daily with technology there aren't very many terms that I'm not aware of.  I stay up-to-date with the latest gadgets, tech talk, web tools, and computer components.  My background in advertising design also gives me knowledge in many of the free creative tools out there such as Google Picasa, Google Sketchup, and Flickr.  Each of these tools are easy to learn and to use.

My office in Google Sketch 

 









Google Sketch is a great tool for architects, interior designers or for people who like to digitally recreate anything.  Google Sketch 8 is free to download for PC / Mac users.  There is also a Pro version which includes tools for professionals and the ability to export to different file formats.

There are other programs that I've used in the past, but have to reason to use them such as Google Picasa ( I use  iPhoto now ) and Flickr - which is a photo sharing website.  Photo sharing is becoming an extremely popular choice for photographers who don't have a blog or website of their own.   Besides the free route, there are websites like iStockPhoto, and Dreamstime that supply stock photos for designers. Photographers can become sellers - providing digital imagery at different price points.  Check out the websites here: www.istockphoto.com - www.dreamstime.com

My wife and I are avid YouTubers!  We love to watch "Vlogers" ( video bloggers ) such as iJustine, RhettandLink, MysteryGuitarMan, ShayCarl, Julian Smith, TheVlogBrothers, and many more.  These people are extremely skilled in videography, photography, and music.  For the most part their shows revolve around satire.  The vloggers make a living off the amount of viewers they have watch their shows, of course not directly from YouTube, but from the advertisements included in their channel.  My wife and I have created several videos, not nearly as polished, but interesting to say the least.  The first one is self explanatory - we went to Paula Deens Restaurant in Savannah - the last 2 are stop motion videos I captured with my Nikon D5000 tethered to my Macbook. Stop motion is something you can do very easily - just need a tripod and time!

The Web 2.0 movement has dramatically made the internet into something everyone of all ages can use to create, and consume.  The tools that and terms that I've mentioned are only a few of a massive library of tools that users can find.  If there are any tools mentioned in chapter 3 that I'm not aware of it would have to be tools related to educational open source software like
Dynamica, Molecular Workbench, StarLogo, and Squeak.  Each of these web 2.0 tools deal with different aspects of education like science, history, biology, and math.  There are plenty of other tools available for teachers and students.  I believe any tool especially developed by Google could be considered educational not only because its easy to use, but because of the information that it provides.  Here is a tool not listed in the chapter but would be a great resource for art teachers.  It's called Google Art Project.  This is an interactive tour of museums around the world, powered by Google ( http://www.googleartproject.com/ )  Google has done some technically amazing things, but this takes the cake!  Check it out!  

***TAKING A BREAK!***

Students & Learning - 21st Century goodness!

The Original Macintosh 128k

If I had to make an educated guess as to what technology students use the most, I would say the Internet has to be the most widely used technology.  The Internet is filled with so many resources that assist in education.  Unfortunately when I was a student in high school, the Internet wasn't like it was today.  The seemingly instant speed access wasn't available or cost prohibited.  If students have a choice to use a computer or read a book 9 times out of 10 the student will most likely want to use the computer and browser the Internet.  Communication programs such as AIM, Pidgin, Skype, Facebook, etc...allows students to collaborate instantly with one another.  Most of the students seem like they'd rather chat with instant messaging or text over face-to-face contact. Of American households, 71% have Web access, and Americans 13-24 now spend more time online than they do in front of the TV (Sloan & Kaihla, 2006).  Students today have grown so accustomed to the Internet that information is easily and readily available.  My generation is probably the last that knows what it was like without the Internet and the instant communications that we see today.  The method of research use to be parents dropping their children off at the library and reading books, or using CD media such as Britannica or some type of encyclopedia.  These methods are dominated by the Internet and the convenience of staying home.  I can't speak for students that I have not yet taught, but I can say from experience that when I was going to school, I expected technology to be much more up-to-date than what I used at home.  I expected access to the Internet to be more reliable if we used it, and I expected the experience to be more desirable.  In elementary school at ICCS we had "computer" which was learning the home-row keys, playing kid-pix, and learning basic computer skills.  The technology at the time was the original Apple 128k beige computers.  I'm sure the computers were hand-me-downs, but whatever the case that is where I learning computer skills.  At the time my parents didn't own a computer, so I was receiving rich multimedia skills that have impacted my education career.  Students will learn and understand differently than the peers around them, however, with technology students are able to learn all at once.  Educators can find new ways of interaction that appeals to all learners -visual, listener, and hands on.  The way we interact with technology directly impacts how a child understands the content especially if the content is fun and entertaining.  By teaching something that the student is familiar with they become more interested in learning and building upon his/her skills.  Project-based learning also builds upon what the student may know or at least is familiar with, yet forces them to use logic over a long period.  Project-based learning is imperative for students to learn because of the fast-paced society that we live in.  Students learn how to multi-task, delegate, and become responsible for their own work.  Finally making connections with technology will truly integrate and immerse the student in their work.  Immersion and interaction is the way of the 21st century and education has to adapt to these methods.  The challenge is this - find way to support in-depth learning and increased student achievement while also employing a variety of measures, including standardized tests.  If new methods engage students so they are eager to learn, allow them to aquire the ability to do so, in-depth, "real world' activities and support them (Solomon and Schrum, p41-42).

Website Evaluations!!

www.webdesign.tutsplus.com

This website is one of my favorite websites around.  This features some of the best of the best tutorials for webdesign. The Envato community is filled with rich content for those looking to learn the latest tips and tricks from the experts.  You can sign up for a premium membership which grants you access to premium tutorials.  I would strongly encourage everyone in class to at least subscribe to their RSS feed to learn about the latest news in web design.  Aside from the content on the website, webdesign.tutsplus.com is well designed with minimal colors, easy to read content (on all screen sizes), and well written articles.  The minimal design has also made the site extremely efficient especially when looking for specific articles to read.  Lastly, the navigation is simple and precise; everything you need is at the top of the page.  Webdesign.tutsplus.com offers great resources looking for a "self-help" solution when it comes to web design or for someone looking to read up on the latest trends and tips.

www.css-tricks.com

Chris Coyier is a web developer who has been writing CSS related materials for many years now.  He currently works at WuFoo which is a really cool website that develop web forms.  http://wufoo.com if you want to check it out.  Chris Coyier's website css-tricks.com is a great resource for beginners.  He has great screencast ranging from wordpress integration, theme development, and HTML code development.  He goes over the fundamentals of CSS, along with some very advanced tutorials such as WebKit, HTM5, CSS3, JQuery, and MooTools.  Chris Coyier has even co-written a book called Digging into Wordpress - a complete guide on how to develop wordpress websites from scratch. Check it out http://digwp.com/ 

Web 2.0

This chapter is the perfect way to jump into the ideas and concepts behind web 2.0. Today we are so immersed in technology it's difficult to think about the road that brought us here in the first place. I constantly have to remind myself that the speed, availability, and social aspects are in its respective infancy. Chapter 1 describes the concepts, ideas, and principles behind this movement in the Word Wide Web. The speed of the internet has greatly improved allowing us to collaborate seemlessly hundreds if not thousands of miles away. The collaborative applications such as Skype, Google Talk, and Webex have shrunk the world as we know it. Availability is another factor that has shaped the corporate world. One of the largest communication corporations (Cisco) can bridge together corporations without having to leave the office. Being able to interacte with a person miles away in an office setting generates efficiency and promotes accessibility. Finally the social networks. Socials networks became and "underground" hit 7-8 years ago; the big one MySpace. MySpace attracted so many young plugged in teenagers and adults to their mini webpages. Begin able to express yourself in this way become extremely popular, especially when MySpace created the musician pages. The best part of the social movement was that it was completely free. Anyone could join and create the content they wanted. The social networks became bland after MySpace popularity leveled out. Mark Zuckerberg changed everything. Zuckerberg introduced Facebook to college students in 2003-2004 revolutionizing everything MySpace had to offer, it is still the number 1 social networking site today. Facebook was just the beginning in the Web 2.0 evolution.  Chapter 1 explores the comparison of web 1.0 and web 2.0 and the tools which sparked the evolution. Beyond chapter 1 I find there are tools that help standardize the web as we know it and it is up to us as educators to make sure these standards are taught. The web isn't ran by a conglomerate group of individuals; but a place for creation, interaction, collaboration, and learning.  **additional content ahead!** Technology is rapidly changing in our society today.  Education is preparing students to adapt to the 21st century by giving us tools such as the web, interactive software & hardware and also the means to express ourselves creatively. ICT - Information and communications technology literacy is the ability to use technology to develop 21st-century content, knowledge, and skills (Solomon and Schrum, p.18).  Students today are graduating from college with skills & abilities such as Digital-Age Literacy, Inventive Thinking, Effective Communication and High Productivity (Solomon and Schrum, p.19).  Most of these traits are second nature for the majority of students today which are being fine tuned with creative methods.