Category: collaboration

The 2011 K-12 Horizon Report: Too optimistic? | Dangerously Irrelevant | Big Think

Ouch! Scott McLeod pulls no punches in this response to the 2011 K-12 Horizon Report. He echoes Gary Stager’s assertion that most technology growth is replicative in nature: SmartBoards replicating chalkboards, clickers/responders replicating multiple-choice quizzes, teacher-selected YouTube clips replicating filmstrips and VHS tapes. Even Moodle takes a hit as he claims that it is simply another environment created and controlled by teachers. (True, too.)

He laments the missed opportunities of new and emerging technologies: “We still have too many teachers who have no clue what Google Docs or Twitter are, for example. We still have too many administrators who are blocking mobile learning devices and are fearful of online learning spaces.” 

This parallels so many conversations I have been having recently with colleagues and articles I have been reading online about the disparate expectations that Millennials, Gen-Xers, and Boomers have regarding technology, education and daily life…perhaps this will be fodder for a future post here on MSIT Next.

The 2011 K-12 Horizon Report: Too optimistic? | Dangerously Irrelevant | Big Think

Adjusting the Prescription | The University of Virginia Magazine

One of the great things about our job is that we are often consulted about new and interesting ideas from The Great Beyond. This week the three of us were sent a link to an article in the online University of Virginia Magazine and asked to share our responses.

While it would be tempting at first blush to read this article as an endorsement of the “shiny, new things” approach to innovation, it actually presents a fascinating look at curricular re-imagining for this university medical school program. The photos seem to showcase the technology/tools (large screens, round tables, student laptops, high-tech mannequins) but the real star of the show is the dramatic changes in teaching and learning styles (professors as guides and co-learners, students as researchers and constructors of knowledge).

Adjusting the Prescription | The University of Virginia Magazine

36 Interesting Ways to Use Moodle in the Classroom – "Google Docs"

This is sooo meta! Tom Barrett has created a Google Docs presentation about Moodle and opened it up to all of us for collaborative editing. In the time it has taken me to compose this post the number of great ideas in this presentation has increased to 40 (thanks to Joseph Thibault). Am hoping to add one of my own ideas, too!

36 Interesting Ways to Use Moodle in the Classroom – “Google Docs”

Eric Whitacre: A virtual choir 2,000 voices strong | Video on TED.com

http://video.ted.com/assets/player/swf/EmbedPlayer.swf

This video of Eric Whitacre’s virtual choir was shared with us recently by Michele. What a fantastic example of collaboration! As Carol just remarked, “Two thousand people…and it’s beautiful!”

Eric Whitacre: A virtual choir 2,000 voices strong | Video on TED.com