Feels Like Christmas!

Welcome to our Pre-Christmas "Educational Technology" sale...well, not really a sale since it's all FREE.  Once you check these out, you will understand my enthusiasm.

BEST APP I have ever seen:  Splashtop

PROS...Splashtop allows you to control your desktop (PC, laptop, netbook...) from your IPad over WiFi.  Your IPad (IPhone, Droid...) turns into a mobile version of your desktop computer.  You can access documents, work on programs that normally are not available on IPad (Smart Notebook, for instance), watch flash videos (yes, I said it...flash), play online games and access documents from your hard drive.

CONS...Slight lag time when playing flash games, but that is to be expected since you are accessing another computer via wifi.

ADDED BENEFIT...Since you can control your desktop with your IPad at this point, if your desktop PC or laptop is connected to a smartboard...you can control the smartboard as well.  To be honest, I haven't tested this out yet, but have it on good authority from my techie co-workers that this will work nicely.  Think of the ability to walk through class and still use your Smartboard while you help a student at THEIR desk.

Look for me at school for a demo!


BEST "I Should have thought of this" ONLINE TOOL:  YouTube for Schools and the KHAN Academy

PROS...YouTube Education and the KHAN Academy collect educationally-related YouTube videos and provide a safe access point for students and teachers to find relevant and meaningful videos for classroom uses.  I particularly like the KHAN's selection of videos (almost strictly for MS/HS) and how they incorporate videos with exercises and the ability for students to post questions.  Social media at its best in the classroom.  Tons of math demonstration videos.

CONS...Videos are selected by the organization running the site, which means you are stuck with what they think is appropriate.  At this point, the videos look pretty solid to me.  A great way to categorize YouTube videos and find them easily.


BEST "New" Website to Follow:  Edudemic

Well...it's new to me!

PROS...The subtitle of the site really tells it all, "Connecting Education & Technology."  Great lists of tips and tricks, newsworthy items, lists of useful websites, and even some irreverent educational humor litter this site.  For the most part, there are some excellent ideas and inspiration for your own ideas here, as well as trending items in technology.

Sample Items:

• 30 Great Blogs by Students
• 9 Tools for Using Wikipedia in the Classroom
• Today is Update Your Parent's Browser Day (article)

I will definitely add the feed to my list of daily reads.

CONS...Slightly overwhelming to start, too many links upfront but they are broken up nicely on the navigation bar at the top.


I hope this is a start, maybe some tools for you to peruse over holiday break.  Please have a safe and healthy holiday season. -P

The Reader's Guide Meets the Campfire

I like what Thomas Frey, futurist (yes, apparently that is a title), has to say about the nature of libraries:

...libraries are going through an age of rebirth. Intent on making them the crown jewels of the community, cities from Vancouver to Prague are investing heavily in public libraries, producing opulent, multi-story structures equipped with cutting-edge technology. From rather hidebound monuments to knowledge laboratories, libraries are now evolving into interactive research and leisure centers. Yet this change, impressive as it is, is only the beginning.

This is our current digital transformation in the library profession.  But as I begin to visit more school libraries, not just those I work at regularly, I see that school libraries have a long way to go.

In professional discussions with technology committees, teachers, students, parents and virtually anyone who will listen, I like to be the voice of reason when it comes to technology or social media use in classrooms and libraries.  I believe in the Total Cost of Operation (TCO) method of integrating infusing technology and media into our curriculum.  How much does this cost?  What is the maintenance and upkeep?  What type of training do we need to do first?  Is this a device or skill that transcends into everyday life?  How are student needs being met? And so on...

I think, for the most part, we are moving in the right direction.  I'd like to move faster...wouldn't we all?  The trends that I find disturbing relate directly to the state and nature of library operations in schools...or what I will refer to as the "roadblocks" of our new information centers.


Roadblock #1--The One and Only Authority Syndrome

The last 6 libraries I visited had PRINT (yes, print...as in paper) copies of the Reader's Guide to Periodical Literature.  I must be naive, but I thought HW Wilson stopped printing that 15 years ago.  At $235 for previous years and close to $500 for the current year, isn't that money better spent elsewhere?

I do admit that the Reader's Guide is great on those chilly early autumn days when I watch Badger games outside with campfire...

Let's try to break the habit of doing what we did in the past because we did it in the past.

P.S....all these articles are listed in Badgerlink...and they are FREE (for Wisconsin)!

Roadblock #2--The Dinosaur Syndrome

Reference books are the dinosaurs of the information age.  Like all good dinosaurs, they look nice on the shelves but gather a lot of dust.  They have a certain level of "gravitas" for research, meaning they are heavy and cost too much.

Call me crazy...but who reads reference books?  I can spend 15 minutes teaching a student how to find a one-paragraph entry in an encyclopedia, almanac, or other content specific reference book or 15 seconds teaching them how to find the same information on Infoplease with links to other articles.  Once done learning how to use the encyclopedia, the student can use those lookup skills on other alphabetized reference books.  But not all reference is made equal, some are chronological, some are thematic, some are location-oriented.  Once done learning how to use Infoplease (or other similar database), the student is able to search anywhere because search engines and databases are made virtually equal.

Call me a revolutionary...but as our students hit the "real" world, they will be expected to find and use information rapidly, accurately and remotely.  Let's teach them to use computers, phones, and tablets to do this.

Roadblock #3--The Study Hall Syndrome

As Frey describes, libraries are becoming interactive research and leisure centers.  If I have a study hall of 15-25 students in the library every hour of the day, how can we promote research and leisure activities?  How can we host a class that wants to use the library to research if we don't have space for them?

But in so many of the schools I visit, the library is not only the "land of misfit toys", home of all the equipment and furniture that people don't want, it is also the home of students who don't have class that hour.  We need to change our perspective of the library as a PLACE to hold things (books, AV equipment, people...) to an interactive SERVICE or a PROGRAM, providing information and technology expertise to students, staff, administrators and parents.

Libraries (and librarians or media specialists) are no longer reservoirs or a places of finding information, but  gateways, facilitators, cheerleaders, information experts, advocates, collaborators, conspirators and consultants.  

I, for one, am pushing the transformation.

Antiques of the digital age

I came across this yesterday at one of my schools and it raised a question for me...

Are flash drives a technology tool we've outgrown?  This one is 256MB, btw...I don't think they make these anymore.

The question really pertains to "cloud" computing and the ability to store data (documents, pictures, etc...), just as data, on the web...in the "cloud" so to speak, and have them all in one location, a matter of backup.

On Tuesday, I downloaded the free app, Box.net, on my IPad and included with that is a deal to get 50GB of online storage for life.  Being a huge fan of online storage, I jumped at the chance.  I also recommend it for everyone else...the deal ends soon.  Another good site is 4Shared...around 15GB for free.

I use cloud storage for a number of reasons:

• I tend to take my IPad everywhere and hate carrying my laptop (with plug and mouse) due to size, apparently 6 pounds is too heavy.  It is no longer convenient.  I can access all my files (and view them) on my IPad, IPod Touch or phone (currently a junky Blackberry).  PLUS, the IPad doesn't do USB very easily.
• I can access online storage from pretty much anywhere...via WiFi or 4G wireless.
• I have a tendency to a) run over flash drives, b) not have them when I need them, or c)not have my computer when I need to view a file on a flash drive.
• FREE=GOOD
• Secure, convenient and little chance of losing my files, unlike my twisted desire to run over my own flash drives.
• As part of the social media pantheon of tools, you can actually SHARE your files with others at your own discretion....either professionally or personally.

As of right now, I uploaded 250 files on Box and used 1GB of space.  Just storage.  Check it out.

Storage fun facts for today...

• 1976--5.25" Floppy Disks--1.2 MB (Dual sided)
• 1981--3.5" Floppy Disks--1.44 MB of storage
• 1984--Compact Disks--about 650MB
• 1994--ZipDisks and Drives--100 MB of storage
• 1995--DVDs--about 4.7 GB
• 1997--Memory Cards--various
• 2003--Blue Ray--25 or 50GB
• What's next?

Power of Social Media

Being a devoted follower of Mashable, I read their articles religiously every day.  I subscribe to their feeds and read virtually every article published...and they publish a LOT.

Mashable is an excellent site, first and foremost, for tech and gadget news and trends.  They give honest and frank opinions on all manner of gadgets, market trends, etc...Something a little different than the standard review.  Combined with CNET, you can get a detailed view of virtually every new gadget (TVs, phones, tablets...) out there.  

More importantly, however, is Mashable's ability to go beyond "this is cool!" and search for meaning in the transitions our society is going through...the meaning and importance of social media, important news and trends that affect everyone not just us tech-geeks, and tools that we can use in relevant and meaningful ways in our lives.

Today, I read an interview with Shaq's social media advisor, Amy Jo Martin.  She has some important things to say about social media and how to use it to create a personal brand as well as how to reach out to followers in highly personal ways.  My favorite quote from the interview:

The ability to be able to communicate with people one-on-one and still be able to do so in a scalable way is extremely powerful. Brands being able to really unwrap the layers and interact with people triggers more loyalty and response and becomes a whole new layer of how we communicate. When you remove the traditional gatekeepers of communication, the potential is just infinite. It’s really only limited by the spread of technology worldwide and how long that takes. (AJM)

I am finding that as I begin to let go of my "gatekeepers", I am beginning to see more and more of the value (and opportunities) that social media can play in education.

• Creating a SCHOOL brand using Twitter and Facebook
• Using social media to connect in meaningful ways with the community and parents
• Teaching students how to create their own identity with social media tools in responsible ways--the importance is that colleges and employers are now beginning to look at FB and Twitter as part of the interview process.
• Using our students' prior knowledge (i.e. technology) to enhance their own ability to create, share, publish, explore

Sometimes I am overwhelmed with the possibilities.