Can our creations teach us?

We are faced, occasionally, with the task of defining our philosophy of technology in education. For myself, I believe that we have reached the technological capacity of being able to convey any imaginable thought or feeling in some fashion, giving us a level of communicative capability that we have never before reached. Communication and creativity are the driving forces of human success, and they will continue to propel us into the futures we wish to experience, especially aided by technology that is becoming reality shortly after its original imagining.

Speaking broadly, if we teach ourselves and our children to be receptive to the changing nature of technology (instead focusing on honing our adaptive technical abilities over our concrete technical ones), we will achieve the greatest advantage our species offers. Being afixed to outdated, slower formats is being afixed to outdated and slower methods of expressing thought.

The important thing to keep in mind is that we must teach this philosophy. We must work to remember that there is no certainty we should assume in the limits of technological capacity. Each child should be taught that their computer is a tool to help them understand, not a source of simplistic answers that will help them fill in their homework. We should shift our methods of teaching to critical interpretation of information, now that information retention is no longer as significant (as information is now retained on the web).

Footprints in the Cybersands

As a college student in the process of transferring to another college, it seems relevant to consider the issue of one’s digital footprints. The Huffington Post reported in 2011 that upwards of 80% of college admission officers will look up applicants on Facebook or using Google (article here). I imagine that number is much higher now, and it will continue to be one of the determining factors in admission for the upcoming batches of college students.

Are you aware of the traces you leave whenever you log in to a website, search for terms, or make comments on certain sites? Perhaps you use proxy software to mask your online adventures, or make use of the security features in Google Chrome, Firefox, and other browsers. Perhaps you take the opposite approach, figuring the information is relatively harmless in the sea of data that is the web. Either way, it is prudent to prepare all users of the web in knowing of the extent of the tracking that can go on, and the effect their digital footprint could have on them.

Some schools are taking a proactive approach to handle this issue, and to convey the seriousness of it to their students. Many teachers (such as Nichole Pinkard in Chicago) find it goes hand in hand with promoting digital literacy, which will soon define literacy in general as media and technology become completely integrated with daily interactions.

In the best cases, students are taught the benefits of making a positive footprint (rather than hiding anonymously on the web), as well as the ramifications of negative ones. This could be said to be the modern version of imparting responsible and ethical behavior to the online citizen– teaching students that their actions and words have repercussions and should be treated as such (rather than allowing the misconception to continue that it is the ideal trolling ground).

Thinking on this, I have to consider my own digital footprint. I enjoy commenting on news and blog posts now and then, and I use my Facebook profile to sign in to various sites. I search for a variety of terms and subjects in the pursuit of various academic topics. Presently, I keep most of my Facebook profile restricted to the general public, though some of my political and scientific inclinations shine through at times. Should I be concerned?

Doing a search on myself reveals all of the places I’ve lived in the past 12 years, along with a few archived newspaper articles (which are positive). Some other loosely statistical information is available, not all of it accurate. I have to wonder at the breadth of companies that have one or more of my e-mail addresses in their mailing lists or on file, as it is difficult to know how much of that has been saved and shared over the 15 years I’ve been online… it is easy to feel invaded by such incessant tracking, but it is also empowering to realize how you can impact the impression people have of you by augmenting your online presence with positive reinforcement.

The opposite potential is disturbing, but it should be said– someone can easily harass and manipulate another by publishing false information online, and spreading it. Thus, we have the need for cyberethics.

Lost in the “C”

Presently we are losing our compassion and our ability to communicate effectively.

We can combat that with our creativity and sense of community.

It’s all crowd control.

Learnboost Lesson Planner (reviewish)

The prior three posts are an attempt to explore the capabilities of the Learnboost lesson planning system at https://www.learnboost.com. Overall, I’ve been pretty impressed so far, though I have run into a few bugs that have resulted in time outs during web page loading (when trying to share to wordpress). I haven’t put the Learnboost system through its full paces as yet, but it appears to be extensive in what it covers (including the ability to add standards). All in all, not bad!

Introducing Students to Space (an app to map the stars)

A few months ago, a good friend showed me an app on his ipad that allowed him to view all of the celestial bodies around the earth in their exact real-time locations (satellites as well). I was floored by the potential of the app (which was Starmap) and the curiosity it could unleash.

The same company has put out a similar program (Spacemap) with a richer user interface making it more approachable for kids and students. Not only does it fulfill the same capabilities of Starmap, it also allows users to “fly” through solar systems on virtual intersellar voyages (again, with accurate celestial mapping).

For the right age bracket (junior high and higher), this application could serve to open up young minds to interest in space, astronomy, and science. Having a fully dynamic application that lets you point at, say, Sirius, and then instantly start flying there puts celestial bodies firmly within the grasp of any student. Coordinating daytime space journeys with nighttime star viewing would only serve to enhance the experience.

Personally speaking, I would have truly enjoyed having this as a kid. I remember when we first got Windows 95 and it featured a primitive program that would let you fly into space (very slowly), and how much time I spent doing that (despite the limited graphics and incorrect positioning) just to wrap my head around the distances involved… I was 13 at the time, and the adult me is just as excited about the potential offered in programs like Spacemap.

In many ways, science fiction is only science future.

Check out Spacemap at this link:

http://www.star-map.fr/starmap-spacemap/

Is the Ipad good for education?

After reading a firsthand account from a teacher extolling the virtues of the ipad in a classroom (found *here*), it’s hard to say that Ipads do not have a place in our schools. For students that find little to no appeal in traditional classrooms, such a device offers unparrallelled ability to pull them back into learning. Having something instantly interact with you in a meaningful fashion (rather than ignoring you or prioritizing something else) is very rewarding to many learners. For many students (especially those who respond well to the format), Ipads will transform their educational experience as they become more and more exposed to them.

We can’t ignore the potential danger in promoting this kind of surrogate teaching. If a child learns only from an electronic resource, they may not develop the communication skills they’d need to ask another person a question correctly, or have any incentive to do so (their first instinct would always be to refer to the Ipad or similar device rather than to ask someone– in most cases this is not a problem, but some questions can’t be asked of a tablet and answered in a rewarding fashion).

The gains are immediately noticeable, but the detrimental effects may take decades to appear. That must be considered to some extent when we change the way we interact with our children.

This is related to what is considered to be the “Gamification” of learning (and reality with such products as Google Glass). Essentially, through game mechanics designed to “reward” the user with upgrades, achievement points, badges or what-have-you, programs trick users into learning (or at least memorizing).

Is this kind of learning effective in the long term? Is it literally proving that learning is NOT its own reward? Does it remove incentive from learning anything that doesn’t offer some kind of extrinsic “points”?

Here is an article related to gamifying our education. Food for thought.
http://www.upsidelearning.com/blog/index.php/2012/11/14/gamification-in-learning/