Category Archives: Technology Resources

Report: The Tech Divide

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tech survey report

Another report — another glimpse into the chasm between the kinds of media and technology composing, creation and use being done by our students outside of school and inside of school. I don’t think there is too much new in this release of the  “21st Century Classroom Report: Preparing Students for the Future or the Past?” by CDW Government LLC, which is a company that seems to sell technology products and plans to educators (so, view the data through that lens).

A press release about the report notes that the survey of 1,000 students and teachers:

“… found that just 8 percent of high school teachers said that technology is fully integrated into the classroom; and the technology that is available is primarily used by teachers and not students.”

That use by teachers, and not their students, is something that is pretty widespread in my experience and we need to do a better job of filtering the tech out of the hands of the teachers (once they understand the tech themselves) and into the hands of students.

The report offers up a few suggestions on moving forward.

In order to successfully prepare students for their future, the 21st-Century Classroom Report recommends that districts:

  • Understand student needs: Just one-third of students say their high school seeks student input on classroom technology. Consider using the 21st-Century Classroom survey tool to get an accurate picture of student, faculty and IT staff needs. Use the results to discuss 21st-century skills with students to determine what technology they find most beneficial and seek guidance on how to effectively incorporate technology into the curriculum
  • Improve faculty resources: Districts should bring together faculty and IT staff to discuss must-have resources and implement professional development that aligns and reinforces the district’s technology plan
  • Look to the future: Focus on professional development and 21st-century skills to create a curriculum and classroom environment that promotes learning and seamless technology integration. Consider how today’s students learn and how to bring their native technology into the classroom

All good advice, even if it comes from a technology business.

Peace (in the data),
Kevin

How to Archive a Ning Site

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Yesterday, I went through the steps to downloading and archiving a Ning site. It’s a networking site that I have used with a handful of people on our Western Massachusetts Writing Project Technology Team and, while it has been useful, it is not worth paying for. But I didn’t want to lose everything. So I decided to try out the new Ning Archive tool. And I took some screenshots along the way.

First, you will need to have Adobe Air installed on your computer. It’s a quick process and Air is used by other programs, so you might as well have it on your machine. Platforms like Tweetdeck work off Air, by the way.

Ning Archive 1

Second, you need to go into a site you created (the archive tool only works for site creators, I think) and go into your administrator tab. Down at the bottom of the page, you should see an icon for “Archive Content.” This is what you want. Click on it.

Ning Archive 2

Third, the site will give you the option of downloading Adobe Air and then launch the Ning Archiver. The archiver will ask you for the URL of your Ning site, your email and your password. This will verify that you are the owner of the site.

Ning Archive 3

Fourth, the application will ask you where you want to create a folder with all of the files.

Ning Archive 4

Fifth, you go through a series of options on what you want to download, including member information (only the most previous 400 folks, apparently); media files;  events; discussions; groups and more. The downloading was quick for my site, but then again, it did not have a lot on there to deal with.

Ning Archive 5

The folder now on your computer has all of the files from your site.

Ning Archive 6

The archive is stores as a .json file, which I had no clue about. So of course, I googled it. A JSON file is “is a lightweight data-interchange format. It is easy for humans to read and write. It is easy for machines to parse and generate.” I hope that means it is easy to upload into another network, if I choose.

I’m hoping my process helps you, if you decide to archive and move your Ning network somewhere else. Even if you don’t move it now, you may want to save the content for another time.

Peace (in the transfer),
Kevin
PS — These are the screenshots as a slideshow, if that helps:

Using Cool Tools: Don’t “just do it”

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(I wrote this last week at the New Literacies Institute and shared it at our site, but thought I might share it here, too.)

I’ve been thinking about this issue in light of the Cool Tools sessions in which we have gratefully been given time to learn and play around with a technology tool. For many, this may be a first introduction to Voicethread, Glogster, Jing and more. Once you get past the initial technical barrier (sign up, bandwidth, etc.), it’s easy to get immersed in the technological tool and then use that “wow” moment to want to integrate that tool into our Inquiry Projects. (Spend a few minutes building a wall at Glogster and you will see what I mean — here is a book review that I did on Glogster about The Socially Networked Classroom that I look at now and think, there’s too much going on here.)

I suggest a cooling off period, first. Let the “wow” moment pass and then think clearly about:

  • What are the aims of the project, lesson or professional development concept? What do I want my students/teachers to learn?
  • Does the technology enhance the learning experience?
  • Why am I using this particular tool and not another?

In other words, use the technology as a tool for learning and not just to use the tool. One mantra that I use with my students (but also, with myself) is: Just because you can do it doesn’t mean you should do it. It’s easier to say the mantra than it is to enact it, but still, I try.

I suggest there are a few reasons why you would want to step back and reflect before forging ahead with a tech tool integration:

  • Students may become distracted if they, too, get caught up in the technology. Make sure the technology complements the learning you are aiming for. Provide focus and structure and clear expectations of your students. Again, is the tool the right fit for the goal? Remember: it is not the tool that is important, it is the learning (there I go, sucking the fun out of school again)
  • We should always be wary of advertising on sites we bring our students to. Glogster is one that has lately become bombarded with ads. We use Firefox, with Adblock Plus add-on (you should, too), but the last thing we need are schools to become yet another place where our young people are forced into the role of economic consumer
  • Web 2.0 sites die all the time, or get revamped, or change unexpectedly. This is a fact of life in the unsettled connected world. We don’t want to put all of our eggs in one basket, or one application or platform. (Corollary: always have a back-up plan for days when a site is down or the filter unexpectedly decides to kick you out.)

I don’t mean to suggest that you don’t integrate technology (I’d be at the wrong conference for that — perhaps the Luddite Convention down the road?) but I do recommend thoughtful integration, with the backwards design model of where do you want your students to be at the end and what tools can help engage them to do their best and most creative work along the way. Keep in mind: What affordances does the technology bring to the learning experience?

Meanwhile, the best way for us teachers and educators to figure all that out is to “play” with the tools ourselves. Put yourself in the role of your student (or your teacher, if your aim is PD) and work with a variety of tools to determine the best fit. This takes time, but it is worth it. Your own experience “creating” goes a long way to understanding the possibilities and limitations of whatever you choose to bring to the classroom.

Peace,
Kevin

Cool Tools, shared

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On the New Literacies Ning, Ian asked folks to add their own cool tools they have used or that they recommend for others to consider using, and I thought I might compile those recommendations here. It’s great to gather collective resources together.

Here is what was on the list:

In the week, during the various sessions, we also used:

Peace (in the sharing),
Kevin

The Roc: A Cool Music Loop Creator

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Here’s another free tool in the Aviary suite of tools: Roc. It allows you to create short loops and I had blast working with it yesterday. I think the loops you create here can later be added into the Myna audio editor (note to self: check on that).

The interface is built on the idea of dragging tracks to the editing station, where you then click your mouse to add “beats” of that sound to the loop, so you can visually see the sounds you are layering (sort of like a musical cake, but not quite as filling).

Here is what I created:

Peace (in the roc),
Kevin

iPod Program at my school

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We recently received a Thinkfinity grant that will allow us to purchase some iPods and develop connections to science and math, with technology. The local newspaper did an article on it.

Peace (in the news),
Kevin

It’s About Time: Ning Archive Tool

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ManageArchive-small

One of the frustrating elements of using Ning (besides the fact that they are making a huge shift soon away from free) is that there didn’t seem to be any easy way to save or archive your content on a Ning. That meant that unless you painfully copy and pasted your content, it would all get lost when you closed your network.

Today, Ning announced that it will be releasing a tool soon that runs on Adobe Air which archives content from a Ning site. I’ll be interested in seeing how well it works, since I have a couple of sites that I won’t be continuing under the new Ning plan but still don’t want to lose the work that has been done there.

Peace (in the save file),

Kevin

Tinkering with Dropio with a Song of Mine

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I know a lot of folks are touting Dropio as a way to share files, so I figured I would give it a try. I am working on recording some new songs and this one is almost complete (still needs some bass).

I am going to try to embed the Dropio for this mp3 file here. (Note: there is few seconds of silence at the start of the file).

Discover Simple, Private Sharing at Drop.io

Peace (in the sharing of songs),

Kevin

Yet Another Pew Report: State of Online Video

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Man. The Pew Research group is a busy lot, and what they keep presenting us with as data around technology is fascinating. I certainly appreciate it. The latest report is about the use of online video.

Read The State of Online Video.

Here are a few highlights (my comments are in italics):

* Seven in 10 adult internet users (69 percent) have used the internet to watch or download video. That represents 52 percent of all adults in the United States. But while young people continue to be the most active age group in this category, the gap is shrinking. The same is true for the gender gap, as more women are sharing and watching online videos than in previous Pew surveys.

* Comedy or humorous videos rose in viewership from 31 percent of adult internet users in 2007 to 50 percent of adult internet users; news was the second most-popular category, with 43 percent of adults saying they watched such videos, compared with 37 percent in the earlier survey. This is no surprise. The most viral of videos are often short, funny ones. That’s human nature, I guess.

* Educational videos rose in viewership from 22 percent to 38 percent of adult internet users. This indicates to me that teachers are making inroads into using technology and video, either for sharing or for learning. In either case, the numbers here are likely to grow as social networking sites make it easier and easier for the sharing of videos. I think a lot of teachers are stymied by the “how” to share videos, not the making of them.

* Movies or TV show videos rose in viewership from 16 percent to 32 percent of adult internet users.

* Political videos rose in viewership from 15 percent to 30 percent of adult internet users.

* One in seven adult internet users (14 percent) has uploaded a video to the internet, almost double the 8 percent who were uploading video in 2007. Home video is the most popular content by far, shared by 62 percent of video uploaders. And uploaders are just as likely to share video on social networking sites like Facebook (52 percent) as they are on more specialized video-sharing sites like YouTube (49 percent).

It’s clear that video content is growing and that with no-frills cameras like the Flip and others, it is easier than ever to make movies and share them. And I think the quality of videos is getting better, even though there is a still a lot of crap out there.

Peace (in the data),
Kevin

What I think …

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This post combines two pieces that I pulled together recently — one for a mini-grant proposal from a teaching website and another for the YPulse Wired Teaching Award (where I was a finalist).

For the minigrant, I was asked to write about what I think about “21st Century Readiness” and also, if I were to a video documenting my thoughts, what would it look like?

My thoughts:

Young people compose all of the time, although it often happens outside of our classroom. They are texting in short-hand language that some adults find unnerving. They are surfing the Net. They are creating and sharing videos. They are “reading” video games and navigating information, and then using that information to inform the “story” of the game. Some are on Facebook and other social networking sites. Unfortunately, many educators don’t view this world as composing and writing. They erect walls between home and school. But I see this world outside of school as a possibility for learning that we cannot ignore. If my students are to be ready for the future, then they need to understand the platforms and networks which are they use. A readiness for 21st Century means being taking a critical stance, understanding the world in the midst of technological change, and adapting in order to achieve goals and success. As teachers, we have to realize that the exact skills we teach right now might not be applicable in the future. But if we can educate our students on how to work with others (even in online spaces, beyond a physical proximity); how to use inquiry as a path forward towards understanding; how to use technology for their own means; and how to always be critical and asking questions, then we have done much to prepare them for the world they are entering. Readiness for the 21st Century means being unafraid of challenges that come with the world of digital media.

My movie idea:

My video story would begin with a bored student leaving school after a day of five-paragraph essay writing, and as soon as they hit the doors, they immediately take out some mobile device and the frame shows them composing a long message. We follow this young person around through the rest of the day (outside of school) as they use digital media and technology in authentic ways: making a video; using apps on a mobile device for some authentic purpose; composing and recording a mash-up song; etc. I imagine that the video story could also show a teacher opening up their eyes to the possibilities of what this student is doing, and turning to the student as a class leader to help develop a project that engages the class, so that the traditional writing activity (essay) is coupled with other possibilities (persuasive video, podcasts, etc.)

The YPulse Award asked us to contribute a short video on advice that we would give for educators when it comes to using technology. Here is my one-minute take on urging folks to get their own hands dirty before they bring a tool into the classroom.

Peace (in the sharing),
Kevin