The Vault: Posts through August 2015
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One of the coolest themes that emerged from the NEIT2011 Unconference was "making." Therwe were lots of great sessions on making programs (Scratch), making apps (GameSalad, App Inventor), making virtual scapes (MineCraft), and making physical objects (Makerbot). Below are some of my favorite parts of three of the sessions which I attended. GameSalad GameSalad is a free application that lets you design games and activities for mobile devices. The block-style programming can fit nicely in a progression from things like Pico Crickets and Scratch. @jsambuca and @agrill are doing really interesting things in their computer classes at Browning. MakerBot Thing-O-Matic Another great session led by @jsambuca was all about MakerBot. MakerBot's Thing-O-Matic is a 3D printer that creates plastic objects designed in computer programs like SketchUp. There is definitely a learning curve for setting it up, and once it is working there are a ton of variables and settings to tinker with. However, the satisfaction of watching the gears turn and seeing a plastic toy being printed is probably worth the effort! App Inventor App Inventor started as a channel for developing native apps for Google Android devices. Google has stopped supporting it but now MIT is working to take over the project. Dan R. from Nightingale-Bamford showed some apps he had designed himself using the tools available in App Inventor. This program also might fit well into a continuum that goes from Pico to Scratch to GameSalad/AppInventor to traditional object oriented programming.
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The Flat Stanley Project is "The international literacy and community building activity for students of all ages, teachers and families." It started as an exercise of writing a letter and sending a "Flat Stanley" cutout to a friend or family member, sometimes asking them to send it to someone else with a letter and so on. There can be a notice that says "after this date please send back to" the student. There are many opportunities to teach writing with a purpose when engaging in a pen pal type activity, but recently teachers have begun to introduce new ways of conducting a Flat Stanley project. I have seen it done with email, on blogs, and even on a shared custom Google map. I'm not sure how old the app is, but I think they must have just done a big update because I saw several people tweeting about it. There are a bunch of fun features for creating Flat Stanleys (and Stellas), taking pictures with a Stanley overlay, and sharing the pictures and text on a variety of social media platforms including Facebook and Twitter. The app is a great example of taking something that was grounded in solid learning intentions and then integrating technology to enhance and expand the possibilities of that learning experience.
I recently attended the Lausanne Laptop Institute for the first time. It's a pretty big international gathering of educators in Memphis, TN. Despite the crazy heat it was a very enjoyable experience. Four educators about whom I learned Jeff Utecht http://www.thethinkingstick.com/ Jeff is a talented presenter and an educator with great perspective on global and social education. He gave a great keynote address and his breakout sessions were almost like mini-keynotes. If he is presenting at a conference that you are attending I highly recommend listening to him. The point that I found most interesting was when Jeff mentioned that independent schools in the US do not take enough advantage of international schools when exploring other cultures and countries. He continued to say that there are connections waiting to be made and that they should be leveraged. Julene Reed http://www.julenereed.com The interesting organizations and projects which Julene is involved in are too numerous to list. She is a great resource on environmental and sustainability issues, but is also an educator who really understands how to make learning experiences meaningful. She is also an Apple Distinguished Educator who is very keyed in to iPads in educational settings. Lynn Mittler http://lynnmittler.wikispaces.com/ Lynn is an educator from a school in St. Louis. All of the tools and instructional ideas she presented were grounded in current educational theory and research. I appreciate how she made the connections meaningful for her participants. There a lot of great resources and ideas on her wiki. Elizabeth Helfant http://helfantpd.wikispaces.com/ Elizabeth is from the same school as Lynn and is also a wealth of information and resources. A colleague of mine attended a session where she presented information about the Technology Toolkit, a framework for the tech integration at their school. Elizabeth also has lots of information about games that can be used in educational settings. And two things about Memphis that I loved... National Civil Rights Museum http://www.civilrightsmuseum.org/ This is one of the best museum experiences I have ever had. You genuinely feel as if you have been transported back in time and the museum curators have done a great job of telling a story as you walk through the different displays. The photo above was taken by me looking at the balcony where Martin Luther King, Jr. was shot. The museum is in the hotel and the room where MLK was staying has been reconstructed and preserved to look exactly as it did on that day. Rendevous' Charcoal Ribs
http://www.hogsfly.com/TheRestaurant.php The other three things I am going to list here have to do with food. Rendevous' ribs are by far the most delicious pork ribs I have ever eaten. They are seasoned with a special dry rub, broiled in a charcoal oven for 2-3 hours. and then rubbed again in seasoning before being served. I remember dissecting both a rat (on a 6th grade nature retreat) and a frog (in 9th grade biology). Punflay.com has two dissection apps available for the iPad which I think do a great job of recreating the physical and visual experiences of performing an animal dissection. I was actually happy that they did not include realistic sounds when using the scissors or scalpel (yech!), but now I wonder if the sounds would have contributed to the experience. Frog Dissection ($3.99) From pinning the specimen down to drawing the incision lines with a marker to lifting folds of skin and organs, every aspect of a frog dissection has been thoughtfully and realistically replicated in this app. The dissection is guided with text, audio, and visual prompts. I made the mistake of playing with the app right after eating lunch. If you get squeamish about these things, the realism might actually get to you! The program has received recognition from PETA (probably for saving some frogs) and from some sustainability and "green" groups. Kudos to the developers for creating a virtual experience that has impact larger than just flashy design. There are additional features included in the purchase such as 3D demos and guided activities and it looks like they add more with updates every now and then. Rat Dissection $3.99 Poor rat! The interface in the Rat Dissection app is slightly different than the Frog Dissection app (I happen to prefer the Frog interface to the Rat interface). The visual and kinesthetic experiences are very powerful and like the Frog app, it helps keep a few more rats a live.
The realism (click the iTunes store link above) is pretty solid. Some people may complain that you are not allowed to stray from the prescribed instructions, but I think it could be detract from the goal if kids were allowed to mutilate their virtual dissection specimens (which is what usually happens in an actual science class). Vialogues, States with Online School Initiatives, Culturally Situated Design Tools. This past weekend I attended (and presented at) Teachers College Educational Technology Conference. My presentation (click here for Prezi) was about a project using mobile phones to leverage opportunities for formative assessment in a math class. Below is information about a couple of interesting projects/resources/tools. Vialogues (free) Some folks from EdLab at Teachers College have built a really nice interface that supports asyncrhonous dialogue about videos (user uploaded or linked from YouTube). It is a nice way to engage in commenting and idea exchanges without worrying about outside chatter that may happen on the regular comments section of YouTube. A nice feature is that you can easily attach comments to specific time codes, and during the course of playback the relevant comments become highlighted as their time stamp is crossed. Keeping Pace with K-12 Online Learning This group produces an annual report on US online schools and state supported online school initiatives, broken down by state. I haven't had a chance yet to read the whole report, but I do like how they make some of their infographics readily available. Culturally Situated Design Tools A group at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute have been doing research on tools that they have developed to connect mathematical concepts to the cultures of particular students. The tools themselves can be a little tricky to get used to, but I really like how each subset provides the cultural information, classroom activities, and the tool itself.
Google Sketchup 8 (free) It never ceases to amaze me that Google Sketchup (now on version 8) is a completely free tool. For those who have not heard of it, Sketchup is software that allows you to create 3-dimensional designs. What I like most about it is that its extremely accessible to novice users but is sophisticated enough to do some very impressive modeling. This year, I'll be working with 7th grade math students who have been asked to come up with new designs for water bottles that use minimal material but hold a lot of volume (they are studying 3D geometry). They will use Sketchup to create several mockup designs, and then will create a physical prototype using the design they are most satisfied with. Last year, I used Sketchup to create a model of a renovated technology center in my school, starting with nothing but the floor plan provided by the architect leading the redesign. Kerkythea (Freeware/Open Source) I found Kerkythea earlier this week when exploring different plug-ins for Sketchup. Kerkythea is a standalone image renderer that has a tool in Skethcup that allows you to add lighting points (sun light, lighting fixtures, etc.) to create pretty amazing renderings of the relatively plain looking Sketchup drawings. It has a bit of a learning curve, but there are some decent tutorials out there. I don't really quite know what I am doing when I use the program at this point, yet I was able to make a pretty awesome version of the photo above in a matter of minutes while following a tutorial from the Kerkythea website.
Photosynth (free) This free app from Microsoft allows you to create amazing panoramic photos with 360 degrees of lateral viewing and close to 360 degrees of vertical viewing. This is an amazing TED talk from one of the creators of this application. Using the iPhone camera, you take a series of pictures that are stitched together. Within the application and the Photosynth.net website, you can change the perspective of the view (see sample below). The application can also create flat panoramic images that can be used in other programs. CamWow (free) CamWow is a free iPhone app that simulates some of the effects available in PhotoBooth for Mac/iPad. The free version puts a CamWow watermark on the corner of any images captured in the tool (of course can be cropped out post-production). For $1.99 you can get the paid version which will take pictures without the watermark. FatBooth ($0.99) FatBooth is really just a bit of silliness. You can take a photo of someone and then the app will 'compute' what that person might look like having put on some extra weight. What I am most interested in is a feature I have not yet seen in other apps. When aligning certain markers with features on the photo (eyes, mouth) a finger would normally obscure the photo and thus make it difficult to be precise. In FatBooth, a zoom window appears above where your finger is placed and as a result you can align their markers with the photo with pretty good precision.
This is a quick look at the 8 iPad apps which I was able to download for free from the publishers of Everyday Math, a spiraling mathematics curriculum (1st-6th) which is used in many schools. The apps are mobile versions of games that had already existed as desktop and/or web-based activities. Many of these games have versions that use physical manipulatives (paper, dice, playing cards, etc) and therefore can be played without a computing device. These apps are available for free until April 16th (I think). Here is a link to the iTunes store page for McGraw Hill. My main problem with the games so far is that there does not seem to be any indicator for what age/grade the activities are most appropriate. All the games have audio narration in addition to some written instruction. Some of the games also have the option for "Guided Play" where the narrator gives prompts along the way. Several of the games are for two players (pass and play). Addition Top It (2 Player) Players are dealt two cards each and are asked to add the values of the cards and then compare the sums. The cards only have one digit making the addition rather simple. This game is definitely for early adders (K, 1, 2). Subtraction Top It (2 Player) Like Addition Top It, players are dealt two cards each and are asked to compute the difference in value and then compare them. The numbers on each card are two digit values, so this game might be better suited for 3rd, 4th, and 5th graders. Tric Trac (2 Player) Players roll two dice and then try to eliminate the numbers 1-10 on their side in as few turns as possible. Numbers are eliminate by choosing 1 or more numbers that add up to the dice total. The "Add 1" chips are kind of like lifelines if you have no other moves. The game does have some good strategic potential, and I think that it could be good for kids in grades 3,4,5, & 6. Baseball Multiplication (2 Player) Players click on the pitcher to get two numbers. The product determines the type of hit. An incorrect response results in a strike, three strikes and you are out. There are also some moments where you randomly get an out (fly out?) after clicking on the pitcher. The game play is a bit choppy, but younger students (2nd, 3rd grade) who are just learning their multiplication facts should find the game to be engaging, especially if they like baseball. Equivalent Fractions (1 Player) This game is a pretty direct translation of the playing card version that is part of the EM curriculum. You eliminate cards from the pile by selecting equivalent fractions until no more matches are possible. This game is well suited for 4th, 5th, and 6th grade students. Beat the Computer (1 Player) This game asks users to compute single digit multiplication facts within a given time limit (20 seconds). I think the time limit is rather generous, and in general the game really doesn't have much to do with beating any computer. It could be good for 3rd or 4th graders who need practice with their multiplication facts, but I could also see the students getting bored very quickly with the interface. This is my least favorite of the apps. Name that Number (1 Player) This game requires the user to arrange numbers and operations to form an expression that is equivalent to the target number. More points are awarded when more of the cards are used. This game is definitely for 5th and 6th grade students who are exploring order of operations Divisibility Dash (1 Player) A divisor is provided, and users must put together as many 2 digit numbers that are divisible by the current divisor. The balls disappear in a "Bejeweled" type manner when correct combinations are made. Incorrect pairs become metal orbs that build up into a stack. When this stack reaches the top, the game is over. This is good for 4th and 5th graders who are learning about divisibility patterns and rules.
A few highlights for me thus far. There are already many thorough reviews (like this one) of the GarageBand iPad app so I'm not going to spend time picking it apart feature by feature. Instead, I will highlight three aspects that I have found to be the most exciting during my initial explorations. Smart Drums The smart drums feature uses a classic 2x2 matrix to help design beats. The X-axis is a continuum of simplicity/complexity while the Y-axis is a continuum of dynamics (quiet/loud). There's some great algebraic learning potential here when listening the results from placing the different instruments in different quadrants of the matrix and seeing how the coordinate position affects the overall beat. Smart Guitar I love the different layout and performance options contained in the Smart Guitar feature. You can change the fret board display to only show notes that are contained within the scale of the song. Some people might think that it cheapens the experience of making music by making it difficult to play a bad note, but I see great potential for teaching understanding of how and why certain notes in a scale fit together (harmony) and why others don't (dissonance). Track Editing Workspace While the track editing workspace closely resembles that of its desktop counterpart, the touch interface of the iPad device leverages something that I think has great potential in object-oriented theory. By moving, trimming, and re-ordering the tracks and their content, I believe users are engaging in a type of physical programming. Using both existing and new objects towards a greater purpose or solving a larger problem is at the core of a lot of computer programming theory. The GarageBand environment may allow a user to experience ideas from that theory in a new way.
The touch instruments are my favorite part of the GarageBand app for iPad. I love being able to play a drum beat and quantize it and then have it ready to be used as the backbone for a quick demo recording. The "smart guitar" is also great for producing great guitar sounds and melodies without needing the dexterity to generate the same product on an actual guitar. I also hope they expand the number of loops (or create some DLC) Much Assessment, empowerment, and rethinking current definitions and approaches in education were the themes that resonated most with me. Will Richardson closed the day by talking about how instead of trying to make what we already do "better" (with or without technology) we instead need to try to do things differently. Many people also spoke about shifting ownership of learning from teachers to students while also redefining the role of teachers in the classroom. Someone pointed out (Alan November?) that teachers are more important now than ever before. Alan November, Gary Stager, Heidi Hayes Jacob, Dennis Littky, Luyen Chou, and Will Richardson (mentioned above) spoke excellently about the themes outlined above. Check out the TEDxNYED website for information about the speakers and for the live-stream videos. Edited versions coming soon, or so I hear. Steve Bergen's talk was both engaging and bizarre (@bkolani said it's like the movie Memento) and the dual talk of John Ellrodt and Maria Fico was very unique. One of the most powerful moments of the day was when two students video-conferenced in to share their work. I also enjoyed following the Twitter back-channel and seeing what people were saying. My happiest discovery was EDTECH HULK. I have no idea if this person was in the audience or just following the back-channel, but the commentary provided by the Hulk was both humorous and insightful. The day ran very smoothly and the venue was spectacular. Kudos to the organizers for a job well done. Less So When I think of TED talks, I think of progressive ideas and innovations being presented by passionate people. While everyone who spoke was indeed passionate about their work, there were several times when felt that I was at an ordinary ed-tech conference where presenters were talking about the work that they have done without stretching my imagination to think beyond what I might already know or be aware of. Not So Much Purely from a logistical standpoint, I don't like eating lunch at 1:30. I also wonder if blocks of 3 speakers at 15-18 minutes each rather than 4 or 5 speakers would break up the heavy lecture feel. I also like slightly longer breaks to be able to catch up with fellow educators and have a moment to discuss what we had heard in the previous session. I did like 4 session blocks instead of 5 (as there were last year).
I'm sure that many people were feeling exhausted and restless by the final session, which did have five presenters. Though the speakers were all very good, I think it was a little unfair for them because many people had left the conference after the third session and many who remained were beginning to fade. Personally, I don't think it's necessary to stream in TED talk videos as part of the conference, though I understand the organizers' need to complete the different strands of the program. It might also be part of the TEDx rules. |
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August 2015
Header photo by Robert S. Donovan
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