Technology Integration Matrix – With Videos! January 29, 2009
Posted by Matthew Woolums in 21st-Century, Articles/Videos.add a comment
My thanks to Silvia Tolisano for this delicious link to the Technology Integration Matrix, produced my the Florida Center for Instructional Technology, College of Education, University of South Florida. The matrix moves from entry level technology integration through adoption, adaptation, infusion, up to transformation. Student involvement ranges at one end from active to collaborative, constructive, authentic, up to goal directed. The indicators provide a concise text description, but what really sets this matrix apart is the inclusion of video examples in the classroom. Video clips present an environment with shared computer access and one-to-one laptop settings. Looking a little closer, I think I would rank authentic experiences farther along the spectrum than goal directed. Still, the matrix is worth a look.
Newspaper By Computer – 1981 Video January 29, 2009
Posted by Matthew Woolums in Articles/Videos, History.add a comment
Thanks to TechCrunch for pointing out this 1981 TV news report on a very early effort to provide news via the computer. It took two hours to download the whole newspaper, and apparently the benefit was the ability to copy, print, and save news so you could go back to it later. Hosted on YouTube, so if you are blocked at school, check it out from home. Provided you have a computer at home.
You Need To See This Video (1981 TV Report On Birth Of Internet News)
Colorado Conversation 2009 January 29, 2009
Posted by Matthew Woolums in Conference Sessions.add a comment
Just a quick reminder, registration for A Colorado Conversation 2009 will be closing soon. If you are in the area, or want to participate virtually, head on over to http://colearning.wikispaces.com/Home+2009 and get registered.
Most Wired January 24, 2009
Posted by Matthew Woolums in Articles/Videos, History.1 comment so far
CNET News is reporting that Forbes has crowned Seattle as the most-wired city. I live in Denver, which came in at number 8. I guess I just take it for granted that I can get online just about everywhere I go. Broadband and wireless were both considered in compiling this list. How wired is your home?
Seattle tops ‘Forbes’ most-wired cities list | Wireless – CNET News
Reflections on January 2009 ILT Workshop January 23, 2009
Posted by Matthew Woolums in 21st-Century, Conference Sessions.add a comment
Yesterday it was my pleasure to spend the day with over 90 educators as we explored the role of enquiry and technology in the classroom. The librarian teachers, technology teachers, and gifted and talented teachers, worked in groups of six to prepare a presentation based on their findings around issues relating to images from the Boston Globe’s collection of 2008, the year in photographs. (Part One, Part Two, and Part Three)
Projects included the use of Blaberize, VoiceThread, Wikispaces, and many more. Even more impressive were the conversations at each table as the groups narrowed their focus, explored the issues, and grappled with how to best put together a brief 5 minute presentation on their findings. My favorite comment came after one presentation when a member of the group reflected that “the process is almost completely backwards from how they normally teach.” Instead of the typical approach of providing the topic and the resources, enquiry requires much more thinking on the part of the learner.
If you’d like to take a look at what the groups came up with for their presentations, they are all linked here:
http://iltworkshop.wikispaces.com
One Billion and Counting January 23, 2009
Posted by Matthew Woolums in Articles/Videos, Data, History.add a comment
Depending on who’s statistics you want to believe, there are either 1,000,000,000 or nearly 1,500,000,000 Internet users. That is a lot of people, but not even a quarter of the world’s population. A few numbers stand out.
- China leads the way in terms of total numbers with 179.7 million, followed by the United States with 163.3 million.
- Canada has around 80% of its citizens connected.
- India had only around 3% of its citizens connected.
As underrepresented counties continue to develop their network infrastructure, we can all look forward to a different Internet in the future.
ComScore: Internet Population Passes One Billion; Top 15 Countries
Thsrs January 19, 2009
Posted by Matthew Woolums in Tools.add a comment
No, not a new form of dinosaur, Thsrs is a thesaurus that only returns shorter words than the one you entered. Why? In those places where brevity is a value, such as Twitter, a shorter word can make the difference between getting your point across and getting your idea truncated or split into more than one post. Stuck for a shorter word? Give Thsrs a spin.
Ironic Sans: Thsrs – The Shorter Thesaurus
Another Bookmarking Tool January 17, 2009
Posted by Matthew Woolums in Articles/Videos, Link Collections, Tools.2 comments
TechCrunch has a brief (elevator pitch) post about a new social bookmarking tool called Sqworl that collects many bookmarks into a single link. It is very simple to use. Just create a sqworl, add links to sites along with descriptions, and you get a public link that you can share. Here is an example I made with links to other social bookmarking sites. sqworl | bookmarks
