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Monday, December 31, 2007

New Software Update on Apple's iPhone


The iPhone is in the news again. Gear Live has announced an update to the iPhone firmware to version 1.1.3. Some of this upgrade seemed pretty hokey, like watching the icons vibrate when they are ready to be moved. Other parts of this are totally awesome like the addition of the Hybrid capabilities to Google Maps. It will also allow you to turn Safari bookmarks into buttons on your screen so you can immediately jump to that page on the Web. A true example of using the Web as your platform.



If you watch the video to the end, they are going to be giving away a free iPhone with the Gear Live logo emblazoned on the back of it.

Imagine if every student had an iPhone-like handheld computing device to use in the classroom. This wouldn't be considered cheating or providing unfair advantage, it would just be using the resources to enrich the learning environment to expand the experience beyond listening to a teacher lecture.

Happy New Year everyone!!!!!! This promises to be a year full of surprises and exciting events.

Thursday, December 27, 2007

I Got My XO computer from OLPC


I GOT MY XO!!!!!

Well, actually, I got it about a week before Christmas, but with all the preparations I didn't get a chance to blog about it. Also, I showed incredible restraint by telling myself that I would not seriously play with it until I got my grades submitted. What self control!!!!

You can see that it's a little smaller than the average laptop computer. Actually it is a lot smaller than my MacBook. The XO screen (and usable space) measures 9" x 6". My MacBook is 13" x 9". That's OK. It's designed for children.
I was amazed by the sophistication of this computer.
  • It has a 7.5" screen (diagonal).
  • It sports a microphone and camera.
  • No moving parts but it has a 1 GB flash drive. (This memory can be augmented with an SD card slot in the lower right corner of the screen below the power switch - don't know the capacity.)
  • Ready with 802.11 b/g wireless.
  • Comes with 19 programs including a browser, word processor, recorder (audio, still and video), draw, musicmaker, TurtleArt (Logo), eToys (multimedia authoring tool - looks comprehensive), Pippy (programming language), calculator, news reader, and a variety of other programs that I don't understand yet. Here is a site that explains them all http://tinyurl.com/246ay2
  • Runs on Linux so I can download programs for free. I have already downloaded SimCity and a variety of games. Only problem is that I have problems reading some of them on the 7.5" screen.
  • When I go to the Community-mode, I can see the various wi-fi access points in my immediate area. I can't wait until I find someone else with an XO so we can peer-to-peer file share. I haven't figured out how to go peer-to-peer with my MacBook.
  • My MacBook's screen runs on 40 watts of power. The XO screen takes 2 watts.
  • IT'S AMAZING!!!!!
Problems or Things I Haven't Figured Out Yet:
  • The keyboard is too small for me to touch type. You can see this in the photo. I have to remember that this computer is designed for kids. They have smaller hands. The kids of Asian countries have MUCH smaller hands than I do.
  • Don't know how to access my flash drive when I insert it into one of the 3 USB ports. Nor do I know how to access the SD cards when I put them in the slot.
  • I still haven't figured out how to use Sugar (the Linux-based interface designed especially for kids to use on this computer.)
  • The documentation is all supposed to be online at http://www.laptop.org/en/laptop/start/ but it isn't in-depth enough for me. You know that we Digital Immigrants (gotta love that Dave) sometimes need a little help to get over our lack of intuitive insight. =-)
I truly believe that the XO is the beginning of a new revolution in computing. It isn't that this computer is the greatest computer on the planet, but it is a fully-functional wireless multimedia laptop that has broken the $200 price barrier. Granted that this is not a machine for MMORPG online gaming. It does not sport the multimedia recording equipment needed for making YouTube videos, but it has shown that a laptop doesn't have to be a $2,000 investment.

I thank Dr. Negroponte for developing a dream and allowing us to begin on the journey to affordable, accessible computing in education so that computers aren't devices that we visit every Friday to learn about keyboarding. They can become integral learning machines that will provide the palettes and canvases needed to release creativity in children ALL OVER THE WORLD.

Dr. Z

Other XO First Impression Reviews
Kathy Schrock - XO Laptop from OLPC Arrives!
Scott McLeod - XOs for my XO

Monday, December 03, 2007

What Makes a Good PowerPoint?

I have spent years teaching students how to make good PowerPoint presentation. It seems to be working because their PPTs are getting better each year.

The interesting thing is that the most effective way to teach success with PowerPoint is not to show them examples of good ones. It is to show them how bad PowerPoints can be.

I just found a YouTube video of what appears to be a comedy routine done by Don McMillan. I don't use the word "appears" because it isn't funny. I use it because it looks and sounds like it is filmed in a comedy club. Don does a good job of showing REALLY BAD PPTs.





Saturday, December 01, 2007

First OLPC computers deployed in Uruguay

It was exciting to see today that the first XO computers have been deployed at Escuela No. 24 in Villa Cardal, Uruguay. I was inspired to see Ivan Krstić's posting about his trip below the equator to deliver the first batch of the production models.

This delivery is actually an upgrade replacement for the beta units that were previously used down there. Just the beginning of the 100,000 that Uruguay has ordered. What I thought was interesting about Ivan's posting was an aside that he includes about some usage data that he got from the beta computers. Apparently, he had included some
data seems to measure usage. He found that, in 6 months, "kids created on average 1200 files or about 30-50MB on each machine, much of it writing and photographs from the built-in camera." I don't know if each computer was limited to an individual child. I would image that's the case since it is One Laptop Per Child. That's about 7 files a day. Sounds like they weren't neglected.

Of course, the next question is what kind of files were created. That is for another posting when the data is available.


Friday, November 23, 2007

Optimal Portfolio Organization

Standards Referenced. Artifact-Centered. Personal Bragbook.

In my last posting, Digital Portfolios: Why Do We Do them?, I discussed digital portfolios and how their primary function needs to be to act as personal testimonials about your strengths rather than a standards check sheet to satisfy "the powers that be."

These are all interesting ideas, but how will your administrator or governing body feel about this? We may want to redefine our portfolios, but what do we do about demonstrating that we have satisfied the standards that we have been asked to address?

Enter the Artifact Matrix:


This tool is designed to bring organization to potential chaos. Notice how the artifacts are listed in the second column followed by 11 columns to the right. Each of these columns correlates with a standard. Notice that it isn't like a standard-based notebook portfolio where the standards are "front and center." The matrix allows you to place the artifacts in the center of it all and then align them with the standards.

Based upon the strategy that I suggested for selecting your artifacts to demonstrate your strengths, you would probably see a collection of artifacts that address a specific area of interest. The rest of the artifacts would be ones that the educator used to fill-in the standards that weren't addressed by primary collection. Unfortunately, the example above doesn't fit this suggestion, but it wasn't created when I was advocating this new approach.

If you want to see more about this, you will want to visit our website at www.dpme.org. More specifically, you will want to read about this in the artifact matrix-specific pages on the DPME site.

So we have a strategy for selecting artifacts and organizing them in your portfolio, how should we present the artifact? It's more than just linking to the actual artifact, you need to provide a reflection about the artifact.

Stay tuned to this blog and we will discuss it in my next posting.

Z

Tuesday, November 20, 2007

Digital Portfolios: Why Do We Do Them?


Digital Portfolios are an interest of mine. A few years ago, Andy Krumm and I developed some templates to assist educators in creating digital portfolios that are aligned with their professional standards. These are called the Digital Portfolios Made Easy templates.
Since then, we have done workshops and lectures across the country about creating digital portfolios and how these templates can assist professionals in displaying their work.

The most interesting part of doing workshops on creating portfolios is discussing the motivation for creating a portfolio. The primary reason for creating a portfolio is "because my employer wants me to create a portfolio." This is usually quickly followed with "they want to see if I fulfill all of the standards." This last comment is usually filled with confusion and frustration with the idea that the portfolio needs to address multiple standards and criteria. In the case of the Iowa Teaching Standards, the educators need to address 8 standards which organize 42 criteria. This is daunting.

Typically, portfolio workshops that teach alignment with standards will provide the learners with a list of 42 criteria and a list of artifact samples. The educators are then asked to make a list of personal artifacts that will align with each of the criteria. I must admit that I have done this in the past and it is COMPLETELY BACKWARDS!!!

The emphasis of portfolio MUST be the artifacts, NOT the standards. We have been promoting this for 4 years but it suddenly dawned on me that we were not promoting that in our workshops. It MUST be about the portfolio creator NOT the evaluators.

We have coined two terms that explain different format (and mindsets) for creating portfolios,
these terms are "Standards Indexed" and "Standards Referenced."

Standards Indexed: This is the typical format where a notebook (electronic or otherwise) is created with a tab for each standard. Printed copies of each artifact that addresses that standard are then inserted behind that tab and a person's success in addressing a specific standard is defined by how thick that part of the notebook happens to be.






Standards Referenced: This format places the artifact (and its creator) at the center of the arena. The professional defines her/his area of specialty and then selects the artifacts that best exemplify that area of expertise. Each artifact is then analyzed as to which standards/criteria are addressed. Additional artifacts are then added to the portfolio to fulfill addressing the other standards/criteria.





As you can see, the Standards Referenced format for the portfolio is more professional-centered than the Standards Indexed.

I taught a digital portfolio workshop for Cedar Falls Community Schools here in Iowa. I introduced the portfolio as a way to "brag about yourself." Realize what you do well and identify what you can use to show how well you do it. This approach gives a whole different perspective to creating portfolios.

I was amazed by the completely different attitude that the professionals in my class had about portfolios when completed the first class. I gave them a worksheet to begin thinking about their "Proud Points" and gave them the task to begin their search for personal artifacts. At the end of the class they were excited instead of intimidated about the prospect of creating a portfolio.

How should this portfolio be organized to fulfill the administration's expectations as well as emphasizing a professional's strengths? I will tell you in the next posting. ;-)

Saturday, November 17, 2007

2020 Vision

2020 Vision is a 15-minute video developed by Karl Fisch as a staff development video to motivate Arapahoe high school teachers to engage in future visioning. It is set as that graduate speech at a high school graduation for students in 2020. He selected this year because these graduates would have begun kindergarten in 2007.

This video is a story of Google taking over the world. Even has them going into solar cells and developing electric G-Cars. The most important part is his envisioning that Google provides a 9th grade through Masters educational system. If the present schools aren't going to use the educational potential of technology, Google will. He even said that all of these schools are provided free because Google will make enough money on the Google Ads running on their school portals that it covers the cost.

I am not saying that everything that Karl Fisch says is true, but it is interesting. It does provide a reasonable view of what the next 13 years might involve (I especially liked how he referred to actions that President Obama will take =-). It can work as the springboard for discussion which is exactly why he developed it.

Watch it and think . . . and talk . . . and think . . . and do.