Rebekah Judson's blog

Trends in EdLab 8.14.09

Fri, 14 Aug 2009 12:09:49 -0400

As it's our last day, Calli and I thought we'd share a few "reflections" on our summer intern experience:

Things We Wish We Knew on Day 1

-Don't bring a lunch on Wednesdays. Look forward to the falafel.
-Do back stretching every day in order to avoid the "computer screen humpback."
-Try to become a part of as many projects as possible.
-Try to attend as many meetings as possible.
-Cede all control of your life to Google Apps. Do not resist.
-Learn how to beautify your blog.
-Don't hesitate to provide feedback.

Reasons We Don't Want to Leave

-It's not often you find yourself working in an environment where you can genuinely say you like EVERYONE you're working with.
-The fact that our duties did not include a single coffee run.
-It's OK to use gchat here.
-Willingness for the EdLab to throw parties for each EdLab event and accomplishment.
-The trek up to TC allows for ample summer book reading.
-The focus on "innovation" (even if we're not always quite sure what that means).
-The many things we've learned as interns this summer.

Thanks to all for a great experience! We really enjoyed working with everyone and wish you all the best of luck. We'll still be blogging here and there, but at least for now in the non-virtual world, so long!

Trends in Ed 8.13.09

Thu, 13 Aug 2009 14:01:06 -0400

An interesting article from last week in U.S. News describes a new virtual high school specifically for LGBT students.

According to the GLBTQ High School's website, the distance ed program will provide a "safe, high quality alternative to traditional high schools" for students who need a more welcoming environment. The curriculum includes traditional subjects as well as a one-credit requirement in GLBTQ Studies.

While some laud the idea of using new educational technologies to provide safe havens for students who feel threatened in traditional environments, others worry that the approach simply promotes segregated institutions and avoids the deeper issues involved.

Is there value in using the virtual world to promote educational environments restricted to particular groups?

Trends in Ed 8.12.09

Wed, 12 Aug 2009 11:41:35 -0400

Since it's been all over the news lately, I thought I'd share a few more updates on the topic of online textbooks:

In addition to Arizona's new digital initiatives (which Gary blogged about recently), California announced today that 10 new online math and science texts were now available, as part of a program created by Gov. Schwarzenegger earlier in the summer. The program invited publishers to submit sample online texts for use in California's schools as a way to cut costs and increase the use of new educational technology. Of course, many are skeptical of the new texts, saying that they don't meet all of the state's standards for math/science education. (My question is, why is the state only inviting traditional educational publishers to create materials intended for use in new and innovative ways?)

Outside of state government, NPR reports that Barnes and Noble is also delving into the future of online texts. The company is spending $600 million to purchase a textbook distribution/college bookstore operation chain (one it actually originally owned), in an effort to use the company's resources, as well as B & N's recently launched eBookstore, to corner to the online textbook market.

Should be interesting to see how this trend develops.

Trends in Ed 8.6.09

Thu, 06 Aug 2009 15:05:03 -0400

Could Wikipedia be waning? A recent article in New Scientist reports that the number of new articles added monthly to Wikipedia has sharply declined, in addition to the number of edits and the population of active editors.

Why is this the case? Researchers at the Palo Alto Research Center suggest that the Wikipedia community has shifted from a larger, more expansive body of infrequent, casual contributors to a smaller, highly active group, making the site less friendly to new editors. In addition, the focus of many editors has shifted from creating new content to improving old content, which results in many disputes and (as it's apparently termed) "wikilawyering."

While I think it makes sense that the number of new articles would decline (since content would be expected to accrue rapidly in initial phases), I do find the shift in editors interesting.

In informal learning communities such as this one, does the balance of power inevitably shift towards a core group of hyper-involved members, or is it possible to maintain a community built around the casual contributor? Also, does the fact that Wikipedia is getting older make it seem more "established" and thus less "editable" in the eyes of the general public?

Trends in Ed 8.04.09

Tue, 04 Aug 2009 10:04:11 -0400

FlowingData is one of my favorite sites for infographics and data visualization, so I was interested to find that the site recently launched a new endeavor, entitled your.flowingdata.

Essentially, the service allows users to track any personal information they wish via twitter, whether it's eating habits, exercise, productivity, or something entirely different. Users simply record every relevant piece of data in real-time like they would a normal tweet. Then, this information can be played with, analyzed, and shared using the your.flowingdata tools.

I wonder if similar personal tracking tools could be useful at all in more formal educational settings--such as for students to log their process in class--or for educational research.

Though not a twitter user, I find this type of tool somewhat intriguing, given my personal penchant for far too much information. If you share my obsession with constant information-gathering, here's a list from FlowingData creator Nathan Yau of 23 other personal data tools sure to keep your data collection cravings at bay.

Trends in Ed 7.31.09

Fri, 31 Jul 2009 11:12:10 -0400

Here's an article from The Chronicle of Higher Education which profiles Jose Bowen, a dean at Southern Methodist University who advocates for stripping technology out of college classrooms, or as he terms it, "teaching naked."

Of course, the backlash against classroom technology is nothing new. One of Bowen's major points is that professors rely too much on PowerPoint, which leads to dull lectures and passive learning. This may be true, but isn't there a lot of newer technology which increases students' ability to learn actively?

I thought Bowen's most interesting point was that professors have to ramp up the in-classroom experience in order to compete with the online learning opportunities that are out there (i.e. why should a student pay to hear a boring lecture at Southern Methodist if they can watch a great lecture online?). While to him, this means stripping away the tech in order to facilitate even better discussion, I think that it could be as much an argument for incorporating technology into these active learning experiences as anything else.

Trends in Ed 7.29.09

Wed, 29 Jul 2009 10:10:05 -0400

As a bit of a public radio nut, I've been excited lately to come across a number of sites and projects which focus on integrating traditional public radio broadcasts with new digital media and storytelling methods.

Maker's Quest is one that I find particularly intriguing. Essentially, the project pairs traditional radio "incubators" (i.e. NPR, WNYC etc) with talented independent producers who then create forward-thinking audio projects with a focus on new digital contexts.

A lot of their 2009 projects tend to focus on integrating audio with online mapping features. For example, Open Sound New Orleans invites New Orleans residents to contribute audio of their city, whether interviews, music, or ambient sound. The audio files are then plotted on a map of the city based on the neighborhood in which they originated.

Mapping Main Street focuses on recording stories about each of the streets called "Main Street" throughout the United States.

Finally, Place + Memory deals with mapping sites that no longer exist.

There are a few other projects also, all equally interesting. Some of the content will be broadcast on traditional stations, while the rest will live online. Check it out here.

Trends in Ed 7.27.09

Mon, 27 Jul 2009 10:47:53 -0400

Democratic Think Tank Advocates for a "Kindle in Every Backpack"

About a week and a half ago, the New Democratic Leadership Council (DLC) published a report recommending a government-funded education program that would allow every child in the public school system to receive a Kindle, or a similar eReader. The report argues that providing students with this type of technology would eliminate the need for paper textbooks and enable students to receive a more effective and dynamic educational experience. While the program would log initial costs of $9 billion (making its creation unlikely, despite the fact that the report's author boasts connections to the Obama administration), the report argues that after 4 years, the education system would save up to $700 million annually.

Now, as reported in an article in eSchoolNews, educators are debating the merits of this type of proposal. Would a digitally-based system automatically create a more effective educational experience? Would this type of rapid allocation of technology cause more problems than it would solve?

Trends in Ed 7.23.09

Thu, 23 Jul 2009 13:32:11 -0400

Another example of a good online political experiment:

Washingtonwatch.com has launched an earmark-finding competition that will award prizes to the ordinary citizens who display the greatest talent for logging government "pork barrel" spending.

1st prize gets a Kindle, 2nd prize gets an iPod Shuffle, 3rd prize gets...a fruitcake. Hm.

Anyway, in three days the site's already received 3,500 entries in their earmark database. Seems like a good example of a site using crowdsourcing to generate large amounts of data, and (from a civic education standpoint) a good way to encourage ordinary people to take a look at the nuts and bolts of legislative documents.

More info here.

Trends in Ed 7.21.09

Tue, 21 Jul 2009 13:59:08 -0400

I've been enjoying the current moon fervor a lot lately. Isn't there something nice about having space in the news again?

In any case, I thought I'd highlight some of the web content put together in honor of the moon landing's 40th anniversary. Unfortunately, the computer I use here at EdLab isn't well-equipped to view some of these sites, so I haven't been able to get a hold of all of the content myself yet.

The first, of course, is Google Moon, the addition of the moon to Google Earth. I haven't tried this out in the software yet, but I've been enjoying playing around with the online version.

In addition, there's WeChooseTheMoon.org, which allows users to track the mission in real time, complete with Twitter feeds of mission control transmissions.

Finally, NASA's put up a real-time stream of audio from the mission, available here.

I find these real-time web exhibits sort of interesting. Are there other good examples of historical events explored in this format?

Trends in Ed 7.17.09

Fri, 17 Jul 2009 10:43:42 -0400

I've been finding a lot of interesting civic education/political transparency projects recently, so I thought I'd share a few:

The first, Legistalker, is an easy way to track the online presence of your political representatives. Simply input a name and you'll be delivered a digest of the official's most recent tweets, YouTube videos, press mentions, and more. If you're a perennial political stalker, you can create a "watch list" and grow your portfolio.

White House 2, on the other hand, is more of a political experiment. The site imagines "how the White House might work if it was run completely democratically by thousands of people over the internet." Users suggest proposals, vote on those they find the most compelling, and generally debate. Good for the closet policy wonk.

Finally, Sunlight Foundation's Party Time allows the ordinary citizen to follow the political party circuit. The site provides up-to-date information on all fundraisers, luncheons, receptions, and benefits. Plus, it collects data on who's involved, who attends, who donates, so those who aren't just political gossip hounds can analyze the relationships and social behavior of policymakers.

Hmmm...these could get addictive.

Trends in Ed(ish), 7.15.09

Wed, 15 Jul 2009 16:12:51 -0400

So these links aren't really that ed-relevant, but they are two examples of the internet made tangible, something I generally find interesting.

The first, the Internet Mapping Project, is a collection of drawings that depict internet users' perceptions of the web in physical space. Basically, "folk" drawings of their homes online. Here's one:

I don't really know what kind of grand "wisdom" comes out of these types of experiments, but there's something enjoyable about them.

The second project, which has gotten some press recently, is a more direct virtual-to-physical connection. Lance Armstrong's Livestrong Foundation has created the Chalkbot, a spray-painting robot which chalks inspiring tweets and text messages (submitted online and by phone) on the road along the Tour de France. Intro video after the jump:

Trends in Ed 7.13.09

Mon, 13 Jul 2009 14:41:13 -0400

Is Facebook a "modern incarnation of white flight"? According to new research on social networking and social division, sites like Facebook are actually doing more to maintain class and racial divisions than they are to bring users together. While Facebook users tend to be white, upper or upper-middle-class college-bound students, MySpace users are more likely to be nonwhite and less educated, thus representing a clear divide.

Much of this division presumably stems from Facebook's origins as a college-oriented network. Since the site immediately prompts you for your academic lineage, it's no wonder students would eschew the site if they don't perceive themselves to be "college-bound." (Actually, come to think of it, I've personally discussed this with friends who don't attend college, and had them tell me Facebook was too much of a "college site.")

Of course, this kind of research inevitably brings up one of the most fundamental questions when it comes to this type of technology. Since social networking sites are mostly digital representations of our real-life networks (at least for students), is the technology really exacerbating the problem or just mirroring what's already happening offline? And even if it is just a mirror image, is there a way to address the underlying problem using the technology?

Trends in Ed 7.10.09

Fri, 10 Jul 2009 11:07:28 -0400

I never thought I'd be posting here based off of a source from ESPN, but I just came across this article about how Facebook and other social networking sites are changing the way high school athletes are recruited by major colleges.

According to the story, high school sports stars are now using their Facebook pages to self-promote, hoping to make themselves all the more attractive to coaches and recruiters. In addition, college-age fans of these adolescent athletes are using social media to attempt to lure their favorite stars to their respective schools.

The phenomenon reminded me a little of sites like Zinch.com, which advertises itself as a way for students to "showcase" themselves to admissions officers and for admissions officers to promote their schools to students.

How do these kinds of techniques change the balance of the college admissions process? There's been a lot of talk about how social networking profiles can negatively affect a student's shot at the school of his or her choice. Will managing a student's internet presence in a positive sense soon become a new step in the increasingly complex college applications process?

Trends in Ed 7.9.09

Thu, 09 Jul 2009 12:50:46 -0400

Recently, while browsing around the web, I came across Gever Tulley's Tinkering School, a summer program that acts as an alternative to what Tulley sees as an obsession with child safety and overly structured programming for kids.

Instead of a prescribed schedule, Tulley offers the kids the opportunity to take real risks, use power tools, build their own projects, take apart machines, and do some very serious play. The Tinkering School participants (most of whom are under 10) build roller coasters, small bridges, and boats, take apart household appliances, use knives, drills, and saws, and much more.

While we mostly talk about play in the context of digital media, I thought that Tulley's conclusions were still a nice description of some of the benefits of unrestricted creativity and risk-taking. In his various Ted Talks and on his website, Tulley makes the claim that giving kids freedom in "dangerous" territory and allowing them to play with complex tools and machines will make them more confident, creative, and insightful adults with intuitive understandings of the world around them.

From a digital perspective, are their ways in which we curtail students' use of technology when we might be better served to give them free rein?