TlT+Summit

TLT Summit 2008
George Siemens
 * Education: An Ecology of Connections**

1. Let's have a revolution!

CHANGE social and technological collisions - two waves of change which collide and create seismic changes key revolutionary patterns - C. Perez, 2004

change pressures---catalyst---resistance--counter pressure--sustained systemic change

RESONANCE something of what we are seeing in the environment around us awakens some desire to respond critical because resonance motivates the masses to make changes tension points - open/closed, amateur/expert, foster/command, network/hierarchy notions - increased opportunities, increased participation

2. Complex and complicated

complicated - place for every piece of the puzzle - makes the correct picture, can be known complex - myriad of interacting factors, can be sensed and probed academically we are in a complex world, but we really think it is complicated - creates tensions if we are disrupted in the complex state and forced to accept a complicated answer then we have a false sense of security technology as a blessing and a curse - double edge sword - liberates but also oppresses challenge - concept of technology diminishes our freedoms if viewed in another sense balance is the new extreme - polarization of ideas and concepts - polarized on the tools distracts us from the big picture - connecting to one another technology binds us back to our humanity if we use it correctly who do we become when we use technology - fragmented understanding, fragmented identity on the Web, fragmented information as opposed to newspapers "The more we become distributed, the more we yearn to centralize."- but //individualized centralization//

Alan November
 * Creating a New Culture of Teaching and Learning**

using Alta Vista host:tr gives information with Turkish extensions only

learning is a social activity - learning is when you 'own' the learning - students can't own the learning if the teacher owns the learning Bob Sprankle - classroom podcasts - week in review (an example of students owning the learning) we need to have an agreement that children's knowledge can be applied even if teachers can't use the technology

Jing - capture images of the desktop, create video of activities on computer

research shows that people percieve audio books differently depending on the voice that reads the material - how does that relate to teaching and learning? - if students' voices are used to teach one another, does the learning change? - screencast of rounding off by Bob and Paul

teachers' job is not to learn all of the technology - it is to learn how and when to use the technology - teachers become the editor in chief

articles on wikipedia are like graffitti in the bathroom - you can't ban bathrooms just like you can't ban wikipedia (students can still access at home) - need to figure out an appropriate way to manage the situation - use RSS reader to get instant updates on new information that is posted and then respond as necessary microloan site - KIVA.org - connect lenders with entrepreneurs

Skype example - children call grandmothers using Skype - grandmother with an Irish accent is asked to read an Irish themed book to students - teacher records the reading - students listen again and again to the reading of the books

Web 2.0 enables students to have a global voice and allows for enhanced family connections - students are going to use these tools - it is better for them to use them with us, than without us the overarching concept is a shift in control - do we want to create a different locus of control in schools - students instead of the system

Alan November
 * Teaching Zack to Think: Developing Critical Thinking Skills on the Net**

easywhois.com - tells you who owns the site - equivalent to a title page in a book the Internet is a different media, different architecture - students need to know how to access information appropriately

in altaVista link:www.websiteadress.org (lists all of the sites that link to that site) add host:edu - (edu sites that link to that particular website) add link:www.anotherwebadress.org (further limits sites)

it is essential that users know how to cross reference and link to content WayBackMachine records the entirety of the Web every few months

Alan November's free [|InfoLit resources]

Google Custom Searches - enter in particular topics to the search engine description - don't add in keyword search because it will influence the search to much - enter in your web sites - check off 'don't include ads' - enter your topic into the search box and then new content will appear

Heather Ross, Dean Shareski, Rob Wall, Alec Couros wiki
 * EdTech Posse Web 2.0 RoundUp**

It is not about the technology, it is about teaching and learning.

Ning - social networking site - offers private groups (would be good for students, parents, families, communities) Google Docs and Spreadsheets Flickr - tag for this event is tltsummit2008 iPod touch as a mobile computing device - ubiquitous access Skype WireTap Studio - useful for recording skype conversations and other online applications Twitter - microblogging - combination of blogging and chatting - it is really about online presence - could be used as a virtual staff room - twitter is better than Google because it is a human aggregator of content - eg. memory card recovery, SMART board versus Promethean UStream - free tool for instant video streaming -
 * Tools to Try**

Open Source allows you to tinker with the code - Free does not allow this