Learning is Change

What I'm Learning: There is a movement toward "Connected Courses" in Higher Ed

I believe deeply in the power of connected learning, and I am so grateful to those who are pursuing it in all forms of education. I really like the structure of “Connected Courses” and the online community that has sprung up around it. Do you think we need something similar for K-12?

About | Connected Courses

Connected Courses is a collaborative network of faculty in higher education developing online, open courses that embody the principles of connected learning and the values of the open web. Our goal is to build an inclusive and expansive network of teachers, students, and educational offerings that makes high quality, meaningful, and socially connected learning available to everyone.

How do we support Future-Ready Teaching? By making Future-Proof Teachers.

This is to support the Future-Ready District Pledge work that the U.S. Department of Educational Technology is leading. This is the hangout that is happening tonight: https://plus.google.com/u/0/events/cnc635m5ngf6ocmbqkbv7q6b6gs

How would you support Future-Ready Teaching?

How do you make sure teachers are Future-Proof?

What I'm Learning: You can now Mirror your Chromebook to an Apple TV with AirParrot

While this may not be a game changer for some. For those who heavily invested in Apple TVs and are now investing a lot in Chromebooks, this is huge! While it isn’t free, I think it could be important to think about strategically purchasing licenses for classrooms.

AirParrot – Chrome Web Store

AirParrot adds screen mirroring to any Chrome OS device. Wirelessly connect a Chromebook to a receiver for easy mirroring and streaming. AirParrot displays your entire screen, not just a tab or portion of it.

What I'm Reading: We shouldn't forget Clifford Stoll

Clearly, we have the benefit of hindsight on our side. In 1999 when this book was written, I could see this argument really making a lot of sense. I believe that the author of this book was one of the great contrarians before the first EdTech bubble, during the time where the first real use of e-rate for computers was being pushed (1996-2000). 

I think we are probably in the midst of the second EdTech bubble, however. There are many companies that are touting a better way to teach and learn and ignoring the human components of that process. I think the warning from this earlier time is still valid. Any technology without humanity is doomed to fail in our schools.

We need to push forward and create new opportunities for learning, but we need these contrarians. We need luddites to make sure what we are trying out in our classrooms is actually BETTER and not just different. Who are your favorite second-wave EdTech Contrarians?

High Tech Heretic | Awful Library Books

“To turn learning into fun is the denigrate the two most important things we can do as humans: to teach, To learn.”

What I'm Learning: Audrey Watters asks really great questions.

This post is from a while ago, but I found it again and was compelled to make sure it gets seen by even more people. The questions she asks were originally for EdTech companies, but I wonder if they should apply to those who are trying to leaders in districts who claim to have the best interests of students in mind when they craft strategies for the way forward. 

What do you think? How should these questions be used?

“The Audrey Test”: Or, What Should Every Techie Know About Education?

I want us to set the bar really high when it comes to education technology — both in its development and its implementation. I don’t think it’s too much to ask. I mean, we’re talking about teaching and learning here, and while I believe strongly we should all be lifelong learners, most often when we talk about ed-tech, we’re talking about kids.