Technology

I've come across yet another article, extolling the virtues of classrooms using video games to help students teach. This time, the students are learning to create their own educational games, which younger grades will then use.

My personal favorite quote from the article: "When you teach other people, you strengthen 90 percent of what you know.”

Read more, at http://www.schoollibraryjournal.com/article/CA6712738.html?industryid=47075

“Wuz4dina?” If you are the parent of a teenager, you’ve probably received this text from your child. The average number of monthly texts for a 13- to 17-year-old teen is 1,742, according to a Nielsen study of cell phone usage. The same study found that the typical U.S. mobile subscriber sends and receives more SMS text messages than telephone calls. You’ll find teenagers using chat acronyms with a variety of communication tools including: online chat rooms, online forums/bulletin boards, instant messaging, and social networking sites.

"Turn off the TV, put away the video games, and read to your child."
-President Obama

President Obama's "Educate to Innovate" program is getting a response from educational computer game companies. There's a mild irony here, but it's also a wonderful illustration of the country (and world)'s current move toward technology as an educational source.

Wow! The NAEYC conference was absolutely fantastic! By the time the closing session took place everyone was exhausted. However, the attendees that heard the presentation by Susan Zelman seemed happy they participated. Each teacher at the closing session was awarded free professional development for the PBS Raising Readers program.

•What problem is Ready to Learn trying to solve?
Mission: Use the power of public service media to help children ages 2-8, especially those from low income families learn to read.

•How has Read to Learn approached the problem?

Pat Hardy (R-Weatherford) moves that the Board rules REQUIRE that ancillaries be provided electronically (digital or web-based) ONLY. She thinks the fact that the pre-K call is for a "system" will protect the unique needs of that grade. She believes that eliminating all of the shipping and expense involved will help publishers deal with the need for lower prices, given the state's budget woes. It is now forbidden for publishers to include print ancillaries.

Today I participated in EdWeek’s webinar titled e-Learning’s Role When the Flu or Other Emergencies Strike. It was a live discussion about preparations for the H1N1 flu virus and possible school closures and absences that are pushing educators toward using technology more heavily in their daily schedule and expanding online learning. Speakers included:

I recently got a new iPod and realized there are some good and fun apps out there for design, so I thought I would share some that I came across in my search.

iBlueSky: $9.99
Use this app to map your brainstorming. Create a collection of ideas, thoughts, and suggestions and email them as a PDF or PNG.

There is a great debate on video games, with supporters and detractors coming from all over.  Educators, parents, researchers, publishers, policy makers, and manufactorers have all weighed in on whether the video game industry, as a whole, is a positive influence on students.

The Sun Journal, in Lewiston, Maine, recently asked another group to weigh in: the students.

In an earlier post, I mentioned that HB 4294 would, for the first time EVER, allow Texas state textbook funds to be used to purchase technology and equipment. At that point, I said that if it got signed, it would change the industry forever.

Earlier in this blog, I described how just a couple of bills in Texas (Open-Source Textbooks and Technology) could change the face of the instructional materials industry.