We Think Video

This video will make you think about what is yours and what is mine, what we keep and what we share, and how the web changes everything.

Historical Imagery Now Available in Google Earth

If you have Google Earth version 5 installed on your computer, there is a new feature for you to check out! This new feature allows you to go back in time to see changes in the landscape over time. Turn on this feature by clicking on the clock icon on the toolbar OR by going to View > Historical Imagery. A time line slider bar will appear just under the toolbar. At this time, most of the oldest images are concentrated in the United States, but more will be added in the near future.

Check out the Las Vegas strip in the 1950s or see the World Trade Center in Manhattan prior to 9/11 (or just after).  Soon we'll be able to see the effects of things such as the deforestation of the Amazon, or WWII.   NEAT!

Read more about historical imagery on Google's Lat Long Blog.  Check out the video showing the Aral Sea in Central Asia, where irrigation and water diversion has led to a dramatic shrinking of the lake beginning in the 1960s and continuing today.

Here is an image of San Francisco... same exact place in 1946 and 2010 (I took screen shots when using Google Earth). It's way better when you view directly in Google Earth, because you can zoom in and out, but his will give you an idea of they type of images you can see with the historical images feature. Notice the boats in the 1946 image and the high rise buildings in the 2010 image.

Kids Teaching Other Kids Math

A 6th grade teacher from California, Eric Marcos, facilitates a project that I believe is noteworthy. His students are creating instructional videos/screencasts and posting them online for anyone to use. We all know that when you teach someone something, you develop a deeper understanding. Marcos created a website called Mathtrain that allows them to publish their work and collaborate. Assessment is authentic and the work is motivating.  All videos are licensed with a Creative Commons license.  See example below.  Mike is showing & explaining how to estimate square roots.

DEN Virtual SciCon 2010

On January 9, 2010, the Discovery Educator Network hosted an online conference (with a twist) focused on providing participants with some of the most effective strategies for transforming their science classes through the meaningful and effective integration of digital media content. Over 1,000 people participated.   I was not able to make it, but learned today that the sessions have been archived and posted.

Sessions include:

• Change the Present, Change the Future with Lance Rougeux


• No Paper Left Behind: A New Age of Science Instruction with Brad Fountain


• Hands-On Digital with Patti Duncan


• Polar Bears in a Changing Climate featuring STAR Discovery Educator Julene Reed


• Where Do Old Sneakers Go to Die? Real-World Science with Mike Bryant


• Teaching Process Skills with the Mythbusters with Patti Duncan


• Do Try This at Home: Fun, Easy and Effective Science Experiments for Your Students with Mike Bryant and Brad Fountain

View all presentations (with audio of the presenters) and corresponding resources on the DEN SciCon website.  Thanks DEN, great stuff!

Here Comes Everybody

I finished Here Comes Everybody:Organizing without Organizations by Clay Shirkey over the weekend.  It is an easy-to-read story about the power of the Internet for groups of people.  He provides numerous examples of how free web based technologies have "out-done" traditional business models:

•  - Wikipedia vs Encarta


•  - Linux vs Windows


•  - Perl vs C++


•  - Flickr Photo Sharing vs Company that approves photos (cannot remember name; they didn't make it).


•  - Youtube vs DVDs that you purchase

As I read the book, I thought about all the different online communities and groups I "belong" to:  Twitter and Plurk (ed tech community), Facebook (friends, relatives, some ed tech folks), Geocaching (other geocachers), MACUL Space (educators in Michigan interested in ed tech), One-to-One Institute (those involved in 1:1 laptop programs), Daily Mile edurunners (educators who run or walk), Flickr EdTech 365 (educators who enjoy photography and share one photo per day), Shelfari (those who like to read), Diigo Educators (educators share favorite websites).  There are probably even more than that, but these are the online communities in which I am most active.  None require costs, just people with like minds with a shared interest.  The communities monitor themselves for the most part.  Sharing is the name of the game; you share your talents with others and they will share theirs with you. 

Many people I know have never experienced online learning communities, and therefore tend to only believe in more traditional methods of learning interactions (face to face).  Businesses are starting to understand the power of the Internet for marketing and connecting with customers.  If you don't understand how online communities could possibly work without anyone in charge, read the book, and it will soon make sense!

These new tools are powerful; they allow multiple ways for us to collaborate and connect with others.  If you have not yet experienced an online community that helps you learn and grow, it's time to jump on board!

Dispute of Learning-Style Research

I just read an article with this headline: Study Questions Learning-Style Research.  It made me say to myself, "You've got to be kidding..."  Here's why.

I spent most of last week engrossed in learning about differentiated instruction; first as a learner, then as a presenter.  Dr. Richard Villa came to my district to help us as we "vamp up" our efforts to meet the needs of all students in general education classrooms.  He worked with high school teacher leaders on Wednesday, and I attended this day-long session with them.  The following morning, two colleagues and I turned around and presented the same information (as best we could) to middle school teacher leaders, then repeated the presentation the next day to another group of teacher leaders.  Although it was super challenging for us, many positives came out of it.  We developed a more in-depth knowledge of the content, honed our presentation skills, and got the chance to work with people that we hadn't yet worked with.  Our presentation went well both days, but the second day was MUCH better, as we tweeked the presentation based on how the first day went. 

The concept of differentiated instruction is not new, but there are implementation strategies that are.  You can "retrofit" lessons to meet the needs of certain learners, or you can design lessons in advance to meet the needs of ALL learners (UDL: Universal Design for Learning).  Villa proposes that the retrofit approach is a great way to get started:  First, focus on one learner who is having trouble learning for one reason or another; he/she could be a special education student, an academically advanced student, an English language learning student, a student who lacks motivation, or fill in the blank .  The next step is to gather information about the student's strengths and weaknesses (here is where having information about learning styles comes in handy), interests, background experiences, and personality.  Next, you identify characteristics of the classroom: routines, teachers' instructional style, homework, assessment, etc.   The team can usually easily identify mismatches regarding how the student learns and how he/she fits into a  particular classroom on a typical day.  The final step is to brainstorm ideas of possible changes that the teacher could make that could possibly help the student learn. 

I found it ironic to receive an e-news brief from E-School News with the Headline "Study Questions Learning Style Research."  A research study titled "Learning Styles: Concept and Evidence" was recently published in a journal of the Association for Psychological Science, called Psychological Science in the Public Interest.  The study was conducted by four professors of psychology from around the country.  All are cognitive psychologists with an interest in the science of learning.

The researchers reviewed all major studies that promoted effectiveness of teaching to different learning styles to see whether those studies had reached valid conclusions.  They could not show conclusively that students learn better when they are taught according to their profered modality.  I first assumed that they are talking about Howard Gardners multiple intelligences modalities, but upon reviewing the actual study, saw no references at all to this, although several other tools were mentioned: those on the International Learning Styles Network website (www.learningstyles.net), Kolb's Learning Style Inventory (www.haygroup.com), and others from Coffield et al. (2004). I believe that all are fee-based tools. My first reaction after reading the eSchool news article was that these researchers must have had a bad research design to find proof that providing learning activities to fit various learners is not effective.  However, after looking at the study itself, I have changed my mind.  I believe that the researchers do not condone spending any money on learning style inventory tools, because so far they have not made major positive differences in learning outcomes when used alone.   

In fact, I think they would agree about the importance of teachers using many sources of information about students to design different kinds of learning experiences.  Lecture is the most common instructional practice in American secondary classrooms, and written homework comprised of short answer questions is the most common form of  homework. I doubt that the researchers would disagree that it might benefit students to "switch it up" to make it better suited for a wide range of learners.

This is part of the researcher's conclusions:  "Given the capacity of humans to learn, it seems especially important to keep all avenues, options, and aspirations open for our students, our children, and ourselves. Toward that end, we think the primary focus should be on identifying and introducing the experiences, activities, and challenges that enhance everybody’s learning."  This conclusion fits with what I've learned recently about differentiated instruction and universal design for learning. Learning style preferences is just one type of  information that might be helpful to a teacher when identifying a student's strengths, and you don't need to spend money on fancy learning style inventories.  

Here's another example of why it is important to look at a primary source document (the actual research study) instead of relying solely on the opinions of a secondary source (eSchool News).  In my eyes, eSchool News made some assumptions that were not justified when looking at the actual study.  Too bad eSchool news has disabled comments for this article.

Added 1/12/10:  I received an email from the editor of eSchool News, Dennis Pierce, who had read my blog post.  He mentioned that the eSchool News content management system was being updated and that comments are now allowed, so be sure to add a comment there if you'd like. 

The tagline "Scientists have yet to prove that students learn better when taught according to their preferred modality, a new study suggests" doesn't fit the content of the article.  However, I suppose it does generate interest and cause people to click on the link, so in that regard it works.  I do worry that people who only read the beginning of the article will conclude that it is not a good idea to include student learning style preferences along with all the other types of information (prior knowledge, interests, experiences, etc) about students when designing lessons. 

 

 

 

Flip Video 2-for-1 Offer for Educators

The Digital Wish Foundation matches classroom teachers who create "wish lists" with donors from the local community.  To learn more about the process, go here. 

Currently there is a two-for-one offer for the Flip Ultra 120 minute camcorder.