Live from MacWorld (Afternoon)-Day 2

I'm now sitting in on a seminar on K-12 e-learning circles. The focus, so far, has been teacher training, but I'm sticking with it just in case a few golden nuggets pop out. I did learn about this free audio recording program, Audacity, which is great for webcasts. GarageBand is still recommended for podcasts, however.

Speaking of podcasts, or more specifically the iPod, today's final workshop explored how educators can take advantage of video iPods (even the older models) to engage their students. For example, the classic video iPod, a 30GB model, can hold Discovery Channel's entire library of 40,000 video clips! Schools can subscribe to Discovery's education streaming videos to enhance the curriculum. Teachers can then upload videos, music, lesson plans, quizzes, etc. to student iPods (and remove all the other content). I won't get into the specifics here, but it is both amazing, and amazingly easy to do. Every speaker who addressed the Educator Academy had the same message for the hundreds of teachers and administrators in the room: we need to adapt our teaching to meet the needs of today's learners. Children are incredibly savvy and technologically competent. IQs have been increasing since the 50s, and are expected to rise even higher. It behooves us all to take advantage of the tools available to connect with our students and tap into their potential in ever more exciting ways. Educators need not master the tools--it's too hard for us old folks to keep up--but we can support and encourage our children to think, learn, create, produce, share and receive feedback in new and innovative ways.

A few more points before I wrap up: some K-12 teachers are using Google Earth to enhance their students' experiences with literature. This is a beta version, but it appears as though Google Lit Trips has some interesting potential. Click this link to learn a little more. Also, at the exhibit I experimented with www.lynda.com which delivers online software training for hundreds of programs. This is ideal if someone has a particular learning needs and wants to proceed at their own pace. It is even available for the Mac Operating System. Perhaps this is a better alternative than group lessons as it is impossible to cater to all the different levels in a group. Please come see me if you want to learn more.

Finally, I had the opportunity to experiment with Smart Boards today. Talk about fun for teachers! Smart Boards are interactive white boards that incorporate web-based technologies. As I'm short on brain power at the moment, I encourage you to visit the website to be truly amazed by the next frontier in K-12 education. I hear KDHS has Smart Boards, and I was told Templeton Secondary recently transformed its entire school to Smart technology. The other bonus is that it's a Calgary-based company. Who knew???

I return to Vancouver tomorrow with a deeper sense of  excitement of all the possibilities available to us and our students to really and truly honour the uniqueness of each individual learner. I welcome all of you to join me on this journey of discovery.

Cheers!

Jennifer

Summary of Steve Wozniak's Keynote & More

I am writing this blog from the Microsoft blogger lounge, replete with plush carpeting, soft lighting, leather furniture and bowls of M&Ms with the Microsoft Office logo (for Mac) printed on them. I have just realized I am the only female in the room, but I feel like I'm in good company surrounded by so many computer geeks. People keep peering in through the open windows (this is a haven amidst the hustle and bustle of the trade show where the number of products, enhancements and innovations is truly overwhelming) so I must constantly shift my position to keep what I'm writing somewhat private.

Steve Wozniak's keynote this morning epitomized his average guy persona. Burly and unrefined and a self-declared non-conformer, Woz share his opinions about education in a very non-linear way. If anything, he had a one-way conversation with us until the very end where the floor was opened up to questions--to which he couldn't find answers for most. This is not a critique. If anything, it was almost refreshing to hear someone so accomplished with a genius mind tell an audience of eager educators that he had no idea why students aren't interested in pursuing science and engineering at the college level.

My notes from his talk are random at best but I'll summarize a few nuggets that stood out for me:

• As someone who loathed standardized tests, fill in the blanks, and other such forms of assessment, Woz's view was encouraging. As a maverick constantly challenging convention, he's more interested in finding new solutions that point to different answers than coming up with the same responses as everyone else. I guess I can finally stop feeling so badly about my poor SAT score in high school.
• The Steve Wozniak formula of life: happiness=the number of smiles minus the number of frowns; the goal is to not to end up in the negative!
• Woz had two goals in life: to become an engineer like his father and to become a fifth grade teacher in deference to a special educator who changed his life. He achieved both! Woz taught fifth grade for 8 years during the height of Apple (in its first incarnation). It was a volunteer position and not subject to the politics and pressures most educators encounter. Of course, all his instruction incorporated technology (this was when Apple computers first hit the market) and he really empowered his students to figure things out for themselves. He believes the Internet and the vast opportunities to access information in so many forms will further enhance children's educational experiences. This is not something to be feared.

My next workshop begins in exactly 7 minutes so I better run. Did try out the iPhone (such fun!) and was even able to make long distance calls on it (checked my home messages--I know, how boring...)

P.S. Also learned about Leopard, Apple's new operating system. What's so exciting about all this technology is that using it gets more fun by the minute.

Live from MacWorld--Day 2

I arrived at Moscone Center almost two hours early this morning to make sure I secured front row seats for the opening's keynote with Steve Wozniak (A.K.A. "iWoz"), the original founder of Apple with Steve Jobs. They are expecting a full house this morning so myself and all the other diehards (including two nuns!) are bright-eyed and bushy tailed waiting to be dazzled and inspired.

In addition to conferences, workshops and trainings, there are two exhibit halls filled with vendors hawking everything from iPod "skins" to laptop carry bags to highly sophisticated (and expensive) servers to manage an organization's back-end. There's even a MacWorld store where I hope to purchase a "Mac Chick" t-shirt by day's end. I need at least one souvenir from the experience.

Yesterday's speakers all had something interesting to contribute. Granted the longer the day dragged on, the less able I felt to fully focus, but I did want to share some tidbits. 

Exciting things are happening in classrooms all across America. Rich and poor districts alike are harnessing the power of their Macs (and the bundled iLife software suite) to create video diaries, movies, blogs, and podcast--not only to communicate learning outcomes, but to struggle with important social and ethical issues. The Mabry Middle School in Marietta, Georgia, is doing just this. With the goal to create 2-minute films exploring issues of their choice, students developed powerful films questioning human embryonic stem cell research, the commercialization of pure drinking water, poverty in China, child slavery on Africa's Ivory Coast, etc.  I encourage all of you to click on this link to watch the videos they've made---and nothing is graded! The children are so motivated that a teacher's mark becomes irrelevant. Once you access the website, scroll to the bottom of the page to watch all the videos. Truly remarkable!

Mabry's Principal, Dr. Tim Tyson, comes across as a real visionary who loves to push the envelope and push convention. He's an enthusiastic subscriber to John's Dewey's philosophy that "learning is an active process." He's pushing for the "School 2.0" model where learners are authentically engaged and self-directed, instruction is project-driven and powered by technological innovation, and collaborative learning communities value students as both learners and teachers. In his opinion, the way we work, communicate, travel, build and maintain relationships, entertain ourselves, etc. has been utterly transformed by digital technology--"but school stays pretty much the same!" All important points to consider. I believe a fine balance exists between traditional aspects of a curriculum that are worth preserving (especially the human component) and the exciting potential of embracing technology to expand one's intellectual universe.

Day 1-Wednesday, January 16, 2007, Moscone Conference Centre, SFO

It is a beautiful sunny day in San Francisco, and I feel as though I've died and gone to heaven. Well it's not that dramatic, but standing in line at the Starbucks adjoining the Moscone Conference Centre early this morning I couldn't help but salivate over the iPhones everyone in line seemed to be sporting. Since they have yet to make their way to Canada, it is still a novelty item for me. The Aussies I've met feel the same way, though they claim their network is far superior to the U.S. making the iPhone a less than ideal purchase. Speaking of Aussies, there are plenty here in addition to Kiwis (New Zealand), Canadians (ran into Julia Leong from SFU's TLITE program--a worthwhile self-directed technology learning initiative for K-12 teachers), Germans, Japanese, Chinese, Thais, etc. Tens of thousands of individuals are all here to ooh and aah over the latest Mac products as well as learn, network and share resources and ideas. I'm attending the MacWorld Educator Academy conference for the next two days and I plan to post as much as I can to this blog to share ideas, impressions and opportunities for our students to learn and grow in this new digital age.

This morning's keynote speaker was John Couch, Vice President of Education for Apple. He focused on three areas: NEW CONTENT, NEW COMMUNITIES, NEW CONNECTIONS. Never before have students been so immersed in the digital age. When you consider that 70% of today's 4-year olds have used a computer, educators have to accept--whether we like it or not--that students' worlds are inextricably linked to technology. Young people today are text messaging, SMSing, podcasting, social networking and digital movie making. In fact, many students consider email a mode of communication for old people! The challenge for educators is how do we meet the needs of this generation? How do we prepare them for a world that is becoming increasingly flat? (Side note: Did you know that the #1 English-speaking country in 10 years will be China? How about that 100% of college graduates in India speak English?)

As far as Apple is concerned, the goal is to create learning environments to meet the needs of students and to provide a digital learning environment that supports the way students live and how they want to learn. In the past, a student's work went up on the fridge at home. Now, a student's work has the potential and capacity to reach a worldwide audience! Educators need to begin thinking about the personal computer as an amplifier of clarity of thought as it allows people to express themselves in so many different ways. This is something we should not fear--but embrace--as for the first time in history learners of different capacities, capabilities, and interests can have their needs met. This is quite unprecedented and an amazing opportunity for educators.

Since technology is so fast-paced, it is impossible for us to stay current--and we don't have to! Educators need to facilitate and allow for the learning to happen by supporting the exploration of alternate forms of expression as well as making the tools available for this to happen.  

Whether watching the "Science of Waves" through a free video download from iTunes, listening to a lecture on quantum physics from MIT (again a free download), or seeking content rich lectures on Facebook (yes, some universities are beginning to build learning communities on social networking sites), opportunities to expand one's mind and the modes of learning abound. Problem is, schools remain stagnant institutions and impervious to technological innovation. Universities are slowly coming around (case in point: iTunes U), but K-12 schools largely remain untouched. Many teachers who taught 50 years ago can pretty much pick up where they left off. Would we allow a brain surgeon who practiced half a century ago to do the same? Of course not, because the technology has changed. We cannot say the same for schools. It is incumbent for us to play catch up if we want to connect to our children's worlds and make their learning meaningful and relevant. (Side note: check out iTunes and all the amazing free resources available--in both audio and video formats. You don't need an Apple to download the iTunes application.)

Textbooks, too, are starting to catch up to all the changes. A professor at Concordia University in Montreal has uploaded both a Greek and Hebrew language textbook to iTunes. The prediction is just as music has gone digital, textbooks will eventually be distributed through laptops and the paper format will become obsolete.

Speaker John Couch concluded his address by reiterating Apple's vision for education: "A world in which all learners are empowered to discover their own special genius" (and, I would add, a world where the playing field can be leveled as technology creeps into the lives of all people the world over. It is predicted over 50% of the world's population will have cell phones in the next few years. With cellphone technology encompassing far more than traditional communications, learning is going mobile and reaching an ever wider audience. The implications, I hope, will mean that one day the differences between the educational opportunities for rich and poor, developed and developing, will diminish as classrooms will extend far beyond brick walls.