You can check out the backchannel by going to http://www.chatzy.com/336912666808.
There is also a conference wiki available at http://iceconference.wiki.zoho.com/.
View the webstream at http://iceconference.wiki.zoho.com/ICE-Conference-TV.html. It is up and down.
More to come
Thursday, February 26, 2009
Monday, February 23, 2009
It's Not about the Tool
The following video reminds me that everything we do with technology in our classrooms is about the learning and not about the tool, or the trick, or the latest fad or buzz word of the moment. Technology used during the learning process to engage students in ways that are natural to them is powerful.
Mitch Resnik feels that real learning can be likened to lifelong Kindergarten. Think about this. Kids naturally collaborate, do research, create, present, and network easily (Chris Lehmann). We may not have Siftables available to us, yet, but we have Web. 2.0 tools that can help kids use these natural learning tendencies to become creative thinkers by extending the kindergarten approach to all parts of their lives. A wiki, for example, is a great tool for helping students organize all aspects of their leaning. The most important part of using these tools is to help our kids be creative and make connections that might otherwise be missed. This goes beyond making learning easier or faster. It goes to the heart of learning itself and engaging kids in ways that are natural to them.
I am very intrigued by the potential Siftables offer us. They connect the wooden blocks we all used in kindergarten (and still use today-Scrabble, Jenga, Tangrams, anyone?), with a technology that helps mimic the way or brains and bodies work.
For teachers, this is key: How are you using technology to help kids learn?
Mitch Resnik feels that real learning can be likened to lifelong Kindergarten. Think about this. Kids naturally collaborate, do research, create, present, and network easily (Chris Lehmann). We may not have Siftables available to us, yet, but we have Web. 2.0 tools that can help kids use these natural learning tendencies to become creative thinkers by extending the kindergarten approach to all parts of their lives. A wiki, for example, is a great tool for helping students organize all aspects of their leaning. The most important part of using these tools is to help our kids be creative and make connections that might otherwise be missed. This goes beyond making learning easier or faster. It goes to the heart of learning itself and engaging kids in ways that are natural to them.
I am very intrigued by the potential Siftables offer us. They connect the wooden blocks we all used in kindergarten (and still use today-Scrabble, Jenga, Tangrams, anyone?), with a technology that helps mimic the way or brains and bodies work.
For teachers, this is key: How are you using technology to help kids learn?
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