International Education News

NECC’s over.  But I suspect that I’ll have more to say as time goes on and I have a chance to review some of my notes and some of the stuff that I’ve pulled from the bottom of my computer bag. 

I was lucky enough to run into David Thornburg in the exhibitor’s hall on Tuesday afternoon, and he directed me to two pretty interesting products.  One was a portable computer called, one2oneMate.  It is an AlphaSmart style contraption that is actually a full computer running Linux and a pretty rich set of instructional and productivity applications.  The OS is tricked out for speed and memory management, so it is mostly not possible to install your own applications — which I think is a weakness.  But what’s there is better than anything else if seen for $399 (Volume discounts available).  If you can recommend some other inexpensive portable computers, please do.

Thornburg also pointed me to P3D, a virtual walk through of the human body.  It was very slick, when used with an interactive white board.  You can grab part of the body, expand, turn, and enter, exploring the visual aspects easily and interactively.  You can see some video demos by going to the web site, at http://www.p3d.com.br/.  Click your preferred language (the company is in Brazil), then products, then Biology 1, Biology 2, or Geography.  They are working on a Physics product.

One of the aspect of the product that I found intriguing was that there is no text utilized, enabling it to be used regardless of language and when appropriate, regardless of age.

At some point in the next few days, I’d like to write about about some of the trends that I saw in this years NECC Exhibit Hall.

[Live Blogged]

I’m sitting in a spotlight session, being delivered by Joyce Valenza, Information Fluency and Web 2.0.  She’s tlaking about how we blend two ideas, info fluency and these new tools.  Her confession?  She’s actually 1.8.  A few of us are 2.0, but most of us are somewhere between 1 and 2.  This is clever and useful, but I’d like to figure our how to express this as layers.  Web 1 is still here and will nearly always be with us.

She also suggests that we should be bringing our children’s information experiences into the school library.  To do that, the library needs to look like their outside the school information experience.  I’m not sure what that looks like, but you can’t just say, we want you to talk about your video games, and you can bring your Gameboys into our media center.  Joyce’s school would be a great place to visit.

I need to start paying attention.  We too much information and web sites.

Technorati Tags: warlick necc07 necc2007

Yesterday was a great day at NECC.  No presentations.  Just listening, conversing, and learning.  Today I have two panel sessions and the spotlight (2:00PM Murphy 2/3).  But I think that Sunday was the quintessential day of NECC for me.  It started out at the ISTE Leadership Symposium, rubbing elbows with state technology leaders (State Educational Technology Directors Association — SETDA). 

Then I headed down to my pre-conference workshop on Advanced Blogging, which was kicked off by Chris Lehmann and Marcie Hull.  It was a challenging workshop as some of the participants were already advanced and many didn’t have a blog yet.  It was a bit frustrating, but it was NECC.  We’re all over the place here, experienced and noobs — and we can all learn from each other, because folks who are new to this have a perspective that continues to be invaluable to the rest of us.

After the workshop, I rushed over to the International reception and was able to say about three words to about 50 people.  To many people, to much to say and listen too, and too little time.  This is very exciting. 

Then over to an amazing keynote address, the notes of which I will post soon.  Andrew Zolli was high energy and all of the information and ideas he shared was relevant to education in general and TO US.  I would love to see it again, but in slow motion.  Zolli is young, and so, talks fast.  I’d also like to see the comedy as one presentation and the content as another.  This is no criticism, just some supplementals I’d like to have.

Finally, I had dinner with Chris Craft, from South Carolina, Vicki Davis, from Georgia, Jeff Wipple, from New Brunswick Canada, and Julie Lindsay from Australia, who teaches in Bangladesh, but fixing to take a new job in Qatar.  This is what NECC is about. 

Nations coming together to make nations of ideas.

Technorati Tags: warlick education technology necc07 necc2007

This is a great conference!  But I’m still trying to figure out this convention center.  Every time I think I have the geography figured out, it all crumbles.  My first impression was that it was shaped like at J, but the ends of the “J” are never where I expected.  Infact what was there yesterday, isn’t there today.  It’t like a quantum facilitate that behaves relative to where you want to go — keeping it a place you are trying to get to and never quite making it. — or am I being paranoid…

Right now, I’m in the Bloggers Cafe, doing some blogging and reviewing the slides for this afternoons Spotlight address (2:00PM Murphy)

Technorati Tags: warlick education technology necc07 necc2007

I’m in a session about programming with Michael Kolling.  He works for Kent University in Canterbury, England, but actually from Germany, as evidence by the two little dots over the “O” in his last name, which I can’t figure out how to make with my blog editor.

He says that we have a huge shortage of programmers and other computer science fields because we drive out kids out of any interest in these field by teaching them computer science/computer applications.  We kill them with word processing and Excel.  He’s talking about programming, games, and Java.

He’s demonstrating a program now that creates virtual insects that are programmed to behave as ants.  They randomly wander around until they find food.  Then they come home laying down feramones.  They need to leave high school interested, enthusastic, and curious about computers, then that’s all they need.  When they come into his university class curious and enthused, then he can teach them anything.  This is actually true with many subjects. 

Michael is promoted a project called Greenfoot.  This is very similar to what I’m thinking a Second Life for children should be.  No just a place to interact and socialize, but also to create experience through objects that behave.

Technorati Tags: warlick education technology greenfoot necc07 necc2007

I was just walking through the hall with my friend Yvonne Hallman, and it occurred to me how much learning is going on here.  You’re either in-session or in-world.  You are either having fantastic conversations in the hall, or engaged in one of the poster session or the new lounges.  Right out side the room I’m in right now (B303 Avatars) is what looks like an impromptu session, where people are sitting on the floor, on sofas, standing and leaning.  You can’t turn around here without learning.

Technorati Tags: warlick education conference necc07 necc2007

Here’s a story from USAToday, just shared by Deneen Frazier Bowen, in one of her personae.

Students use the Internet to help Darfur - USATODAY.com:

High school students Nick Anderson and Ana Slavin of Gill, Mass., knew they could raise some money at their school to help the people of Darfur. But they knew they could raise a lot more by enlisting the help of high school students all over the country. They didn’t have friends at every school, but they did have a powerful tool for reaching out to young people - social networking sites.

Sussman, Beth. “Students use the Internet to help Darfur.” USAToday. Jun 2007. 25 Jun 2007 <http://www.usatoday.com/news/education/2007-06-12-darfurstudents_N.htm>.

Technorati Tags: warlick education technology necc07 necc2007

[Live blogged]

I’m sitting in Murphy 1, watching Deneen Frazier Bowen.  It’s the first time I’ve seen her do her skit, and it exceeds all that I’ve heard.  As a sidebar, I just opened up iChat and my Bonjour window, which looks for all of the people who are on iChat in your local network.  Amazingly, there are 16 people there.  No 17, no, 18, no, 22 now.  It’s like another conference going on in the very air that we are breathing.

Technorati Tags: warlick education technology necc07 necc2007 ichat

[Live blogged, editorial comments in italics]

In 1998, they were thinking, what do kids need to be able to do with technology?  It was, I guess, a good questions at that time.  Today it’s, “what do kids need to know to be able to learn today and live productively?”  Yes! Yes! Yes!

Learning is taking a much higher profile.  Interestingly, this was an impression that I had from EduBloggerCon.  It was about learning and facilitating learning.  One of the things that pushed them was the 8th grade assessment from No Child Left Behind.  What do we want to be tested — what button to press, or how to use technology to accomplish goals.  

NETS Standards:

• Creativity & Innovation
• Communication & Collaboration
• Research & Information Fluency
• Critical Thinking, Problem-Solving & Decisions-Making
• Digital Citizenship
• Technology Operations & Concepts

Feedback from all 50 states and 22 other countries when into the building of the standards. At this point this seems to be a celebration, which is exactly what they said it was.

The number one thing that we heard from feedback was globalization, evidenced partly by the amount of feedback from outside the U.S.  They are national standards, but with so much feedback from outside, they will be a starting place for many other countries.

One of the challenges now will come to the state education departments who mush figure out how to fold these standards not only in their state technology standards, but also into other subject and skill standards.  It is about learning, not just tech.

“Rather than learning the technology, we’re using technology to learn.” 

This was a quote from Paul, a fifth grade teacher who was involved in developing the NETS.  If someone knows his last name, please comment it in here. That says a lot!  He also urged teachers who integrate the standards, they must share it with the world.

I had some conversations with people at my table before the session started about the NETS.  Some interesting statements that came out of it were:

• NETS are visionary, but perhaps what’s most important about them is that they will force visionary thinking.
• We have to learn to have vision.  We also have to teach our children how to make vision.

Technorati Tags: warlick education technology nets necc07 necc2007

It’s been an interesting morning. First I spoke at the ISTE Leadership Symposium about the difference between Web 1.0 and Web 2.0. Now, I’m facilitating a workshop on Web 2.0 for a room of nearly 30 experience bloggers. We’re looking at advanced blogging, wikis, RSs, and all of the other usual suspects.

This message is a test for the audience, so pay it no attention.

Technorati Tags: warlick education technology necc07