Most if not all schools that have computers use Ms Office despite other options being available. Developments buy google may change the way we view standard office software, Word Processor, Power Point / Presentation Software, Spreadsheets. The only reasons I can think off why schools will not take advantage of this sort of online software is data retrieval and backup but it does indicate the importance of BANDWIDTH!

Often students are asked to hand in drafts of work but the idea of drafts to me is from an era of hard-copy. I  draft as I go using a word processor iteratively, write,  re-write,  read aloud,  get the computer to read it,  print preview and finally print the assignment off. The only reason I print things is because I am asked to. I find it strange that our attitude to student work is still hard-copy…. But.. I still enjoy reading hard-copy , contradictory.. perhaps

This is yet another video that speaks volumes..

Education should be ……

I created this presentation for teachers at my school as a way of starting discussions about how we as teachers can use “The Network/Internet” as a learning space. What I find particularly exciting about the continually growing Internet is its ability to create opportunities for creating and sharing stuff . What this stuff is is up to us and as teachers it is incumbent upon us to guide students to create and participate constructively in the online environment.

http://soulkerfuffle.blogspot.com/2006/10/view-from-top.html

http://soulkerfuffle.blogspot.com/2006/09/gaming-addiction.html

The above posts are a salient warning to those who are drawn into the world of simulation. Some simulations – online computer games – are so seductive that they can consume the user. Simulations can become a narcotic with the user wanting more and more, but more is never enough and the simulation consumes its users. The greater the number of users that are consumed by the simulation the greater the power of the simulation. The users simulated/virtual self, embodied in an avatar, increases in importance and within the world of simulation the real self is subjugated by the virtual self.The virtual self initially a doppelganger to the real self consumes its host, the real and virtual self meld into a chimera.

But when does the relationship between the user and the simulation become chronic?

source: http://www.slideshare.net/julielindsay

A good presentation about using technology beyond applications. As teachers we should be using technology as a tool, learning how to use the tool is important,  the need is to move beyond the tool and towards using technology to communicate, create and learn.

The August issue of Teacher magazine was dedicated to the “issue of integration of technology” into secondary schools. This “issue” has been around for some time now and I think it should move from being an issue to being an imperative. What astounds me is parents are not up in arms about the lack of use of computers in all classrooms; could you imaging the up roar if items such as blackboards or overhead projectors were “integration items” and so in limited supply and often purchased by teachers and parents or purchased in limited quantities that they have to be shared.

Many, many areas of work are heavily reliant on the use of a computer, usually when you start a new job you get a desk and a desktop computer so you can do your work. Almost every teaching job I have had you either had to supply your own computer or share one with the rest of the staffroom; currently I lease a laptop through my school at a very cheap rate and I admit it is cheaper than buying it myself out right and the service I receive is quite good. I am lucky that my employer has made a decent computer available for my use this is the exception rather than the norm.

The use of hand writing in the work place has reduced dramatically as people use email and increasingly online web tools to communicate. Despite these obvious changes in the workplace and in our homes many classrooms still have a preponderance to focus on hand written assignments and hard copy submissions, interestingly students usually take the handwritten content home and redraft it in a digital form a webpage or a PowerPoint presentation. I have nothing against learning how to handwrite, it is an important communication skill but when was the last time you had to hand write a letter to someone apart from taking quick notes or leaving a message on your desk or on the kitchen table at home.

Information communication technologies need to become an integral part of classroom practice. Hand written and sketched plans are a great way for students to gather their ideas and discuss them with their peers however the leap to using a computer mediated presentation form also needs to be done in the classroom rather than as an adjunct to be completed outside of the classroom. The challenge for teachers is to make the move and utilize available hardware and software, it does not need to be expensive or difficult just start with Word, PowerPoint, Blogs and free website hosting and see where it takes you and more importantly your students.

I am currently drafting a piece to go into our school newsletter about surfing the internet safely. As I work in a K – 12 school the article needs to cover a bit of ground. While thinking about this article and writing – I must finish it by the end of term – I believe that the best web filtering software is ultimately the parents and also the children themselves. If we feel that all we need to do is find the latest and most up to date filtering software to protect our children we are wrong. If the Internet has taught us anything it is that as soon as something is said to be secure it becomes fair game. Web filtering software has its place but teaching children about what and why things are inappropriate or just plain wrong is the heart of the matter. Once children can judge a site as inappropriate then they are not only actively making a moral judgment but critically appraising what they see and read. Teaching children to think critically and to make informed judgments is an incredibly important skill and substantive discussions with children about right and wrong, good and bad can be set within the context of surfing the Internet.

Everyone is getting excited about digital white boards but I think you can get just as good functionality with a wireless tablet and some software, but this type of interface would be really be useful in a classroom. It would be great to have a group of students gathered around a “learning coffee table” and these learning interfaces communicating to others “coffee tables around the world”. This type of interface would be great for young learners who have difficulty with fine motor control using a mouse, although many children are getting much better at this at a younger age. One comment made by a faculty member is why does the video show a multitude of device, phones, cameras. Maybe the future would be one device which has all the capabilities of a phone, pc, camera and is connected to other devices and the Internet via wireless. Any way have a look and tell me what you think and the future possiblities you believe such an interface could offer.

found this at http://www.classroom20.com/profile/GBLabs [21/08/07]

Originally uploaded by Nathans Virtual Adventures

Ok, so I have had a look around Secondlife and it was pretty good although it got laggy at times. One thing about Secondlife that makes it difficult to use as a teaching tool is the amount of adult content. TeenSecondLife is now online – a few of my students have tried this but linden labs have been slow to respond to their emails – and may provide a more porn free environment.

I have also tried activeworlds which was a lot less laggy and looked reasonable although the free account does not alow much modification of your avatar. The graphic were smooth even on my 512/128 ADSL connection. Unfortunately activeworlds in world navigation is not as good as secondlife or there.com, they should really work on this because overall activeworlds is pretty cool.