Owner: Intended Consequences URL:www.snipurl.com/ic Join Date: Mon, 17 Dec 2007 16:17:54 -0600 Rating:0 Site Description: Tim Holt gives you his unique perspectives on the Educational Technology community from a K12 and Texas perspective Site statistics:Click here
The Test the Test 2008-03-04 14:44:55 The picture below is a screen capture from the Texas Education Agency website () from Tuesday March 4, 2008.I will hold my judgement other than to point you towards the part that says “Most Popular Information.” These are the big hits that the site has. Of the 15 most popular sites on the ENTIRE TEA web site, the site that contains all of the information for education K12 for the entire state of Texas...14 of the 15 are about testing.But we don’t teach the test.I promise.
Ten Criteria to Tell if You Love Your Job 2008-03-04 10:04:55 I am currently sitting in a Texas Assoc. of School Business Officers (TASBO) trainign being led by Frankie Jackson, She just had an interesting set of slides about whether you are right for the job you have. Maybe there are more criteria, but she quoted Brian Tracy’s Flight PlanFrom Frankie Jackson’s TASBO Presentation: Education Technology Management Leadership10 Indicators that you are working in the right field:Ever wonder if you really being in the job you are doing? Are you a vicitm of the Peter Principal? Indicators to determine if you are in the right field of instructional technology:You love your job. Interests you, fascinates you, attracts you.Want to be excellent at your job, be one of the top 10% of all the people or organizations in your field.Admire the top people in your
Preparing Teachers for Digital Age Learners 2008-03-04 09:10:01 From TCEA:Action: Contact your U.S. Senators and Representative to request thatthe "Preparing Teachers for Digital
Age Learners" program be included inthe final Higher Education Act Reauthorization bill. Click on thefollowing link to send a letter to your two U.S. Senators and U.S.Representative: URL will bring you to a prepared letter that can be edited topersonalize with your comments as well as an area to type your name andaddress. Make sure to authenticate and click send.Background: Many of you may already be aware that the "PreparingTeachers for Digital Age Learners" program that the ISTE SIGTE developed for the reauthorization of the Higher Education Act has been included in the House bill as Title II-B of H.R. 4137, The College Opportunity and Affordability Act of 2007." The p
Apple back on Top in Higher Ed 2008-03-02 17:56:55 From the site: 9to5mac:Hidden in among Apple
's chief operating officer Tim Cook's speech to the Goldman Sachs Technology Investment Symposium was a critical barometer of Apple's success - Apple beat Dell in laptop sales in the US higher education market.While most reports focused on Cook's optimism as regards iPhone sales this year, the executive also told analysts: "We just received word on Monday that Apple surpassed Dell as the number one supplier of portables to US higher education for 2007," Cook claimed."The ceiling for the Macs is nowhere in sight. Even if the market itself isn't growing, for us, switching Windows users is an enormous opportunity," Cook also added.This is a critical metric for Apple, which once dominated computing on college campuses.I have always been an unabashed Read more:Higher
We Don’t Teach to the Test, We Teach the Test 2008-03-01 09:30:32 I remember a time when standardized testing began back here in Texas, back then it was called something like TEAMS. I forget what the acronym stood for, but TEAMS begat TAKS which when George Bush got elected to the White House begat NCLB and national standardized testing. I see your silly acronym and raise you a sillier acronym...Anyway, back then we teachers were told not to worry about student test scores, that the test was merely going to be used as a diagnostic, to see where students stood and to help them out in areas of weakness. Good idea I thought at the time, because there was no real standardized test to see how kids say in El Paso were doing curricular-wise to kids in Houston or Dallas. Of course, it didn’t take long for the powers that be to start using the results of these
Picturing America 2008-02-21 21:43:28 The National Endowment for the Humanities' (NEH) new Picturing America
initiative provides an innovative way for citizens of all ages to explore the history and character of America through some of our nation's greatest works of art. Picturing America is a free resource that can be readily used in every classroom and public library in the country. Images of people, places, and events illustrating American history give citizens everywhere a chance to better understand our country's past and its ideals. From the courage and leadership portrayed in Emanuel Leutze's Washington Crossing the Delaware to the power of American democracy illustrated in Norman Rockwell's Freedom of Speech, these works of art represent enduring American ideals. These masterpieces open the viewer's eyes to America's r
Reading and Ritin’ and ‘Rithmatic 2008-02-21 21:30:52 Here’s a big surprise: When you add time on class for reading, and then add time for math, and still keep the same amount of hours in a school day, you don’t have time to teach the other subjects.From the education DUH department and the Baltimore Sun:Reading
, math eat up class hoursDriven by stress on test scores, systems trim other subjectsBy Ruma KumarFebruary 21, 2008The pressure for elementary schools to show progress under No Child Left Behind has come at a cost - less time is being devoted to social studies, science, art and music.But time for reading and math has received a substantial boost, according to a study that examined 349 of the nation's school systems.The report released yesterday by the Center on Education Policy shows that some school districts increased math and re
Obsolete Technical Skills 2008-02-20 12:15:01 Ever wonder what happens when technology knocks on the door? While many times the advances are for the better, there is always something that is left behind, some knowledge that is left to history. Consider the car. Before the car, the main form of transportation was the horse. Once the “horseless carriage” took over, the entire industry was wiped out because of the rise of the automobile. Don’t see many carriage makers or neighborhood blacksmiths anymore do you?Along with the industry, the skills associated with those industries went the way of the dodo bird as well. All of those kids that were told by their fathers that blacksmith would be a good career choice suddenly had to rearrange their plans. Same could be said for icemen, milkmen, shoe repairmen, the list is endless. Time m Read more:Technical
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¿Cuál es un experto? What is an Expert? 2008-02-19 11:22:39 I really like Marco Torres. I first saw him at an event that Apple Computers put on in 2005 for El Paso educators. Over the years, I have seen him speak, have spoken with him, and have become a silent fan. At the recent TCEA, Marco was the closing keynote speaker, and he gave a great talk that I think every one that stuck around for the last day was glad to hear. Marco had an interesting thought about 20 minutes into his speech. I will generalize here, not quote, but essentially he said that at a teacher meeting, he asked the gathered educators what an expert was and why they thought they were experts. The teachers as a group, said that what made them experts were varied, such a degrees earned, knowledge of a topic, etc etc. He then looked at the group and asked “So, what knowledge do y Read more:Expert
My First Rejected Article 2008-02-12 11:29:12 An online magazine asked me to write an article about internet censorship. What a topic. Kind of like..write an article about the universe...Anyway, I was rejected. My first rejection letter...So, you get to see it: Here is my rejected article about Internet censorship.Let me know what you think.Conversations on Internet CensorshipTim HoltI sat down and prepared for the interview with the old man. I always liked talking to him because he never let me guess what he was thinking. He always let me know straight up what was on his mind. He looked at me and sighed. You and your silly computers, I could almost hear him saying it in his mind.“So, tell me” I asked, getting out my laptop and my camcorder “What would you take off of the Internet if you could?”“First
of all, I want you to k Read more:Rejected
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Quick Thoughts about TCEA 2008-02-10 08:01:56 TCEA had about 8400 attendees this year, which I believe made it the best-attended conference ever. Way to go! Ed tech is not dead.Here are some things I noticed while attending:Lots of interactive white boards. Every aisle in the exhibit hall had whiteboard vendors, which makes me really wary that whiteboards are a fad. I don’t know, but I saw whiteboards that were $5000 and ones that were $350. With that kind of price range, you know the market for them is unsettled. Not a lot of IW demos in the workshops given by non-corporate types. PodcastingThere were a lot of podcast demos going on, and they were being done by non-corporate types, In other words, it looks like podcasting as a learning tool may becoming into its own after several years, I am particularly interested in how podcastin Read more:Quick
ANY Learning Modality 2008-01-29 22:47:59 Prakash Nair when designing schools, decided to look at the different ways that students learn, before he started making designs for schools. The results were the “18 Modalities of Learning
” listed below. I assume that there are more than this, and Howard Gardner might want to sit down and discuss things with Nair, but it is a nice discussion place to start. Let us assume that these are indeed the 18 ways that students actually can learn. How does a campus/district or builder design for these different styles? Just like Multiple Intelligences, multiple learning styles need to be addressed as well when considering curriculum and how technology fits in.So, I was thinking that technology can either help or hinder the modality listed. Does technology as we now use it in the class hamper or
Sharing the Love 2008-01-29 14:23:30 I always felt a little guilty when I would travel to a conference and come back home, full of knowledge, pumped up about whatever the topic was covered at the conference but no one to share with, or with time constraints, unable to share. In my district, we are really great at sending people and then forgetting to ask them what they did, what they learned and how the conference will improve learning in our schools.So, with that in mind, I will be attending TCEA in Austin next week with several of my staff and as such, I am asking them to help with an experiment in which they get to share the conference experience with anyone back home or anywhere else for that matter. We are going to experiment with several methods of sharing.At TCEA, my colleagues are presenting back to the folks back ho Read more:Sharing
Learning with a Sore Ass 2008-01-28 14:21:01 I remember reading once about how McDonald’s had designed it’s restaraunt chairs using ergonometric studies that showed how long it took for ones ass to become uncomfortable. They then designed the chairs so that you would start shifting your cholesterol-laden posterior so that you would would want to get up and leave after about 15 minutes. The theory was, that if you felt uncomfortable, you would eat and leave, and then the space would be free for the next customer to come in. The faster the turn-around, the more people could be served, hence, more sales and more profit.That is why, back in the 80’s and 90’s the chairs at McDonald’s felt like hard plastic toadstools that you were able to manage in just about the time it took to scarf down a Combo #1. Ever wonder why your need Read more:Learning
Terms of Service May Bite You in the Butt 2008-01-23 12:21:50 I know a lot of teachers that ask students to go out and get a free email account to use in the classroom. From elementary to high school, it is not uncommon for teachers to ask students to “Go get a Yahoo account” or “Sign up for Google.” Their intent is good. The execution may be bad.Yahoo and Google both have stipulations in their “Terms
of Use” (TOU) that state that minors cannot make contracts with them and hence, cannot have accounts. Here is the wording from the Yahoo TOU:YOUR REGISTRATION OBLIGATIONSIn consideration of your use of the Service
, you represent that you are of legal age to form a binding contract and are not a person barred from receiving services under the laws of the United States or other applicable jurisdiction.As far as I know, anyone under the age of
Are you getting only half of the site? 2008-01-21 17:47:36 I really have enjoyed the experience of blogging. It really lets me think things out in my mind while at the same time it allows me to reference back information that I know I would forget. At the same time, I have really enjoyed podcasting as well. When I started making podcasts, I decided that I probably would not like to hear myself talk to much. So I set out to make a series of interviews. Some of them are funny, most are serious, but I think, for the most part that they all are pretty good or at least close to pretty good.I have now got about 80 podcasts, video and audio in the archives of my Intended Consequences site. If you haven’t heard one recently, I hope you will take a trip over to the podcast side and hear some of them. I am trying to get a wider range of interviews and as
The Perfect Blog Entry 2008-01-17 17:26:30 Last week, David Warlick quoted Wes Fryer’s blog that looked at some of the work that Sylvia Martinez had done during her presentation at the 2004 Midwest Fall 2004 Ed Tech Bloggers Convocation. During her presentation, Sylvia said that she had to agree with the work of Miguel Guhlin when he stated that all of the work so far had been done. In Sylvia’s words:“I have agree with the work of Miguel Guhlin when he stated that all of the work had been done.”I have to say “here! here!” It is about time someone in ed tech had the fortitude to finally say what I have been thinking for a long time. I just attended the Lower Midwest Ed Tech Technology Conference (LMETVTC-NoMo) in Northern Missouri where that was quite the topic of conversation between sessions.At that conference, Dr. Ir Read more:Perfect
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Viral Learning? 2008-01-10 01:00:00 Viral marketing is the marketing strategy where a product is introduced without much fanfare, but is “advertised” by word of mouth. The information about the product is “spread” like a virus from one person to another and like a viral infection, after a short period of time, a critical mass is achieved where so many people are talking/blogging/emailing/snickering about whatever it is, that it becomes legend and everybody has got to have it, see it, buy it.You have experienced a viral marketing campaign I am sure. For instance, the movie “Snakes on a Plane” had an incredible internet buzz before it was released. (Of course, it was a bomb, perhaps BECAUSE of the marketing campaign. Everyone knew everything about the film before it hit the theaters , so the actual film itself was Read more:Learning
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You are what you Eat 2008-01-07 08:05:47 I have a pretty good list of ed tech people that I read or listen to: Miguel Guhlin, David Warlick, Kevin Honeycutt..the list goes on and on. During my holiday vacation, I began to wonder what type of computers these people use to create all of that Webby 2.0 goodness.So, I sent those folks I read/listen to/watch an email with the question:What computer do you use to create content on the web?Here are the results:When asked what hardware the Web 2.0 gurus useNot everyone answered all of the questions, but for those answering what type of hardware they write on, the results were:Do you use a laptop or a desktop?Interesting results. For the people that create the web 2.0 content, they sure do not match what is in the “real world” do they? In the “real world” the PC/Mac/Other ratio lo
Science, Evolution, Creationism 2008-01-06 12:00:00 Despite where the state of Texas has been heading toward, the rest of the world knows that the basic understanding of the principles of evolution (systems change over a period of time) define the understanding of many other principles of science. The National Academy of Science
on Thursday released the blueprint that makes the very clear claim of where the scientific community stands in regards to teaching evolution and “Intelligent Design” in the science classroom.From the NAS Press release:Date: Jan. 3, 2008Contact: Maureen O'Leary, Director of Public InformationOffice of News and Public Information202-334-2138; e-mail news@nas.eduFOR IMMEDIATE RELEASEScientific Evidence Supporting Evolution
Continues To Grow; Nonscientific Approaches Do Not Belong In Science ClassroomsWASHINGTON -- Read more:Creationism
100 Podcasts 2008-03-13 23:10:13 Today, I created and posted my 100th podcast on Intended Consequences. True, some were on the old Byte Speed Website, but it is always nice when you make a milestone.Some have been really good, some have been really lousy, some you can hardly hear the audio. But, I made it to 100. The first podcast I did in November of 2006 was with a co-worker, Ashton Graham on Distance Learning and the 100th was today with Dr. Frederick Hess on what 17 years olds know. Along the way, I have met some really cool people, and I would like to thank all of them that have taken time to talk to me either on camera or via audio. Some of the people that I have podcast with that have really have stood out:Dr. Milton Chen, Executive Director of the George Lucas Education FoundationDr. Micheal Levine, Executive Dire Read more:Podcasts
You would Think this would be easy 2008-03-21 11:03:46 The assignment was easy enough: Get the school district examples of multimedia or technology labs that demonstrate efficient use of space, while at the same time showing how all of those things we like to discuss like 21st Century Skills can be incorporated. You get the idea: Cooperative learning in a technology class. Easy huh?Okay, try it. Go to Google and type in phrases like:“Example Student Computer Lab”“Technology Lab Layout”“Multimedia Classroom Design”You will, as always, get lots of hits. Everybody and his brother has pictures of what their computer labs look like. But look closely and you see a lot of traditional computer labs but little in terms of computers labs that would address the future. It looks like the future is the past when it comes to lab design.Here is
Everyone can Cook 2008-04-01 18:07:00 I was watching the movie Ratatouille with my son while driving back and forth to work yesterday. Okay, he was watching, and I was listening because he had my iPod hooked into my car’s stereo system. The story is, of course, the typical rat meets boy, boy befriends rat, rat and boy become big hits, boy and rat live happily every after. Of course it is a tad more complicated than that, but there was a message for Instructional Technology that I thought I could share with you: In the movie, which takes place in a formally fancy French restaurant, the chefs in the kitchen are led by the bad guy who thinks that cooking is for the just a few chosen people, those that have the gift of cooking.Our hero, a rat that thinks he can be a chef, has a muse named Gusteau, who was the former owner of th
Intel’s Second Generation Student Laptop 2008-04-07 19:07:52 Is it me, or are there a whole slew of new cheap-as-hell falsh-based sub-notebooks coming out from all over the place? First we had the OLPC $100 now $180 laptop based on a cheap-o Linux operating system.Then Tangent introduced this very small solid state student laptop at TCEA.Next, ASUS came out with a flash based midget computer which really is the Tangent computer.It runs linux, it runs windows, it is indestructible!Now, Intel
announces it’s SECOND generation student laptop:From the Electronista website:Intel tonight used the second day of its Developer Forum to launch the second generation of its Classmate PC. Considered one of the first to fit Intel's own "netbooks" class of portables, the new version gains a larger 9-inch screen as well as a more mature look than its predecessor. Read more:Second
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Throwing Sand in the Sandbox 2008-04-07 14:02:58 I recently got back from my Spring Break vacation in Phoenix where my family and I, among other things, visited the Arizona Science Center, an excellent, yet busy, hands-on museum for kids of al ages. When my family and I arrived, it was apparent that this place was being slammed by busloads of kids from al over the valley of the sun. There were literally hundreds of kids and teachers running about. Chaos was the rule. Among the exhibits that we saw at the science center was a traveling exhibit of animatronic dinosaurs, sort of a Jurassic version of Disneyland’s Hall of Presidents. Dinosaurs moved and growled, and there were pictures on the walls and a few hands-on parts, such as a dinosaur jigsaw puzzle and a giant sandbox where kids could use the tools of paleontologists to “uncover Read more:Sandbox
Feeling UNcreative? Stare at An Apple 2008-04-08 22:03:14 A recent study by Gavin Fitzsimmons at Duke found that simply staring at the Apple
logo will make you feel more creative...Okay, it is a bit more complicated than that, but it is interesting to listen to him talk about the study, and it is something I can rub my into the noses of my Windoze and Linux buddies.Fron the site 9to5mac:According to the study, people who saw the Apple brand - even for a subliminal amount of time - scored 20-30% better on creative tests - well outside of a possible placebo effect. Go figure. Here is a cool interview with the author of the study.Makes you wonder if maybe we should show the Apple logo to all our kids before giving them the state mandated test eh? Read more:Feeling
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Speak Up 2007 Results 2008-04-09 18:45:22 So what are kids thinking and using in the world of educational technology these days? If one is to believe the recent “Speak Up 2007” from Project Tomorrow, the kids want games, mobile devices and have a completely different view of how technology is used in school than the teachers view.Speak Up 2007 is what used to be known as Net Day. Each year since 2003, this national survey has taken into account the voices of about 1.2 million teachers, students, parents and administrators. In this year’s survey, 319,000+ students took an online survey, 97% in public schools. i won’t detail the responses of those other than the students here. Perhaps you can use these international results to compare what is happening in your school district. Here are some highlights:64% of all students do
Playing to An Audience of One 2008-04-15 13:30:02 Recently, I read an article by Ian Lamont about podcasting. Written for a business journal, the author questioned whether podcasting had actually lived up to the hype that had been generated a few years before. He looked at the value in monetary terms with podcasting and asked whether the technology was actually paying off. Essentially, he was asking “How many people are listening?”Of course, loyal readers of this blog are well aware that I hate when education is compared to business, and I also don’t like people saying that we should do something in education because the “real world” wants us too. (Like education is not part of the real world.)But pod casting is something that has rapidly matured as a technology, of course inside and outside of education. So, perhaps it isn’t Read more:Audience
Using Video to Take Notes 2008-04-21 16:02:15 I don’t know about you, but my note taking skills suck. Especially if I am in along meeting that draaaaaaaaaaaaaags on and on. So, recently, I purchased a Sanyo Xacti at work, very small video camera. It looks like this and can be easily held in one hand and operated with your thumb.So I decided that I needed to start recording meetings that I attend, because, frankly, after about an hour, I am worthless when it comes to writing and taking notes.The neat thing about this camera is that it can change resolution from high def (1920x1080) all the way down to “web.” I bought a little tabletop tripod that could hold the camera, and added an 8 gig SD card. If I set the camera on “Web” resolution, then the 8 gig card has enough memory to hold 17 HOURS of video and audio. It can also Read more:Notes
Where is the Apple Student Laptop? 2008-05-01 05:37:23 “Education is in our DNA.” - Steve JobsIt has become apparent that the new student laptop form factor, first brought forth by the OLPC project and now emulated by Intel, ASUS, Tangent, and HP among others, is going to be a big deal in the education hardware field. And the reason makes sense: Finally, it looks like the hardware companies are producing a product that school districts can afford. I think that the sweet-spot for student laptops has to be below $500 per unit in order for individual school districts to jump on board. Now, even at the best price my district can negotiate, a decently equipped laptop tops $900 when you throw in warranty, and security software.A typical, at least for now, student laptop configuration looks like this:Some type of ruggedized design (rubberized edg Read more:Apple
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