I was at a technology and education conference, earlier this week. But as I reflected on my learning from the conference, I came to the conclusion that it didn’t seem like a technology conference.
Instead, it was a mindset conference. It was an innovation conference. It was a conference about the power of connectivity. It was a conference that encouraged people to shift the way they think.
It was amazing!
One presenter at the conference, the keynote, George Couros, went so far as to discourage participants from applying the “tech” label to themselves. What?! He was talking to a room full of the “tech” people!
Technology isn’t something new, personal computers have been around for almost 40 years now. It is all in the mind and how you’re going to use technology to extend learning.
Players seek risks, challenges, rewards, and recognition when they play a game. Application of various game mechanics to learning experiences can help fulfill these ‘human motivations’. When you design a learning game, you need to choose mechanics that seem appealing for your students, whilst also ensuring that they gel well with the context and the…
Yesterday, I noticed this article being shared; “Hays school district orders 800 padlocks for students“. I am glad that they are providing iPads to their students so it is not that they are not ignoring opportunities for both creation and consumption, but I am firm believer that the best device for any learner is often the…
The technology industry is now trying to figure out a way to attack its cultural and demographic homogeneity issues. One simple initiative is to begin to recruit talent from people outside of its preferred networks. One way is to extend their recruiting efforts to people who don’t have four-year degrees. Source: Why More Tech Companies Are…
Our digital lives may be making us more distracted, distant and drained, according to research presented at the annual convention of the American Psychological Association. For instance, even minor phone use during a meal with friends was enough to make the diners feel distracted and reduced their enjoyment of the experience, one study found. Source: Dealing…
This month, I saw an amazing idea posted on Twitter by one of my favorite edtech gurus, Eric Curts. His thoughts were to use Google Keep to provide students feedback within Google Docs. This idea inspired me to think how I could use Google Keep to make the process of adding standards to my lesson plans less cumbersome….
Summary: Across 33 rich countries, only 5% of the population has high computer-related abilities, and only a third of people can complete medium-complexity tasks. Source: The Distribution of Users’ Computer Skills: Worse Than You Think Also, 26% can’t use a computer AT ALL!!!
