Tech Tips & Resources

I’m a Mac fanboy, no doubt about that. I love my Apple gadgets – iMac, MacBook, iPod, iPod Touch. And I’m always eager for a new Apple toy to play with. But I used to worry that one day there would be no Apple toys. In the black days of the 90’s, Apple was not doing well. Everyone knows this. And I feared for the demise of the company.

No more. I’m thrilled with the current success of Apple.

Steve Jobs has just been named the CEO of the decade by Fortune magazine. Seems well deserved. Joining Apple (again) on a permanent basis in January, 2000, Jobs has taken a company that was floundering and turned it around in ways that changed the tech industry. It is hard to believe that just during the past ten years we’ve had OS X, the evolution of the iPod, iTunes and the iTunes Music Store, Apple TV, the iPhone, the Apps store, and the continued development of the iMac and the MacBook. Not to mention all that Steve did with Pixar. So yeah, seems like sort of a big decade for the man.

And his success has been Apple’s success. The iPod and it many variations (shuffle, Touch, etc) has changed the way we do music. The iPhone, combined with the Apps store, has dramatically changed mobile communications. Now the iPhone is closing in on the Blackberry in the smartphone battle for supremacy.

And Apple itself? Products continue to be upgraded and impress the critics. Stock prices continue to rise. And one CNBC report believes Apple could top Microsoft as the largest tech company within the next two years. Possibly. During the past ten years, Apple stock has risen nearly 900 percent while Microsoft’s has dropped 35 percent. Not a bad track record.

But I don’t own Apple stock. And I’m not friends with Steve. I just love my Mac. So I’m happy for Apple’s success and I can’t wait to see what toys they give me next.

Back at work after attending the statewide conference for educational technology folks. A very good day yesterday. And a few impressions…

First of all, I can’t believe how many good resources and tips a guy can pick up in a day! And I can’t imagine how everyone finds so many good things. I spend a lot of time online seeking out resources and I’m constantly amazed at how many good things are out there that I would never find.

Second, Google continues to amaze me. I’ve taught professional development workshops on Google. I’ve researched Google. And Google still comes up with new ideas almost daily. At least it seems that way. Some of the cool tools I saw yesterday already have me thinking about ways to change a lot of the work I do.

Finally, kudos to Kathy Schrock. Just like the rest of us, she was overwhelmed with the range of information coming into her life on a daily basis. E-mail, RSS feeds, blogs, tweets, social networks. How does a person keep up with it all? She told us! She actually took the time to analyze different methods for streamlining all the information and built an entire workshop around the hardware, software and strategies for making all this rush of information more manageable. Thanks!

I don’t have stock in Apple – perhaps a mistake on my part. But I felt like it needed to be said so you wouldn’t think my good feelings were all about the cash. Nope. But as an Apple user from the days of the Apple SE, I’m always happy to see them being successful and to see their product line improving. And Apple just updated several product lines yesterday with hardware that looks very impressive. However, this article really demonstrates just how successful they have been – even at a time when the economy just sucks. I mean, Apple sales have grown faster than the rest of the PC market in 19 of the last 20 quarters! That’s pretty impressive.

Just in case you don’t know, David Pogue write the technology column for the New York Times. He also publishes online articles and videos, writes books on technology, and does appearances on NPR and MSNBC. And I’ve had the pleasure of hearing him speak in person, attending workshops led by him, and even chatting with him for a bit.

And today he speaks for me. And perhaps for you, as well. If you’ve ever been annoyed by blinking ads and stupid spam, take a quick leap over and read his latest post on his NYTimes blog. You might find yourself nodding and smiling in agreement.

All the hustle and bustle of the holiday season surely slows down my writing! Sorry about that!!

But here is a great post by Mark Pesce who did find time to write a very enlightening commentary on the new face of learning…

Fluid Control

This won’t relate much to what we do in our school, but the concept is just too awesome not to talk about! Two teachers at Woodland Park High School in Colorado have developed a teaching strategy using video podcasting that has completely changed how they educate their students.

Essentially, they’ve reversed the process. No more lectures in the classroom. And no written assignments at home. Now the teachers record their lectures in advance – both audio and any relevant video of the board, overheads, etc – and post those to the web. Students are given the assignment to watch the lecture as homework. Lectures can be viewed online, on their iPods, or on their cell phones. For any student who does not have easy access to those technologies, all lectures are also burned to DVD’s. That has met the needs of all students in the classes. And now all the kids come to class with a good overview of the subject and class time is spent in discussion, projects, group work, and all the other active learning. But now, with all that being done in class rather than at home, every student has the benefit of working with the other students and the teacher.

Results? Student scores have skyrocketed in those classes. The teachers enjoy having more time to actually work with the students. The students benefit from having the attention of the teacher while they work. And the students enjoy this creative use of technology.

This is a really creative way to utilize technology in education.

A recent recommendation from the National School Boards Association says the internet isn’t as dangerous as people think and teachers should let students use social networks at school.

The new study says fears about the internet are just overblown. Our news likes to report the very worst stories and raise our fears about the internet. And their tactics seem to work. The study says “School disctrict leaders seem to believe that negative experiences with social networking are more common than students and parents report”.

Some of the statistics from the study go a long way toward relieving our fears. For example, only 3% of students have given out their personal e-mail address, instant message screen name or personal information to strangers. Only 20% reported seeing inappropriate pictures on social networking sites in the past 3 months, and just 7% reported they had ever been bullied online or asked about their personal identity on social networking sites.

For some of the more worrisome situations, only 4% of students said they had ever had a conversation online that made them uncomfortable and only 2% said a stranger had asked to meet them. And of all 1,277 students surveyed, only one had ever met a person from the internet without their parent’s permission. That’s just 0.08%.

And yet, schools fear letting kids use any type of social networking activity.

• 84% of school districts have rules against online chatting while at school
• 81% prohibit instant messaging in school
• 62% prohibit blogging or participating in online discussion boards
• 60% have rules against sending and receiving e-mail in school
• 52% have banned any social networking site while in school

It seems schools have responded to the fear rather than the facts.

Schools also seem to be finding themselves in a bit of a double standard because districts generally say the benefits of these sites is so minimal that the risk outweighs the advantages.

Really? Well we’ve already seen the risk isn’t what we imagine it to be. But what about the advantages?

This same study, which not only surveyed students and parents but also teachers and members of school boards, revealed some very interesting findings about educators. 37% of districts report that 90% or more of their staff participated in online communities related to education! More than 90% of their staff?!? Would they be doing that if the educational advantages were minimal? Another 59% of school districts said at least half of their staff were involved in online communities. The study says “These findings indicate that educators find value in social networking and suggest that many already are comfortable and knowledgeable enough to use social networking for educational purposes with their students.”

But will they? I think they have to. And parents expect it. In the study, when parents were questioned, 76% believe that participation in social networking will improve their children’s reading and writing skills or help them express themselves more clearly. Parents also said they “expect schools to take advantage of potentially powerful educational tools, including new technology.

The study summarizes with this statement…

“Clearly both district leaders and parents are open to believing that social networking could be such a tool — as long as there are reasonable parameters of use in place. Moreover, social networking is increasingly used as a communications and collaboration tool of choice in business and higher education. As such, it would be wise for schools, whose responsibility it is to prepare students to transition to adult life with the skills they need to succeed in both arenas, to reckon with it.”

In our school, not many of our students have the skills to participate in this way. But as educators and parents, I think we have to stay aware on these issues and encourage our school and our local school boards to look at facts and not just respond to their fears.

When the tragic bridge collapse took place in Minneapolis, USI Wireless, the company that provides subscription-based wireless access to the city did the right thing. They opened up their wireless network to anyone without charge. They quickly added more WiFi capability in the area of the collapse to insure a fast and reliable connection, and they installed three wireless cameras to provide a live feed to the command center for recovery efforts. Their statistics show that usage of their network increased sixfold as rescue workers and other responders were able to utilize the system for fast communications.

In a time when most companies only think about the bottom line, USI Wireless gets credit for stepping up and thinking about the community.

If you want more information, you can read a full report of this story at USA Today.