I wish all teachers better understood the Creative Commons. Translation: I wish they actually knew about it.

Watch, and you'll see why:


Via Steve Hargadon.

George Siemens asks:


Here's my quickly-written, first draft, stab-at-a-response:

• Emerging technologies for teaching and learning consist of all hardware, software, concepts, and ideas that can be employed to advance social, connective, and educational processes.

Maybe a lot of edu-techno-jargin thrown together, but what are you gonna do?

According to one of my critics this entire blog is little more than a nice place for "pseudo academics" to gather together and converse. Nevertheless, in my humble opinion, the blogosphere itself IS an emerging technology for teaching and learning (and fits nicely within my hopefully-working definition).

Technorati Tags: technology education pseudo academia whatareyougonnado?

George Siemens asks:


Here's my quickly-written, first draft, stab-at-a-response:

• Emerging technologies for teaching and learning consist of all hardware, software, concepts, and ideas that can be employed to advance social, connective, and educational processes.

Maybe a lot of edu-techno-jargin thrown together, but what are you gonna do?

According to one of my critics this entire blog is little more than a nice place for "pseudo academics" to gather together and converse. Nevertheless, in my humble opinion, the blogosphere itself IS an emerging technology for teaching and learning (and fits nicely within my hopefully-working definition).

Now for my questions:

• How's my definition? Does it work? Wherein is it weak?
• Is an idea a technology? I'm not so sure.
• Are blogs more than a gathering place for pseudo academics? Can real learning take place here? Is all of this worthwhile, academically speaking?
  

Technorati Tags: technology education pseudo academia whatareyougonnado?

So the other day I was visiting a classroom and the teacher asked his students if they liked doing assignments and projects that included technology. Overwhelmingly, the kids said that they preferred to use technology. "It's easier," said one student. "It's more fun," said another.

And then one kid hits a home-run.

"Yeah, it's like we're almost in the 21st Century!"

Strange how this kind of blatantly honest statement is both funny and sad at the same time.


Image source: Flickr user Lasre.

Technorati Tags: 21stCenturySkills funny sad education technology i-miss-santa-already

Anyone that has ever learned a foreign language will attest to the fact that the best way to learn a language is to become immersed in its culture. By doing so, a person not only experiences the benefits and weaknesses of the language but eventually comes to an understanding of the language's nuances, sayings, and otherwise hidden phrases of meaning that are easily understood by native speakers.

Wikis, blogs, Twitter, Facebook, Nings and other forms of social networking, photo sharing, video sharing, and thought sharing: If you really want to learn about what these and other technologies have to offer the teacher and the learner, there's honestly no better way than by taking the plunge.


For this reason alone, I have immersed myself in many of today's educational technologies - not only to learn about today's digital teaching tools, but to learn them well. In learning by immersion, I've also come to appreciate the benefits and weaknesses of our ever-expanding globalized learning networks.

Image source: Flickr user adarsh_antony.

Technorati Tags: education technology immersion taketheplungebaby