The End is Near!

Okay, here goes a quick analysis of five of the tools from this week. First off, we have Custom Dice Printing. This, in a word, is awesome. You feed in the data for the six sides (whatever you want: photos, text, numbers) and it creates a doc with everything facing the correct way, so that you can just cut it out, fold it up, and tape it together. This is a super tool for fun group work. For example, after reading a literature piece, give out a die to each group, each person rolls, and there are different questions/activities on each side. The questions can be different on each die, allowing for differentiation. Or, just print them with numbers and have a chart at the front of the class with questions/activities corresponding to the numbers. Or, have photos on the dice, using them as a springboard for a writing/speaking task. Or...you get the idea. Easy, free, and no login needed!

Next comes Test-Giving Software. This is good, but only if you have a fully connected class. Meaning, everyone needs to have a smartphone/wireless connection. So, this may not be useful for everyone. Also, it is similar to what we did with the quizzes with the Google Doc. The interface here, however, looks a to be a little more practical for classroom use. This could be used for spontaneous quizzes, too, as it is very easy for the teacher to create a quiz quickly.

Thirdly, we have Museum Box. This is very nice. Pick a topic, and the student creates a space with digital content on the subject. For example, a project could be a biography of someone, the student can upload pictures, videos, text, links or whatever. It is attractively organized, and fairly intuitive (at least on the viewing side; I did not try to create anything). Down side: there is a per school registration fee, I think about $100 per year. Maybe there are ways to share the cost, and there is some way to get a price reduction, but I did not go through all the nitty-gritty.

Here Kid "TV Reporters" we have something cute. It is basically a site that has videos of kids going around and guiding virtual school trips, like: "Meet a Meteorolgist!" or "A Kid's History of the Yo-Yo". There are a lot of videos to choose from. It is not made for EFL, but since there are kids talking, the language is not overly difficult. They also have instructions on how to go about making a video.

This idea LitTrips blew my mind. The basic idea is that it gives you, through GoogleMaps, a visual journey through a book. Problem is, after filling out forms and the such to try to view one of the "LitTrips", it was in some sort of weird file format that my computer didn't recognize. I did not have the time to try to solve the tech issues. If anyone out there figures it out, please comment, as the concept is very intriguing.

Week 12 - Mobile and QR

First off, the video about the school system that has gone mobile (or, if you prefer, the commercial for a company that manufactures computer components, and thus has a vested interest in getting their products used by more and more people): This seemed to be so extreme to me. Are students really incapable of learning anything without the assistance of some mobile device? I have link ed  (in previous posts) to several articles that raise an alarm over the type of significant cognitive changes brought about by constant digital whiplash. True, one could argue that it is just a "different" type of cognition, and not an inferior type. But are we certain of that to the degree that we are willing to turn the classroom into an extension of the 24/7 app and net centered thinking that already occupies much of our students' non-school time? I would hope that those proceeding would do so with caution, and the fact that this project was funded by Cisco should also make us pause.

QR Codes: A thought that I keep having time and time again throughout this course is: is this a way to do something new, or just a new way to do something old? If it is a new way of doing something old, is it better than the old way? Tali, in her last post, noted that Tackk is just a new version of making a poster, and wondered what is wrong with the old fashioned tools of paper, markers and glue. I feel the same regarding some of the usages of the QR codes. They are essentially a way of sharing a hyperlink, so the question is under what circumstances is it better than the old way? In an advertisement, I get it. People may not put in the effort to type in a URL that they see, but if it just a one step action of scanning a QR, they may bite. So, thinking about Avraham's activity: The old alternative would be to create a googledoc with the four links, and email the students the link to the googledoc, and give them the handouts separately. So I see that this "all-in-one" solution of giving out the worksheets with the embedded QR codes is preferable. I also liked the book report poster, as it helps keep the poster very clean, without a lot of text, and allows the reader to focus in on what their point of interest is. Some of the other uses do not excite me. Create a QR code that is a link to the homework assignment? Why not just have a central classroom site where you post a normal link?
Bottom line: It looks like a tool that will be useful in some cases, but more bells and whistles in others.

More Food For Thought

Interesting read on how technology affects learning.
http://www.slate.com/articles/health_and_science/science/2013/05/multitasking_while_studying_divided_attention_and_technological_gadgets.single.html#pagebreak_anchor_2