Tuesday, October 11, 2011

“Killing Librarianship” Keynote New England Library Association Annual Conference, Burlington, VT. Abstract: What might kill our profession is not ebooks, Amazon or Google, but a lack of imagination.


Killing Librarianship from R. David Lankes on Vimeo.

This inspiring Keynote address renewed my purpose in face of budget constraints and amalgamation. Lankes articulates what I have been searching for, the ‘big idea’ around knowledge, information, dialogue and critical thinking! It has enormous validity in this age of social media, instant communication and mobile digital devices.



Friday, October 7, 2011

Assistive & augmentive communications devices with cutting-edge technology

Steve Job's Legacy 
My son is on the autism spectrum and has a severe receptive and expressive language delay. He’s 4 years old, and can read and spell words, and sing entire songs, but is more like an 18-month- or 2-year-old in normal conversation. He cannot use a telephone and has a hard time sitting still for video telephony. He has a thoroughly well-loved iPod Touch, filled with videos and apps that have helped him learn to speak and augment his ability to communicate.

Thursday, September 29, 2011

iPads in the Classroom- Michigan Department of Education

This classroom pilot, funded by 21st Century Learning Environments, had "tremendous success" is gaining much attention at the state/ national levels. The documentary project has already received funding, and those involved have submitted a grant application to expand the ipads to all pre-K-2 students in the three counties. We'll talk with members of the team involved in this project, and give time for Q and A.
Date: Thursday, September 29th, 2011
Time: 5pm Pacific / 8pm Eastern / 12am (next day) GMT (international times here)
Duration: 1 hour
Location: In Blackboard Collaborate (formerly Elluminate).
Recordings: The full Blackboard Collaborate recording is athttps://sas.elluminate.com/p.jnlp?psid=2011-09-29.1440.M.9E9FE58134BE68C3B413F24B3586CF.vcr&sid=2008350 and a portable .mp3 audio recording is athttp://audio.edtechlive.com/foe/ipads.mp3.



Very useful ideas, information and discussion

Sunday, September 18, 2011

Cyber Safety Article from The Age

Balanced report with good basic tips are refreshing to read.

SEPTEMBER 18, 2011 ARTICLE 13 OF 19
Teens learn true dangers of cyberspace

Cyber safety tips.
MICHAEL LALLO

IT'S ''every parent's worst nightmare'', according to the tabloids: the idea that paedophiles are lurking online, trying to befriend and groom their children.

Except this never happens to most teenagers, or their friends. Instead, kids fret about the problems that do arise in cyberspace: the embarrassing photos, the name-calling and gossip-mongering, the ill-considered posts they come to regret.

''By the time children reach 13, they're not so worried about 'stranger danger','' says Rosalie O'Neale, acting manager of the federal government's Cybersmart program. ''They've been warned about it and warned about it - and it hasn't happened. Of course there are cases and they're tragic, but in real terms the kids are most risk at from each other.''

Cybersmart, run by the Australian Communications and Media Authority, deals thoroughly with online predators in its student seminars. But to do so at the expense of more immediate risks, it contends, is short-sighted.

This week, The Sunday Age observed one of the seminars that have been attended by more than 370,000 students in the past two years.

''If you were forced to make a choice,'' trainer Greg Gebhart says to the year 8 girls of Kilbreda College at Mentone, ''would you rather live without Facebook or YouTube?'' Brows furrow and debate erupts - they finally concede that as much as they love YouTube, they couldn't exist without Facebook.

What's obvious is that these girls are well versed in the dangers of cyber-predators. ''Generally, if kids do get a strange chat request, most just ignore or reject it,'' says Mr Gebhart.

But other facts draw gasps. Most girls seem shocked to learn that Google Images routinely takes ''snapshots'' of their unsecured photos. Almost none is aware that once you post something online, it's virtually impossible to remove it. Nor are they across the ramifications of ''sexting'' - sending explicit photos by phone or internet - which can include criminal convictions and being listed on the sex offenders register.

But what really resonates with these students is cyber bullying, no doubt because all have endured it themselves or know someone who has.

''I've seen groups on Facebook that are actually designed to bully people,'' Kilbreda student Sarah says. ''There's one group called: 'On a scale of one to 10, how ugly do you think [name] is?' ''

Her friends Georgie and Bree have witnessed similar incidents. The trio say their parents have drummed the importance of cyber safety into them for years. Still, all admit they will do certain things differently now, including deleting ''random'' friends on Facebook, boosting their privacy settings, and thinking carefully about which photos they'll post.

''We've all been tagged in photos without being asked,'' Georgie says. ''I'm going to change my Facebook settings so people can't do that and I'll ask permission before I tag anyone else.''

To be ''tagged'' is to have others list your name under online photos, usually on sites such as Facebook and Flickr. Tagged is also the title of ACMA's confronting and realistic new 17-minute film - to be launched this Friday - which depicts the consequences of ''harmless'' online fun.

''We approach this with the view that using the internet is a very positive thing,'' Ms O'Neale says. ''We're not coming in and saying, 'Danger, danger!' We're saying, 'Here are some of the risks and here's how you deal with them.' ''

Nor should concerned parents try to ''ban'' the internet. ''If kids are worried you'll take away their online access, which is a very important part of their lives, they just hide their problems from you,'' Mr Gebhart says. ''What we say to parents is: 'Familiarise yourself with the technology, have a discussion with your children and build a rapport. That way, if your kids have a problem, they're more likely to tell you.' ''


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Saturday, September 17, 2011

Marc Prensky - Slideshare: Handheld Learning

Prensky illustrates the potential of  handheld learning with short catch phrases and appealing graphics in his 2007 keynote presentation- finding school based solutions  remains a challenge in 2011!
What is it schools can do now to transform curriculum and monitor foundation literacy and numeracy skills as required by 21st century standards?

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