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The site covers a literature review of haptic learning, process of creating a passive haptic learning glove, and functional use in the educational setting.

Woo hoo! Just tried my hand at my first wearable ;-)

Week 7: E reading

This week's reading was so interesting to me as part of my assistive technology hat and role in supporting struggling students. Reading is so fundamental to everything a student needs to do in school that it touches every aspect of their learning. Even math. In Digital Reading Spaces, the study looks into the different ways we read including the tactile aspect of it. One feature of reading that stood out to me which I never previously thought of was the difference between continuous and discontinuous reading. There are pros and cons to each of these techniques. I tend to agree that reading on a web browser lends itself to discontinuous reading. I have to discipline myself to ignore external links and distracting visual information. Many of the interviews also alluded to the physical aspect of reading and highlighting text, annotating, and taking notes. I think that as the internet is becoming more of a primary source for learning and sharing information more and more tools are being developed for web browsers to allows for more continuous reading and mimic some of the benefits to physical reading. I for one cannot read an article on the web without first using my Evernote Clearly extension to wipe away distractions. This tool also allows me to highlight text and clips the article straight into my Evernote notebook giving me anywhere access. Something physical paper cannot provide. Other web annotation tools such as Diigo have also been developed specifically to address this gap.

Another aspect of the article I found interesting, was the aspects of continuous reading in which the reader becomes immersed in the reading and the device of book fades away. It is at this point that higher order processing of the text occurs. For many of my students, they still struggle with decoding, fluency, visual delays which cause them to skip or re-read lines which affect their overall comprehension. Without this ability to immerse themselves in the text I see how difficult it is for them to make inferences and connections.

This is where digital text can help support in a way that physical print cannot. Access to digital text means that a reader can customize and accommodate their reading as they need and beyond having visual supports they can now add an additional sensory element of sound. Text to speech has been a huge asset to my students who struggle to decode words and never develop that fluency for higher order thinking. The ability to customize the visual presentation of text can also support students who struggle with the eye muscle mechanics of reading. Eye muscle weakness and the ability to perform saccades (rapid eye movements) across the page can affect reading stamina and leads to those skipped lines. By customizing text to your needs a reader is now in control of their learning.

The Math that Moves article was also interesting in asking about the evidence base of integrating tablets in education. I too wonder what will happen when the novelty wears off. I had recently read a blog post about an educator who uses technology in her classroom and how she found that her students when given a choice, selected offline activities for learning since these are novel for them. I wonder if generations from now the trend will be to push for woodshop, mechanics, and home economics again (I'm only slightly kidding here).

loretod101-blog

katyauchter

This is great- I too wonder why more innovative and completely virtual educational games aren’t more thoroughly invested in. I thought you made a great observation in finding a few commonalities between the games presented in the readings, in that none required one single correct answer, and both highlighted the importance of trial and error in learning, as well as briefly discussing mentorship as part of the learning process. I also wonder, since what I’ve read from our blog postings, if we’re a select and biased group about how education “should” be, or if this is a trending concept about how learning should happen apart from those in the field of ed-tech!

loretod101-blog

Ha, that's a great point about our classes' perspective on education and what is the main stream thought. I would like to believe that as technology gets more popular and teachers become more comfortable with it this will be the norm. I shutter to think however that curriculum makers and administrators will again hijack the process and continue to make dull two dimensional learning because it best suits their data driving needs to justify their positions. There goes my techno-pessimism again. I do however believe that teachers left to their own devices would opt for more complex and rich learning given they were supported and provided with the time required to implement this type of learning.

Visit Original Link

Hi All-

Here is a quick summary of what Sensory Processing Disorder is, what it looks like, and what are some simple strategies teachers can use in their classrooms. Hope it helps!

#podcast #sensory integration

Week 6: Mobile Games for Learning

This week we read about three projects that attempted to introduce learning concepts through augmented reality games out in the community. Some points that struck me most when reading the detailed efforts of these projects were around how much time, effort and thought went into attempting to create these simulations and environments. I very strongly agree that this type of immersive and role playing learning is much more engaging than more traditional methods of learning. An over arching theme among all the games were related to the importance of not having "one definitive answer". Having students move through the trial and error process and develop skills into justifying their hypothesis is the key to learning versus just completing the requested tasks. An interesting insight the Savannah project had was related to the benefit of having novice gamers learn from more advanced gamers. This is a frequent theme that is present in more progressive education theory such as Montessori or Reggio.

During these readings, I kept thinking back to my childhood and playing the Where in the World is Carmen Sandiego game and how completely enveloped I was in this game even without the virtual reality part of it. Based on the text and few visual clues in the game, I had created my own virtual world in my head. Similar to the contrast between books and movies. Although its been quite some time, I remember the game to be non-linear and it involved problem solving and inferencing skills to come at conclusions.

To contrast, my daughter and I often play hidden object games, mostly from the Big Fish production company, for fun. Although the story lines are often engaging the problem solving mechanisms become rote and are mostly linear in fashion. I had often thought about how this studio should take many of their pre-existing games and insert educational content. After this week's reading, it seems that this would mainly serve as a "treasure hunt" process and would not provide a deeper more analytic method of learning.

The readings also discussed the question of: Does playing in an environment outside of the school building elicit prior knowledge? This is an interesting question and I suppose assumes that students check themselves out at the school door as they enter into their role as a student. Similar to a person who only becomes a "patient" once they enter a hospital and voluntarily gives up much of their free will once admitted. I think the more education focuses on diversity and creating content for learning that does not have just one "right" answer, outside prior knowledge will be more integrated.

Given all this effort, I am often disappointed by large publishers who continue to create content that is rote, dull, and meaningless to students. Even the digital content they create is one dimensional or at best a game version of worksheets. Given their tremendous financial and political resources, why not start to create some of this rich content AND figure out how to assess progress and learning.

On a technological level, I feel that augmented reality will soon serve the purpose of what these projects were trying to accomplish. Given how far this technology has advanced it may even eventually be more cost effective than physical field trips. With advancements in haptic touch students will be able to feel aspects of the environment. A recent innovation has even managed to provide touch feedback using ultrasound. This seems like a most immersive environment. The question remains whether you can use this technology to create rich and complex learning.

Tag

Thanks for the great ideas alisonlynch2014 . I'm going to go along and add my current favorite movement activity also. I work in an elementary school and find that kiddos get fidgety. GoNoodle is my utmost favorite site! It's free site for teachers to create multiple classes if need be and students have an monster avatar that they help physically grow as they complete activities. There is a huge selection of 1-5 minute movement break activities that can either energize, calm, meditate, or breathe. The kids really love it and are highly motivated by it. It's a fun way to get movement in even if you aren't sure comfortable with that aspect of classroom management.

Another tool I am starting to really love is an app called Silent Light. It's a noise meter in the form of a stop light and you can customize the noise sensitivity and how long students need to stay within an acceptable noise level to obtain points. It's very behavior modification theory which I'm generally not into but for some reason my students love the challenge and this is the one thing that has worked really well in getting them straight to work and focused. Go figure.

OK mkase I think I may be the last one? I think Jose was tagged by someone so it's us two that are left? nafizasaur did you share yet? If not, tag you're it.

#makse #nafizasaur

Check out our (Cara, Brittany, and myself) presentation on wearable technology in education.

#wearable devices #m lerning

Our Mobile World

Check out my mobile interview of friends and co workers and how mobile devices affect their everyday world. It was shot on my iPhone and edited using iMovie. Lesson learned... keep it horizontal. Sorry for the cropped heads. Varying the filming orientation affects editing.

AND sorry I had to post it as an embed from Youtube. I think, Tumblr has a 5 minute limit or 100MB file size and I just couldn't cut it down to size.

Hope you like it! It was fun to make and thank you to all the participants. You guys are the best.

Week 5: Mobile Tech & Political Dissent

This weeks readings were particularly interesting to me coming from a family who regularly discusses politics over Sunday FaceTime. I began to connect some frightening dots and just happened to hear the following piece on WNYC:

This is an interview with Loretta Napoleoni who just released a book about ISIS and its use of technology and media to get the message out. The point of the interview that struck me most was when Leonard Lopate asked her about how can people be following and accepting of a terrorist group that beheads and mass kills? Her response was so logical yet frightening: ISIS crafts this message of beheadings to the western audience to invoke fear but crafts a completely different media message to the muslim world. A message of understanding and values. ISIS uses the modern media and communication tools to do their bidding.

It then raises the question for me of what messages are being crafted to me. What do all the cookies and google analytic profiles send my way? In an effort to personalize and provide the most relevant data for each individual we are creating an environment where the information we are exposed to is homogenized. There may be wonderful and terrible things going on in the world but in my personalized media world I would never know it.

Take for example my Twitter feed... last night the Eric Garner decision had come out and the city was in a fury. Looking at my Twitter feed that mostly follow edtech bloggers and companies I would have never know what was right outside my front door. Were it not for my one uber activist friend twitting from the midst of the protests my perception I'm sure was very different from someone who follows news venues or political happenings. It seems to me that in the search for information we may end up boxing ourselves into a corner. Digitally speaking staying in our small town reading the local paper.

I suppose that is the pessimistic side that I had taken away from the readings. The optimist in me however is thrilled about concepts such as leaderless revolutions, horizontal networks, and the rise of mass self communication. It is empowering to see that communication no longer just trickles from the top down and is one directional.

Week 4: Supporting the Classroom

In the iPod in Education whitepaper the author makes a great case for the use of multimedia in supporting diverse learning styles. I found interesting to learn about Richard Mayer's 7 principles to using media content for learning. I had often wondered why some content such as video, games, or apps were engaging and compelling while others are viewed is boring and quickly abandoned. I often find that the more engaging the content is the more students are able to sustain their attention and retain more information or a deeper understanding. Media or content that was not adequately presented was often ignored or viewed with a very shallow lens. Students were unable to recall what they had just viewed.

In addition, the importance of media literacy is encouraged which I see as this day and age's critical thinking skill. Beyond just creating media, students need to understand what it is they see and engage with.

When reading the outcomes of the study in Use of Mobile Technology for Teacher Training I was stuck by how common an occurrence device abandonment is. I was also struck by how important it is to find the right tool for the job. For administrators the simple solution would be to rely on one type of device. This simplifies the ordering, training, and support that teachers may need but also lead to device abandonment. Finding the right tool for the job rang bells with the reading on The Computer for the 21st Century and using devices that are tabs, pads, and boards. Each size brings it's own pros and cons. Small devices allow for portability and quick access which is great for taking pictures and quickly entering information but lousy for typing lengthy responses on. There is no one size fits all solution.

In the article for Designing Mobile Communication Tools, I found it most helpful to learn about the ARCS model and its components. Attention, Relevance, Confidence, and Satisfaction are helpful aspects of learning that can help make online learning successful. It was interesting to note how the various tools (SMS, Blogging, etc) each effect some aspects of the ARCS model.

Tech Report: Wearables

Hi all-

Cara, Brittany and I are working on wearables in education. Check out our Padlet board on resources and articles of interest:

http://padlet.com/loretod101/techreport

#mlearning tech

loretod101-blog

In this week’s reading the concept of constructionism was explored in comparison to instructionism. I find it so energizing to think about the idea of learning how to learn and doing so through making. Looking back at my schooling, I had always loved art class. It was one of the few things that…

katyauchter

Loreto,

I definitely agree that art class, despite my severe un-talent, was a particularly useful class for me growing up. I think what you mentioned about data was very relevant, although, the authors for the constructionist reading briefly mentioned how LEGO use increased math performance scores, although this was not directly related to the math curriculum to be learned that year. [that would be interesting to see more research on!!]

I wasn’t sure what you meant by “ I fear that even if schools start to implement 1:1 programs they will use it more as a substitution tool based on the SAMR model. Viewing technology in this way may ultimately fail the vision of constructionism. It’s not just about going paperless.” I was wondering if you could expand?

loretod101-blog

Yey art! The reading alludes to 1:1 computers for the use of teaching computer literacy skills such as learning word or power point. Although these basic skills are crucial in this day and age they are only the foundations and in my opinion, this should be taught in elementary school along with keyboarding basic online safety. The purpose of 1:1 computing however should be to help students take those basic building blocks and produce or create. I fear that for some administrators the view is that their job is this area is done once basic computer literacy is achieved.

Hi All-

I've created a Doodle link to see if we can organize into groups for the assignment due next week. Follow the link or you may have also gotten an email invite.

Week 3 Response: Constructionism & 1:1 Computing

In this week's reading the concept of constructionism was explored in comparison to instructionism. I find it so energizing to think about the idea of learning how to learn and doing so through making. Looking back at my schooling, I had always loved art class. It was one of the few things that actually got me through high school. I can't say that I was particularly good at it, but it was the only subject I felt freedom to learn in. We were taught techniques and theories but then given the opportunity to integrate those concepts and make them our own. I believe that in learning there needs to be some "banking" because we don't all know everything and there are just something you HAVE to know (how to write the alphabet, what sounds do they make, multiplication tables, etc.). It is however very important to allow for creative application of material that is banked.

In my schooling and I'm sure for many others, the material that was best retained often involved some lengthy project where you were given some independence to create. Listening to Negroponte's description of introduction of Logo programming in the 1970's and it's academic benefits made my heart sink. Constructionism seems to be a "new" concept for me and other teachers of my generation however I rarely see it implemented in classrooms on a regular basis. Most often this is not the case because teachers do not want to but because administration is under pressure to demonstrate knowledge acquisition using data points. It is easier to implement and collect data using instructionism.

The concept of introducing 1:1 laptop programs can also be a double edged sword. I often work with struggling students and see technology as a way to support them in a more natural way. Instead of writing with pencil and paper why not write with word prediction. Implementation for one individual student in a classroom has very small success rates but implementation for the whole class may work. Students may choose a la carte supports based on their learning styles. I do however fear that administrators often make decisions without fully understanding what technology can offer. I fear that even if schools start to implement 1:1 programs they will use it more as a substitution tool based on the SAMR model. Viewing technology in this way may ultimately fail the vision of constructionism. It's not just about going paperless.

My I'm from poem...

loretod101-blog

katyauchter

I’m really intrigued by the connections you made to the museum study and the Brooklyn art ‘contest’ you described. For me, production and addition to the learning environment are really important parts of education, and, to me, the museum description sounded more as passive participation. But it sounds like your experience with the Brooklyn Art ‘Contest’ was really effective! I always tend to think of gameification as a ‘cheap’ reward system and poor motivation for improvement, but…I think quantification, in many many domains, is becoming an increasingly important factor for people.

loretod101-blog

I agree with you about the gamification aspect. I found that it's generally not done very well and only taps into extrinsic motivation, with students relying on feedback from the teacher or a program to enhance their learning. I do however think the quantification is a good starting point and helps leave a trail of some progress which might be helpful for students who have not yet developed an intrinsic motivation for learning.

I think the aspect that I really enjoyed about this project was that you were exploring art and artists outside of the museum walls. You had the chance to talk to the artists themselves in the natural setting they often create their art and get to know their process. The technology at this point mostly served to organize us all or get us to the next artists through GPS. It was a great way to learn.

Week 2 Readings...

This week we read a variety of articles covering concepts related to situated cognition and communities of practice. Many of the ideas covered in the introduction of situated cognition remind me of the current movement in education to use project based learning to develop contextualized skills. The aim is to create learning environments where students apply tools they are learning about within a setting and create connections between a student model and a practitioner model.

The reading alludes to students who memorize tools or strategies but are unable to apply them without prompting. I find that this often happens in the current educational system. Teachers are now asked to ensure that students are making connections across the curriculum and encourage less fragmenting of the subjects. For example, during math instruction students are now provided with exemplars and a teacher demonstrates multiple ways to solve a problem. When working on their own, students must then choose a tool to use and explain why they chose that tool to solve this particular problem. I find that this is a particular challenge for teachers and students.

My role as support staff within the school is to help students with disabilities access their curriculum. I tend to work on developing underlying skills that are missing and affect the student's ability from learning (visual strategies for reading fluency, handwriting legibility, copying notes from the board, sustaining attention, etc). I often struggle with having students generalize the skills they learned with me into the classroom and often end up having to sit within the classroom guiding them on when and where to use the strategies we learned. My hope is that with more self-reflection and introduction of meta-cognitive skills students will be able to implement strategies in a variety of settings without my having to assist them in generalizing across all environments. There must be a better way!!

The use of situated cognition also lends itself to the concept of communities of practice and collaboration. When aiming to learned on a practitioner level one begins to seek out knowledge from others. I find that technology and mobile learning are wonderful avenues to connect and collaborate. As this generation of learners grows they will find collaboration a natural extension to learning, something that I believe past generations are not very comfortable with. It will be interesting to see how the concept of patents and copyrights will evolve to meet this shift.

The use of community and environment for learning also greatly impacts engagement. The article "Using Mobile Technologies for Multimedia Tours in a Traditional Museum Setting" was a great exploration into how mobile devices can be used to engage the various types of learners that enter this space (browsers, followers, searchers, and researchers). I find that my 7 year old daughter is very much a browser when we visit museums or cultural centers and often wonder how I can better connect her to the materials. I very much like the idea of using the searching venue to encourage learning. A few years ago, the Brooklyn Museum had a open studio project, GO, that spanned the entire borough over a given weekend:

This project involved visiting art spaces across Brooklyn and voting for artists of your choice using either text based codes, a mobile app, or entering codes on the website. To this day, I can still vividly remember the studios, artists and their work. The experience of having to seek out information as well as the gamification and voting aspect greatly increased my engagement and learning experience. I have seem some teachers using QR code scavenger hunts within their classrooms in a similar concept and find this type of learning so exciting.

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