Shepp EdTech – Technology Education Blog

Does this work?

I have a daughter in grade seven that must lug her bookbag back and forth to school loaded with textbooks.  I am amazed she has not thrown her shoulder or back out already.  I also teach in a junior high school and I have seen the same type of burden being carried by my students.  I have heard some parents express some serious concerns about this issue.  So what to do?

Isn’t it about time that we start talking seriously about using things like the Amazon Kindle or Sony eBook Reader?  You can transfer all the textbooks a student needs onto one device and negate the necessity of carrying textbooks.  Publisher’s of educational textbooks already have digital versions of a lot of their books.  Granted, it is not open or free and that is a big concern when it comes to the cost of education in a k-12 system.  I would imagine that the rights to digital copies of textbooks could be negotiated by governments the same way they tender textbooks now.

It just makes sense in today’s society and with today’s students.  The real question is whether a device like the Kindle or eBook reader can capture the imagination of young people the way that cell phones and mp3 players have?  A recent article in TechCrunch reveals how successful the Kindle has been for Amazon.com (Is The Kindle Outpacing Early iPod Sales?).

I’m still undecided on which blogging platform I’m going to settle on.  I like Blogger’s ease of use but got frustrated with the lack of tools that would allow me to turn it into a central location where I could gather all the web 2.0 resources I can use.  I like WordPress but I don’t find it as easy to use as Blogger.  I’ve messed around with a lot of different platforms, but it seems that they are all missing something.

I’m doing most of my blogging on the Athabasca University ELGG platform called Me2U.  I find the tools there cumbersome, but versatile.  I like the idea of using Edublogs because it ties me into a educational community.  Decisions, decisions, desicions!

This week has been trying.  My school where I teach closed down due to maintenance problems and we are now forced to relocate into a new school.  As a result,  the senior high will attend classes in the morning and the junior high (my school) will have the afternoon shift (1:30pm – 5:45pm).  With classes shortened, lack of storage space, and no lockers for students it will be a challenge to have all the resources necessary to offer a quality program.  One concern is the number of textbooks students will be forced to carry to and from school.

One of the possible solutions is to use the school’s web site to support the curriculum.  Wouldn’t it be great if we had electronic versions of the textbooks?  Students could leave their textbooks in school and use the eTextbook online at home.  Why aren’t we doing this anyway?  The decisive reason I would imagine would be costs.  Ah, but it good to dream.

Okay, I’m finally taking the plunge and diving into it.  I always try to add new things to learn about in the technology courses I teach in junior high and this year it is podcasting.  I have been researching the topic for a couple of months now and I have decided on the hardware and software I’m going to use.

The hardware (which includes the software) I have chosen is by Tascam:

Tascam TNT Bundle:

• LD-74 Large Diaphragm Condenser Mic
• US-122L USB interface
• Mini Mic Stand andCable
• Cubase LE Recording Software

I was looking at Audacity but I will try Cubase LE since it is included.  If anyone has advice please pass it along.

Stephen Downes comments (http://www.downes.ca/cgi-bin/page.cgi?post=45475) on the report from the Canadian Council on Learning entitled “REPORT ON LEARNING IN CANADA 2008” (pdf).  I found the following excerpt from the report interesting:

While most Canadians receive a solid foundation of formal education, many lack sufficient competencies to succeed in an increasingly complex and uncertain future. Employers seek employees with a more sophisticated array of capabilities, beyond the basic job requirements.These skills include: decision-making, teamwork, problem solving, entrepreneurship, leadership, information and communication technology (ICT) skills, the ability to communicate effectively and a desire to learn (p. 41).

Notice the list of skills?  As a technology teacher, I was struck with how these skills fit so perfectly into the technology curriculum.  I have noticed the last few years a shift in educational priorities away from the technology curriculum.  Recently, a skills-based curriclum (akin to a new and improved industrial arts) has been integrated in the Newfoundland and Labrador school, which is a great start.  My concern is that we may be pushing computer technology skills aside assuming that our students already know the basics.  My question is what are the skills that high school chidren already have?  What are we assuming and is it accurate?  I have my own opinions about this but I would like to hear from you so please comment.

Here is a link to the video:  http://revision3.com/systm/robogamesV2

I ordered a free cd from Ubuntu of their latest release Ubuntu 8.04 (Hardy Heron) and installed it on my Acer Inspire laptop, which already had Vista Home Premium.  I liked that I could install it from within Vista but I don’t think it is quite ready for the mainstream.  Here are the positives:

• easy install (never shagged up Vista)
• recognized my wireless connection
• updates automatically
• great 3d effects
• lots of software included (i.e. Open Office)
• iPod works automatically when plugged in
• Live cd allows you to use it without installing (boot from the cd)

The negatives:

• not always easy to install software (I sometimes had to use Terminal)
• did not recognize my built-in web cam
• learning curve for people used to Windows interface
• lots of software and hardware still not supported
• my nVidia graphics card had to use a generic driver (sometimes flaky)

If you are a techie or knowledge geek then go for it, otherwise use with caution.

I plan to start using podcasting in my junior high technology classes this coming school year.  I want to keep it as simple and cheap as possible so I am planning to use Audacity .  I’m doing a lot of research on podcasting and listening to a lot of podcast in iTunes like Leo Laporte – The Tech Guy.

If you are an experienced podcaster, I would love to hear from you.  Please pass along any advice you may have about podcasting but please keep in mind I work in the public education system so cheap is essential.

The Carnegie Mellon University Robotics Academy cordially invites you to attend this year’s Robotics Educators Conference, to be held at Butler County Community College, north of Pittsburgh in Butler, PA.

The Conference is taking place August 6-8, 2008. For more information please visit this link:

http://www.education.rec.ri.cmu.edu/robots/corridor/main/home_matter/conference.htm