Mobile Devices in Education: The Progression of Innovation
“Exploring the adjacent possible can be as simple as opening a door. But sometimes you need to move a wall.” – Steven Johnson
In Where Good Ideas Come From: The Natural History of Innovation
While the door leading to School Renewal exists, it remains as just a theory for many. While some have gained access, many are left knocking.
Innovating instruction in public education can be challenging. The “walls” that exist may block doors leading to innovation and a renewed framework for how we teach our children. Fortunately, I think we’re reaching a tipping point in education where we are exploring unparalleled “adjacent possibilities,” which will lead to exponential change years from now. The evolution of technology has provided us with new tools like Kinect and mobile devices which will be catalysts that open up brand-new doors for education reform. One outcome of inviting these innovative, accessible, and transformational technologies into our schools will be the removal of some of those hindrances that are blocking prized paths. If we can facilitate meaningful active learning experiences that demonstrate academic gain, this may lead to restructuring the framework, both physically and philosophically, of our schools.
For the right doors to open, we must continually reflect on the path we’re following.
Read MoreCourse Management Through Wiggio
Thanks to a tweet by ktenkley, I discovered Wiggio, and I’m pretty sure I’m going to transition from using WordPress for my course’s communication in exchange for Wiggio.
I’ve used a WordPress blog for course management over the last couple of years on my Algebra class’ website, earnthegrade.com. While Wiggio is certainly not a WordPress replacement for everybody, it is for me because of the way I’ve been using it. Here’s why I’ve used WordPress to host my blog at earnthegrade.com:
Read MoreAugmented Reality Manipulatives for Classroom Use
The augmented reality manipulatives section of my blog will provide you with many augmented reality resources to use in your classroom as I’ve done in the video below:
On that page, you’ll find augmented reality resources for the following content areas:
Read MoreRegister & Receive Free Augmented Reality Manipulatives
This is a continuation of my first post, How to Integrate Google Sketchup and Augmented Reality.
I recently asked teachers and others on Twitter what augmented reality manipulatives they could use in their classrooms. I received responses relating to anatomy, geography, and sports. I took those responses, downloaded relevant Sketchup creations from the Google Sketchup Warehouse, and exported them to ARSights.
In less than 5 minutes, I downloaded and demonstrated models of the Earth, a human ear, and the Dallas Cowboys stadium. Rather than waiting for the shipment of these manipulatives and paying a third-party vendor for them, I accessed them instantly and for free from the Google Sketchup community.
Below are my demonstrations. The video quality isn’t the best because I used two cameras to prove that this wasn’t some sort of magic trick. : )
School Community Leadership, Complements of Twitter
How else can Twitter contribute?School community leadership is a product of nurturing the culture, climate, and vision of the school. No education stakeholder should be left out of this process, but we all know this unintentionally happens. How can we get everyone involved to identify common values, develop a shared purpose and vision, and contribute towards the goals and strategies needed to achieve this vision?
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