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Tech death

12/25/2014

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I was in a car accident a few years ago, which wasn't my fault and which, happily I walked away from, but the insurance agent wrote off my car. I went alone to the yard where my car was kept to clear out my belongings. As soon as I saw her sitting there, I started to bawl and I could hardly see what I was pulling from the trunk. My car had taken me so many places that it was like losing a friend. I thought that I wouldn't experience something like that again.

About a month ago, my laptop started displaying "patches" of gray pixels on the opening screen and then would freeze on start up. I took it in for a check up, the salesman reset the graphics card and that seemed to fix the problem. Of course he counselled me that the computer was "old" and that should his "fix" not fix the problem, they no longer carried the part I needed and I'd be best to buy a new computer. When I got home and started her up, the problem was still there. Without a doubt, my computer was done. The tears started to flow down my face. I have all my data backed up so it wasn't the loss of work that was causing my grief. It was again the loss of, dare I say, a friend. That laptop has been part of celebrations (she's created end of term slide shows for years, and a wedding movie). She's been a major part and force behind many of my most significant achievements. She's been there while I struggled with ideas and relationships and countless other moments involving sound, pictures or text.

Right now, she's sitting in my bedroom, and I can't bring myself to dispose of her. I know it's crazy, but I'm actually mourning her loss. I can't even begin to think about her replacement.

I did watch the Joaquin Phoenix movie, Her, where he has a relationship with his operating system, and thought it was ridiculous, but now, given how sad I am, I'm rethinking my whole relationship with my laptop.

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The new silent reading

12/24/2014

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There is no denying that iPads or other tablets can engage a group of students who normally might not be inclined to embrace certain activities. But should they be used for that purpose?!?

It saddens and frustrates me to realize that in some classrooms, iPads have become the new silent reading. Some teachers put an iPad into the hands of a student and then sit back and in some cases do their marking or check their Facebook page.

It's awkward if teachers haven't asked for my help or planned the project with me because I don't feel like I have the right to intervene, but at the same time, I see the potential of the technology being wasted, and know that the teacher who wanted to use those iPads for something involving modification or redefinition (the SAMR model), can't because they've been signed out for Internet research.

The easiest way to guard against the misuse of technology is to continually ask, "Why am I having students use a tablet?"

If your only answer is "to keep them engaged" or "to keep them busy and quiet", rethink your use of that technology.

I feel like I haven't done a good job in guiding and encouraging my colleagues to always be asking why when they sign out the iPads, but I'm going to try to do that more often in the new year.

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Failing Forward from my 100 word challenge

12/13/2014

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So, for those of you who followed my 100 word challenge, which I might have forgotten to post  :-(  but which can be found here .... let me give you the sad but useful update.
I couldn't do it!
Try as I might, words just spewed out of my mouth during my 45 minute classes. Each class, I'd vow to do better. At the end of each class, I'd silently brainstorm ways to cut down my word count. My strategies included: continue to post the learning goals but have a student read them, have the instructions already on a board, have every conceivable action as a gesture and just mime what I needed or have the actions on a board and just point to them. I even started to get desperate and rationalize cheats to myself like, "If I already said it, I don't have to count those words if I repeat it for a student who was out of class at the bathroom." The revelation was pathetic and wonderful. I talk too much. End of story.
So now comes part two. Having realized that I can't limit myself to 100 words, I will continue to try. I will continue to try my best NOT to be the person who does the most talking in the room. I am firmly convinced that less of me talking and more of students talking is going to be the game changer. We are going to get there... it just might take a little longer than I thought. If you haven't ever tried something similar; limiting your lesson to 100 or so words, I strongly suggest it. You don't need fancy technology, the collaboration of a colleague, the funding behind a full scale study; its beauty is in its simplicity. The results are just between you and your classroom walls (and your students if you choose to reveal your plan to them). You might discover some interesting results. Let me know how it goes.

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    JanRobertson

    It's what you DO with technology that makes it wonderful or lame.

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