Archive of ‘educational technology’ category

Google in the classroom

How Has Google Affected The Way Students Learn?

con?:with the advent of personal assistants like Siri and Google Now that aim to serve up information before you even know you need it, you don’t even need to type the questions.

pro: Whenever new technology emerges — including newspapers and television — discussions about how it will threaten our brainpower always crops up, Harvard psychology professor Steven Pinker wrote in a 2010 op-ed in The New York Times. Instead of making us stupid, he wrote, the Internet and technology “are the only things that will keep us smart.”

Pro and conDaphne Bavelier, a professor at the University of Geneva, wrote in 2011 that we may have lost the ability for oral memorization valued by the Greeks when writing was invented, but we gained additional skills of reading and text analysis.

conDaphne Bavelier, a professor at the University of Geneva, wrote in 2011 that we may have lost the ability for oral memorization valued by the Greeks when writing was invented, but we gained additional skills of reading and text analysis.

con: A 2008 study commissioned by the British Library found that young people go through information online very quickly without evaluating it for accuracy.

pro or con?: A 2011 study in the journal Science showed that when people know they have future access to information, they tend to have a better memory of how and where to find the information — instead of recalling the information itself.

pro: The bright side lies in a 2009 study conducted by Gary Small, the director of University of California Los Angeles’ Longevity Center, that explored brain activity when older adults used search engines. He found that among older people who have experience using the Internet, their brains are two times more active than those who don’t when conducting Internet searches.

the Internet holds great potential for education — but curriculum must change accordingly. Since content is so readily available, teachers should not merely dole out information and instead focus on cultivating critical thinking

make questions “Google-proof.”

“Design it so that Google is crucial to creating a response rather than finding one,” he writes in his company’s blog. “If students can Google answers — stumble on (what) you want them to remember in a few clicks — there’s a problem with the instructional design.”

+++++++++++
more on use of laptop and phones in the classroom in this IMS blog
https://blog.stcloudstate.edu/ims/2017/04/03/use-of-laptops-in-the-classroom/

differences in 3d printing technologies

White paper

https://formlabs.com/sla-3d-printing-for-educators-and-researchers/

  • The differences between the most popular 3D printing technologies, including: fused deposition modeling (FDM), stereolithography (SLA), digital light processing (DLP), and selective laser sintering (SLS)
  • How to understand a 3D printer specifications chart
  • What 3D printing resolution quality mean in 3D printing
  • How educators at universities, high schools, and colleges around the world are using the Form 2 to empower students and conduct research

+++++++++++++++

3D Print – a short introduction from IAAC, Institute for Advanced Architecture of Catalonia

++++++++++++
more on 3d printing in this IMS blog
https://blog.stcloudstate.edu/ims?s=3d+print

K12 ed tech trends

5 Trends Shaping K12 Ed Tech

https://s3.amazonaws.com/dive_assets/rlpsys/ED_k12_5_trends_k12_ed_tech.pdf

  1. Chromebooks. (versus iPADs)
  2. Blended learning
  3. Single sign-on and interoperability
  4. Wireless and cloud-based multimedia
  5. IoT

+++++++++++
more on tech trends in education in this IMS blog
https://blog.stcloudstate.edu/ims?s=technology+trends+education

wifi cybersecurity

All wifi networks’ are vulnerable to hacking, security expert discovers

WPA2 protocol used by vast majority of wifi connections has been broken by Belgian researchers, highlighting potential for internet traffic to be exposed

Mathy Vanhoef, a security expert at Belgian university KU Leuven, discovered the weakness in the wireless security protocol WPA2, and published details of the flaw on Monday morning.

The United States Computer Emergency Readiness Team (Cert) issued a warning on Sunday in response to the vulnerability.

“The impact of exploiting these vulnerabilities includes decryption, packet replay, TCP connection hijacking, HTTP content injection and others,” the alert says, detailing a number of potential attacks. It adds that, since the vulnerability is in the protocol itself, rather than any specific device or software, “most or all correct implementations of the standard will be affected”.

+++++++++++++
more on cybersecurity in this IMS blog
https://blog.stcloudstate.edu/ims?s=cybersecurity

VR Manga and Immersive Storytelling

VR Manga Is The Immersive Storytelling You Didn’t Know You Wanted

Project Hikari: Tales of the Wedding Rings lets you walk into a manga and become part of the story.

Japanese company Square Enix is looking to broaden the VR storytelling conversation by bringing 3 genres together into one incredible VR experience with Project Hikari: Tales of the Wedding Rings,

“We wanted to do something differently with this technology—we wanted to take VR into a different kind of direction,” Sou told VRScout in an interview. “We asked ourselves: how do we make content that is really unique, and something only our company can do?”

The team realized that manga could provide a creative new avenue of immersive story. Their approach was to create a style that blends animation and comic—giving you the ability to move in and out of panels. Sometimes you can see a range of still panels, others you’re engulfed in the animation of one scene.

I worried that the linear narrative of the manga might interfere with the immersion of VR, or that voiceover narration would keep me from discovering aspects of the story myself.

That worry was completely eliminated almost immediately the moment I put the headset on and the experience began. The Square Enix team was very creative with how they used narration along with the animation within the panels to bring the experience to life. I loved this VR take on the manga, and found Tales of the Wedding Rings to be an incredible experience that honored both mediums.

It’s a cross-section of a lot of different mediums because you have VR, manga (comics), and animation

++++++++++++
more on digital storytelling in this IMS blog
https://blog.stcloudstate.edu/ims?s=digital+storytelling

drones SCSU roundtable

The Department of Geography & Planning, School of Public Affairs and Northland Community and Technical College announce, Dronetech Roundtable on Wednesday, October 11 from 1-2:30 p.m. in the Atwood Alumni Room.

Learn about Unmanned Aircraft Systems UAS (Drones) and their future impact for tomorrow’s workforce from leading industry partners. See how you could use drones and geospatial technology in your career and enhance your competitive edge. Various drone platforms will be on display.

Presenters:

  • Greg Emerick, Co-Founder, EVP Sentera. Sentera is a leading designer, developer and manufacturer of software, sensors and UAVs (Drones).
  • Jonathan Beck, UAS Instructor/Program Manager, Northland Community and Technical College (NCTC)

**NCTC, in partnership with St. Cloud State’s Geography & Planning Department, earned a $600,000 grant from the National Science Foundation to advance education in geospatial information technology and unmanned aircraft systems.**

+++++++++
more on drones in this IMS blog
https://blog.stcloudstate.edu/ims?s=drones

managing phone use in class

3 Tips for Managing Phone Use in Class

Setting cell phone expectations early is key to accessing the learning potential of these devices and minimizing the distraction factor.Liz Kolb September 11, 2017

https://www.edutopia.org/article/3-tips-managing-phone-use-class

Ten is now the average age when children receive their first cell phones

develop a positive mobile mental health in the first weeks of school by discussing their ideas on cell phone use, setting up a stoplight management system, and establishing a class contract
Build a digital citizenship curriculum that includes mobile device use.

Ask your students questions such as:

  • What do you like to do on your cell phone and why? (If they don’t have one, what would they like to do?)
  • What are the most popular apps and websites you use?
  • What do you think are inappropriate ways that cell phones have been used?
  • What is poor cell phone etiquette? Why?
  • How can cell phones help you learn?
  • How can cell phones distract from your learning?
  • How do you feel about your cell phone and the activities you do on your phone?
  • What should teachers know about your cell phone use that you worry we do not understand?
  • Do you know how to use your cell phone to gather information, to collaborate on academic projects, to evaluate websites?
  • How can we work together to create a positive mobile mental health?

Using a Stoplight Management Approach

Post a red button on the classroom door:  the cell phone parking lot.
Post a yellow button on the classroom door
Post a green button on the classroom door

Establishing a Class Contract: Ask them to brainstorm consequences and write them into a class contract.

++++++++++++
more on the use of BYOD in this IMS blog
https://blog.stcloudstate.edu/ims/2017/04/03/use-of-laptops-in-the-classroom/

VR headset future

VR’s future depends on you buying a dorky headset

Oculus, the VR company that Mark Zuckerberg bought for more than $2 billion, has a problem: It’s struggling to convince people to buy its gear.

https://www.cnet.com/news/vr-virtual-reality-future-depends-on-you-buying-a-dorky-headset-oculus-zuckerberg-playstation-vive/

Oculus Connect, starting Wednesday in San Jose, California. Facebook’s Oculus VR division promises discussions on how health care, movies and video games are adapting to this still nascent technology. One panel will explore how the disability community can benefit from VR gear and presentations.

Facebook chief competitors, Sony and HTC, followed suit. The PlayStation VR dropped to $400 from $500, and the Vive dropped to $599 from $799 all in the past three months.

Survios made Raw Data more widely available for Oculus, Vive and PlayStation VR. Survios is also looking beyond VR for customers, redesigning Raw Data to work in arcades as well.

Over the summer, Apple and Google announced new technologies called ARKit and ARCore, respectively, that are designed to help iPhones and iPads or any device powered by Google’s Android software marry computer-generated images with the real world.

A $2.99 app, Star Guide AR, highlights stars and constellations in the sky once you point your phone at them. Another, Ikea Place, previews furniture in your home with a tap. Walk around your living room and you can see the furniture you placed while looking through the screen on your phone. So far, both are available only for the iPhone.

App developers I spoke with say they’re excited by augmented reality and believe it may help spur people to buy VR systems as well.

Microsoft’s focusing on both AR and VR. In an October update to its Windows 10 software for PCs, the company is partnering with device makers like Lenovo, Dell, HP, Acer and Samsung to create headsets based on its designs. They’ll sell for as little as $300 each when they begin hitting store shelves Oct. 17.

++++++++++++
more on virtual reality in this IMS blog
https://blog.stcloudstate.edu/ims?s=virtual+reality

Library 2.0 Makerspaces

Library 2.017: Makerspaces

Wednesday, October 11, 2017, 2-5PM

registering

organized in partnership with Heather Moorefield-Lang, who will serve as moderator for the opening panel and as the closing keynote speaker: “There has been a lot of talk about makerspaces in libraries over the past four years. If you are unsure what makerspaces are, think of them as creative locations for tinkering, collaborating, problem solving, and creating in a library or educational space. No matter how many maker learning spaces you may visit, you will quickly notice no two are the same. Each librarian and makerspace delivers their own brand of service to their individual community. Attendees will investigate how librarians with makerspaces can create new partnerships and collaborative efforts in and with their communities, offering further services and methods to meet patron needs.”
Joining Heather for the opening hour will be: Dr. June Abbas, PhD, a Professor in the School of Library and Information Studies (SLIS) at the University of Oklahoma, Norman campus; Leanne Bowler, Associate Professor at the University of Pittsburgh; Kristin Fontichiaro, clinical associate professor at the University of Michigan School Information; Kyungwon Koh, assistant professor at the University of Oklahoma School of Library and Information Studies.

++++++++++++++++
more on Makerspaces and libraries in this IMS blog
https://blog.stcloudstate.edu/ims?s=makerspaces

1 91 92 93 94 95 135