Blurts

Wesley Fryer recently posted a concern that I believe is off target. His post seems to position teacher relationships against adaptive online video and management systems (think Kahn Academy) in a way that implies the learning experience should be one or the other.

If one takes the position of Salman Kahn as a way of understanding how systems such as the Kahn Academy are intended to be used, the notion of tech or teacher is far from what is intended. Kahn offers a concrete number of the limit of time to spent with the videos (2 hours per day) and clearly aligns what the teacher is to be doing with the popular “teacher as facilitator” rather than “teacher as knowledge dispenser” position. Kahn also advocates classroom, cooperative learning activities that do not rely on video and may take advantage of peer tutoring.

Arguments for the value of using classroom time in a more personal way, e.g., flipped classroom, blended learning, argue that it is the group-based, classroom presentation approach that limits the teacher-student relationship.

In the classes I teach, I use a model proposed by Alessi and Trollip to explain the instructional design process – presentation, guided/supported processing, practice, evaluation. The reality of the classroom is often less individualized than idealists might suggest. A teacher working with 25-30 students simply does not have sufficient time to individualize. Technology does not have to be better than what a tutor could be to offer advantages over what a real teacher can provide. The presentation and practice components are areas where technology can individualize effectively. This offers the teacher the opportunity to focus on guided/supported processing and evaluation. The combination offers experiences that are more individualized.

I understand there may be programs assuming that students will rely exclusively on video, but the Kahn Academy (one I know something about) would not be an example. I have been attempting to identify programs I think would serve as examples. I use Lynda.com for some personal learning, but this site is obviously focused on adult learners who can take responsibility for more components of the learning experience and find this approach efficient and cost effective.

Salman Kahn continues to act on his vision for education. If you have read his book (One world schoolhouse), you might recall that he proposes the value of the one room schoolhouse because it involves a continuous progress system and cross-age peer tutoring. This CBS video describes his efforts to try out this concept.

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The major value I find for Twitter is the surfacing of useful information I was not purposefully looking for. This is usually described as discovery to differentiate the process from search. The downside of Twitter discovery is that it depends on the group of individuals I follow and it is likely this group is biased by my personal biases.

It is possible to access topical feeds that are both more prolific and unbiased. My favorite tool for this purpose has been Zite. This aggregator offers content in many categories I want to follow. Unfortunately, Zite was just purchased by CNN and will shut down on Dec. 7. Zite users have been encouraged to transfer their content streams to Flipboard and have been provided a simple method for making this transition.

I recommend that you take a look at Zite (quickly). Here is my logic. I am a big fan of the information Zite surfaces. Even though the service is going away, a new user can tap into these information pools and transfer them to Flipboard.

Zite is available for iOS and android.

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Before I purchased the iPad pro, I assumed it would be perfect for two things – using the split screen to take notes while I read and using the pen with Explain Everything. The split screen works as I hoped. I admit I did not know that not all combinations of apps would be available, but I could find something that would work.

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