I find the concept of knowledge maps intriguing. The idea that the failure to understand prerequisite knowledge or skills severely limits learning that builds on such knowledge or skills seems intuitive. I know that the Kahn Academy makes use of knowledge maps.
A map of mathematical knowledge and skills would seem less controversial than maps constructed to reflect knowledge in other areas. The math map is the only Kahn Academy map I can locate. I am interested in the structure proposed for biology because that happens to be the domain I have the most experience thinking about. I would guess “experts” argue over knowledge maps, but I would also think the desire for a perfect map is pointless.
If someone can point be to other knowledge maps, I would appreciate the assistance.
I read that iWork Online is now out of beta and available to ALL at no cost. I admit I have not used the online version of iWork and seldom use the device based versions. I make the most use of Keynote, but use Google online tools for nearly all of my work.
Apple has done a great job with these tools and now offer anyone the opportunity to use them at no cost (www.icloud.com). As a heavy Apple user I almost feel bad and I have been trying to determine exactly why I have failed to use the services.
Here is my defense:
Apple is late to the party, has a poor record with online services, and inertia probably plays a significant role in our technology use.
Google offers more free storage (I do have to figure out how to get rid of the photos I have somehow accidentally stored in the iCloud. I have other places to store my photos and I could free up more space for other uses of the iCloud).
Why might someone with a different history use the Apple services and tools. I am stretching things a bit here, but I can imagine a situation in which an individual uses Apple tools in one setting, but does not have access to Apple hardware in a different setting. Perhaps a student would find herself in this situation. This might be a reason to use Apple tools and the iCloud.
Don’t get me wrong. I think the Apple tools are well done and for someone starting out with storage in the cloud, it would certainly be worth taking a look.
NAEP scores are down. I am not certain that is a statistically significant decline, but it would be fair to say that the improvement of late has stalled. State by state data are available.
Standardized test data and testing practices have been criticized, but it would also be fair to note the use of trend data does not involve country to country comparisons and issues of whether such comparisons are fair.
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With Google ads, you have some control over the categories of ads that you allow. Google also analyzes your selections and attempts to make suggestions that might increase your ad revenue. The top suggestion for this site was “Get Rich”. I write mostly for educators interested in the use of technology. I wonder if Google understands my intended audience.
I grew up in a farming community, worked in North Dakota, and now spend much of my time in the woods of northern Wisconsin. When I went to college having graduated near the top of my high school class, I was thrown into calculus, an advanced chemistry course and a seminar on lipid metabolism. I was traumatized doubting my capabilities. It was not until I was able to take courses at my level of knowledge that I was able to begin to compete. I have an appreciation for the topic of small schools and limited access to advanced courses.
The lipids seminar is kind of a funny, but related story. I originally wanted to be a high school biology teacher and coach. My high school guidance counselor could not find biology in the college catalog (Iowa State had multiple departments rather than a single biology department). The closest program was Biochemistry and Biophysics so that was my first major
My 45 year-old story may still apply. This recent report demonstrates the access option for students coming to college from rural, suburb and urban schools. We farm kids still operate from a disadvantage when it comes to advanced courses. Sounds like another justification for online opportunities to me.
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My wife must have passed the tech gene on to our kids. Kim is the photographer. Lynn takes video of her patients (she is a physical therapist working with children undergoing long-term she uses when she presents on her methods. Todd is a videographer. Todd now works for Target and I thought I would bring some attention to his most recent project.
Todd’s is an artistic director for Target. He does ads and the video that is used by executives in corporate meetings, conventions. etc. He gets to experiment much more than I would have expected and with a budget that likely would amaze those of us working in education. Pretty serious stuff. Here is a project I thought tech folks might find interesting.
Todd posted the following to Facebook – he gets annoyed when his collaborators are not recognized so I included the entire post.
Check out this set of interactive videos I directed for Target. This was a super fun job. It was a weird process figuring out how to get this done. I was lucky to be working with a whole bunch of amazing folks and we figured it out together.Rm Frankenstein Hanson, Kyle Gustafson, Steve Chirhart, Jeff Barbian,Travis Robertson, Glen Faught, Joel Weber, Bryan Shelley, Kyle Franke, Tom Kristjanson, Scott Nordhausen, Betsy Thayer, Justin Mass, Alyssa Yule, Betsy Thayer, Jennifer Hotovec, Dave Pope, Gerhardt Riautschnig, Nathan Lee, Craig Hanson, Dave Underhill , johnny Hagen and a whole bunch of others.
I would describe this a choose your Halloween adventure with product placement. I had some difficult exploring it on my iPad II, but it worked great on Cindy’s newer iPad. It was really fun on my Chromebook Pixel because I could explore the 360 “environments” by manipulating the video on the screen with a finger.
What you see in these YouTube videos was captured with this:
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