Blurts

Here is a post from Teach42 commenting on the iPad as a choice for 1:1. In general, the evaluation is very positive with the caveat that better is yet to come (apps). I agree.

I have listened to concerns raised by others (e.g., DarinKing on Twitter) and think that the issues may be different for K12 and Higher Ed. The issue Darin raises concerns the task of getting apps on the machine and how this is accomplished – e.g., delivery of apps through the app store rather than locally, connecting the iPad to a computer at the outset. I can see this situation as challenging in the K12 setting. In higher ed, the student is given much greater responsibility. Buy the textbook if you want – we don’t pass them out in class.

Early web search was guided by the opinions of experts. When we first wrote about Internet resources and how to find them (back in 1999 or so) I differentiated such resources as a directory in contrast to what I them described as a search engine. I must confess that I had to look in a book from that era to remember my example – it was Yahoo! (the updated remnants may be found at Yahoo! Directory). The search engines gained favor because an automated approach was the only way to keep up and the system for ranking the “hits” (e.g., page rank) seemed to generate output pages that users found useful.

Perhaps our preference follow some type of nonlinear relationship between acceptance and amount of information. As the amount of information available advances far beyond the capacity of anyone to personally examine, is it possible that human recommendations are again becoming valued? Isn’t this what Twitter is good for once you get past the vanity posts concerning where one is at and what one is doing?

SweetSearch is based on human research originally resulting in web guides from findingDulcinea (explanation of history can be found at findingDulcinea blog).

I like to see options in this space. I like the concept. Recently, I have decided it is wise to withhold an endorsement until I can understanding the business model. I see not ads accompanying search results. Too many services I thought were great have been bought out (up) or disappeared.

Wired magazine offers a new article from Nicholas Carr claiming that heavy web experiences results in specific cognitive challenges.

The Internet is an interruption system. It seizes our attention only to scramble it. There’s the problem of hypertext and the many different kinds of media coming at us simultaneously.

Carr is more a science writer than a scientist and seems committed to the “rewired it” position on how we are influenced by our experiences. This is a good general read for those not wanting to investigate the underlying literature.

As I understand the present research position, the notion of learning styles lacks much empirical support. I agree.

Having said this, I defy my own commitment to “the literature” in noting that I think I have  learning style that must be different from the style of others. I am attending EdubloggerCon which is held before the “official” ISTE conference. I know that it is popular to be “anti-book” and “anti-lecture” because books and lectures are not participatory and are boring. In contrast, I find myself thinking unmoderated and ill-structured group discussions are not that useful. I can identify the issues discussed – if an author is mentioned I have usually read the book. I am not bored, I just do not find the time to uptake ratio to be that high. Perhaps I should not evaluate this day as a learning experience or perhaps I have a bias that defines learning in a way unsuited to what is happening here.

I think this session is about mutual support and making connections. It offers participants the opportunity to meet those who are more visible within this specific community and to provide those with “a position” to find others of like mind.

So, I really wonder if participants think they have learned something and just what that might be. Perhaps they noted an unfamiliar name or the identify of a school district doing something they find interesting. So, this is my invitation for a different perspective. Perhaps you have a different style.

Family Shield is a free filtering service provided by OpenDNS. I use OpenDNS and like the concept so I encourage others to take a look at Family Shield (or also use OpenDNS). Actually, I would be hard pressed to explain the difference between FamilyShield and OpenDNS. It looks to me like FamilyShield is an install service and OpenDNS allows more user options once installed. Perhaps I am wrong.

Here is how OpenDNS works (I do think I understand this). Web locations are identified by ip numbers and people are used to functioning based on web addresses (ndwild.psych.und.nodak.edu vs. 134.129.172.86). A computer called a DNS server takes care of the conversion. This computer could perform additional functions (e.g., filtering). So, the company OpenDNS offers the use of their DNS servers to offer these additional functions. I guess the company hopes that larger organizations will purchase additional services.

CNN interview with Nicholas Carr. Pushing a new book (but who isn’t).

See also Carr’s Atlantic Monthly article – Is Google Making Is Stupid?