Blurts

Anyone using a free online service that stores information in any form should read this article

The idea that Amazon would disable text to speech at some time after purchase is disturbing.

Is this the entire story? What were realistic assumptions at the time of purchase? If one purchased a book or even the Kindle assuming in good faith the one could LISTEN to a Kindle book, changing the rules is just wrong. Audiobooks are a unique market and I understand purchasing a product specifically for this purpose. Amazon obviously has a much larger selection than Audiobook (which is the service I use). Text to speech seems a reasonable alternative to professional narration for reasons of cost or availability.

This issue with the Kindle has been confusing. I had once thought that the speech function had been disabled and I was surprised to learn that the option was still available. This ambiguity is problematic. Perhaps a clear disclaimer would do the trick, but retroactive actions seem a really bad decisions by Amazon.

Kindle Issue

Here is a summary of survey results from Tech&Learning summarizing what middle and high school students want in an ebook. Highlighting and notetaking – I am impressed.

Today was the Susan G. Komin Race for the Cure event in Minneapolis. It has been a family mother’s day tradition now for many years. Cindy with brother Scott and Jena.

I remain of the opinion that the presentation of information is a necessary part of education. Lectures, books, web content, etc. are efficient ways to offer content which students then must process at a personal level to learn. This processing may involve discussion, hands-on activities, discussion with peers, etc.  Education is not an either/or thing and those who believe that a lecture is an efficient way to begin the process of learning are not always suggesting that all class time should be spent in this way. I am also hoping that those who oppose the lecture are not assuming that the total learning experience happens in the classroom.

If these data are accurate, it is now reported that the Chicago turn around only holds for the Illinois test and not for the NAEP.

I have just been reading a student paper discussing some of research concerning the effects of mastery learning. A similar criticism was raised. If the treatment group concentrates on a given set of objectives and the control group is taught by teachers who are not focused on those objectives, one finds similar results. An exam over the objectives shows an advantage for the treatment group. A general exam does not. So, which group learned more?

Isn’t this the general concern with NCLB – teachers stealing time from content topics not covered on the exams to focus on the content to be covered. I don’t think this is what Secretary Duncan means by “time, time, time“, but this is what happens when you only teach to some of your goals.