One of the roles of a tech integration specialist to is to explore new technologies and how they might play a role in education. When I started in this field it was how to use word, excel, powerpoint, and video. We talked about how to share work with each other by passing around floppy disks. We could create web pages but nothing was download and upload-able. A mere 10 years later I help teachers sort through the overwhelming number of…
I have been playing around with Lovely Charts. I need to make a few organizational charts and decided to try the free version of the tool. It really is pretty easy to use, so far it is doing what I need it to do. I like tools that do not require a steep learning curve.
About a week ago my dad called telling me about 3D connexion‘s Space Navigator. My dad was reading about Second Life, trying to understand what is I do. Thanks to dad I now have the Navigator for notebooks. It arrived yesterday evening and I took it for a test spin last night in SL. I did need to download the new release candidate for SL. 3D connexion suggests setting up on the opposite side of the mouse. I do not…
In the last few weeks I have been trying to drum up business. Hoping to get teachers to work with new tools in the classroom, always a challenge as the year draws to a close. Anyway… I have been hearing more and more of the following lately. Why should I learn this tool, won’t there just be another one? What is ONE I should be using. There are too many tools what is the best one? I sympathize. I try…
Last weekend I was exposed to a new product called WorkBench by TRintuition. It is a flash, web based content creation tool. As Karen commented earlier, since it is flash based the text can not be read, thus it is not accessible by all. I took about 10 mins this morning to begin learning the tool. There is still more to explore. Here is my first attempt.
Today I attended a MassCUE leadership retreat where we participated in presentations regarding different tools and products for education. Two of the tools captured my attention and now have me completely distracted. Disruptive Technology Disruptive innovation often initially results in worse performance compared with established projects and service in mainstream markets. But disruptive innovations have other benefits. They are often cheaper, simpler, smaller and more convenient to use. Clayton Christensen author of The Innovator’s Dilemma (This is a book I…
Ryan Bretag’s recent post …Aren’t Good Enough has hit a cord with me. I commented on the post, but felt the need for a longer response. Ryan speaks to two issues that have been haunting him for some time; Pockets of Greatness aren’t Good Enough Learning spaces that live and die with the teacher aren’t Good Enough Now I cling to these pockets of greatness or excellence as a sign of hope. There are days I am so overwhelmed by…