Drape's Takes

Two weeks ago, Lawrence Lessig joined Stephen Colbert on the Colbert Report. In their interview, they discussed copyright and the re-mix culture that so widely saturates our society. While Lessig argued that remixing is good and Colbert stringently balked against its advocacy, in the end they were both successful at achieving their goal.

Here's the original interview:

And here are three of a growing number of remixes that have been created since, effectively illustrating that Colbert got exactly what he wanted in the first place. I mean really. Who wouldn't want free exposure and advertising created and liberally promoted by fans that would willfully work for the tribe?

Pure genius.


Thus, viral marketing becomes an art form (and truly effective) when you're able to convince others to do what you want them to do, even though your words just might indicate otherwise.

Sounds like a skill we need to need teachers to acquire, doesn't it.

I was recently asked an important question that I fear I wasn't able to properly answer.

How should the district support the technology needs of the district?

As I've thought a lot about this question since my first attempt, I've decided that a second attempt would be fitting. Hopefully this time around I'm able to offer an improved analysis of this important subject. Therefore, that which follows is my second draft.

---

First, the district should support the technology needs of the district by realizing that the primary reason of its very existence is to improve the learning experience of students.


Next, the district should support the technology needs of the district by challenging the status quo, providing alternative methods, and imparting the resources necessary to ensure success.


Finally, the district should support the technology needs of the district by always helping when needed and by sometimes staying out of the way.


For what it's worth.

Original Image Sources: Flickr users Juber Al-haddad, The Tardigrade, and stuant63.

Late to the game in promoting this, but very powerful stuff from Michael Wesch's latest blog post:


Questions:

• Have you ever been used by social media?
• How should educators approach social media in their curricula?
• Is there a level, a class, or a time when it would be best to teach students skills related to social media?
  
• If we take the stance that social media literacy should be taught throughout the curriculum - regardless of subject or grade level - what can be done to ensure that it isn't lost through the cracks?
  

I certainly have my opinions about this topic, but would love to hear what you think first.

Sources:

• Original image source: Flickr user lmoore1118.
• Quotation source: Michael Wesch.
  

So Will Richardson's not sure about sending his kids to college.

Welllll...

As I enter into my final semester of doctoral coursework, I must confess that the only thing my education has done for me is open doors that likely never would have been opened otherwise. Oh, and it's also taught me to think critically, helped me to understand the strengths and weaknesses of current empirical research practices, assisted me in developing the ability to better rationalize when necessary, and even taught me to better sympathize with those that sometimes just don't get it.

Can these skills be learned without a college education? Absolutely. But it seems to me that in most cases - in order to be highly "successful" without the degree - you've either got to be distinctly specialized (eliminating any legitimate possibility of changing fields in the future) or you've got to be extremely lucky.


No offense, but I'd rather stick with the conservative, "prepare for anything" approach to my future, thank you, and leave rolling the dice to those with less to lose.

Sources:

• Original image source: Flickr user Collin Mel.
• Quotation source: Seth Godin. Props to Jethro Jones, by the way, for nailing the guess on Google Reader for my next inspirational quote.

Dave Cormier explains perfectly the reason why I still blog:


Not for awards, not for fame, and (don't hate me for saying) sometimes not even for the "conversation," the main reason I continue to blog is because I love having a place to catalog my thoughts. To that end, I can't tell you the number of times I've googled my own blog in search of something I've written before - usually to share with others.

That you, as a reader, still feel welcome to straighten me out from time to time by commenting on what I've written - is icing on the cake.

Original image source: Flickr user mybloodyself.
Quotation source: Dave Cormier.

Ronald Anderson and Sara Dexter conducted an interesting study back in 2000, with findings that every school administrator should consider:

For technology to become an integral part of a school, it not only is necessary to help teachers use the technology but administrators must be involved in it, too. The importance of training for developing teachers in technology has long been recognized in the educational community. These findings indicate that administrative leadership and decision-making are equal, if not more important than spending on infrastructure to maintaining a successful technology program.

...Charismatic people may contribute to technology integration as well, but it is even more essential for a school to distribute leadership and become a "technology learning organization," where administrators, teachers, students, and parents together work on how best to adapt new technologies to improve learning. (p. 17)

Nine years later, how's the scene in your school?

Reference:

• Anderson, R. & Dexter, S. (December 1, 2000). School Technology Leadership: Incidence and Impact. Center for research on information technology and organizations. I.T. in education, paper 98. Retrieved December 26, 2008 from
  http://repositories.cdlib.org/crito/education/98

Original image source: Flickr user Jeremy Brooks.

Stephen's right. iJohn's right. And Doug's right.

Folks, if you're in this gig for the awards and the rank and the fame, then ours is a sad, pathetic, state, indeed.

For what it's worth.


Original image source: The Edublog Awards.

Any time I've ever been able to make any kind of personal impact on others in my life can be directly attributed to the fact that I listened more than I spoke.


Original image source: Flickr user lanuiop.
Quotation source: Darius Dunlap (here) via John Pederson.

I spent the day today tethered to an iPod Touch. Email, web surfing, and tweeting galore. Photos, videos, and apps they call educational - the iPod Touch (and iPhone, clearly) seems to be that little Internet device we've all dreamed of. Nonetheless, I'd summarize my experience today with one simple sentence:

As good as mobile computing might be, there's nothing that compares to the freedom felt upon returning to my MacBook Pro.

With that in mind, however, I still consider the iPod/iPhone/other mobile device combo to be one of the only feasible options for one-to-one computing for many schools and districts out there. As daunting as providing constant Internet access to 100% of your student population might sound, the task actually sounds manageable when considering that roughly half of your population likely already has access to the Internet, given that policies actually grant them access to the mobile devices they carry with them 24/7.

In that light, providing the other half with an iPod touch doesn't sound all that impossible.

Perhaps my calculations, however, differ slightly (or grossly) from your particular circumstance. Tell me, if you've got the time:

• In your estimation, what percentage of your student population already has access to the Internet through some sort of mobile device?

Image source: Flickr user Rosh PR.

Technorati Tags: freedom cellphones onetoone education technology

Twenty points extra credit now go to Wendy Drexler for creating and sharing this 4-minute picture of the networked student. And an extra twenty for sharing the transcript.

While I think that every teacher would benefit in better understanding the habits and techniques that today's students employ for learning, my favorite part of the Wendy's message takes place in the final 30 seconds of the video:

So, why does [today's student] even need a teacher, you ask. Good question! She is the one who teaches him how to build this network and take advantage of learning opportunities. She offers guidance when he gets stuck. She shows him how to communicate properly and ask respectfully for help from experts. She shows him how to differentiate between good information and propaganda, how to vet a resource, how to turn a web search into a scavenger hunt and get excited when he finds that pearl of content. She helps him organize those mountains of information. In her heart, she hopes that when he leaves her class, he’ll maintain his learning network and use it to navigate his future and creatively solve the world’s problems. These are the skills he will need in the 21st century.

Exactly.

Technorati Tags: 21stCenturySkills networking students cck08 extracredit