Education, technology, and everything in between

Way back in March I raved about getting an alpha invite for Edmodo, which at the time was touted as the Twitter for education. Well, today Chad Hutchins is calling it the Pownce for education, but regardless of the comparison, Edmodo has LAUNCHED! I’ve been talking with the founder, Jeff O’Hara, since March about this and I’m so excited that it’s finally here! Check it out and sign up at Edmodo.com.

What is Edmodo?

Edmodo is a private microblogging platform that teachers and students can use to send notes, links, files, alerts, assignments, and events to each other. Teachers also have the ability to mark any post from their classes as public to share with the outside world. You can also create private groups for you and your colleagues to collaborate. It’s free & simple to use!

As I move around in Edmodo more and have some more information and feedback on the site, I’ll post about it again.

I’m just bummed that I don’t have a classroom of kids in which to test this out - playing by myself just isn’t as fun. If you’re using this with a classroom and want to add me in so I can see how you’re using it with students, I’d LOVE to be invited :-) Email me at kolson29 at gmail dot com if there’s any way I can jump into your sandbox!

Hooray, a long weekend! And since I have daycare again and can work full days during the week, I have earned……..wait for it…………a 4 day weekend! Yippeee! And now the varied and interesting finds from this crazy week:

• The Juggle - WSJ.com : The Real Dangers of Cyberspace

  A short article in the Wall Street Journal that most notably quotes Vanessa VanPetten, who writes a great teen/parent blog and does an amazing job detailing what teens are doing online in her work. The comments on this piece, however, give some interesting insight into the views of parents on this topic.

• Big Shift in Accounting Rules Nears

  Sigh. The reason my now-unused accounting degree from 2002 lessens in value as the years go on……and the reason that textbooks will be obsolete faster than they can be printed. Just one more piece of proof that a degree is meaningless unless there is continual professional development in any field.

• Cell Phones Make Headway in Education

  A BusinessWeek article on cell phones in education. It was cool to see a member of my PLN, Liz Kolb (@lkolb) quoted at the end of the piece!

• We stink at PowerPoint, and it’s our own fault

  An interview on Future Tense with Nancy Duarte, author of the book Slide:ology: The Art and Science of Creating Great Presentations. Some good points about why many presentations are ineffective and also links to examples of good presentations.

• apophenia: “Born Digital” by John Palfrey and Urs Gasser

  John Pederson pointed me to Danah Boyd’s post about the new book “Born Digital” by John Palfrey and Urs Gasser. Danah describes the book as:

  “Intended for broad audiences, “Born Digital” creates a conversation between adult concerns, policy approaches, technological capabilities, and youth practice. This is not an ethnography, but JP and Urs build on and connect to ongoing ethnographic research concerning digital youth culture. This is not a parent’s guide, but JP and Urs’s framework will benefit any parent who wishes to actually understand what’s taking place and what the implications are. This is not a policy white paper, but policy makers would be foolish to ignore the book because JP and Urs provide a valuable map for understanding how the policy debates connect to practice and technology. The contribution “Born Digital” makes is in the connections that it makes between youth practices, adult fears, technology, and policy. If you care at all about these issues, this book is a MUST-READ.”

  Danah also goes on to give a great disclaimer to the “academics in the room”, those who are very wary and weary of the term “Digital Native” and she makes the point that although the term “Digital Native” might be overused, this is a must-read.

I just ordered Born Digital from Amazon and started reading it - at this early point, I’m really excited about the book and the information it’s providing. There is excellent research and anecdotal information included. I look forward to sharing more about the book as I dig in more! I’m doing a workshop in November on “Where Teens Are Online” and this will provide some great extra information and I’ll probably suggest it as “required” reading for all of the workshop participants!

I read this and add it up with all of the musings I’ve been doing lately on the meaning of all of THIS and it just leads to more and more thinking. My brain is starting to hurt and because my too-expensive Ikea office chair hasn’t arrived yet, my back is starting to hurt as well after day 3 of my new full-time work-at-home schedule.

Where will all of this find a place in my new and improved life/career/musings?

I’m working on it. I’ll be around.

Remember, I’m working at home all day. By myself. With no one to talk to. I’m sure I’ll need an outlet - it’s been said by many that I tend to talk just a wee bit too much.

Just wanted to let y’all know that my latest piece is up on Savvy Auntie.

5 Tips for Back to School Auntie is a list designed for helping all of the aunties (and uncles!) out there with the back-to-school madness. Oh, and this snippet got the approval over at BlogHer by Jory Des Jardins, yay!

School supplies are something that should probably be shopped for with your niece or nephew in tow, and perhaps with their school supply list in hand. Before you scoff at this advice, think back to your middle school years – I know that my aunts definitely wouldn’t have known about the Trapper Keeper that I was coveting for months before school shopping began!

Head on over to SavvyAuntie and read the rest of the piece!

P.S. If you’re up for some entertainment, you can vote for Melanie Notkin, the founder of SavvyAuntie, over at the HotBloggerCalendar site - all in the name of good, fun publicity :-)