Tag Archives: technology

Great Web Tools | edtechteacher.org

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In order to help educators integrate technology effectively, we have compiled a list of technology tools focused on learning goals consistent with the CRCD [collect-relate-create-donate] framework. Unlike other lists that promote “cool tools,” yet leave teachers wondering about purposeful educational integration, our list is driven by specific learning goals that promote critical-thinking, creativity, collaboration, and community-mindedness. We hope you will find our list useful.

What are your Learning Goals?

  1. I want my students to be able to create web based timelines.
  2. I want my students to create web based mind maps / graphic organizers.
  3. I want my students to publish their writing online for others to read.
  4. I want real-time, online discussion with my students.
  5. I want my students to search and evaluate web sites.
  6. I want to create guided research activities for my students.
  7. I want to connect my students to other students around the world.
  8. I want my students to create online portfolios.
  9. I want my students to create books, magazines, posters, or newsletters online.
  10. I want my students to record or edit audio.
  11. I want to use an interactive whiteboard effectively with my students.
  12. I want my students to create and edit maps.
  13. I want my students to draw or create comics on the Internet.
  14. I want to create tests, quizzes, and games online.
  15. I want my students to organize, bookmark and edit their research online.
  16. I want to find or create rubrics for multimedia projects.
  17. I want to connect to other teachers to share ideas and resources.

A comprehensive resource recommending a variety of tech according to each learning goal, as listed above. This is also a great resource for anyone looking for unique tech tools related to the activities listed.

techtools

via Great Web Tools | edtechteacher.org.

University of Texas at Austin Online Class Aims to Earn Millions | WSJ.com

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Two University of Texas at Austin professors this week launched their introductory psychology class from a makeshift studio, with a goal of eventually enrolling 10,000 students at $550 a pop and bringing home millions for the school.

The professors have dubbed the class a SMOC—Synchronous Massive Online Class—and their effort falls somewhere between a MOOC, or Massive Open Online Course, a late-night television show and a real-time research experiment. The professors lecture into a camera and students watch on their computers or mobile devices, in real time.

The class, which made its debut [August 29, 2013], is emblematic of just how quickly the once-static business model of higher education is shifting as technology gives students more options and forces schools and professors to compete for their attention.

See the full story: University of Texas at Austin Online Class Aims to Earn Millions | WSJ.com.

Robert Darnton: The Library in the Digital Age…08.30.13 | The Proverbial Lone Wolf Librarian’s Weblog

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Robert Darnton: The Library in the Digital Age…08.30.13 | The Proverbial Lone Wolf Librarian’s Weblog

Gadgets: Going Way Beyond Wearable Technology | Information Space

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These mediums of providing information are still exciting and brand new. The opportunities for devices that augment reality, capture life’s moments in real-time and improve on the function of smartphones are limitless, but what about when the the human body actually becomes one with the technology? I want to take a further look at technology that goes deeper than the surface of the skin.

See the full story: Gadgets: Going Way Beyond Wearable Technology | Information Space.

The 10 Hottest Fields of Science Research | Wired Science

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Scientific research is a large and sprawling endeavor, with thousands of laboratories around the world studying their own ultra-specialized piece of a much more significant whole. It’s the logical intersection of reductionist scientific heritage and centuries of technological advances: in order to advance our understanding of the world around us, we must pursue increasingly specific sub-disciplines.

Which is why Thomson Reuters’ scene-scoping study on “100 Key Scientific Research Fronts” is a welcome report for science enthusiasts eager to stay updated on cutting-edge research but lacking the time to read every issue of Science or Nature cover-to-cover.

The list:

  1. Impact of Climate Change on Food Crops
  2. Tectonic Evolution of the Southern Central Asian Orogenic Belt
  3. Transcatheter Aortic Valve Implantation
  4. DNA Methylation Analysis and Missing Heritability
  5. Ocean Acidification and Marine Ecosystems
  6. Enhanced Visible Light Photocatalytic Hydrogen Production
  7. Alkali Doped Iron Selenide Superconductors
  8. Galileon Cosmology
  9. High Energy Rechargeable Lithium Air Batteries
  10. Urban Policy Mobilities and Global Governance Issues

via The 10 Hottest Fields of Science Research – Wired Science.

Links for Recent Pew Research News

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Pew: 30% Of U.S. Adults Don’t Have Broadband; 10% Use Smartphones As Sole Internet Access; 20% Have Zilch | TechCrunch – August 26, 2013
Pew Research…releas[ed] the results of a survey that shows how one of the more advanced countries in the world, the U.S., is still not quite there in leading by example: 20% of U.S. adults are still without broadband or smartphones for internet access. And 3% of people in the country still using dial-up connections.

The below link is related the same Pew research results as the article above but provides discussion on a different perspective – the digital divide in America.  See the original Home Broadband 2013 Pew report – August 26, 2013.

Latest Pew Study Shows 70 Percent of U.S. Has Broadband. But Access Is Still Unequal | Wired.com – August 26, 2013
Pew’s results demonstrate that the digital divide is persistent, with close correlations between socioeconomic status and home Internet access. The report is also a reminder that policymakers use the words “high-speed broadband” to include everything other than dialup access, which is far too broad a definition.

Adult Trend Data | Pew Internet 
Latest data about device ownership by American adults up to end-May 2013.

Pew Study: More millennials are living with their parents than ever before | Stephen’s Lighthouse | August 22, 2013
According to a Pew poll, 36 percent of young adults are afflicted with Failure to Launch syndrome.

Teens say they generally rely on themselves to figure out how to manage their privacy online | Stephen’s Lighthouse – August 22, 2013
Teens say they generally rely on themselves to figure out how to manage their privacy online; Still, 70% of teens have at one time sought advice about how to manage their privacy online. See the Pew Internet report from August 15, 2013.

Teens and Mobile Apps Privacy | Pew Internet – August 22, 2013
As teens gain access to mobile devices, they have embraced app downloading. But many teen apps users have taken steps to uninstall or avoid apps over concern about their privacy. Location information is considered especially sensitive to teen girls, as a majority of them have disabled location tracking features on cell phones and in apps because they are worried about others’ access to that information.

Teens Haven’t Abandoned Facebook (Yet) | Pew Internet – August 15, 2013
When we released our “Teens, Social Media and Privacy” report in May, one thread of news coverage focused on teens’ “waning enthusiasm” for Facebook. This theme surfaced during our focus group discussions with teens and stood in contrast to the excitement that was associated with newer platforms like Instagram and Twitter.

50 Things a Geek Should Know [Infographic] | Gizmodo

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To be considered a true geek in today’s geek friendly world, you can’t just be smart. You have to dedicate yourself to the right movies and TV shows. You have to be curious about all kinds of computer and technology. You need to know which video games to play, which superhero to root for, which quotes actually matter. But probably most important of all, you need to know how to Internet.

Virtualhosting.com came up with 50 things that every geek should know.

via 50 Things a Geek Should Know | Gizmodo.

The list of things could have been better. Come on…at the very least “knowing what rickrolling is” should have been included.

50 Things A Geek Should Know

The Beginner’s Guide to the Cloud | Mashable

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“The cloud” is one of those trendy tech terms a lot of people use but can’t clearly define. What is the cloud? When do you encounter it? How can it benefit your business?

If you use any kind of social media or online data drive, you’re already using the cloud; you just may not realize it.

In this beginner’s guide, we break down the who, what, where and why of one of tech’s most abstract terms.

via The Beginner’s Guide to the Cloud | Mashable.

Do-It-Yourself GIS: 20 Free Tools & Data Sources for Creating Data Maps | Ellyssa Kroski – OEDB.org

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The world of mapping and presenting data sets through geographical representations is no longer relegated to GIS librarians and highly trained technologists. New free and open source applications now make it possible to create complex and robust data visualizations in the form of maps that display statistics and poll results. Here’s a guide to 20 free applications and data sources.

via Do-It-Yourself GIS: 20 Free Tools & Data Sources for Creating Data Maps | Ellyssa Kroski – OEDB.org.

There are 6 data visualization tools listed and 14 sources for GIS mapping data.

Also see my list of Interactive Mapping Resources on The Modern MLIS. I have categorized resources as either digital libraries, visualization tools or stargazing maps. There is only a little overlap with Ellyssa’s list.

You may also like:  Ten Places to Find and Create Data Visualizations | FreeTech4Teachers

New IFLA Global Trends Report | American Libraries Magazine

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It’s designed to assess “the impact of new technology on our global information environment,” said IFLA President Ingrid Parent, introducing the new IFLA Trend Report August 19[, 2013] during the World Library and Information Congress in Singapore.

Commissioned in 2012 and involving social scientists, economists, business leaders, educators, legal experts, and technologists, Riding the Waves or Caught in the Tide? examines “high-level societal trends,” challenging library professionals to be aware that:

  • (1) new technology will both expand and limit who has access to information,
  • (2) online education will transform and disrupt traditional learning,
  • (3) boundaries of data protection and privacy will be redefined,
  • (4) hyper-connected societies will listen to and empower new groups, and
  • (5) the global information economy will be transformed by new technologies.

via New Report Portends Global Societal Trends, as IFLA Continues in Singapore | American Libraries Magazine.

New Report Portends Global Societal Trends, as IFLA Continues in Singapore | American Libraries Magazine