Derek's Blog

For all those interested in the potential of educational gaming, here's an opportunity to do something about it!
The Liemandt Foundation, a nonprofit family foundation focused on promoting technology-enabled education, is hosting a college student video game development contest with a twist--students are being challenged to build entertaining games that "secretly" teach middle school subjects.
The competition has just been announced on the Hidden Agenda website - with the competition closing in May next year.
There's a prize of $25,000 up for grabs, with the final judging based on 70 percent entertainment and 30 percent educational value.
The website has a great deal of information about requirements for the competition, as well as news about last time's winner.
Worth a look!

Posted by Derek Wenmoth at 10:24 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Came across this today and had to include it in my blog - what a great article for anyone wanting to access thoughts and ideas about literacy issues in the digital age. Material for The New Literacy article comes from the following new books:
- Information Literacy, by Sara Armstrong (Teacher Created Materials)
- Redefining Literacy for the 21st Century, by David Warlick (Linworth Publishing Inc.)
To quote from the article

"The challenge to us as educators lies in keeping up with an information environment that has changed dramatically in the past 10 years, a decade during which the very nature of information has changed in appearance, location, accessibility, application, and communication. Thus, it is crucial that when teaching literacy to our students, we emphasize skills that reflect the information environment of the present, not the past."

Posted by Derek Wenmoth at 4:21 PM | Permalink | Comments (4)

Seems like the talk about the potential for virtual reality in education has been going on forever, but the technology hasn't quite been up to it - until now it seems. I've been taking a look at the developments taking place with Sony's EyeToy for use with Playstation2 - and it seems that here we might just be seeing the emergence of a VR technology in the consumer market that realises the educational potential.

An article on the Ferrago sitereports that there are new releases of software for the EyeToy planned for release this Christmas, including new mini-games Goal Attack and Home Run that will even place the player within 3D environments. Looks promising.

In another sphere, a Toronto company, Jestertek , together with Xperiential Learning Solutions, have developed what they call their Experiential Learning Product Suite which is aimed at people with physical, mental or behavioural disabilities. A recent GlobeandMail article describes how, like Sony's EyeToy, the Experiential Learning Product Suite uses cameras to capture a person's image and project it onto a monitor or large screen, combining it in real-time with the computer-generated action.

Using cameras that capture at least 30 frames a second and hardware much more powerful than a game console, the suite can adapt to a player's physical characteristics and abilities. Sensitivity, speed and range of motion are adjustable, allowing people to control programs with tiny gestures -- from a shrug to a toe-twitch -- letting a bedridden person see what it's like to ride a horse, or someone without the use of their hands play a virtual musical instrument.
Worth a look too at the IREX site for examples of their VR rehabilitation games, offering VR acitivites specifically targetting the development of particular muscle groups with coordination exercises.

And in New Zealand there are a number of developments taking place - look for yourself on the Trade and Enterprise site for a list of them! One I am very familiar with is Mark Billinghurst and his team at HitLab . They've have done some groundbreaking work with their Magic Book project amongst other things. You can even download some sample movies of what they're up to from their site.

All in all, the future is looking brighter for educational applications of VR technologies - I say, watch this space!

Posted by Derek Wenmoth at 10:10 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Now here's a novel idea - a New eLearning plan involving building an eLearning Clearinghouse to promote all the online courses available to students and adults from both public and private sources.
Apparently, the motivation comes as a result of a recent OECD report that shows the US slipping behind in the areas of college attainment, college dropout rates, and high school reading literacy.
Couldn't help thinking here of what's happening in New Zealand, with discussions around the future of The Correspondence School, Learning Media and Te Kete Ipurangi. There is a pervasive belief inherent in these discussions that all are fundamentally involved in resource development, and that there is a duplication of effort which could be minimised by collapsing them all into one organisation... sound familiar??
While I don't fundamentally oppose this idea, I am concerned at the possible over-simplification of approaches that assumes (as in the US?) that the ills of an education system will somehow be addressed through "delivering" more resources (albeit they high quality etc.).
Something missing in the discussion is the role of the teacher, the importance of the "discourse" elements of teaching and learning, and the value of "connecting" with other learners in a variety of ways.
I'm all for creating an open-architecture, federated-search enabled learning object/resource repository - but I get nervous when this is regarded as the panacea for distance/online/elearning.

Posted by Derek Wenmoth at 11:21 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

The idea of computers replacing text books has been talked about for a long time, but this article from the eSchool News caught my eye because of some of the thinking that has obviously gone on prior to the investment.
It's all very well to get carried away with the 'hype' of the new technology, but the Vail School District appear to have done their homework, and a read of this article should provide some challenges for other schools in thinking through how they might move in a similar direction. Some of the things that it made me think about are:

1. currency and relevance - the issue of currency of information, and keeping up to date with texts that reflect the latest in state and school district requirements makes access to online resources attractive. (Not to mention the ability to quote, incorporate, re-use etc the information once it is accessed digitally!)
   
2. ubiquity - the 'anywhere, anytime' imperative is embedded into the district's ethos that "technology part of the school's DNA." Many laptop initiatives have failed, in my view, because of a failure to support the use of the technology in this way.
   
3. cost - the cost-benefit analysis has been worked out by being prepared to "abandon" aspects of practice from the past, and constructively look at how the use of technology is not simply a replacement for the print-based technologies, but introduces a whole new values proposition. Worth noting though... "In terms of cost savings, Lee said the laptops aren't likely to save the school money in the near term, because the cost of the computers is slightly higher than what the school would have paid for textbooks. But down the road, she anticipates it will be much more cost-effective to invest in digital learning resources than to cough up the extra money for new textbooks year in and year out."
   
4. Teacher PD - the issue of teacher preparation is also addressed, with acknowledgement that not all teachers will be comfortable with this happening in their classrooms - and talk of Technology "boot camps" and ongoing PD to address this.

Posted by Derek Wenmoth at 10:05 AM | Permalink | Comments (3)

I've just finished reading an entry in Dave Davies weblog about RLOs - well worth a read. He's taken a rather satirical look at learning objects in an entry he calls The Content Conundrum. In a satirical Q&A format, Davies explores a number of the assumptions around RLOs and their use (or intended use). Overall, a worthwhile read - and many of the links David has included are worth exploring as well.
While you're at it, take a look at some of his other entries on the topic of RLOs and resources in the online world, including:
If RLOs didn't exist you'd have to invent them and his short followup piece, The problem with definitions - or how I learned to get over learning objects and start making good e-learning instead

Posted by Derek Wenmoth at 10:23 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Ever wondered what the components of an eLearning Framework might be?? Having been involved in this sort of discussion in a number of contexts over the past few years, I was fascinated today to come across the eLearning Framework Site, an initiative by JISC, DEST, Carnegie Mellon Learning Services Architecture Lab and others to build a common approach to Service Oriented Architectures for education.
There's a nice 'clickable' menu of components on the main page - although many of the links take you to blank pages at the moment.
According to Stephen Downes, This represents pretty much the consensus picture being presented at various conferences over the (Northern Hemisphere) summer. The E-Learning Framework web site provides a clear list of the major architectural components of what Dan Rehak calls 'next generation' e-learning. There are three major layers of services depicted: user agents, domain services, and common services.
Seems like a useful overview to be socialised among key players in the New Zealand eLearning scene (eg. TEC, MoE, Telecom, eGovt. etc)

Posted by Derek Wenmoth at 1:41 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

I visited the primary school that my son attends today to record an interview with the principal regarding her thoughts about building a learning community in her school. Her comments on what she felt had made her school and cluster model work so effectively were insightful, including:

• the absolute need for a vision, and for time to be spent on getting "buy-in" to this from all stakeholders.
  
• choosing the right person for position of facilitator - in this case, an excellent classroom practitioner who is confident with ICT
  
• choosing to work together, across all the schools in the cluster on an imaginative, online, inquiry-based task - from which grew a greater familiarity with the online environment among staff and students, as well as a 'community' culture of trust and sharing etc. among the schools
  
• valuing the experiences of others - intentionally seeking out and supporting staff in opportunities to visit other schools and classrooms, and to bring these experiences back and interpret them locally
  
• building and supporting professional learning networks, both within the school and online among and between schools - emphasising the significance of being a "professional"
  
• addressing the pedagogical concerns as well as the ICT ones, in this cluster, the school supported a full-time ICT facilitator, and a full-time "Thinking Skills" teacher who work closely together to develop innovative programmes and support teachers in classrooms.

1. A definition of transformation
   
2. a summary of policies, practices and possibilities in the networking of knowledge.
   A typology of networks and networking is proposed.
   
3. Research on networks is assessed.
   
4. Two concepts that underpin a contemporary view of networking are explored, namely, knowledge management and abandonment, with the latter including abandonment of the traditional site-bound view of teaching.
   
5. The benefits of international networks are described
   
6. a statement on the way forward in the governance of education.

Posted by Derek Wenmoth at 5:01 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Came across this rather irreverend look at blogging this morning (courtesy of George Seimens)
Titled Everything you wanted to know about blogging but were too afraid to ask the author provides 50 tongue in cheek tips on how to successfully manage your blog. The main focus of the advice addresses how to promote your blog and increase readership and comments, rather than anything constructive about content and blog use - but it makes for a fun read.
The real value is in the list of references at the end - some very useful links to other blog-advice sites.

Posted by Derek Wenmoth at 7:20 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Now here's a different piont of view...

Digby Anderson... asks a much more radical question. Many young people, by the time they leave full-time education, will have spent 4000 days or 25,000 hours in schooling. May some of these hours, Digby Anderson asks, not more profitably be spent in doing actual paid-for work? Digby Anderson suggests the real question is not whether our schools are delivering but whether there is rather too much schooling

People agreeing with Digby Anderson??s article should consider the possibility that the national schools simply cannot be saved; it??s time to campaign for laws that would permit an exodus of children from the darkness of the state system

Posted by Derek Wenmoth at 10:59 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

I've talked about this idea in various forums in the past, and in my work at The Correspondence School, have been actively looking at ways of incorporating a dynamic portfolio system into the student management system there. In recent months Deb Struthers from the MoE has been talking about the same sort of concept. To me, an electronic portfolio system lies at the heart of a truly learner-centred education system - life-long!

Well, here's a group doing something about it: the ePortfolio Working Forum - a "PanCanadian ePortfolio project to promote and implement a seamless ePortfolio system for all Canadians" (NB PDF file)

This project is being coordinated by the Learning Innovations Forum, a non-profit corporation with a Pan-American focus. LIfIA's mission is to promote learning innovations as they benefit learners, organizations and communities.??

Posted by Derek Wenmoth at 9:47 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)

Take a look at this site:
The maths internet site
"Over 100 top websites carefully chosen for their interactivity and grouped into five search categories. Ideal for individual learning, homework, classroom discussion or students' project."

Posted by Derek Wenmoth at 9:20 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

Seems there may be something to the idea shared in my last entry - certainly struck a chord with some judging by the comments. For a practical application of what was suggested take a look at this article: HHS to Provide New Interactive Book of Health Information to Women of Afghanistan and Their Families
A quote from the article..

"Secretary Tommy G. Thompson today announced that the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) will distribute pioneering interactive women's health books built with the LeapPad learning system technology throughout Afghanistan this year, aimed especially at helping Afghan women who cannot read or write."

Posted by Derek Wenmoth at 2:51 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

What do these two things have in common??




In his recent article in Chief Learning Officer, Kevin Kruse observes

Maybe the e-learning ??killer app?? we??ve been waiting for isn??t an application at all, but rather an appliance. Maybe we need a device that is affordable, easy-to-use, always there and a little fun

Worth a ponder - perhaps Kruse is onto something here?

Posted by Derek Wenmoth at 4:55 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)

I attended a meeting in Napier yesterday with principals, DPs and ICT facilitators of five secondary schools in the region involved in an ICTPD programme. I came away really encouraged by the thinking and approaches being contemplated.

One of the things we discussed was the development of the New Zealand Video Conferencing Cluster Network - with an increasing number of schools providing students with the opportunity to take the subjects of their choosing by estblishing a means of sharing staff, resources and students on a collaborative basis.

An article referenced in the latest edition of the eLearning Journal points to similar developments in Arizona in the US:

"An estimated 3,500 Arizona children are expected to log on to education's newest trend of virtual schooling, as the state's cyberschools report increases in enrollment this year over last school year. Under Arizona law, there is no limit on cyberenrollment in these free public schools and no school district boundaries. Children from Page to Globe and the farthest corner of the Navajo Reservation are enrolling in the long- distance schools. 'As the information has gotten out there, people are saying, "Wow, there are virtual schools." They have filled a much-needed gap,' said Brad Lester, director of online expansion for Primavera Online High School."
Full story from The Arizona Replublic Online Print Edition

1. Under Arizona law, there is no limit on cyberenrollment in these free public schools and no school district boundaries.
   
2. the cyberschools provide flexible options, from taking all courses online to supplementing face-to-face programmes
   
3. evidence of a learner-centred approach - not seen as an alternative for disaffected kids, but an option for every student, catering for differences in style and choice. quote; "Bottom line is there is no such thing as a student who wants to drop out,... if you provide the right school, everyone will be successful."
   
4. Not all of the programme is online - includes print-based resources, books etc.
   
5. can include blended approaches where students gather at a common location to complete cyberschool studies under the supervision of teachers
   
6. seen as a strategic future direction - not just a niche for a few.

Posted by Derek Wenmoth at 9:53 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)