http//:www.gbuwizards.com/files/chicago-tribune-julia-keller-05-january-2003.htm
http://www.wired.com/wired/archive/11.09/ppt2.html
Ms. Keller and Ms. Liang do a good job describing how PowerPoint (and its publisher Microsoft) monopolized the presentation market and that if left unchecked could stymie creativity in the business world and in education. In reading this article I realized that I never given a thought as to how we have been pigeoned holed into a systemic, patternistic, and worst of all, predictable behavior that can easlily leave us as a society and as individuals subject to conditioning by forces greater than ourselves. Like the Advertizment industry of the 50's and 60's, the Media Industry has capitalized on our complacency and has been pushing their agenda du jour on targeted audiences. That affect is not solely the realm of business but also of the Education Moguls that dictate policy nationwide. What I find even more disturbing is that their (predatory agencies) ability to adapt to social change. This ability has improved and has become more subtle as technology evolved and nested itself into every fabric of our social identity. I don't think that the advent of newer, more individualistic and creative models of interorginazational and interpersonal software and hardware can defend the best interest of society simply because once you start taking action and pushing an agenda you become a cog in the system. Regardless of your intent you are perpetuating the mythos of Big Brother. The only hope that I have for society is that future generations are very likely able (through the effect of this machine) to develop the critical literacy and thinking skills to help mitigate the affects of this phenomenon.
Wednesday, September 28, 2011
Tuesday, September 13, 2011
Characterization of the pathological and biochemical markers that correlate to the clinical features of autism.
I found a very interesting paper on autism that was recently released by U.S. Army Medical Research and Materiel Command Fort Detrick. It was conducted by Research Foundation for Mental Hygiene under the supervision of Thomas Wisniewski, M.D. titled Characterization of the pathological and biochemical markers that correlate to the clinical features of autism. It was released for publication on October 2010. I believe you will find it very interesting.
It is posited that an abnormal development of specific regions of the brain are attributes found in children with autism and that these abnormalities impact the creation and migration of neuronal development on into adulthood. The variance in abnormalities (hypo or hyper-dysplasia etc.) and the resulting biochemical interference impact the maturity of these regions and add to the development of various clustered and underdeveloped brain matter. This would account for the wide spectrum of Autism that is seen in this population.
I am not very well versed in the area of neuroscience but it seems to me that this information can provide a platform for further research into the development of instructional approaches that can cater to specific markers that result in specific behaviors in children with varying degrees of abnormality (Autism). From where I stand I only see a reactionary approach to the instruction of children who exhibit autistic tendencies and by doing so we are treating the symptoms and not the cause. We can’t fix what is broken but we can adapt to it more proactively once we can get a handle on the type of neuronal and structural abnormalities that are specific to each student. Once a database is collected and a pattern of these abnormalities are identified we can proceed to categorize a more refined composite of the Autistic mind from which we can pattern a flexible instructional approach that will allow us to unlock the pathways that have been “blocked” by these naturally occurring changes in neuronal formations in key areas of the brain that impact perception and sensory processing.
I welcome anyone to read the article and perhaps correct any false assumptions I may have concluded from this study. I would love to discuss the possibilities this holds for instruction of students with significant disabilities.
Please see link below:
Friday, September 9, 2011
How do you bring 40 years worth of statistics crashing down on your head? Read This Article!
Tamin, R., Bernard, R., Borokhovski, E., Abrami, P., & Schmid, R. (2011) What forty years of research says about the impact of technology: A Second-Order Meta-Analysis and Validation Study. Review of Educational Research, 81, 408-448 http://rre.sagepub.com/content/32/1/241.full
I should have stopped at the abstract. I would rather eat sand than to reread this journal article. It was like eating Captain Crunch cereal with a sprinkling of ground glass. I guess you're probably thinking to yourself "Self, I really don't think he liked this article." Well, you'd be right if I had had my rathers but, let's take a better look at the article. It says right upfront, "An extensive literature search and a systematic review process resulted in the inclusion of 25 meta-analysis with minimal overlap in primary literature, encompassing 1,055 primary studies." Right there should have been my first clue! They're saying "We're doing you a favor!" Don't be so ungrateful that you fail to appreciate the potential wealth of information we are bring to you so that you don't have to bust a hump trying to do this yourself. Well, now that you put it that way. Sure! I guess? I have never, in my career as a student and an educator, read such an in depth statistical study on such a broad topic. Forty years of statistics cooked down into a 26 page article is enough to make B.F. Skinner role over in his grave.
Seriously, the study makes a good point of describing the process that was undertaken to identify key issues in Literacy as impacted by technology and how this method of meta-analysis can help identify and better define the need for future research. Is it an easy read? No, by no means but then it isn't intended to be. As technology advances so will its application in the field of education. The study opened up with a prediction made by Thomas Edison which implied that books in the future will become obsolete in the face of technological advancement. The study claims that the technology is best suited and can best serve in the classroom as a support for direct instruction. If I had to use a quote by someone famous to describe the impact of technology on education and literacy, I can think of no better a man than Issac Asimov who, in 1988, in an interview with Bill Moyers said:
" Once we have computer outlets in every home, each of them hooked up to enormous libraries where anyone can ask any question and be given answers, be given reference materials, be something you’re interested in knowing, from an early age, however silly it might seem to someone else… that’s what YOU are interested in, and you can ask, and you can find out, and you can do it in your own home, at your own speed, in your own direction, in your own time… Then, everyone would enjoy learning. Nowadays, what people call learning is forced on you, and everyone is forced to learn the same thing on the same day at the same speed in class, and everyone is different.”
~ Isaac Asimov"
Please see a video of an interview between Bill Moyers and Isaac Asimov at the following link:
http://www.brainpickings.org/index.php/2011/01/28/isaac-asimov-creativity-education-science/
You can find a link to this video down below. It is a must see.
P.S. I believe that this article is a wonderful choice to help introduce our future educational leaders the role research plays in the development of future trends and advancements.
I should have stopped at the abstract. I would rather eat sand than to reread this journal article. It was like eating Captain Crunch cereal with a sprinkling of ground glass. I guess you're probably thinking to yourself "Self, I really don't think he liked this article." Well, you'd be right if I had had my rathers but, let's take a better look at the article. It says right upfront, "An extensive literature search and a systematic review process resulted in the inclusion of 25 meta-analysis with minimal overlap in primary literature, encompassing 1,055 primary studies." Right there should have been my first clue! They're saying "We're doing you a favor!" Don't be so ungrateful that you fail to appreciate the potential wealth of information we are bring to you so that you don't have to bust a hump trying to do this yourself. Well, now that you put it that way. Sure! I guess? I have never, in my career as a student and an educator, read such an in depth statistical study on such a broad topic. Forty years of statistics cooked down into a 26 page article is enough to make B.F. Skinner role over in his grave.
Seriously, the study makes a good point of describing the process that was undertaken to identify key issues in Literacy as impacted by technology and how this method of meta-analysis can help identify and better define the need for future research. Is it an easy read? No, by no means but then it isn't intended to be. As technology advances so will its application in the field of education. The study opened up with a prediction made by Thomas Edison which implied that books in the future will become obsolete in the face of technological advancement. The study claims that the technology is best suited and can best serve in the classroom as a support for direct instruction. If I had to use a quote by someone famous to describe the impact of technology on education and literacy, I can think of no better a man than Issac Asimov who, in 1988, in an interview with Bill Moyers said:
" Once we have computer outlets in every home, each of them hooked up to enormous libraries where anyone can ask any question and be given answers, be given reference materials, be something you’re interested in knowing, from an early age, however silly it might seem to someone else… that’s what YOU are interested in, and you can ask, and you can find out, and you can do it in your own home, at your own speed, in your own direction, in your own time… Then, everyone would enjoy learning. Nowadays, what people call learning is forced on you, and everyone is forced to learn the same thing on the same day at the same speed in class, and everyone is different.”
~ Isaac Asimov"
Please see a video of an interview between Bill Moyers and Isaac Asimov at the following link:
http://www.brainpickings.org/index.php/2011/01/28/isaac-asimov-creativity-education-science/
You can find a link to this video down below. It is a must see.
P.S. I believe that this article is a wonderful choice to help introduce our future educational leaders the role research plays in the development of future trends and advancements.
Tuesday, September 6, 2011
Origins and Concepts of digital literacy. - Bowden, D.
Bawden, D. (2006) Origins and Concepts of digital literacy. In Lankshearc. and Knobel, M. (ed.) Digital Literacies: Concepts, Policies, and Practices, New York: Peter Lang
When it comes to Literacy and Technology, one would think of the propagation of Literacy through technology. In this article this was indeed discussed but also discussed were a myriad of other potential definitions and intent for this term. Bawden's review of P. Glister's publication on this topic was critical of Gilster's writing technique as much as it was of what was posited there in. There has been many changes in the last 20 years regarding the advent of technology and its potential to be revolutionary in every aspect of our lives. As instructional approaches change to accommodate technology, we are left with a conundrum. Do we focus on the fundamental skill sets to help students develop the skills to be literate or do we sacrifice some precious instructional time to help students become more accustomed and efficient in the use of this new medium.
We are not the first to face this issue and we won't be the last. What we will be, is efficient in doing both. As with every change in literary paradigms, readers and writers alike have had to contend with choosing the traditional over the contemporary when attempting to decipher the intended message.
In essence, the question that begs to be answered is what and how do I teach my students? With the push to inclusion and a balanced classroom, we are going to find ourselves taxed with this additional instructional approach that would require a certain degree of back peddling to tie new knowledge with old. While this can present it self to be a boom to teachers for an opportunity to review old concepts in a new light, it also can present with some difficulties.
Refurbishing existing schools with new infrastructual changes comes with a pretty high price tag when one trys to accommodate every new innovation . Literacy can be found in multiple forms across a variety of sources. We need to review our educational practices to not only accommodate this advancement but also provide a fundamental instructional approach to the acquisition of knowledge and how to best receive and explore with our current student population. Technology, such as these, can help bring a student with disabilities or a lack of motivation to a classroom they can look forward to such instruction.
Every time that there has been a change in how or what we teach, it also followed a period of redefining the argument.
When it comes to Literacy and Technology, one would think of the propagation of Literacy through technology. In this article this was indeed discussed but also discussed were a myriad of other potential definitions and intent for this term. Bawden's review of P. Glister's publication on this topic was critical of Gilster's writing technique as much as it was of what was posited there in. There has been many changes in the last 20 years regarding the advent of technology and its potential to be revolutionary in every aspect of our lives. As instructional approaches change to accommodate technology, we are left with a conundrum. Do we focus on the fundamental skill sets to help students develop the skills to be literate or do we sacrifice some precious instructional time to help students become more accustomed and efficient in the use of this new medium.
We are not the first to face this issue and we won't be the last. What we will be, is efficient in doing both. As with every change in literary paradigms, readers and writers alike have had to contend with choosing the traditional over the contemporary when attempting to decipher the intended message.
In essence, the question that begs to be answered is what and how do I teach my students? With the push to inclusion and a balanced classroom, we are going to find ourselves taxed with this additional instructional approach that would require a certain degree of back peddling to tie new knowledge with old. While this can present it self to be a boom to teachers for an opportunity to review old concepts in a new light, it also can present with some difficulties.
Refurbishing existing schools with new infrastructual changes comes with a pretty high price tag when one trys to accommodate every new innovation . Literacy can be found in multiple forms across a variety of sources. We need to review our educational practices to not only accommodate this advancement but also provide a fundamental instructional approach to the acquisition of knowledge and how to best receive and explore with our current student population. Technology, such as these, can help bring a student with disabilities or a lack of motivation to a classroom they can look forward to such instruction.
Every time that there has been a change in how or what we teach, it also followed a period of redefining the argument.
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