Popular Mechanics visited Microsoft in March for a sneak peak of surface computing. Here is a coffee table that will change the world. This 4:17 video goes inside its top-secret development - forget the keyboard and mouse: The next generation of computer interfaces will be hands-on. Check it out.

This is cool! As a kid I always wanted to fly, but this takes flying to a new level. Four jet engines, a glorified hang glider, five years, and 286,000 dollars later. Yves Rossy, a.k.a. Fusion Man, has become my new hero. Wouldn’t this be cool! This video is awesome.

While teaching eight years in the Philippines, I learned a very important lesson from the culture … it’s people that are really what’s important in life. I love gadgets, some people love travel, some live for their degrees but what’s really important? People.

The Learners: Kids and Communication
Integrating technology with education in a Web 2.0 world is all about people. People communicating, collaborating, stimulating and and learning from each other. Actually, that’s what teaching should be all about. Social networks, such as Facebook and MySpace are the preferred means of communication for kids today. Today’s generation of students loves to multi-task, perhaps that is why these social network places allow them to do a multitude of tasks all on one website. If anything the social networks have proved that people are important to today’s generations, they just communicate in a forum most teachers are not used to.

So who should NOT use technology?
The Extremes
Technology, when placed in the wrong hands, is very dangerous. There are two ends of the spectrum that this statement can refer to. One end is the beginning user, the other the techie who knows it all. Both of these individuals should be considered armed and dangerous and handled with care. Our job is to guide students in their (and our) learning. If the use of technology inhibits or prohibits learning, then were faced with trouble. The WOW! factor often distracts the audience from real learning. It can lead to bird walking when it comes to learning and understanding.

We must emphasize good teaching, not good technology. The use of technology should not and cannot be abused. It cannot be the ‘dog and pony show’ which substitute for real learning. Promote and teach “pedagogy-based” technology workshops, which focus on good teaching practices and on the design and implementation of technology-mediated courses. If done correctly, a technology department needs to put “student engagement” and “professional development for teachers” at the top of their priorities.

People to People (p2p), Face to Face (f2f)
We are encouraging a society of parallel relationships. Kids are chatting with each other, texting each other, and communicating without ever facing each other.We must be careful they do not become isolated and socially inept. Last week a middle school decided not to sponsor a dance, kids wanted to play computer games. They said they were too afraid of rejection at the dance. Wow, what’s happening?

I recently attended a presentation by Mark Treadwell on the future of libraries. His presentation took us through the paradigms of education … book based > internet based > 2020AD.

The history of the book paradigm for learning began in the late 1400’s with the start of the printing press. Suddenly books became the fountain of youth for learning rather than oral traditions handed down from generation to generation. Learning consisted of remembering and knowing. Throughout this era, information was richly managed but poor with information. 500 years of limited knowledge.

Recently, in the mid-1980’s, a new internet based paradigm started. Learning became more than knowledge, it is now understanding. Assessments have become formative and summative. We are now information rich, but poorly managed.

Most recently we now are beginning to see the end of the internet based paradigm. by 2020 this shift will be complete. Internet will be available to everyone.

Publishers make a lot of money from fiction books. The likelihood of them disappearing anytime soon is unlikely. However, non-fiction information, such as textbooks and encyclopedias, will disappear from print. They will be accessed via the internet and wi-fi. One of the newest developing technologies is the flexiscreen book. A prototype is being developed now by Plastic Logic. The 21 second video is a great example.

Multimedia projectors will be in the covers of laptops.What is the role of the librarian? Libraries came about due to a limited resource landscape. That landscape is changing drastically right now. The role of the librarian today is
(1) to manage information … a lot of information. There are two ways to go about doing this. First is on a case to case basis with each teacher. Second, to grow the area of of research. Find books that are needed and create semantic fields. This will be the boom in the next 5-7 years.
(2) Today a library can be anywhere, anytime. Google aims to become the super-librarians of the future. In the next 2-3 years we will see Google come out with a research tool of pull down menus that will target a student country > type of schooling (American, British, AP, IB, IGCSE, etc.) > year in school > subject > topic > available books or media.
(3) The librarian needs to help synthesize information. Howard Gardner in his book, Five Minds for the Future, states that here are five kinds of mind sets we need for the future:

• a disciplined mind
• a synthesizing mind
• a creative mind
• a respectful mind
• an ethical mind

Finally, presentation will become the skill most needed in the future. The skill of being able to present and communicate one’s understanding of learning.

“We think” is a vodcast about web 2.0. The change is amazing. Check it out.

I just attended the 21st Century Learning Conference. One of the keynote speakers was Mark Treadwell from New Zealand. He has recently written a book (hot off the press … literally) titled: “Whatever! The Conceptual Era and the Evolution of School v2.0”

Some highlights from his talk include project based learning has been around a long time. We have sent kids to library to research on Aztecs, make a poster, copy pages and pages of notes …. the old way produced a 5 page report. Today, with advent of computers, it’s now a 20 page report … the new report has more cut and paste.

We have just exited an era of the book based paradigm of learning. This took place starting in 1400 - 1980. Now new paradigm of internet based paradigm starts. It will end by 2020 internet paradigm will be done … everyone will have access to the internet. Distill, synthesize, understanding stuff.

So what did learning look like in these eras? The 1800’s saw the Manufacturing and Farming sector (be polite, be good in school). The 20th Century Service sector (skill set is speaking). Understanding and knowledge were key. Now the 21st century is the creativity sector (analyze, synthesize, apply). Internet is necessary to be creative. Wellington 25,000 people in creative sector 250,000 around the world depend of them.

New Zealand is at the beginning of new understanding … it is called Nouvelle Comprehension … the beginning is now and the next 10 years will explode rapidly with the new paradigm of learning. Core skills that will be needed: Managing self, thinking.

The outcome of new paradigm is to have kids that are WISE. Wisdom to make right choices. A 15 year old can buy a gene splitter on internet and put a virus into the water supply … unwise decision. Bring back values education into the curriculum. Confident, connected, actively involved Life-long, self-motivated learners. Decisions based on values.

more info can be found at:
Mark’s Online Notes
KnowledgeNET
School v2
PD Resources
Global Curriculum
Consultancy
Digital Learning Objects Libraries
Thinking
Image Libraries
Newsletter/reviews
Inquiry Learning

A number of years ago I took a group of middle school kids from Peru to Knoxville TN for the Odyssey of the Mind world finals competition. I found a t-shirt with the ten rules of creativity on it. Thought I would share them with you:

1. Don’t go with the flow - create your own current

2. Don’t let the sky stop you

3. Dare to be different

4. Don’t say it can’t be done

5. Other’s have good ideas too!

6. Let you imagination soar!

7. Dare to be wacky, weird and outrageous!

8. Anything that can be done, can be done better

9. Explore the unknown

10. Ask, “Why not?!”

“Cutting -edge technology is as perishable as a truckload of ripe bananas;
it’s worth a fortune today, but if not used quickly, it becomes worthless.”
William Knoke, Bold New World (1996)

It seems that the theme of faculty training is the key of the positive technology experience … for faculty and students. A major goal of technology needs to be training. The training of faculty needs to be in a time and cost efficient manner. If training is solely in a technical manner we lead the teacher astray and they may miss the point of enhancing student learning.

Technology change is rapid and to expect faculty to keep up is unrealistic. So how can the upgrading of tech skills and increase without reducing time for teachers to focus on their discipline, teaching, and research activities?

1. Emphasize good teaching, not good technology. Promote and teach “pedagogy-based” technology workshops, which focus on good teaching practices and on the design and implementation of technology-mediated courses. Remember to keep the main thing, the main thing … good solid teaching. Develop a team of tech leaders to help solve the “tech problems” within the schools. It not only empowers the schools to take control of their technology, but also allows the Tech Department more time for Integration. A technology department needs to put “student engagement” and “professional development for teachers” at the top of their priorities.

2. Focus training on application not construction. Help the teacher to understand how a given program may help enhance their presentation.

3. Make product development a team effort. Develop a tech plan that is based on the needs of the teachers and students. Allow the teacher to focus on what they do best and have the technology facilitators do what they do best, help the teacher choose the appropriate technology to use for presentation.

4. Bring more training to the teacher, not the teacher to the training. We already personalize student learning by differentiating our teaching styles. If training is personalized and tailored for each teacher what will occur is more effective technology integration along with more meaningful learning by the student. Create teams of teachers that meet for professional development in technology on a regular basis.

5. Celebrate the success stories of teachers’ use of technology in the classroom. Spread the word and encourage more creativity and the sharing of ideas. I am hoping to document some neat tech integration on my new blog, iEduTek, Innovative Educators Using Technology. Another way is to sponsor a mini-conference highlighting teachers sharing their ideas and work with other teachers … your own mini tech conference.

6. Find some money to create “grants”. These can be given in a competitive manner to encourage growth (i.e., teachers “compete for the resources by providing evidence of their commitment and implementation of technology. Not many of us have unlimited resources to work with. Those who really want to push the envelope will be able to be rewarded. If there’s not enough money, go find more.

Many thanks to the many who contributed information for this blog. A special thanks to David Diaz of UNC and Shawn Nutting (K12Online07) in his podcast “Creating a Paradigm Shift in Technology”.

I read the following Wall Street Journal blog quite interesting. As a dual platform person who travels a lot around the world, access is a problem. Sometimes I’m on my PC and other times I’m on the Mac. Sometimes at home, sometimes at work, and sometimes on the road. SugarSync.com could be a viable option. If you’re a traveler and need to access your files along the journey look it into it. I’m giving it a try.

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It’s a real problem keeping all the files you need available and up-to-date on multiple computers in multiple locations, whether they are key business documents or just favorite photos or songs. Adding to the problem is the increasingly common use of smart phones as little laptops, and the growing mixed use of Windows machines and Apple Macintoshes, which use different programs.

Now, there’s a new service called SugarSync that keeps your files replicated and synchronized across all your computers, whether they are Windows PCs or Macs. It even offers limited file synchronization on certain smart phones. The service is from a Silicon Valley company called Sharpcast and is available at sugarsync.com.

Not only does SugarSync place the latest version of every file you designate for syncing on all your chosen computers, but it also creates an archive of these files on a special, password-protected Web page. That way, you can access the latest version of any file even when you are at a public or borrowed computer that lacks the SugarSync software.

I have been testing SugarSync on five different computers — three Windows PCs and two Macs — as well as on a Treo smart phone. I tried syncing everything from Excel spreadsheets to Word documents, from photos to songs to PDF documents.

My verdict: While SugarSync isn’t free and has a few rough edges, it is by far the best solution I have tested to replicating and synchronizing your files across multiple computers. It really works.

Every time you change a file — say, by editing a Microsoft Word document or rotating a photo — the changes are replicated within seconds on every computer to which it has been synced and in the Web archive as well, as long as the computers are connected to the Internet.

For example, I set up SugarSync to synchronize a folder containing some Word documents. Then, I opened one of the documents on a Dell and added a sentence to it. A minute later, I opened the same file on a Mac, which was also connected to my SugarSync network. The file already had been updated on the Mac to include the change I had made on the Dell.

While SugarSync is primarily about file replication across computers, it also helps solve another nagging problem: backups. Because the files you care about most are now replicated on multiple machines in multiple places, and are stored as well in a Web archive, they are also backed up. So if one of your machines dies, you don’t lose your files. And, if you find yourself in need of a file that doesn’t exist on the computer in front of you, it can be downloaded.

SugarSync works by uploading your synchronized files to its servers, in encrypted form, and then sending them down to your computers when they change. There is a 45-day free trial that gives you 10 gigabytes of file storage. After that, you can keep the 10 gigabytes for $25 a year. There are five other storage plans, ranging from $50 a year for 30 gigabytes to $250 a year for 250 gigabytes.

The software that makes it all possible, called SugarSync Manager, is free and comes in Windows and Mac versions, as well as versions for Windows Mobile phones and certain BlackBerry models. An iPhone version is in the works, but for now, you can scan your online archive using a special SugarSync page available through the iPhone’s Web browser.

You install the manager software on any computer you wish to be part of the synchronized network. You can select different folders on different computers for syncing. All get uploaded to the Web archive, where they can be accessed at will.

You can choose which folders you wish to replicate fully on each machine. For instance, you might want your main documents folder to be replicated on every hard disk, available even when you’re offline. But, with a folder of lesser importance, you might be content to just fetch a file when you need it from the Web archive.

SugarSync creates two special folders. One, called Magic Briefcase, is always replicated on every machine’s hard disk, so you can quickly add a file to it even if you didn’t select the file’s original folder for synchronization. The other, called Web Archive, retains files in their original versions, never updating or changing them.

So, what are the rough edges I spoke about?

Well, the Mac version of SugarSync manager is still in beta, crashes occasionally and has various bugs. A final Mac version is promised later this spring. The cellphone versions can only view photos and whatever documents the phones allow, but changes you make on the phones in documents other than photos aren’t synced back to the computers or to the Web site.

In addition, SugarSync can’t synchronize Microsoft Outlook files and it can’t, say, replicate a new calendar entry or contact change across your computers. The company has shown off this capacity in public demonstrations and says it is working on adding it.

Still, SugarSync solves a real problem and does so well.