21st Century Classroom?

I have been seeing the advertisements for CDW/CDWG and Discovery Education’s annual technology sweepstakes coming around again recently. It is a great contest and I am sure CDW does very well with collecting contact information for teachers and administrators that they can use later for future marketing methods. However, in answering the questions on the entry form, I noticed that they list “Excellent” educational technology as: "Each classroom was equipped with a laptop cart, a projector, an interactive whiteboard, and audio/video tools".

Now I really don’t understand why so many people/companies feel that a classroom must have an interactive whiteboard (IWB) in order to be a 21st Century Classroom. While I know there are exceptions to the rule, generally IWB are nothing more than glorified chalkboards. For example, when I started teaching over 10 years ago, my classroom possessed a chalkboard. I stood at the front of the classroom with my back to my students and wrote on the board whenever I needed. Then we upgraded that chalkboard to a marker board. Now I was able to stand at the front of my classroom with my back to my students and write in multiple colors. Fast-forward a few more years and then you would see me standing in front of a classroom with my back to my students writing on an IWB. Sure I did neat interactive lessons with my students and sure they enjoyed the technology, but a single IWB was not sufficient to reach all of my students. Each student might only get to use the whiteboard every third day of class.

Now I am sure that there are many great teachers out there doing wonderful things with interactive whiteboards, but there is one issue that has yet to be resolved: classroom management. I once heard a classroom management guru say that teachers need to be moving around their classrooms while students are in attendance. This is to keep students on-task and prevent behavior issues before they begin. I have used this method in my own classroom and found it to be extremely effective.

In my mind, a 21st Century Classroom has a large projector screen, an appropriately powered ceiling-mounted projector, classroom response systems, multiple interactive pads, integrated audio, and an Internet connected device for each student (e.g., netbooks, laptops, iPod Touch, iPads). Now let’s outline each of these choices:

A large projector screen overcomes the small screen size of IWB. The largest inactive whiteboards have a 94” diagonal screen size. A 4:3 96” screen has a 120” diagonal. Let’s face it, how many schools out there buy the biggest IWB? Most schools I have visited that have IWBs installed are using not using the largest models therefore students at the back of a classroom might have a hard time reading what is being projected.

All too often I have seen educational institutions buy the cheapest product they can to fill a need. This is very true when applied to digital projectors and what results is a classroom that must have the lights dimmed or turned off in order to use the projector. I recommend a projector with an appropriate amount of power to be used with the classroom lights on.

Classroom response systems are extremely valuable for polling the understanding of students in a measured, data-collected manner. I don’t advocate giving quizzes or tests with these systems, but being able to gather data immediately about the concept comprehension of students is a big bonus in a modern classroom. This allows a teacher to target teaching and learning for students on an individual basis, bridging knowledge gaps, and preparing students for those Federally-mandated tests (don’t get me started).

Instead of a wall-mounted IWB, I prefer to see teachers utilizing smaller, portable IWBs. Typically called inactive slates or pads, these can be used to do everything a IWB can do, but from anywhere in the classroom and for a much lower total cost of ownership (purchase price is much less and there is no installation cost).

Classrooms with ceiling mounted projectors need quality integrated audio in order to take full advantage of the system. How else can you show (and hear) online videos, podcasts, etc. If you can attach a classroom address system then even better. The infrared connections for classroom address systems are a little flaky, especially for a teacher adhering to classroom management practices previously mentioned, but still a nice investment since studies have shown improvements in student achievement after the addition of such a system.

Finally, each student needs an Internet-connected device. It doesn’t matter if it is a full-blown laptop, a netbook, or a iPod touch. It doesn’t matter if it runs OS X, Windows 7, or Ubuntu. The bottom line is that students need a device to use for teaching/learning and it helps if everyone in the classroom has the same device.

I hope we can get beyond the thought that each classroom needs an IWB in order to be set-up for teaching and learning in the current era and the future.

iPad v. Galaxy Tab: A User's Perspective

I have owned an Apple iPad for approximately six months and have enjoyed the device for entertainment and surfing the web on the couch. However, real productivity remains elusive when I am using the iPad. In fact, I am not sure that I have ever conducted any type of activity that could be considered “work related” during my time of ownership. I’m not even entirely sure why this is true but I suspect that it is related to the amount of keyboarding is takes to write blogs, tweet or *shudder* do job related tasks. For me, the iPad does not do a good job with data entry. It really doesn’t give you many options for entering data other than the on-screen keyboard (i.e., no on board camera or stylus).

As far as the entertainment side of things, the iPad is quite capable of keeping the kids busy in the car or at the doctor’s office. I also enjoyed laying in bed using the iPad to research our most recent trip to Walt Disney World. My wife used her laptop while I scanned websites using the Mercury Browser app (because of the tabbed browsing not available in Safari). However, I found that carrying the iPad was burdensome, not because of its heft but because of its size.

My dissatisfaction with the productivity of the iPad led me to look for something else. My criteria included the ability to hand write notes digitally, it should be a bit smaller than the iPad, and it needed a cellular data connection. My iPad is a wifi only model and I felt that having the ability to use a cellular data connection would add to the usefulness of the device. Once I reviewed several “iPad Killers”, I settled on Samsung’s Galaxy Tab because it fit my criteria for a mobile tablet device.

At first blush, the Tab was awesome. It was quick an responsive and it was easy to install applications, much like the iPad. I thoroughly enjoyed the smaller form factor (as it is 2 inches shorter and almost 3 inches narrower than the iPad). I did not miss the “real estate” lost from the smaller screen and found that I could surf the web as easily as on the iPad. Even though the Tab (0.84 lbs) is half the weight of the iPad (1.6 lbs), both are so light that the difference is barely noticeable.

As I got deeper into using the Tab I found that the button placement is a bit awkward. I found that I regularly hit the power/sleep button while trying to do other tasks. The screen slept far too quickly but that was easily rectified with some adjustments in the OS settings. However, the most annoying issue with the Tab is the four “buttons” at the bottom of the screen. First, they sleep faster than the screen which makes it very difficult to find them in the dark when you are reading in bed. Secondly, there are too many “buttons” there. They should limit it to two: the Home button and the Back button. Certainly the Settings button could be moved to on-screen control and why have the Search button at all? I have only owned the Tab for a week and have lost count of the number of times I have inadvertently hit the Search button while trying to read.

With all that being said, I prefer the Galaxy Tab over the iPad. The sheer size of the iPad makes it unwieldy and the lack of a camera is unfortunate. The Tab takes a cue from Apple’s iPhone 4 and puts a camera on both sides of the device. I haven’t had a chance to use the “user facing” camera, but the main camera is useful for using with Google Googles. Probably the best part is that I team my Tab with an iPhone 4 which results in the best of both worlds.

You might laugh me back to the days when we all gripped our Palm IIICs and furiously scribbled graffiti for saying this but the biggest weakness with both platforms is the lack of a stylus. I personally would love to have the option of handwriting notes in a digital notepad that I could access later from another device. I already do this with my Asus Eee PC T91MT tablet PC and Microsoft’s Onenote. Using a notebook shared across the local network, I am able to write notes in a meeting then later sit down at my desktop and review, edit, and add to those notes. It doesn’t have to be as feature rich as OneNote, but it sure would be nice to take a mobile tablet device into a meeting and hand write notes.

Of course, both the iPad and the Tab have access to applications that allow for handwritten entry and they both accept capacitive styluses. My problem is that the iPad is too big to carry with me a lot and I haven’t found the perfect app in the Android Market yet. I’ll keep looking...

Link:

PC World's comparison of the iPad and Galaxy Tab

Net Neutrality Under Fire (So Soon?)

The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) released rules in December 2010 that forced Internet Service Providers (ISPs) to adopt a net neutral stance on controlling bandwidth and Internet access. A ruling that has come under attack just weeks later with the introduction of the Internet Freedom Act by Rep. Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn).

I for one can't figure out why so many people are against net neutrality. It really is a simple concept to understand. There is a really simple guide to understanding the concept, so simple that even small children can get the idea. And why all this hullabaloo that the FCC doesn't have jurisdiction over the Internet? Huh? I understand that most of this argument is that the FCC shouldn't make a ruling like that because Congress should be the one doing it. However, in the absence of leadership, the bureaucracy will act on its own.

Parting is such sweet sorrow

I have been using Intel products for pretty much my entire adult life, from my first Intel Pentium 75Mhz (circa 1995) all the way up to Xenon Harpertown server processors. I am typically pretty loyal to brands that demonstrate quality products, however in the interest of experimentation my last desktop was built with an AMD processor. An experiment that has gone tremendously well (as I type this blog post on the that exact machine - blue LED fan lights and all).

Yesterday, Intel announced that their new chipset, code-named Sandy Bridge, would include provisions that ultimately equate to digital rights management (DRM). In my opinion, this is a step in the wrong direction. Intel has entered the realm of telling me how to use my equipment and that is crossing the line. Intel should focus on producing quality products and not succumb to the pressures of the music and motion picture industries that refuse to innovate new methods of making money outside of protecting content using technologies that usually only slow down the "criminals".

Intel has fired a shot over the bow of the world of DRM-free software, music, and video. I will fire back by purchasing products utilizing AMD chips. Good night, good night, parting is such sweet sorrow (source).

Other articles discussing Intel’s DRM chip:
ComputerWorld
The Inquirer

Edit: I'm glad I forgot to publish this post because Intel published a response. In the post, Intel states that 1080p streaming video is not currently available because "movie studios are concerned about protecting their content". I guess Intel didn't see this article...or this one. They also describe the DRM Intel Insider as "an extra layer of content protection". That sounds like DRM to me.