This is the last post I plan to write about the sessions from the National Educational Computing Conference, or NECC. The last speaker I saw, Mike Ribble, of Kansas State University, is the author of Digital Citizenship in Schools, which is a forward-thinking work dealing with the ethics and the legality of student behavior on the internet, "emphasizing the positive aspects of technology usage: collaboration, learning and productivity".

Related reading: Mark Wagner's "Ethical Use of the Read/Write Web".

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>Image via WikipediaI attended two sessions dealing with the relative lack of spatial thinking across the curriculum and throughout the K-12 years. Bob Kolvoord specifically addressed the recent marginalization of both geography and earth science, while Dr. Terence Cavanaugh demonstrated the potential for infusing maps into the English curriculum.

Kolvoord, using a SmartBoard, whizzed through a demo of Google Earth, using only his fingers! But with considerably less flash, he showed how another free tool, ArcExplorer-Java Edition for Education (AEJEE: pronounced “aay-jee”) could be utilized to analyze data on energy consumption, natural disasters, and even election results.

Later, Cavanaugh showed how using the many new tools available for free on the web, both teachers and their students have the ability to construct custom maps related to course content. For example, after reading Jon Krakauer’s Into the Wild, an American Studies class might track and recreate Chris McCandless’ journey using Google Maps. Or, if a teacher didn't have a lot of time, Google’s computers have already created maps for several works of literature, including Around the World in 80 Days, War and Peace, and (surprisingly, below) the 9/11 Commission Report. Click on the map below for greater detail. Search for these and more at http://books.google.com.

Lastly, an exceptional Google Certified Teacher named Jerome Burg has created at least 23 “Lit Trips”, organized by grade level, using Google Earth. His site includes The Kite Runner, The Aeneid, and The Grapes of Wrath, among many other works.

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Last spring, I had the pleasure and the privilege of contributing to a discussion funded by the MacArthur Foundation, and hosted by American University law professor, Peter Jaszi. He and others have produced an important document for educators entitled, "The Cost of Copyright Confusion for Media Literacy". He argues:

As a result of poor guidance, counterproductive guidelines, and fear, teachers use less effective teaching techniques, teach and transmit erroneous copyright information, fail to share innovative instructional approaches, and do not take advantage of new digital platforms.

Unfortunately, this is something I witnessed at one of the NECC sessions I attended, entitled, "Copyright & Technology: Helping Students and Teachers Understand the Issues". Even with the best of intentions, a speaker who is not an expert in copyright and fair use for educators (read: a lawyer or law professor) can do much damage, especially considering the size and composition of the audience. I counted approximately 300 people in the audience, including classroom teachers, tech integrators, and administrators, and my worst fears were realized: the speaker was not well-informed on the current state of copyright and fair use. Instead, he cited outdated or incorrect "guides for teachers" found on the web.

Fortunately, help is on the way. Come November of 2008 (approximately), Jaszi and Patricia Aufderheide will release a MacArthur Foundation-funded guide for educators, similar to what they have already produced for documentary filmmakers. "[T]o develop and distribute a code of best practices...about the fair use of copyrighted material for media literacy education."

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>Image via WikipediaI was fortunate to attend a one-hour presentation by Glenbrook South's own David Jakes, a practitioner of what he preaches! What follows is a short paraphrase of his talk:

Certainly one of the earliest (1987) of the technological democratizers was Microsoft's PowerPoint. We all know how easily it could add a professional sheen to anyone's presentation -- just by using the templates. But we also have sadly discovered that PowerPoint kills. Instead of being used to support a speaker, it has, in many ways begun to supplant the presenter simply because too many of its users treat the program "like a TelePrompTer". In lieu of rehashing his 10 suggestions, I'll embed them below. Jakes was generous enough to distribute his entire presentation online for free.

Jakes' style was similar to that of Stanford Law Professor Lawrence Lessig, who is my personal model for presentations I plan to give during the school year. Both presenters shun the use of templates and bullet points, and radically limit the amount of text on the screen, since the audience can always read it faster than you can say it. For links and more on Lessig and other styles of presentation, click on the presentation link (tag) in the left-hand column of this blog (under "my del.icio.us tags").

But the most important point that Jakes implied was how crucial it is that we model and teach these techniques to our students. Too often, he argues, we give our students the technological tools without the training they need to use them responsibly. As he humorously observed, "PowerPoint doesn't kill; bullet points do."

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>Image via WikipediaMy wife and I are currently in San Antonio, TX attending the 29th annual National Educational Computing Conference, or NECC, sponsored by the International Society for Technology in Edication (ISTE). This is our first time at the NECC, which I soon discovered is pronounced "neck"!

I have to say I was thoroughly engaged in what the opening keynote speaker, James Surowiecki, had to say and what it means for the classroom. It was also refreshing to hear someone speak about something fundamentally human at a technology conference!

The first part of Surowiecki's address was very similar to a creative radio piece called "Emergence", which I first heard on WNYC's Radiolab. In fact, he was one of many experts interviewed for that show. Surowiecki, a journalist and historian, argues, quite simply, that a collective of human beings is often much wiser than any individual person. Smarter than the smartest person in the room or even an expert in a particular field.

But what was even more interesting to me were the specific circumstances and structures that allow this to occur. The crowd can become 'wise' when the following factors are in place, for example:

1. Cognitive diversity
2. Thoughtful (and creative) grouping strategies
3. Careful placement of "devil's advocates" within groups

Obviously, collaborative technological tools (like blogs, wikis, and social networks) can facilitate this process. This is an example of where technology can truly enhance instruction, and not just function as a bell or whistle.

Yet the implication for everyday classrooms is momentous. Consider the leveling philosophy and practice in our own school, New Trier High School. Students are grouped (levels 2, 3, 4, and 5) according to their "abilities", so that they will feel successful given a certain curricular challenge. But we are also fortunate to have 9-level, which purports to be a mixing of ALL of the other levels. This particular grouping of students has the potential to produce something far beyond what is accomplished by their peers in the most advanced levels. Is it true that we only need to apply the lessons of Surowiecki's The Wisdom of Crowds, either using technology, or perhaps, just our brains?

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