Edu-(Tech)niques
Educational Technology in Practice in The Field!
Epson EB-450wi Interactive Projector: First Look
Mar 23rd
I didn’t know how fortunate I was to get a hands on look at Epson’s trend breaking new projector as the only model in Hong Kong is heading back to Epson Japan next week after a short stint in Epson Hong Kong.
Myself and @mrdinhk headed to Cheung Sha Wan in Kowloon to kick the tires today.
So let’s start shall we?
Epson EB-450i
Availability: Mid to late April
Projected Price: Under 20,000 Hong Kong Dollars
First impressions:
It sure is ultra short throw. Shortest I’ve ever seen.
Nice sharp image. Screen size on demo was about 60 inches wide-screen. Projector is wall mounted and is able to be pushed and pulled back and forth. Air filter and bulb replacement requires no demounting; panels are within easy reach and accessible.
The pen was quite thick with a certain solidity to it due in no certain terms to the 2 x AAA batteries inside it. The price of a replacement pen? 100 US Dollars!! Jaw drop moment! As @mrdinhk pointed out you can get a bag of Promethean pens for the same price. From working in a primary school the price of the pen is a major drawback. Things go missing and get dipped into yoghurt from time to time.
Turn on time is very quick from cold. Was very impressed; about 40 seconds. Agent said if turned on straight after being turned off it will take a few minutes. Turn off time was very quick also with Epson quick to state that only .3 kw of electricity is used when the projector is in the off state.
The software bundled is very basic with the usual suspects making an appearance; the highlighter, the spotlight and the snapshot. Unfortunately Epson were a bit behind on their knowledge of other software from IWB giants like Promethean and Smart. They did promise to download the trial of ActivInspire and get back to us to tell us if there’s any problems. I’m presuming most schools who buy the 450Wi will use their pre-existing software or purchase one of the big guys’ software.
Calibration of the pen is quite a thorough process with, if I recall correctly, 23 point for normal set up and 70(?) for an even more precise calibration.
Initial Conclusions:
You have to admire Epson for this product; it certainly will change the way projector and interactive whiteboard companies look at their future products. Am I interested? Ummm kinda but from looking at current prices of Promethean we would probably get a Promethean with a cheap projector and installation for the same price as a 450Wi. Are the advantages of not having a bulky fixed IWB enough to warrant the purchase? At the end of the day an IWB is an IWB in the classroom and it’s the software that allows teachers to create their own interactive lessons which really makes the difference. I saw no major flaws in the user experience between the pen and the wall. I will say using it was quite loud(!) as the wall they had was hollow and textured and I would like to use it on a normal whiteboard surface or plaster wall.
All in all, it didn’t blow our socks off and there definitely are some aspects that will need to be discussed at school before making a decision. But Epson certainly have something here and I am very interested to see how schools look at this new concept over the next year.
Horizon Report 2010: A Condensed View
Mar 15th
The Horizon Report gives my poor brain some clarity on predicting emerging technologies in education over the next 5 years.
It’s a long read and well worth it but I’ve summarised it for myself and thought it may be useful to others.
4 Current Trends identified for 2010-2015
1.
Information is everywhere; at the touch of a button or the swipe of an iPod. As educators the challenge is in preparing our students to assimilate this mass amount of information effectively.
2.
We expect to be able to do work, study and learn 24/7. We expect to get help and learn from our social networks too.
3.
Cloud based technologies are being used more frequently for file storage and software utilisation. We can work wherever we want with whatever technology we’ve got.
4.
Student work is becoming more collaborative in nature. To face the world’s problems we will have to work together. With technology this process becomes less complicated.
4 Critical Challenges identified for 2010-2015
1.
Our roles as educators and the way we prepare our students is changing. Teaching and learning must be adapted to prepare our students for the life ahead of them in a global world with these emerging technology tools. Amen!
2.
Blogging, tagging, tweeting, retweeting and commenting. Schools are not sure how to handle these regarding assessment and evaluation. Understanding needs to be brought up to par.
3.
It’s rare for students and teachers to be taught digital media literacy skills. It’s not yet seen as a key skill and at the minute it’s taught through osmosis and peer teaching.
4.
This one strikes a chord with me. Schools instead of pushing technology aside need to invest time and money into using technology to reach their overall goals. Technology can save money you know?!
6 Emerging Technologies to Watch
Within 12 months:
Mobile Computing- Smartphones, netbooks, iPads. Students have them (or will do). We should be using them but we have to think of the challenges. Privacy, classroom management and access are issues that need to be addressed and policies put into place before widespread implementation in any school.
Open Content- Goes hand in hand with students wanting to be able to learn and study whenever they want to. Schools are increasingly making their course content available for access. Implications? No costs! High accessibility! Freedom of learning!
2 – 3 Years Ahead:
Electronic Books- Man this sounds old school but they are yet to take off big time in schools worldwide. With the recent launch of Kindle, iPod Touch, iPad, Nook etc. the age of the electronic book may finally be just around the corner. Implications? Again low costs, high accessibility, freedom of learning! Did I mention good for mother Earth?
Simple Augmented Reality- At the moment my experiences of augmented reality has been a couple of gimmicky websites. Cool though they are; the educational reasoning behind them is not quite there yet. With the onslaught of mobile technologies augmented reality may just become a major player in education. My small brain sees English Learners with a SmartPhone (okay an iPhone/iPod Touch!) panning the camera around a and up pops up the names(with activities linked) of all the items they focus on.
4 to 5 Years Ahead:
Gesture Based Computing- Getting those darn illogical input devices out of our society! Getting the technology to work with our corporal masses instead of crippling our hands and bodies typing on QWERTY keyboards! The Wii and the upcoming devices from Playstation and Xbox will pave the way for this type of technology in education. I think.
Visual Data Analysis – Making data easy to discover and comprehend. Sounds simple! I’m not 100% sure what this is going to look like. More interactive and colorful bar charts!? Seriously, ff it evolves along the way of the data charts at informationisbeautiful.net I’ll be happy. I am looking forward to seeing how this pans out.
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This is a broad outline of the areas investigated in the Horizon Report 2010. I freely admit it’s a very vague and broad outline but that was my intention. Download or read the full version here. Do it!
Regarding the next year or two it seems The Horizon Report comes back to two factors determining technology in education:
1. Easy access to information.
2. Ever present access to information.
Two factors I am so on board with! I see it every day I’m afraid. Schools need to think about the unnecessary barriers and obstacles that are thrown in the way of technology in teaching and learning.
It’s not a subject, it’s not something you throw in to a classroom, it’s not a grade on a report card and it’s not only a sub sub-heading on a budget sheet. It’s life and it’s relevant.
Connections not Conferences?
Mar 9th
I had the fortune to be able to take a couple of days away from the coal face to attend ictlt 2010 in Singapore last week. And as all conferences should do, it got me thinking…
What makes a great conference?
The people who attend it or the content it presents?
I started thinking why I went to the conference in the first place. Would I have went if I had not known that I would be meeting some valued members of my PLN when I was there? I couldn’t get my hands on a program before I got there so I was flying blind; the only name that stood out for me was David Warlick (part of my PLN 
).
At the end of the day I can’t say the conference invigorated me or left me with any real addition to my mindset regarding what education should or should not be whilst talking and chatting to my PLN during the conference gave me more insight and enlightenment on a wide range of issues. And it was done in a fun and informal manner!
Why didn’t this conference work for me?
I’ve approached this as I would if I was asked by the organisers what I found wanting at the conference.
Sales pitch slant to most breakout sessions:
Example: The title of one session was called “A Classroom Without Walls: Using Web 2.0 Tools to Become 21st Century Global Citizens“. When you looked closely this was a presentation by Brainpop. I like Brainpop but Web 2.0? So this session was a look around Brainpop and what it can do. Does it break down our classroom walls? Does it make our students 21st Century Global Citizens? No, sorry.
Too many breakout sessions:
12 sessions running at once at the same time as “Spotlight Speakers”. Just too much options and in the long run the quality gets diluted.
Similar feel behind most keynote presentations:
(e.g. we’re not in the 18th Century anymore we need to be teaching 21st Century style). I don’t have a major issue with this theme and as David Warlick showed it can be done in an entertaining and highly inspiring way. So I must admit that David’s presentation did strike a chord with me but there were so many going along the same lines it got slightly repetitive.
Quality of breakout sessions was questionable:
I’ll give one example of this. I went to a session called “Enhance Students’ Analytical Skills with Podcast (sic)”. This was 30 minutes long. The presenter felt that the guts of 10 minutes would be best spent showing us an example of a student’s video review of a movie. Fine I’ll take an example, a SNIPPET of an example will do though! The presenter did not go in to how they enhance students’ analytical skills rather show us the tools they use and the websites you can host on. No, no, no. If this was called “An Intro to Pod-casting” I would have ignored it.
The Positives (and The Connections)
I like real stories of schools who have tried to incorporate innovative and relevant teaching and learning practices.
One short session entitled “Creating Seamless Learning Spaces with 1:1″ was about how a local Singapore school introduced their 1:1 Tablet PC program. This was an excellent and practical presentation on the successes and failures experienced by the teachers and the school during this period.
Another session entitled “Blogging as a Journal of Learning” was a very open and candid account of a teacher in a Singapore Polytechnic institute who requires his students to blog as a journal during his course. He showed an example of a particular student’s blog from his first expletive riddled post towards his last entries which opened up his thinking and feelings to the world. Lessons learned from everyone involved. Awesome.
Twitter and Google Reader have opened the world of like minded (and more articulate!) educators to me. In my time at ictlt2010 I met up with and made new Twitter friends and we had numerous thoughtful discussions regarding working on the ground level at our respected schools and the realities facing us every day. This is real and this is learning and sharing from and with your peers.
The fact of the matter is that I got more inspiration, resources and links from PLN over the couple of days (and indeed Monday morning) than I did at any of the presentations.
What does the future hold for me and conferences…am I a spoiled little brat now who wants and needs relevant and tailor made information more accessibly and efficiently?
I think I’m beginning to feel like the students that we are educating in these highly trying and evolving times where technology is by my side 24/7 but when I’m in a structured, controlled environment where the information is fed to me I am left feeling somewhat unfulfilled…
Subject Units and iPod Touch App Alignment
Jan 22nd
iTouch Applications vs FY Curric Learning Outc
Just a very quick and very dirty initial look at what apps we started off with to reinforce learning in the main units of English and Maths.
Avatars
Jan 5th
I try my best to stay relevant to what the students may be experiencing in their “normal, outside” world they live in. This involves me trying to watch all the movies (I was going to put the word “stuff” in there, but it’s my New Year’s Resolution not to say that word any more) they are watching. It’s a hard life..
Anyway, I saw the recent release of “Avatar” as a way to introduce the concept and meaning of the word “avatar” to my Grade 3 and 4 classes and how and why they would be using one in their technology usage. This then lead on to why the movie was called “Avatar” and we rolled on from there.
I suppose this is just a shout-out to a very simple and engaging website called Portrait Illustration Maker
And, of course, I ended up learning some Chinese from my students. The tattoo on my avatar’s forehead is “Meat”. I always thought I was a bit of a meat-head. And I’m saying “explode”. Sounds about right!
Why QWERTY?! WHY?!
Dec 17th
Have you ever looked at your keyboard and thought “What the what the..?!”
Maybe not! But maybe you should be!
I just had a discussion about keyboards.
The QWERTY keyboard is 131 years old. The reason why it exists boggles my mind. Maybe you know this already….
It was invented to slow down typing!
C. L. Sholes didn’t want his typists to get those hammers all clogged together with nimble typing so he made the keyboard as counter productive and counter intuitive as he could.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/18193170@N00/ by This one is Bob
Imagine trying to change the way we type today….what would it take to eradicate this archaic system? It’s been tried many times by many people insisting that their way is more intuitive. They probably were but QWERTY remains.
Will it remain until voice, pens or touch screens (not a touch screen QWERTY keyboard!!) finally takes over?
Do companies like Apple not gamble enough when thinking out their text input on their revolutionary products (iPhone/iTouch)?
Maybe the carnage of tried and failed products who dared to remove QWERTY is a stark reminder to them all. The collective switching costs are to0 much of a gamble on what could be an otherwise sure fire money spinner.
Back in reality and in the field we are still teaching our kids to type more efficiently using QWERTY. I sometimes ask myself why? Well, its because it dominates the market and because our students will most likely have QWERTY in their lives at least until something radical comes along and gets us to change our input methods at the grassroots level.
The moral of the story is to question why we are still learning, using and teaching a method that was created in the first place to stop us from inputting data efficiently and effectively…
iTouch and Kindergarten: An Intro
Dec 15th
I’ve noticed in retrospect in the two schools I’ve worked in that the kindergarten students were and are not thought of as any different than the rest of the primary school regarding technology usage in their classroom. In both schools standard desktops are used as a tool for learning and I saw problems with this; mainly the constant supervision they need with the multitude of buttons and bells and whistles. It’s scary for them!
More thought needs to be put in to how and what technology a school has at their disposal that suits that particular age group. I feel that we don’t kick it up a notch until Grade 2 and above when really our Kindergartners are at a perfect age to be aware and gain experience of relevant technology.
This is where I felt the iTouch could come in to play. Just the initial thoughts of it and relating it to our little guys in Kindergarten got me excited.
The iTouch is:
1. Interactively easy.
With a swipe of a little finger the iTouch is on and raring to go. In my initial observations the students need very little instruction at the start then it is intuitive for them to continue in the same fashion.
2. Relevant.
The students know instantly what the iTouch is albeit they may call it an iPhone. (I have lost count of how many students have said: “Oh my mom/dad has one!”)
3. Resource heavy.
The number of age relevant and specific apps for Kindergarten is mind boggling. I’m pretty sure every subject is covered. I have aligned each unit of our English and Maths curriculum to an app.
4. Tactile
I suppose I could lump this in with interactively easybut I think it deserves a number of its own. Kindergartners need to use their fingers, they need to manipulate, control and get those digits and hands moving ergo it also suits kinesthetic learners not to mention auditory and visual learners as well!
This list will be added to as we go on and my brain does some more learning.
So as you may have gathered I brought forward a proposal to purchase iTouches for our Kindergarten grades. With the help of a willing Kindergarten teacher we trialed and tested a number of apps and brought it to our principal. Yadda yadda yadda we are awaiting our first batch anon!
I am so very excited for our kindergarten students and teachers. They deserve to have relevant technology to assist their learning. I was amazed when I first observed our students using them. The learning curve was so shallow that minimal observation is required and the concentration and visible engagement that were on the students’ faces was enthralling.
This is the beginning of our journey but I am proud of our initial steps and you know what, it’s time to be proud of myself and the forward thinking Kindergarten teachers too!
I’m also proud of technology!
This exciting chapter is to be continued…
Its the Christmas feeling…
Dec 14th
Sooo, it’s a four day week and the students are mentally away on holiday already stuffing their faces with festive candy.
So I thought I wouldn’t add any new big projects before the holidays because I am that nice.
So whats the plan for all my lovelies.
Well, I first of all get them all elfified in Elf Yourself! This is always a big hit year in and year out. They have added some nice touches this year with the moving mouths and a rather humourous snowball fight sendable.
After uproarious laughter for 15 minutes, I let them loose on my Christmas related Diigo list. http://www.diigo.com/list/colingally/xmas
Included there is ElfYourself so that’s where most of the students go first. I have put all the students’photos in a shared network folder. I never tire of seeing how weird they can get their classmates’ faces.
Second in popularity is Snowline. Basically you have to draw a line for Santa’s sled to follow and collect all the present on the way. It’s tricky and gets their brains working a little! It quickly becomes a race to the end between everyone. I think I’m stuck on the 5th level!
One website that hasn’t been given much love is The Christmas Fix. It’s an escape the room type game where you have to fix a clock so that Santa will come down the chimney. It really is a thinker’s game and get the logical thinking juices flowing. One of my grade 4 classes got really in to it and I’m going to challenge my Grade 5 class to finish it in class. Winner gets a sock full of oranges. Not really.
iTalc
Dec 14th
What is it?
It’s an open source piece of lab management software.
Why?
I wanted it the minute I heard of it. Sometimes getting the attention of 18 Grade 5 students who are in the middle of an activity is a momentous task. iTalc allows you to lock all the screens for some further instruction or discussion time. It also should allow you to logon/logout all of the users at once, turn on and off all computers.
What’s it really like?
Meh, it’s good to have it but I have not used it as much as I thought I would. You still have to teach! You still rely on your own classroom management skills primarily. The students learn to know that if they do not pay attention they will get the PADLOCK OF DEATH! Turning on all computers has not worked for me even though the Turnon on LAN is ON in the BIOS. Logging out and turning off has worked. Sometimes one or two computers will not lock the screen; I really don’t know why.
Verdict:
If you work in a lab; get it. Nothing to lose. It can reinforce traditional rules and can help regular rule breakers to get the point when they are locked out a few times (actually one of my constant rule breakers needed only one locked out session, I could have just told him to sit back but having the padlock on the screen is a nice mental image to keep!).
