Comments for AssortedStuff

Comment on Happy New Year by Traci

Traci — Wed, 08 Sep 2010 06:27:42 +0000

My favorite time of the year in Virginia. My wife and I just had a baby and it will be a few years before we can celebrate “New Years”, but with our daughter, I look forward to sharing the change in the seasons with her.

Comment on Happy New Year by Jim Randolph

Jim Randolph — Tue, 07 Sep 2010 16:56:27 +0000

Cheers!

Comment on Happy New Year by The Science Goddess

The Science Goddess — Tue, 07 Sep 2010 02:24:31 +0000

Have a wonderful year, Tim!

Like you, I’ve been caught up in things other than writing and commenting. Unlike you, however, I have a week of vacation this week (my first in two years). I’m hoping for a chance to recharge a bit and then dive back into blogging.

I’m glad you want to continue writing. I hope this school year gives you many (good) reasons to do so.

Comment on Winning the Race by Lona

Lona — Wed, 25 Aug 2010 11:09:46 +0000

I’d like to believe there are more lofty motives than what we’re reading, but sadly, bureaucracy seems to prevail. Innovation seems lost.

Comment on Who Owns That Book? by Michelle

Michelle — Sat, 21 Aug 2010 01:59:50 +0000

My feelings exactly!! I have read books on my kindle (and now iPad)…and in one case I went out and bought the physical book after I read it…and read it again. :) then loaned it to a friend. I feel like I am missing out on something by not having that ACTUAL book in my hand…intestesting. did you see this article? http://www.informationweek.com/news/storage/portable/showArticle.jhtml?articleID=225702438

Comment on Replacing Paper by Tim

Tim — Thu, 19 Aug 2010 23:09:09 +0000

Thanks for the comment, Tony. The point I was trying to make is that the Kindle store has the advantage because of selection and the ability to sync with multiple applications and devices. Certainly the iPad wins over the Kindle device in many ways, not the least of which is the ability to pull materials from many places, including Amazon. However, I still think the iBook app has a slight advantage over the Kindle app on the iPad in terms of quality of the experience.

Comment on Everyone Agrees… It Must Be Right by Ms. Cornelius

Ms. Cornelius — Thu, 19 Aug 2010 00:42:22 +0000

Well none of these fellows who portray themselves as experts in education seem to have any practical experience riding herd on a classroom filled with adolescents, and many politicians seem to have little practical experience about much of anything. Typical.

Comment on Replacing Paper by Tony

Tony — Wed, 18 Aug 2010 23:30:04 +0000

You say “If you’re buying books, on the other hand, Kindle has the advantage since their store features a much bigger selection, slightly lower prices, and the ability to sync your digital files on multiple instances of the app (computer, phone, iPad, Kindle).”

That’s not really true, though. The Kindle App is available for the iPad, iPhone, etc. So, you can buy from the exact same big selection using your iPad or iPhone as you can with a Kindle. But, unlike the Kindle, you can also buy books for your iPad/iPhone using the Barnes and Noble Nook app, the iBooks store in iTunes, etc. Far more options (and thus, more books) available for the iPad/iPhone as it’s not tied to a single store.

Comment on An Obsession With Testing by John M. Weidner, Sr.

John M. Weidner, Sr. — Mon, 16 Aug 2010 12:46:18 +0000

Nice article. The problem with education, as with most of this country’s troubles, are politicians. The politicians are basically concerned with getting re-elected. They are in love with the life style of Congress and will do just about anything to stay there.

Assessments, when done properly, are a very good thing. To use the standardized tests as the sole means of accountability is wrong. Formative assessments are a great tool to ‘check the oil’ and make adjustments according to the data.

Summative tests are, in my opinion, too dead end. End of the chapter tests prove my point. We either pass or fail and, if we fail, there is usually no means to re-learn or re-try. If we do get the chance, it is with a penalty, i.e. a reduction of points for the re-take. Then it is on to the next chapter.

What would have happened if this scenario played out when we were trying to learn how to ride a bike or drive a car? Did our parents inform us that if we did not ‘pass’ on this particular day, we would not be allowed to keep trying until we got it. I don’t think so.

Take a look at how Nebraska operated their assessment system about ten years when Doug Christensen was the Commissioner of Education. We did use standardized tests, but they were not the sole means of determining the achievement level of our students and the success of the school. It was hard work, but in served the students. A few years ago, this assessment system was dismantled. Why? Politicians had the answers. Too bad.

Comment on What Do You Do All Day? by Carolyn Foote

Carolyn Foote — Sat, 31 Jul 2010 15:13:29 +0000

I like the word “foster.” As in, asking you as an on the ground educator–what can I do to help you accomplish this? Or do you need any help? Or what obstacles are making this job harder?

It’d give administrators a lot of information about how their school “really” works and it’d make the classroom instructor feel so much more supported and enabled.

Comment on What Do You Do All Day? by Sean Nash

Sean Nash — Sat, 31 Jul 2010 06:44:52 +0000

Agreed. I was the one that asserted “If you do not consider yourself a visionary… then sit close by with someone who is.”

Comment on We Need More Tech Skeptics by Boweig

Boweig — Mon, 19 Jul 2010 17:26:29 +0000

Nativism is usually highly suprerficial and naive – the natives understand and can navigate the surface but not comprehend in any depth the inner workings, plumbing , history , and architecture of what they are using.

When it breaks, how do they fix it? How do they make more without current easy bake tools?

It is like a nature lover who sees the pretty bird, but knows nothing of biology or ecology

Comment on We Need More Tech Skeptics by David H. Wilkins

David H. Wilkins — Mon, 19 Jul 2010 13:31:03 +0000

I can only speak about my two kids’ habits. They are tremendously inquisitive, and if they *want* to do something, they’ll figure it out. They’re not interested in the *right* way to do it, just getting it done.

Case in point: Everyone in my family, when asked to center a block of text in the word processor, will instantly go to the spacebar. Until they’ve taken Business Tech in school and learned about centering.

Comment on We Need More Tech Skeptics by Scott McLeod

Scott McLeod — Mon, 19 Jul 2010 08:59:33 +0000

This sort of blends the ideas of information literacy, network literacy (see Jeff Utecht’s recent post), and digital citizenship. Yet another indictment of our schools’ current inability to prepare students for the world in which they live. Also worth noting that most adults don’t get most of this either…

Comment on We Need More Tech Skeptics by Delia

Delia — Mon, 19 Jul 2010 03:18:23 +0000

Absolutely. It frustrates me when people use that “digital native/digital immigrant” metaphor. I’m not an “immigrant” to technological literacy even if I’m a boomer–I’ve been using computers since high school and social media since it existed–and my students may be “natives” but not in a good sense. They are often extraordinarily naive and uninformed about the tools they use. They are confident to a fault sometimes because they rarely think critically about the tools they use. My husband is a computer consultant, and he dreads calls to homes where kids have free rein on the Internet because the household computers are so often infested with viruses and Trojans to the point that they have to be wiped and reformatted. I really like the idea of “tech skepticism.”