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Gaston Bachelard, the philosopher of the imagination, suggests that asynchronous spaces are good for what he calls the material imagination, which can roughly be thought of as when we reflect and ponder the subject “matter”.

Synchronous spaces are good for what he calls the formal imagination, where we work to give form to what we understand so it can be engaged by the others with whom we are synchronizing.

Seems like an appropriate summary of what a student experiences during online learning, which can occur synchronously or asynchronously. When a student reads a lesson, watches a video, or responds to a discussion thread, these activities all fall under the categories of “pondering” and “reflection”. When a student is participating in a video conference or live chat, the experience is much more engaged, and the student must communicate the results of their pondering and reflection to others.

As an answer to “the pundits” bemoaning about how kids today are terrible writers, Clive Thompson wrote an article last fall that appeared in Wired Magazine, arguing that the advent of technology is actually enabling a literacy revolution. He argues against placing judgment on the quality of their writing, rather that we should recognize that kids are starting to think about writing in a whole new way. Two factors are at work, enabling students to communicate more effectively: 1) knowing your audience, and 2) knowing the reason for writing. Apparently, kids have been demonstrating that they can use texting appropriately, and overall they are writing more than any generation before them.

Very inspiring! Students are adaptable. The web offers a new means of expression, they can reach a larger audience than ever before, and they have responded by becoming more prolific.

This could apply not only to literacy, but other competencies. Technology offers the medium by which students can connect with a more like-minded students than ever before. Together the strength of their interest and curiosity could be more powerful than independently. How can we help students make those connections? Seems logical to use their mobile devices. Is the iPad the answer? Smartphones? SMS on “dumb” phones? Mobile devices can bring distance learning and online learning one step further–into students’ hands. Literally. What are educators waiting for?!

MovingLearningGamesForward, by Eric Klopfer, Scot Osterweil, and Katie Salen With contributions by Jason Haas, Jennifer Groff and Dan Roy, is one of the most useful reports about games in education that I’ve read in a long time.  This is an Education Arcade paper, from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

The report intelligently answers questions regarding the use of video games in education, and provides numerous resources for continued investigation. “Educational games” are placed in rich context, including historical background and recommendations for implementation in the “classroom”. Very much a must-read for anyone even vaguely interested in this timely debate.

National Educational Technology Plan The U.S. Department of Education is developing a new National Educational Technology Plan to provide a vision for how information and communication technologies can help transform American education. The plan will provide a set of concrete goals that can inform state and local educational technology plans as well as inspire research, development, and innovation. A draft plan is expected in early 2010. This web site is hosted for the U.S. Department of Education by SRI International.

The emerging framework for the plan focuses on four areas in which technology has the potential to transform education:

Learning: Providing unprecedented access to high-quality learning experiences.

Assessment: Measuring what really matters and providing the information that enables continuous improvement at all levels of the education system.

Teaching: New ways to support those who support learning.

Productivity: Redesigning systems and processes to free up education system resources to support learning.

The US Department of Education is currently soliciting input on the development of a National Educational Technology Plan.  The initial content was recently developed at a leadership symposium at the National Educational Computing Conference (NECC) held recently in Washington, DC.  It is important that the contributions of all stakeholders be reflected in the plan.  Discussion closes on July 12th – so act quickly.
To provide your feedback, register at https://edtechfuture.org.  Create an account, confirm the account from email, and then login to comment in five areas.  Access those areas and read the comments of others by clicking on the link under Participate -> NECC Brainstorming.

A few of the ideas/experiences that stand out as my attendance at NECC 2009 draws to an end:

- high energy level and enthusiasm at this conference–quite inspiring!
- at the same time, tech use in U.S. schools is woefully “behind the times”, and I am not convinced that meaningful change will take place before U.S. schools become irrelevant to the majority of students
- there was a relatively low number of educational gaming products demonstrated at NECC, probably commensurate with the low level of acceptance games have as classroom tools
- Interactive Whiteboards continue to dominate the hardware-scape. They are a useful tool, but I’d rather see the money spent on netbooks and a commitment to 1-1 computing
- teachers need to spend more time “walking the walk”. Sadly, I came across much more tech-illiteracy than anticipated.
- the sessions were incredibly useful, especially during the Q&A time. One of the major benefits to a gathering such as NECC is the chance to connect face-to-face. As much as I utilize social and professional networking online tools, often it is more efficient to conduct business in person.
- I became so involved in sessions, networking, gaming, and walking the show floor, that there was little time left for blogging and keeping up with my usual cast of online connections. Now it’s back to “the daily grind”!

This is my first time attending NECC, so I don’t have a frame of reference to compared to past years, but am very impressed so far with a few particulars:

- crowd control, signage and directions
- energy level and high-impact engagement
- quality of speakers/presenters

During the Member Welcome and Orientation Session yesterday, the audience was entertained, engaged, and received clear and useful information about the conference. NPR’s Mario Armstrong’s costume changes, including Darth Vader and Indiana Jones, kept the tone lively.

Malcolm Gladwell’s keynote address certainly kept the audience’s attention, his case studies were compelling, and the crowd seemed inspired by his fresh ideas and perspective.

Just picked up my badge and goodie bag at NECC. This is my first time in attendance at NECC, and I’m very much looking forward to checking out what this conference is all about. I’m interested in:

- networking (my company has a depth of experience writing, editing, and providing a whole host of other services that help get educational materials created) We’re looking for partnership opportunities to develop curriculum for the future.
- new technologies, and creative uses for existing ones
- connecting with forward-thinking educators, administrators, and others
- hope that the educational system in the U.S. can be fixed
- the future of education in our flattened/global world

Let’s get this show started!

A recent post highlighted students using Twitter in a high school classroom, and here’s an example of University students utilizing it. The main point seems to be that in a class of 90 students, more students are able to participate via Twitter than if they were all trying to raise their hand and speak in class.

Some students cite a hesitation to speak out in front of others as the reason why they don’t participate in the traditional classroom, but actively participate using Twitter. That’s definitely good for some, but we do have to learn how to speak in front of audiences at some point in our lives! It’s a valuable skill to master.