Tape cassettes. Can you remember the last time you saw or used a cassette? Well, a 13 year-old from UK was challenged by his father to give up his iPod for a Sony Cassette Walkman circa 1979 and share his thoughts and feelings on the progression of technology. The youth’s reflection and observations of the […]
Author: Michel
OLPC on USB
One Laptop Per Child or OLPC initiative aims to provide low-cost laptops to the educational market. These computers feature a special, education-focused operating system designed to work with a School Server that can provide content distribution, homework collection, backup services, Moodle integration, and filtered access to the Internet. The main advantage of this operating system […]
ETEC 533 Final Reflection and Analysis
Below you will find my final reflection post for ETEC 533. To see the article full screen please click here. Introduction When I started this ETEC 533 class I had a strong feeling that the activities and readings would help me to discover new interactions between learning and technology and further develop my understanding of […]
BC Principal Blocks Cell Phone Reception
A principal in BC became fed up with cell phones in his high school and decided to take matters into his own hands by buying a cell phone jamming device for $115 (with school funds) and installing in the school. According to The Province his actions were rooted in reducing classroom management issues surrounding cell […]
Virtual Reality and Haptics: Lessons for the Classroom
In my ETEC 533 class we are discussing how embodied learning can be achieved by portable, hand-held and virtual reality (VR) technologies. As part of this module we were asked to research one or more of these topics and reflect on our findings. I chose to discuss and reflect upon the areas of virtual reality […]
Dell School-Oritented Touchscreen Notebooks
It appears Dell will be releasing some school-oriented possibly touchscreen notebooks. With names like School Bus Orange, Blue Ribbon, Red Apple and Chalkboard Black and a small desk-friendly footprint (roughly 10″x8″) and size (under 3 lbs) I think it is pretty obvious these will be marketed towards the education sector. Hopefully this means they will […]
The Future of Online Learning Communities
According to Bielaczyc and Collins (1999): “The defining quality of a learning community is that there is a culture of learning in which everyone is involved in a collective effort of understanding. There are four characteristics that such a culture must have: (1) diversity of expertise among its members who are valued for their contributions […]
“Information Visualization”
I am grateful to be teaching in the technology-infused, connected world we live in today. As an educator the internet offers a vast array of resources that can be easily implemented in your average secondary classroom to meet information, communication and technology (ICT) outcomes and course outcomes or simply making a difficult concept easier for […]
ETEC 533 Module B Reflection
Wow, this has been a pretty busy module in ETEC 533. In this unit we have focused on looking at Technology Enhanced Learning Environments or TELEs and how technology can be used to support learning in a variety of ways. The following are some of the examples we have looked at in our investigations and […]
Teaching Earth Sciences and Planetary Motion
Many science teachers struggle to with lessons surrounding Earth Sciences. Explaining the planetary motions that give rise to day, night, seasons, differences in insolation and tides are not simple, concrete topics that students can easily grasp. I have struggled with teaching lessons surrounding these and similar ideas in my own Science 10 classes. I believe […]