BlogWalker

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September 26, 2008
by blogwalker
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Comic Strip Character for the Digital Age: Boolean Squared

Meet Boolean Squared, who has a lot in common with students in our classrooms in that he “loves computers with a passion, but he rarely uses them in the way that his teacher — Mr. Teach — would like.” And he fully believes that “there is no operating system or Web site that should not be tinkered with.”

Created by my NWP colleague the multi-talented Kevin Hodgson, this web-based comic strip will run every Monday via Masslive.com’s Newspaper in Education and will soon have an RSS feed available. I’ve mentioned Kevin many times in past Blogwalker posts, always about his innovative approaches to 21st century teaching and learning. How fun for Kevin’s 6th grade students, their parents, and the community at large to have this window into the world of digital natives and (or maybe vs.) digital immigrants.

Boolean Squared could make for great Monday morning class discussions too.

August 14, 2007
by blogwalker
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It’s Elementary – Podcasting to Bridge the Divide

I logged on to last night’s It’s Elementary just in time to hear guest Wes Fryer talk about some of the research base behind podcasting (for those needing a justification):, i.e., children learn from retelling. From there, it was a continual stream of great discussion and great links. But the last gem came, I think, from Alice, who shared that she converts her class podcasts in Audacity to WAV files and then has her school secretary use their Robo Dial system to send them out to parents via their phones. Amazing! It’s this kind of innovative thinking and dedication to reaching out to all students that will help bridge the digital divide.

ISTE recently posted their findings from the 2007 Summit on Digital Equity: A National Consideration of Digital Equity. We have a ways to go, particularly getting over the four main challenges:

  1. Technology is not valued as an instructional tool
  2. Educators are receiving inadequate technology professional development
  3. A significant number of students with limited access to technology outside of the school remains
  4. Obtaining funding for technology continues to be difficult

Kudos to Alice for seeking solutions to #3. No Internet access needed to listen to a podcast sent home via the phone 🙂

The report also states that “Learning is not about intellectual capability at all, it is about intellectual processeing. Different kids from different cultural groups learn in different ways, just as we as individuals learn in different ways.”……. Still thinking about the Sac Bee’s Tackling Life – part 2 came in today.

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