NMC Horizon Connect Webinar

Message from Samantha Adams, Director of Communications (3/14/2012)

“We’re launching a new series of free webinars, the Horizon Connect series, featuring thought leaders, game changers, and innovators who are making a difference right now in the world of educational technology. Who better to kick off that new series than educator/author extraordinaire Howard Rheingold? Join us for this live event on Thursday, March 22 at 10:30 am CST / 8:30 am PST.

> RSVP on Facebook for “NMC Horizon Connect Session > Howard Rheingold is Net Smart”

In Howard’s newest book, Net Smart: How to Thrive Online, he discusses the use of digital and social media as a source of empowerment. There is a difference between using it actively and passively, and Howard shows us how to bridge that gap.

“Mindful use of digital media means thinking about what we are doing, cultivating an ongoing inner inquiry into how we want to spend our time,” Howard shares. “I outline five fundamental digital literacies, online skills that will help us do this.”

In this Horizon Connect webinar, he will be helping you think more strategically about digital media and answering your questions live.

Learn more about the event and watch a trailer for Net Smart

And, as always, feel free to forward this invitation to your colleagues and peers. The more the merrier! …”

Tweet and retweet this announcement! Thanks

Interactive Surfaces

We are hearing more and more about flexible epaper, flexible screens -especially for mobile devices, and other flexible AMOLED-based technology…

My personal favorite is the Nokia Morph concept

…but here is something very interesting as well: Another really cool innovative proposal from glass manufacturer Corning, “A Day Made of Glass 2”

I believe that’s why we should add all science fiction resources as required readings or viewing. Now that we’ve caught up with the Minority Report, when do you think we’ll see something similar to the Matrix-download? Prophets of Science Fiction, all of them.

Add another prophets of science fiction in comment. Cheers!

Sony PS3 Video Store -Realtime Projection Mapping

Posted a month ago. I can’t believe I did not see this sooner. Imagine this technique for school projects. I mean, come on! Shot in one take, all in real-time, no post-production.

Find the R&D story behind it here:

Enjoy. Tweet. Spread the word!

Summer Projects: app challenge, AR art, etc.

Summer App Challenge:
-Chicago’s Museum of Science and Industry is looking for teen designers who can blend digital savvy with physical activity.
-closes June 24
-details: In connection with the Museum’s YOU! The Experience exhibit, an app challenge is underway to inspire young people to design an app that will motivate teens to get up and move, using a mobile phone. The contest is open to teens entering grade eight through 12 in the 2011-2012 school year…Technology and/or sports experience are not required. Entrants are asked to submit a an overview of the concept and storyboards explaining how it would work by the deadline of June 24. View all the details at msichicago.org/appchallenge.

Get inspired by:

The Van Gogh in Brabant Foundation: http://www.vangoghbrabant.com/en
-The mobile app serves as a travel guide to five villages and towns in the Dutch province of North Brabant where van Gogh lived and worked as a young man.

The Department of History at Cleveland State University: http://clevelandhistorical.org/
-The Clevenland Historical app (for iPhone and Android phones) curates the city as a living museum.

The Smithsonian/Columbia University/University of Maryland collaboration: http://leafsnap.com/
-Summer 2011 launch of Leafsnap (iPhone, iPad and Android), an app that identifies a plant based on a leaf’s silhouette.

(Un)Seen Sculptures: http://www.unseensculptures.com/
-a mobile 3-D augmented reality art show staged in various locations, made digital works by Australian and international artists visible to anyone (iPhone, Android or Nokia). Download the Layar Reality Browser app.  When touches, these art forms reveal further information and unlock other forms of interaction.
-Limited to Sydney and Melbourne
–Do It Yourself: Great family summer project, Awesome fall project for your students, etc.

Source: http://spotlight.macfound.org/blog/entry/mobile-apps-augmented-reality-historical-walking-tours-and-eco-adventures/

Minecraft in school

ok, this is really REALLY exciting. Liam O’Donnell is using Minecraft for the past 3 weeks with a small group of students for literacy support. Kids are loving it, and they are improving!

Read more here: http://liamodonnell.com/feedingchange/2011/05/messy-learning-with-minecraft/

More educators are joining the Minecraft-educraze (in a very very good way):

Check out the work reported by Lucas Gillispie: “We are officially launching a Beta(?) run of the project starting April 8th, 2011.  We’re going to be working 10 elementary (5th grade) students at two different sites who’ll be playing and learning cooperatively on the same internally hosted server.”

Follow Lucas on http://minecraftinschool.pbworks.com/w/page/37244189/FrontPage
and mine (ahah) the resources that Lucas shares freely, such as examples of lesson plans (http://minecraftinschool.pbworks.com/w/page/37287195/Language-Arts-Lessons-and-Ideas)

You also have to catch up with Joel Levine’s work with 2nd graders at a private school in NYC: http://minecraftteacher.net/ Results go beyond his expectations.

Also, look Morrowcraft, a 8th grader-project from the Elizabeth Morrow School in Englewood, NJ: http://morrowcraft.wikispaces.com/

Last but certainly not least here, jokaydia Minecraft. Yes! the Jokay that we follow from SL to Hypergrid. As usual, expect great quality and exciting ideas from her reports.

Did I say that this was really really exciting news? This is really really cool. (And by the way, Notch is going to E3 on June 7 and won’t be updating Minecraft until after. So go ahead and pre-order it before the final product = a higher $ tag.)…no, i don’t get a piece of the pie. Just really excited about this. Yep, i’m playing and i’ve got the Minebug too. and quoting Knowclue on rezed.org: “I have to admit, I’m having a blast and had to eat crow about being scared of 8bit zombies! “

Understanding the New Culture of Learning

repost from The Chronicle Review, May 15, 2011

Manifesto for a New Culture of Learning

By Goldie Blumenstyk

It would not have been hard for Douglas Thomas and John Seely Brown to find an academic press or some other traditional publisher for A New Culture of Learning: Cultivating the Imagination for a World of Constant Change. After all, Brown, the legendary former director of Xerox’s Palo Alto Research Center and a well-known futurist, and Thomas, an associate professor at the University of Southern California’s Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism and an expert on the culture of computer gaming, certainly have the academic credentials and publication record to attract any number of publishing houses.

full article: http://chronicle.com/article/Understanding-the-New-Culture/127459/

Q&A with the authors: http://stevedenning.typepad.com/steve_denning/2011/03/qa-with-the-authors-of-a-new-culture-of-learning.html

Look inside the book here

Out of School Games and Learning Lab

Constance Steinkuehler: “A few weeks ago, were were lucky enough to get a video team out here to film some of our work with teenage guys, videogames, and learning. This is part of the DML series. Take a look at that line-up of folks: pretty cool! Here’s what they came up with to represent us: