Digital Books: Will they make it into k-12 classrooms?

Digital Books are becoming increasingly popular. With new technology out such as the Amazon Kindle and the Barnes and Noble iPhone app the major book sellers have jumped on board with digital books.  Sony is also a newcomer to the world of digital book readers with the Sony Touch and Sony Pocket.  Right now e-books are at the point where online music was in 1999.  Authors and book sellers are weighing the pros and cons, copyright is questioned, and the limits of e-books are not yet clearly established.  For now it seems that online music has paved the way for online books.  The precedent has been set.

With all of the new e-book readers out there will schools consider e-textbooks?  Imagine students with one digital reader instead of a book bag full of textbooks.  E-textbooks could be a good thing for K-12 education because new versions of the text would be easier to obtain and less expensive for schools to get their hands on.  Students could have access to the latest versions of the text and links could embedded into the text that would provide students with additional information.  On the other hand a book can take much more abuse than a digital reader.  I can think of a few students right now I would be more than a little cautious handing a digital reader to.  The initial cost of launching an e-book classroom would be a lot more than most schools are willing to spend.  With netbooks out right now and the versatility of the i-pod touch I think the price of e-books would have to come way down before schools give them a a second glance.  Textbook publishers may eventually get on board but I wonder if schools will have to show a interest first.

Are there any K-12 schools out there that are using completely online textbooks or e-textbooks?  What do you think of e-textbooks?  Should schools and publishers jump on board with this?  Or is this an unnecessary expense?

Technology’s role in education during a downward economy

Schools have been affected by the downward spiral of the economy. Salaries have been frozen in some districts along with hiring, and purchases. American schools cannot afford to dump the technology budget during these hard times. School districts need to get smarter about their technology spending. In this podcast I discuss the role of open source applications, edubuntu, and dropbox. There are SO many tools out there ready to be used by school technology departments, but it may require them to step out of the box and rethink some things. Virtual classrooms may become part of K-12 future. Missouri is already experimenting with online classrooms with MOVIP Below are a couple videos that offer an interesting perspective on the role of technology in schools.

Cell Phones in Class Part II

This is a follow up to an idea in a previous post about students using cell phones in class as a learning tool.  While the idea may be a bit outside of the box it turns out that the idea is in no way original.  In listening to a podcast called twenty minutes for tech. I heard about a teacher in Pennsylvania who uses cell phone technology as a part of his regular class.  The Pennsylvania House of Representatives has passed a bill that will ban the use of mobile technology in classrooms.  This would include everything from cell phones to laptops.  We’ll have to wait and see if this bill passes the state senate.  In speaking about the use of technology the teacher from PA discusses some fantastic open source tools that can equip cell phones for use in the classroom.  Here are some of those tools.

G-cast- Say you’re  doing a study of the biodiversity around the school  and you want students to record any observations they make.  Dial a toll free number, know a class password, follow the voice commands and you’re in.  Students can instantly create their own podcast through their cell phone and have a live feed posted on a blog or website.

textmarks- Students can text a class keyword to 41411 and receive class updates, such as homework assignment reminders or even a whole assignment.

poll everywhere- Let’s say you are in class and want students to answer a multiple choice question.  Previously the only way to have instant visible results would be to use clicker software.  Clickers are all well and good but why not save money and use cell phones as the clickers.  Most students already have them in their pockets anyway.  WHY NOT USE THE TECHNOLOGY THEY ALREADY KNOW HOW TO USE!

Are there classrooms that have used cell phones in class?  You betcha.

Anyone out there currently using cell phones in their class? Leave a reply let me know how.

upon request RAFT outline

A couple students have asked that I load the outline for the project due Wednesday onto the website. Here it israft-final For extra information that your textbook does not give you look at link#9 in light and sound. In this project students must design an advertisement for a wave in the electromagnetic spectrum.

1st international visitor, video chat, and OLPC

5 months ago in August I started this blog. Now my blog has reached someone overseas! This is nothing short of amazing and it just goes to show how small the world is getting with the tools of communication that are on the internet. Imagine bringing someone from another country into our classrooms via google video chat all they need is a gmail email address. There is one teacher in Liberty MO who has already brought in a guest speaker via gmail video chat. Check it out.

Also I have been fascinated with the one laptop per child project. Tech gurus out of M.I.T. have designed a $100 laptop that runs on linux This small but mighty computer is being sent overseas to places where quality education has been impossible. What if schools in the U.S. started using these laptops and communicating with these children overseas! Not only would school districts save thousands of dollars and make “one-to -one computing” more of a possibility but it would open up SO many doors and allow our students the opportunity to see what lies beyond the classroom.
Here is a youtube video that will give you a better idea of one laptop per child

Cell phones as a learning tool in schools…

The blog site that got me thinking about this was this one. What if cell phones were used in school as a tool rather than a distraction?  Here is my argument… When I was school teachers did not have to worry about cell phone texting. Instead we used notes, and yet even though our teachers knew that we were passing notes our teachers did not take paper away. Instead they taught us how to write more appropriately and as my classmates and I grew up notes became less and less of an issue.
Are cell phones the notes of today’s generation? Do we dare teach them how to use their phones to communicate appropriately? Think of all the things phones could be used for in class! photos, blog posting and responding, calling people in the community for information on resources or projects, use of the internet. Whole courses could be, and have been, run via the cell phone. Are we missing out on utilizing technology in class that all most every student has already with them 24/7? Instead of sitting on our hands and turning our brains off with the cell phone issue by saying “no”, we need to flip the switch and turn our brains on by asking “how”?

We will miss you…

On Thursday a great tragedy struck our school and affected my students and I.  Words cannot express the sadness and loss we feel.  Here is what happened

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The turkey effect

With holidays around turkey is being eaten.  I don’t know if it is the food or the football or a combination of both but I always feel sleepy after big holiday meals.  Do a little research and write down the chemical in turkey that is blamed for making turkey eaters a little drowsy.  Turn it in for some extra credit added onto your next quiz.

Halloween Fun with SCIENCE!

Steve Spangler has given me some great ideas for the matter and energy unit time and time again.  With Halloween coming up he has some fantastic activities for Halloween fun.  What’s better is that it’s all science!  Check it out.

Ready for its debut.

I have updated the blog and it is now in its beginning stages.  This blog is geared towards those who are impacted by my science classroom at Grain Valley Middle School.  Enjoy! and let me know what you think by leaving a comment.  Thanks for visiting.