"edu 2.0" entries

Disintermediation: The disruption to come for Education 2.0

On the largest of scales, we rarely have the luxury of designing technological systems. Instead, technologies happen to us – our experience of them being ragged, volatile, turbulent and rife with unexpected interactions. Tim’s posts about the emerging internet operating system (here and here) describe a great example of this – the winner of that particular fight being very much…

Using technology to support global education

In the summer of 2006, I was very fortunate to travel to Europe with colleagues in the Apple Distinguished Educator program and it proved to be an inspiring, life-changing event for me. Tasked with writing a global awareness curriculum infused with digital content, we spent 10 days in Berlin and Prague, constantly photographing, filming, and discussing our experiences. As a…

What would technology do best for learning?

An evolving set of best practices would help educational technology projects

An evolving set of best practices could offer a big lift for educational technology projects. Established best practices could define standards of quality and help others avoid pitfalls. Toward that end, here's a collection of thoughts intended to help those developing their own projects.

This. . . is. . . Sparta! The Culture of Education 2.0

As I write these words, the culture of Education 2.0 is coming into being. This culture will bind and guide students, teachers, technology providers, consumers, parents, and children, well into the century ahead. Cultures are built using models – paradigms and ideals against which we compare our new community. Just as the American culture in the 17th and 18th century…

iPad 3G and the vacancy of the connected textbook

The iPad 3G takes a small step toward fulfilling the promise of connected textbooks, but there's a lot more work to do.

Envisioning educational technology in schools

I'm an advocate for encouraging school districts to plan for effective instructional use of technology. This may seem rather obvious to many, but in the course of my work as an educator, I've seen very few institutions do this well. Specifically, I'd like to see communities hold thoughtful conversations around how schools and families can support students' development towards becoming…

Education 2.0: The importance of ownership

I've been teaching adults for almost twenty years. First as a lecturer, then as a professor and for the last ten years as a coach and facilitator for large organizations all over the world. I love technology and the possibility that it represents but I believe that technology can only ever enable educational success. It rarely drives. As technology becomes…

Setting White House priorities for electronic privacy: HIT, smart grid and education

White House Deputy CTO Andrew McLaughlin offers some perspective on the online privacy priorities of the Obama administration at Privacy Camp D.C. Much of the online discussion about electronic privacy over the past week has been dominated by Facebook, particularly a new "instant personalization" feature. Is the age of privacy over?

The 21st-century textbook

Future textbooks could improve update cycles and create feedback loops

With new technologies constantly coming on-line, and with states like California, Texas, and Oregon allowing digital curriculum to replace printed curriculum, the question arises: what will textbooks look like in the coming years? Here's a few clues.

Looking beyond the digital divide

At a previous point in my career, I benefited from professional development, autonomy in my classroom, and a superb technology infrastructure to become a connected, inspired and effective educator. Now, with the current climate in the field of education in the U.S., I fear that other teachers will lose, or never even experience, similar opportunities. As an education technology advocate interacting with teachers in a variety of settings, I see that our students are receiving vastly different types of education. This divide trickles specifically down to the educational technology experiences our students are receiving in schools, too.