Accessibility using tech tools

Today's Campus Technology post brings up an issue near to my heart..access for all people to educational technology so no one is constrained from equal access due to a disability. This is a discussion I had with our director of disability services last year when I was considering adding clicker tech to my classes. She pointed out that IT departments must consider all possible students when adding new class tools. "How can a blind person or someone with limited use of their hands use an iPod or clicker in class? Close your eyes, put your hands behind your back and then see how you can use your new tool." Points we all need to consider to make learning equal for all.

Interesting option for mobile Blackboard use

Campus Technology article about the new software Blackboard is unveiling. Very exciting because one part of Blackboard, IMHO, is the portability of the Blackboard classroom. I've installed the Blackboard app on  my iPod and haven't really been impressed with the functionality of the software. Bb needs to move to a more mobile/agile interface for multiple devices to be well-received by the today's students.

Thanks Jon

Good friend just sent me a new link
http://bigthink.com
And I seriously like this page for it's thought provoking perspectives....
Check this out
http://bigthink.com/ideas/30699

The geek in me......

who remembers my first PC, an IBM PS2 purchased in 1992 from Sears (your computer store???) that was my first real introduction to GUI interfaces and non-text based computing. (My first computer class was in programming FORTRAN with keypunch cards translated by a mainframe).

That being said, I have to admit, sheepishly, I'm anxious to see Watson take on Jeopardy champs. "I'll take Shakespearean plays for $400 Alex...." 

Strategic Goals: Formative + Summative = Rigor Found on Edutopia Today

Great video that helps to outline the idea of assessment/rigor in the classroom. The movie explains and highlights lesson plans that help to improve the rigor in the School of the Future (SOF) in several classes. I particularly found meaning in the writing assignments that turned into graphic novels. New directions to help improve both student engagement and more rigorous learning that is assessable via product from the lessons.

Teachers should all care about assessment

Hotter Than You Think: The Brave New World of Student Assessment 
Article found on the Edutopia RSS feed today really calls to activity taking place in the workplace and in my "philosophical" realm. As a person involved with curriculum development, I find it hard to believe that assessment is considered to be a "bad word" by some teachers. If you are teaching, don't you want to know if your students are learning? Effectively planned and executed assessment will show you the results of your work. A syllabus for a course outlines the course objectives--the "yardstick" against which your student achievement will be measured. If your students continually don't understand the lessons, wouldn't any teacher want to spend quality time reflecting on why and fix the problems? That is a simple description of what assessment is, in a nutshell, IMHO.

Health and learning: not hard to see the connection

Interesting article in Edutopia today discussing how student health and out of school behavior/exposures will affect student success. Not hard to understand but a struggle to institute. I feel suspicious or nonchalant families will not buy into school-based health care for their children for many reasons, even after understanding it would be best for their children.....thoughts?