Curatorial Education

Love that George Siemens!

A curatorial teacher acknowledges the autonomy of learners, yet understands the frustration of exploring unknown territories without a map. A curator is an expert learner. Instead of dispensing knowledge, he creates spaces in which knowledge can be created, explored, and connected. While curators understand their field very well, they don’t adhere to traditional in-class teacher-centric power structures. A curator balances the freedom of individual learners with the thoughtful interpretation of the subject being explored. While learners are free to explore, they encounter displays, concepts, and artifacts representative of the discipline. Their freedom to explore is unbounded. But when they engage with subject matter, the key concepts of a discipline are transparently reflected through the curatorial actions of the teacher.

The whole post is here.

digiTenn at ETSU

The Digital Tennessee Project is taking another step forward with an organizational meeting next week of a dozen collaborators from

• the Digital Media Sandbox Consortium (DMSC),
• e-Learning Department,
• the Tennessee Campus Compact (TNCC),
• Office of Research and Sponsored Programs (ORSPA),
• Honors College,
• Center for Community Engagement, Learning & Leadership (CELL),
• Providing Area Schools Technical Assistance (PASTA),
• Gear-Up,

and ETSU academic departments

• Human Development and Learning,
• Social Work
• Technology and Geomatics

We'll review and strategize DMSC activities as well as launch a collaboration of existing efforts combining technology and service learning, organize funding and marketing plans for a new community technology / digital literacy program and introduce this report, which lays the groundwork for our customization of our plan for a pilot site in east Tennessee.

We are ready for the next step!

Listen to this Connecticut NPR interview which asks, "Should having Internet access be considered a civil right?" Listen as community technology advocates discuss the Digital Divide and the issues surrounding digital equity as an issue of social justice.

What do YOU think?

Did You Know? v. 2.0

Mobility

In the overall landscape of Web technology and its myriad relevancies to all our lives, there are huge and compelling issues that can either bottleneck or push its forward development in a way too rapid and dynamic to be termed an "evolution" ... more like a revolution! There is a certain air of chaos, passion, unpredictability and excitement implied by the word "revolution" and for some reason, I associate evolution with dinosaurs and half primate, half human life forms. Has the nature of change changed as well?

Right now, the piece of this revolution that is most blowing my mind is mobile Web technology. It is one thing to come home on a Friday night to see that there is a drumming in the park and letting it pull me out of the nest and into the fray. And then mid-next-week I see on Facebook that there is a Tweetup at the Sky Club and I get to meet new people in a new place in my home community. The lines between virtual and "real life" (RL) community are blurring more every day. And the lines between neighboring communities are melting away, too. I have witnessed the conjoining of two distinct MSAs over the last 20 years as facilitated by a new interstate connection (about an hour drive between them) and by Internet technology (the ability to participate in multiple communities is much more practical with technology tools for participation). As I live between the two, I have become one of many who have had the opportunity to live in one community, work in second community and socialize in a third. Each of my three homes has a drastically distinct personality and each offers me different amenities. I am richer for having three homes and I hope that each benefits, even if only from my economic support, from my virtual and RL participation. The more I participate in each, the better I become as a person, as a professional and as a mother, as a citizen and as a neighbor.

And then comes mobile web technology. Now we have an iPod touch, cell phones, netbooks and laptops, PDAs and Blackberries. With the ability to mobilize the Internet, we have access to information on the run. I compile my grocery list from the online sale flier for my grocery store, store it in Google docs and pull it up on my iPod in the grocery store. Though there is not yet free wireless, I have cached it on the device and have the entirety of my documents available to me in a device that fits in the palm of my hand.

But the most significant role of mobility here, I believe, is in its facilitation of production of Internet content, much moreso than the consumption of it. As cool as it is to be able to watch video in the hospital waiting room, locate movie information or sports scores on the run, reference a shopping list or check my email; the explosion here is in the opportunity for citizen journalists to report to infinite interwoven webs of real people the sounds, sights and textures of their physical communities. They do that now with graduation photos, vacation videos and shared videos and news stories.

The potential impact of this technology is mind-bending when I start imagining mobile digital media training labs that fit into a box in the trunk of the car. MiFi technology, being released tomorrow by Verizon, enables the portable cloud of high-speed wireless bandwidth that can be shared by up to five users within 30 feet. The small wireless battery-operated card fits in a pocket and runs up to 4 hrs on a charge. You don't even have to take it out of your pocket or bag. It works in a moving car or on the beach!

Mobile Web hardware's built-in digital cameras and video recording will continue to evolve (there's one place I feel comfortable using that term) and the ability of the cloud to deliver higher speed uploads and downloads. The delivery of consumer-produced content is proliferating in direct correlation to affordability of hardware and mobile connectivity. This is a global phenomenon sweeping even third world countries.

Already, the lines between virtual education environments and physical classrooms are blurring, too. New developments in mobile Web technologies are pushing education out of the classroom walls and into the real world laboratory where it should be. Learning can be both high-tech AND hands-on! And mobile Web technology is making it happen. It is the force melting away the concrete and steel divisions between the brick-n-mortar buildings that separate education, government, business, arts, media and public service from the worlds they serve and from each other. We can thrive in a collaborative--as opposed to competitive--society. We may even flourish.

Christopher Dede

A colleague referred me to the work of Chris Dede of Harvard University. He has done some pretty incredible work in academic technology integration and I have been enjoying the resources linked from his Harvard profile. What a pioneer!

I was especially mesmerized by the SCALE tutorial he developed for Microsoft. Here, scale refers to the adaptability of innovation to sustain in any environment, specifically in education in this model. The interactive grid provides a valuable infrastructural perspective of critical process relevant and applicable to any innovation project or development.

The tutorial provides a 'scaling tool' for innovation and addresses the core dimensions of 'depth, sustainability, spread, shift and evolution' by identification and development of the layers of 'power of dimension, traps to avoid, role of technology and next steps to explore' for each dimension. It's a valuable tool for anyone who affords process its due in sustainable, adaptable and evolutionary change.

Open Source Releases in 2009

This article features the 25 most exciting open source software releases anticipated in 2009.

For the uninitiated, "open source" software is nonproprietary, or noncommercial, software that is written by a collective of persons who contribute their time and talent to the good of mankind rather than the promise of profits. And it's free! The term "open source" refers to the open nature of the code, allowing access to anyone who wants to work on software development, patches and upgrades. The open source community has been around a long time, but use of open source software is still struggling into the mainstream consciousness. However, most non-geek types now have heard of Mozilla Firefox, perhaps the most widely known open-source Web browser. Many use Open Office, a fully functioning and highly compatible suite of office products that rival Microsoft's Office suite.

There is more good information out there about open source software than I could practically link to this post. If a reader has a particular need or question, feel free to email me at digiTenn at gmail.com. In the meantime, if you're not already using open source, Mozilla Firefox and Open Office are good places to start!

Education 2.0

Karen Archer Perry blogs,

People say that Web 2.0 democratizes the web and democratizes content creation. It does. But while Web 2.0 and other digital media tools provide the hardware and software platforms for collaboration, it is digital inclusion and ubiquitous broadband access that truly democratize the web. Without access, these new tools of empowerment will remain the purview of the few, when our society really needs engagement from many.

More here.

Educators wrestle with digital-equity challenges

Students who lack this access to technology are at a disadvantage, ed-tech advocates say, because they are missing out on opportunities to learn and to become participants in an increasingly digital workforce and society. ...

Resta listed six things that he called "essential conditions" for digital inclusion: (1) basic literacy skills; (2) access to information and communications technology (ICT) devices, software, and connectivity; (3) access to culturally relevant content in the student's local language; (4) the ability to create, share, and exchange digital content; (5) access to educators who know how to use digital tools and resources in pedagogically sound ways; and (6) access to effective leadership in policy and planning.

The story here.

Internet for Everyone

I just came from the NC town hall meeting with Internet for Everyone in Durham. It was an amazing day. I talked with new friends and colleagues from very diverse corners of the Digital Divide issue. I listened to stories and told my own.

We heard the Rev. Dr. William J. Barber II, president of the NC NAACP State Conference Branch speak about the nature of the Digital Divide and a proposal for its immediate closure. We simply change the password, he said! The password, of course, is "everyone" ... if any entity wants to draft a policy or implement an initiative, they have to be able to provide the correct password. Or access is denied.

When the notes from the meeting are compiled and distributed, I'll share them here. The bottom line of the day is that we all agreed ... community technology is the economic stimulus that can put our globe into the realm of sustainability on so many levels. It is the educational reform that will save our children and it is the legislative priority that will bring the healing of digital equity and social justice to disenfranchised and underserved communities.

I never pass up an opportunity to quote Curtis Mayfield. "People get ready ..."

Gates Foundation gives $22M for data-driven decision making

This is incredibly exciting news. The Gates Foundation has committed $22 million for the purpose of funding programs that "support the development of data systems and research initiatives in K-12 education."

In the same spirit, I am in the process of developing a project proposal for a digital media needs assessment on P-16 levels across the state of Tennessee. If there is data out there that ties access to and experience with digital media to traditional statistical benchmarks (graduation rates, college enrollment, standardized test scores, etc.) I have not yet found it.

"Useful data and solid research about what works will help empower teachers, schools, and districts to more effectively keep students on the path to success in college and beyond. Our education system must be grounded in reliable [information] that assesses what works best in the classroom and serves the interests of all students." (Bill Gates)

This project I'm developing proposes a collaboration between interested stakeholders and would provide just such data to be used not only as a current indicator of where those relationships exist, but a baseline of statistics by which our future technology and service learning projects' success can be measured. We want to take the scope of the Gates'-funded initiatives a step further by folding in the critical participation of students themselves in not only doing the research, but taking leadership in the data analysis and subsequent program development and implementation.

Service learning and technology can provide a synergy that is far greater than either can achieve alone. By combining the powerful forces of technology and engagement, multidisciplinary becomes omnidisciplinary and program becomes research.

For more information (or to share yours), please email me at digiTenn at gmail dot com.

House panel moves forward with broadband stimulus

The news gets better and better with each passing day.

"We live in a digital age, but we still treat telecom like a luxury, we tax it like a sin, and we regulate it like a utility," [Bruce Mehlman] said.

The whole story here.

FCC Chair drops filters to save free broadband

I find this news very encouraging:

"Before he steps down as chairman of the Federal Communications Commission, Kevin Martin still hopes to win approval for his plan to auction off a slice of the airwaves for a free, nationwide wireless broadband network. To increase the chances that his proposal will win the support of his fellow commissioners, Martin said he has removed one especially contested element: a requirement that the provider of the wireless network filter internet content to block any material deemed inappropriate for children."

Read more here at eSchool News.

Internet for Everyone & new resources

I've been adding lots of cool new resources there in the right column. Please check them out!

I'm going to be phoning into the Internet for Everyone conference call this afternoon and anyone interested in participating in this important national effort is welcomed & encouraged to phone in as well. Either visit the site for call-in information or email me at digiTenn@gmail.com. Internet for Everyone staff are in the process of determining the state for their next series of town hall meetings and are considering North Carolina! This is exciting news even for NC neighbors Virginia and Tennessee and we're welcome to join the conversation as well.

Internet for Everyone seeks grassroots support in making sure that we "make this the year America commits to connecting everyone to a fast, open and affordable Internet." Please join the fun!