http://www.nytimes.com/2010/09/19/magazine/19FOB-WWLN-Kelly-t.html

Take-aways for me:

“Before you can master a device, program or invention, it will be superseded; you will always be a beginner. Get good at it.”

Wow.  Exactly.  This is the definition of critical thinking.

“Nobody has any idea of what a new invention will really be good for. The crucial question is, what happens when everyone has one?”

Profound.  What if all educators thought this way?

Learn how to use Google Docs – a suite of free, web-based tools – to create, edit and share documents quickly and easily.  Google Docs is a great tool for department and committee document creation, storage and access, and for use with student groups.  You can access Docs from any Internet-connected computer, and most mobile devices.

Friday, September 24
10 – 11 AM
FL1-130 (Innovation Center) FL1-35 (Library Classroom)

RSVP

Links from the meeting this morning:

Twitterfall – http://www.twitterfall.com
Today’s Meet – http://www.todaysmeet.com
Poll Everywhere – http://www.polleverywhere.com

Pew Research
Cell Phones and American Adults – http://www.pewinternet.com/Reports/2010/Cell-Phones-and-American-Adults.aspx
Mobile Access 2010 – http://www.pewinternet.com/Reports/2010/Mobile-Access-2010.aspx
Teens and Mobile Phones – http://www.pewinternet.com/Reports/2010/Teens-and-Mobile-Phones.aspx

HootCourse – http://hootcourse.com/

Google Voice – http://voice.google.com
Google Docs – http://docs.google.com

Finished a project with a faculty member from PE (they’re really Kinesiology now) to create a digital version of her in-class teaching aid. The skeleton’s name is Mr. Thrifty.

This is a widget that you can insert in a website to encourage folks to contact you via Google Voice.  When you click it, it will ask you for your phone number.  It will then ring that phone and connect you directly with Zack’s Google Voice mailbox.

I’ve been playing around with Google Voice, and I think it’s going to be a good tool for educators.  With it, you get a phone number that will allow you to receive text messages and voice calls from students.  All of these go to an inbox at Google Voice.  You can download the voicemail messages as MP3 files, embed them, etc.  Lots of opportunities for original projects and assignments.  More to follow.

Augmented reality bridges the gap between meatspace and online. A free app on your smartphone interprets a custom barcode, sending the browser to a URL – in this case iMail.

Scott Crow and I worked to embed these in a bunch of infoscreen slides, and they might show up in VAPAC print materials in the near future. Imagine reading about an upcoming performance, and then using your smartphone to scan a barcode that takes you to an interview with the artist.  Sweet.

Any bright ideas about other instructional uses?  Self-guided tours?  Just-in-time training?  Scavenger hunts?