Here's a great little gem I learned about recently: Google's "Good to Know" page. It's a perfect addition to any digital curriculum, and offers plenty to gain for even hardcore Internet users. "Good to Know" is broken into 4 main areas:

• Stay Safe online — good for teaching about strong passwords, the dangers that exist, such as phishing, malware, and scams and more
• Your Data on the Web — helps students learn all about "cookies" and "IP addresses"
• Your data on Google — perfect for teachings students how to use a search engine properly, as well as making students aware that Google (and other sites) do in fact collect data on users
• Manage Your Data — the best part of this section is "Me on the Web," which is a perfect starting place for students to learn about their "digital footprint"

There are a couple of "sub-sections" at the bottom of the page, specifically "Jargon Buster" (where technical terms are explained, mostly through video presentations, using metaphors to make terms like "malware" easy to understand), and "Family Safety Center."

Though "Family Safety Center" is a "subcategory" on the page, it is a "goldmine" of useful information. It offers lessons on how to keep safe using Google, how to control your sharing and privacy settings, and "Tips from Google Parents" (introducing important topics such as cyberbullying).

However, the section I appreciate the most on this page is the "More Resources" section. You're going to find plenty here, but head immediately to the "THINKB4U" site if you want to engage your students with some "witty" entertaining videos (geared around the happenings of a particular family), accompanied by activities where the user gets to make decisions to choose the outcome of the video. For instance, in one video, you make the decision whether two boys should cite their sources for a research piece or not. There is plenty of material at this site for students and parents, and would work well being explored by both groups together.

No resource page would be complete without Common Sense Media (in my opinion) and it's included with plenty of other great sites.

So, get to know Google's "Good to Know" page; it offers an entire curriculum for students across the grade spectrum, and is an excellent resource for staff and parent training.

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Readers of my posts know that I have made the move to almost entirely reading books digitally for well over a year. I have missed actual physical books for sure, but the benefits that digital offer continue to keep me "Team Digital" for the following reasons:

• I can carry my entire library around with me on a device (Kindle Touch) that weighs less than most physical books.
• I can perform searches in a digital book (which is so much easier than thumbing through pages... though indexes still rock).
• I can highlight and annotate to my heart's content and have all of that work stored for me in the Cloud (https://kindle.amazon.com/ for those of you with Amazon ebooks; you can see and collect all your notes and highlights on the web).
• In the Kindle desktop application (at least on my Mac), I can highlight and copy long passages from books to copy and paste in articles I write---with citation already included! Here's an example:

I believe that learning to live mindfully in cyberculture is as important to us as a civilization as it is vital to you and me as individuals.

Rheingold, Howard; Weeks, Anthony (2012-02-24). Net Smart (p. 1). MIT Press. Kindle Edition.

Albeit, it's not what I would consider proper attribution (i.e., MLA, APA, etc. format), but at least I don't have to manually type in the quote.

There are many other positives that I could list (saves trees, takes up less space in my house, etc.) but I'll end my list with the above as I consider these my top reasons for choosing digital over physical.

However...

The other day—a very important book that I've been reading for months, which is strongly shaping my thinking, changing my curriculum, and even having an influence on upcoming presentations I'm preparing for—broke. (If you're curious about which book, I just mentioned it above).

Physical books get damaged all the time, lost, stolen, or borrowed and never returned. My dog once ate my physical copy of Growing Up Digital: The Rise of the Net Generation by Don Tapscott, destroying all my notes and highlights along with the book.

Stuff happens.

But I haven't given much thought to the tenuous nature of digital books until one got "corrupted" the other day. After all, my dog could eat my Kindle, but my book and all the marks and highlights I've worked on would still be safe "in the cloud." New Kindle and more dog training later and voila! everything is back where it should be.

I'm going to spare you the entire tale of how the book "broke," along with the 4 plus hours I spent on the phone with Amazon trying to get things worked out, especially working with them to not lose my highlights and bookmarks that I've worked so hard on (close to 900)! Let me first say, that the folks at Amazon treated me with utmost professionalism in dealing with the problem. They offered me a replacement Kindle (shipping expedited) in return for my current Kindle and have even sent me a physical copy of the book.

In short here's what happened to the book. As I was reading it, the entire Kindle froze. When I rebooted, the book's format was toast: there was absolutely no right margin and words were actually missing from the end of sentences (if the font was increased). Now this margin thing might sound trite, but try reading text on a small device without margin space on either side of it. Trust me: it's very hard to do. I should also say, that no other book on my device was affected. Having done a simple search within Amazon's Kindle forum, I found that I am not the only one who has experienced this problem... there are many others who also have, and again, only with one book, not an entire library.

Amazon folks and I (during many phone calls) tried everything to fix it (resetting the Kindle to factory default, downloading an entirely new copy of the book, etc., etc.). The customer support folk that I talked to had no solution for me, and are having a "higher level" of tech support look into the problem. I've yet to hear back from them.

Since the problem doesn't seem to lie in the actual book file (after all, they gave me a new digital copy of the book and the problem still prevailed), then I started to worry that the problem may be in the file that contains my highlights and notes (in the cloud).

I could be completely wrong here, but without a doubt, there is some file—somewhere— which has become corrupted, and there's nothing I can do about it.

So this has me wondering, and admittedly worried about the jump to digital. For instance:

• Who really does own the book? If I can't fix the corrupted file myself, then it's up to Amazon to keep my book safe.
• I've enthusiastically embraced the Amazon cloud for my annotations and notes, but again, they exist in the cloud. If that file(s) was to become corrupted, would they care enough to help me get my own notes back?
• I've gone with Amazon over other ebook offerings (Nook, etc), because to me, they look like they'll win out if it comes down to final competition. For instance, even though Borders closed and made it possible for folks to continue reading the ebooks they purchased from them, the Borders brand is gone. 5 years from now, will the purchased books or notes still be available? Could this also be the case for Amazon (perhaps when Google takes them over;)? Is my digital library as safe as my physical one?
• Since, at this point at least, I am unable to read my damaged book on my Kindle, do all the pros I've listed above still outweigh the "old-fashioned way" I used to read, with an actual highlighter and pen to take notes and mark up the text?
• Clearly, it's a bummer to have to call customer support in order to... read a book.

To just read a book.

Thoughts?

Five hundred years ago, Gutenberg presses did not immediately enable people to overthrow monarchies, drive the Protestant Reformation, and invent science as a collective enterprise. The interval between the technological advance of print and the social revolutions it triggered was required for literacy to spread... Digital literacies can leverage the Web’s architecture of participation, just as the spread of reading skills amplified collective intelligence five centuries ago.

Rheingold, Howard; Weeks, Anthony (2012-02-24). Net Smart (Kindle Locations 133-145). MIT Press. Kindle Edition.

A few months ago, my friend took her car to the dealership to get an oil change. The dealership will remain "nameless," but I myself have been there before and they give you free coffee, free WiFi while you wait, and even a red rose when you leave (I kid you not!).

My friend is a teacher and so she appreciated the free WiFi as she was able to work on grading her report cards as she waited on the oil change.

The good folks who changed her oil, also took a look at her battery. A service man came back to my friend with bad news: she needed a new battery.

"How much?" my friend asked.

Answer: $249.99 --- including labor and disposal of the old one. My friend asked for the battery type and 5 minutes to search the web for a better price (grades would have to wait). The service man gave her the information and she set to searching the web.

She thought $249.99 sounded a bit high as she remembered her husband recently buying one for less than $100 and she knew how to install the battery herself.

A few minutes later, the service man returned and said that he could give her the battery for $199 (install and disposal of old battery still included).

My friend thanked him for the information, but said she was still searching.

A few minutes later, the service man returned: He could go as low as $149 (install and disposal still included).

My friend asked for a few more minutes to keep searching... to keep searching, mind you on the free WiFi that his dealership was providing.

2 more minutes later, the service man returned: $99 for the battery, install and disposal.

My friend thanked him and graciously accepted his final offer.

Now, I'm sure many of us are not that shocked at the "mark-up" on the price of the battery, but I think we can all celebrate in the cool and shrewd bargaining exercise that my friend conducted only by wielding the power of a search engine. In reality, she could have just told the guy she was searching the web and continued working on her grades. He knew from the beginning of the exchange that he was done for: she had the power. She had the information.

I started this entry with a quote from Howard Rheingold's new book Net Smart, which I highly recommend. I love his idea that the invention of the Gutenberg press did not start revolutions the very next day. No, people had to learn how to read, which in a sense meant that they had to learn the programming language of the new tool.

The tools we have today are the same. Twitter wasn't invented with Arab Spring in mind, but it is clear that social networking tools have helped in planning and organizing radical change.

New tools require new learning of the new literacies (or programming languages) before their many potentials (positive as well as negative) can be realized. (By the way, Rheingold's book is an amazing examination of this, as well the celebrations and the cautions that should be recognized).

If we as teachers fear learning or integrating these new "digital literacies" into our classrooms, is it the same as being afraid of teaching the reading literacy that has taken hold largely in part due to Gutenberg? I realize that this argument is a bit of an oversimplification. However, new literacies will in fact continue to develop and have the potential for significant disruption, much like what happened 500 years ago.

The small story of the "battery barter" shared above is exactly the type of story we should be telling our students. We need to be sharing examples of how the new technologies and access to limitless information leads to having more power. It's not just about saving $150 on a new battery; it's about the possibility of being able to be informed about nearly everything. (Which of course, begs the next question: how do we know that we are using reliable information... don't worry: Rheingold's got that covered too).

It is essential that we teach our students how to successfully use a search engine (once again, I recommend Alan November's Web Literacy for Educators), how to validate the information they find, and how to use that information ethically and responsibly.

There are plenty more skills we need to talk about daily in our classrooms, and my latest, favorite book to think about all that is Rheingold' Net Smart.

What books would you add to the list? What stories would you share with your students to show the power of being able to harness the power of information?

Five hundred years ago, Gutenberg presses did not immediately enable people to overthrow monarchies, drive the Protestant Reformation, and invent science as a collective enterprise. The interval between the technological advance of print and the social revolutions it triggered was required for literacy to spread... Digital literacies can leverage the Web’s architecture of participation, just as the spread of reading skills amplified collective intelligence five centuries ago.

Rheingold, Howard; Weeks, Anthony (2012-02-24). Net Smart (Kindle Locations 133-145). MIT Press. Kindle Edition.

A few months ago, my friend took her car to the dealership to get an oil change. The dealership will remain "nameless," but I myself have been there before and they give you free coffee, free WiFi while you wait, and even a red rose when you leave (I kid you not!).

My friend is a teacher and so she appreciated the free WiFi as she was able to work on grading her report cards as she waited on the oil change.

The good folks who changed her oil, also took a look at her battery. A service man came back to my friend with bad news: she needed a new battery.

"How much?" my friend asked.

Answer: $249.99 --- including labor and disposal of the old one. My friend asked for the battery type and 5 minutes to search the web for a better price (grades would have to wait). The service man gave her the information and she set to searching the web.

She thought $249.99 sounded a bit high as she remembered her husband recently buying one for less than $100 and she knew how to install the battery herself.

A few minutes later, the service man returned and said that he could give her the battery for $199 (install and disposal of old battery still included).

My friend thanked him for the information, but said she was still searching.

A few minutes later, the service man returned: He could go as low as $149 (install and disposal still included).

My friend asked for a few more minutes to keep searching... to keep searching, mind you on the free WiFi that his dealership was providing.

2 more minutes later, the service man returned: $99 for the battery, install and disposal.

My friend thanked him and graciously accepted his final offer.

Now, I'm sure many of us are not that shocked at the "mark-up" on the price of the battery, but I think we can all celebrate in the cool and shrewd bargaining exercise that my friend conducted only by wielding the power of a search engine. In reality, she could have just told the guy she was searching the web and continued working on her grades. He knew from the beginning of the exchange that he was done for: she had the power. She had the information.

I started this entry with a quote from Howard Rheingold's new book Net Smart, which I highly recommend. I love his idea that the invention of the Gutenberg press did not start revolutions the very next day. No, people had to learn how to read, which in a sense meant that they had to learn the programming language of the new tool.

The tools we have today are the same. Twitter wasn't invented with Arab Spring in mind, but it is clear that social networking tools have helped in planning and organizing radical change.

New tools require new learning of the new literacies (or programming languages) before their many potentials (positive as well as negative) can be realized. (By the way, Rheingold's book is an amazing examination of this, as well the celebrations and the cautions that should be recognized).

If we as teachers fear learning or integrating these new "digital literacies" into our classrooms, is it the same as being afraid of teaching the reading literacy that has taken hold largely in part due to Gutenberg? I realize that this argument is a bit of an oversimplification. However, new literacies will in fact continue to develop and have the potential for significant disruption, much like what happened 500 years ago.

The small story of the "battery barter" shared above is exactly the type of story we should be telling our students. We need to be sharing examples of how the new technologies and access to limitless information leads to having more power. It's not just about saving $150 on a new battery; it's about the possibility of being able to be informed about nearly everything. (Which of course, begs the next question: how do we know that we are using reliable information... don't worry: Rheingold's got that covered too).

It is essential that we teach our students how to successfully use a search engine (once again, I recommend Alan November's Web Literacy for Educators), how to validate the information they find, and how to use that information ethically and responsibly.

There are plenty more skills we need to talk about daily in our classrooms, and my latest, favorite book to think about all that is Rheingold' Net Smart.

What books would you add to the list? What stories would you share with your students to show the power of being able to harness the power of information?

As a Technology Integrator and Teacher, I constantly hear both students and teachers come to me with the statement: "IT won't let me _________ (fill in the blank with: open the application, type my password in, delete, quit, copy, paste, click, find my file, open my file, save my file, sync my file, make a good cup of coffee, etc., etc).

The "IT" of course stands for "That dang COMPUTER!" (or in the case of adults, sometimes, "That @%$!& COMPUTER!"). "IT" can get frustrating. Trust me: I know. (And by the way, I was joking about the "good cup of coffee" mentioned above; that usually has nothing to do with the Computer, but I hear teams of scientist are working on that problem even while I write this).

Here is the cold hard fact however, because, unlike Jack Nicholson, I believe you can handle the truth: It's not "IT;" it's You."

Really. Out of all the problems brought to me about the "IT," 9 out of 10 times it is the user's problem and not the Computer's (note: this number is in no way scientific, but trust me: it's close).

Now don't get me wrong: I'm not saying it's the user's fault. It's simply a case of not knowing the correct information... yet. But I do find it interesting that most of us will first blame the problem on the Computer before we blame it on our own lack of knowledge. This illustrates many issues that others may choose to parse, but I am most interested in this observation: many of us have yet to reach a relationship of trust with our Computers.

Yes, Computers fail us. Yes, Computers disappoint us. Yes, Computers betray us. And no, our Computers are not man's best friend (dogs will always be; apologies to cat-lovers). They don't love us or even like us, but they do offer us an indefatigable promise until their last bit of RAM comes crashing down: they can make work easier for us.

That's the whole point of Computers. They are there to take humongous, laborious, tedious tasks from us and serve up results in milliseconds that might take us all day (or even years) to do.

With this understanding, perhaps we should reshape our statements of distress from, "IT won't let me ________ (fill in blank)" to a question: "What do I need to know so that IT can make work easier for me?" With that simple rephrasing, we will not garner any more affection or favors from our Computers than already exist, but we will change our relationship with our machines from adversaries to comrades as we constantly rekindle the original purpose of alliance: that our work is supposed to get easier, not harder.

It's easy to blame an inanimate object because (usually) it won't complain, but I believe this impedes the path to resolution of the current problem that has us pulling our hair out, as well as all future frustrations with the machine. And so my fellow humans: ask not what your Computer can do for you; ask what you can do for your Computer.

And that question would be: "How can I control this fine machine to serve my needs to its best ability ---namely, to make my work easier?"

I fear that at this point in the conversation many readers are throwing their mice at their screens or preparing scathing retorts for the comments section below. Hold on! Before you damage your screens or waste your time writing epic comments that I might forget to read, hear me when I say, "I'm on YOUR side!" I understand; I've been there. There is no shame in using a Computer incorrectly if you've never learned a correct method or "trick" to using it properly. I myself spent the first five years of my formative computer years by putting two spaces rather than one after a period in a document until I was educated by reading Robin Williams' first edition of The Little Mac Book. To this day, I still see documents come my way with two spaces after periods, or without proper "tab stops," or with tabs for first lines of paragraphs rather than using the indent option on the "ruler. These are habits carried over from our typewriting days, and unfortunately, are being passed on to generations that have never even used a typewriter.

There's a simple rule to remember when using a Computer: if you're working too hard, then you're doing something incorrectly.

Just today, I had a friend that after years of typing in her personalized signature on every single email that she sent out from her business, decided that there must be an easier way and asked me to show her what the solution was (answer: setting up "signatures" in your email client). Initially, she expressed her embarrassment that she had been doing it the "hard way" for all these years. She professed her "weakness in technology" when she asked for support. But, the complete opposite is true: she herself had figured out the answer when she realized that she was working too hard and that there must be an easier way. In my view, this demonstrates proficiency in using technology. The next step is to ask, "What is the easier way?" and then simply find the correct resource that will deliver the answer (Google Search, the manual, the Help Menu, your brother-in-law-geek, etc.).

I recently used Lego Digital Designer to drive this idea home with my 4th graders. I use this application as a stepping stone to a more difficult piece of software (Scratch) in order to allow students to figure out an application completely without support from me. When they learn new things by playing with the program, then they come up to the overhead projector and share what they've learned with the rest of the class. Eventually, a student will figure out how to make a "Lego Man." This is a bit cumbersome as you need to put the head on, then the torso, then the legs. It's a lot of dragging and correcting to get things to line up.

The minute a student shows this, I butt in and ask, "Okay, now how would you make 5,000 Lego Men?" Students quickly realize it would be "crazy" to try and build each of the 5,000 Lego Men in the same way they built the orignal ---piece by piece. It would take forever. They immediately start problem solving with each other and realize that there must be an easier way! (FYI: there are many solutions to the problem, but most students start to use what they've already learned in other applications like "copy" and "paste").

When they start asking, "What is the easier way?" then they have reached symbiosis with a machine that has the express purpose of providing limitless answers to that question.

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image credit: Horia Varlan

As I prepared for this week's post, my daughter gave me the following essay (along with her permission to publish it here). So, this week, I'll just get out of the way and let her have this post and my gratitude for her wisdom.

-------------------------------------------------

Facebook: the bible of my generation. We teenagers live by it. We breathe it. Sadly, sometimes we think it is just a website on our computer that no one else can see. Unfortunately, it isn't, and everyone can see everything. Whenever I hear kids say, “Well of course my parents don’t have my Facebook password! That stuff is private!” I think is it really? Lets zoom in on that word “private.” The definition of private is “Belonging to or for the use of one particular person or group of people only.” But with Facebook, nothing is private. Whether it’s liking a photo or commenting on a status, the whole world can watch you.

This also applies to cell phone usage. Yes, I myself have a phone and sometimes I want to talk to my friend about someone I like, but the thing is you can’t. Before you send a text message you have to think, “Would I be OK with everyone seeing this?” Would I like everyone to know that I “hate school?” My employers? My college professors? The answer it no. So think before you post.

On Facebook, there are many sites you will see that you can “Like.” At first I thought nothing was wrong with it. I simply just thought that it was a fun thing to do to pass the time. Sadly, it is not just a fun thing you can do; it is dangerous. For example, once I liked this page and I played a little game that went with it. When doing this, I let that website have control over my account. This is called “phishing.” The website was able to post things on my wall that I did not write myself. Phishing is used to reel in information from people and get their personal information that can result in identity theft.

Another topic with people on Facebook or cellphones is that you never know who they really are. For all I know, the person who I think is my best friend could be her brother or sister playing a prank on me.

Again thinking before you post is a crucial skill to learn when mastering social networking sites. Like anything else online, things can be copied and pasted. Like in court, anything you say could be used AGAINST you. If you were smart enough to realize this after you posted something and then decided to delete it, sadly it isn’t gone. Nothing on the internet is ever gone. Everything stays permanently.

Sometimes, to fit in with the crowd, people lie about themselves in order to be “popular” and such. This can also happen on the Facebook. I have seen many people cyberbully others in heated arguments on Facebook, when I know that isn’t really them (they’re much nicer in real life). They feel it is safer to get into an argument with people online because you are protected in your own home. However, these words are not just on the screen, they follow you into reality.

Some people say Facebook is dangerous. And yes, in some ways it is. Although, if you look at it from the angle of a teenager you will see that it is about creativity and discovery. Most of my generation wants to use this tool wisely, to expand our horizons. Facebook can be used in an irresponsible way, but if it is used appropriately, it is a door to opportunity.

Zoe Sprankle

Age 13

Apple's "trifold" announcement last week was exciting: textbooks coming to iBooks; iBooks Author software to create your own books; and a dedicated iTunes U app, which "bundles" courses in a manageable, multimedia package. If you haven't watched the Apple Keynote, I highly recommend it, but I want to guide you to my favorite part. It comes in around the 56:25 time on the video where Eddy Cue announces that K12 Institutions can now sign up to deliver content in iTunes U. This is phenomenal news, and I believe, will have the potential to transform education more than the textbook announcement.

Without a doubt, many teachers will create textbooks for the iBook store and will give them away for free ---a task that is surely made easier with iBooks Author, but still requires writing a book. However, creating iTunes U modules will be even easier, as teachers will simply have to collect the materials they use for their courses and publish them out to the rest of the world (for free). Hopefully, K12 teachers will start recording/videotaping their courses/lectures/lessons and publish them through their districts' iTunes U portal. With this opportunity, the prestige that universities have tapped into by being able to publish their coursework on iTunes U will be promised to K12 Institutions. Districts should use iTunes U to not only help support the larger learning community, but also to showcase their teachers'/students' work.

I will be talking about this exciting development with administrators in my district as soon as possible. There will definitely be many things to consider before publishing to iTunes U:

• what makes material ready for iTunes U?
• should there be a review process?
• what parent permission will the district need to publish?
• how will courses be managed/updated?
• who owns the material?
• etc.

I could see districts offering iTunes U publication to teachers as a way to demonstrate Professional Development. Districts may even offer stipends to encourage teachers to publish.

No matter what, I hope the process is easy and teachers are excited to adopt this new venue. We will all benefit as this shared library of K12 content and course offerings grows.

Each year, after the holidays, I ask my elementary school students what new technologies have recently entered their lives. There are many more iPod Touches out there, more computers, more Gaming Stations, but this year many of my students are reporting that they now own e-book readers (Kindles and Nooks being the top brands). I've been predicting this for a while ---that this would be the year of the E-Book--- but this was an easy prediction to make after the big players drastically reduced their prices this year. Amazon had its best year with its Kindle family, selling over a million per week during the month of December. At $79 for their entry model, a lot of students opened devices over the holiday that could store more books than they will be able to read in the lifetime of the product (I could be wrong about this... I'm not sure how long a Kindle battery holds out).

This shift is dramatic. It is the first time I've seen students at my school bringing Kindles in for silent reading. In one class, there are 6 students with Kindles of varying flavors. The teacher keeps them safe on the shelf and students are allowed to use them during reading time. I've "interviewed" many students who have the new devices and they say they "love them." When asked which they like better ---real books or e-books--- many have answered that they are "on the fence," that they still like the feel and properties of a "real" book, but are also increasingly enjoying their "digital" reads.

I've been using an iPad to read books since it first came out, and a Kindle since October, and I am getting to the point where I appreciate the Kindle more than a "real book." I'm finding myself switching over... no longer really on the fence.

So... get ready. They're coming and they're not going away (sales for young adult e-books are seeing a drastic increase). More teachers and schools are going to have to make room on their shelves for the new devices, change policies of what electronics are allowed in school, and perhaps even teach new reading strategies for electronic ink.

Each year, after the holidays, I ask my elementary school students what new technologies have recently entered their lives. There are many more iPod Touches out there, more computers, more Gaming Stations, but this year many of my students are reporting that they now own e-book readers (Kindles and Nooks being the top brands). I've been predicting this for a while ---that this would be the year of the E-Book--- but this was an easy prediction to make after the big players drastically reduced their prices this year. Amazon had its best year with its Kindle family, selling over a million per week during the month of December. At $79 for their entry model, a lot of students opened devices over the holiday that could store more books than they will be able to read in the lifetime of the product (I could be wrong about this... I'm not sure how long a Kindle battery holds out).

This shift is dramatic. It is the first time I've seen students at my school bringing Kindles in for silent reading. In one class, there are 6 students with Kindles of varying flavors. The teacher keeps them safe on the shelf and students are allowed to use them during reading time. I've "interviewed" many students who have the new devices and they say they "love them." When asked which they like better ---real books or e-books--- many have answered that they are "on the fence," that they still like the feel and properties of a "real" book, but are also increasingly enjoying their "digital" reads.

I've been using an iPad to read books since it first came out, and a Kindle since October, and I am getting to the point where I appreciate the Kindle more than a "real book." I'm finding myself switching over... no longer really on the fence.

So... get ready. They're coming and they're not going away (sales for young adult e-books are seeing a drastic increase). More teachers and schools are going to have to make room on their shelves for the new devices, change policies of what electronics are allowed in school, and perhaps even teach new reading strategies for electronic ink.

Each year, after the holidays, I ask my elementary school students what new technologies have recently entered their lives. There are many more iPod Touches out there, more computers, more Gaming Stations, but this year many of my students are reporting that they now own e-book readers (Kindles and Nooks being the top brands). I've been predicting this for a while ---that this would be the year of the E-Book--- but this was an easy prediction to make after the big players drastically reduced their prices this year. Amazon had its best year with its Kindle family, selling over a million per week during the month of December. At $79 for their entry model, a lot of students opened devices over the holiday that could store more books than they will be able to read in the lifetime of the product (I could be wrong about this... I'm not sure how long a Kindle battery holds out).

This shift is dramatic. It is the first time I've seen students at my school bringing Kindles in for silent reading. In one class, there are 6 students with Kindles of varying flavors. The teacher keeps them safe on the shelf and students are allowed to use them during reading time. I've "interviewed" many students who have the new devices and they say they "love them." When asked which they like better ---real books or e-books--- many have answered that they are "on the fence," that they still like the feel and properties of a "real" book, but are also increasingly enjoying their "digital" reads.

I've been using an iPad to read books since it first came out, and a Kindle since October, and I am getting to the point where I appreciate the Kindle more than a "real book." I'm finding myself switching over... no longer really on the fence.

So... get ready. They're coming and they're not going away (sales for young adult e-books are seeing a drastic increase). More teachers and schools are going to have to make room on their shelves for the new devices, change policies of what electronics are allowed in school, and perhaps even teach new reading strategies for electronic ink.

Each year, after the holidays, I ask my elementary school students what new technologies have recently entered their lives. There are many more iPod Touches out there, more computers, more Gaming Stations, but this year many of my students are reporting that they now own e-book readers (Kindles and Nooks being the top brands). I've been predicting this for a while ---that this would be the year of the E-Book--- but this was an easy prediction to make after the big players drastically reduced their prices this year. Amazon had its best year with its Kindle family, selling over a million per week during the month of December. At $79 for their entry model, a lot of students opened devices over the holiday that could store more books than they will be able to read in the lifetime of the product (I could be wrong about this... I'm not sure how long a Kindle battery holds out).

This shift is dramatic. It is the first time I've seen students at my school bringing Kindles in for silent reading. In one class, there are 6 students with Kindles of varying flavors. The teacher keeps them safe on the shelf and students are allowed to use them during reading time. I've "interviewed" many students who have the new devices and they say they "love them." When asked which they like better ---real books or e-books--- many have answered that they are "on the fence," that they still like the feel and properties of a "real" book, but are also increasingly enjoying their "digital" reads.

I've been using an iPad to read books since it first came out, and a Kindle since October, and I am getting to the point where I appreciate the Kindle more than a "real book." I'm finding myself switching over... no longer really on the fence.

So... get ready. They're coming and they're not going away (sales for young adult e-books are seeing a drastic increase). More teachers and schools are going to have to make room on their shelves for the new devices, change policies of what electronics are allowed in school, and perhaps even teach new reading strategies for electronic ink.

As we near the end of 2011, I thought I would invite you to add to this post by linking and reflecting on the tools that have most transformed your classrooms this year. (Note, I didn't say technology tool... we don't want to limit ourselves to the "new and shiny;" please add the tool whether it's technological or not).

I will start the list with a tool that has been around for years, one that I've held as an exemplar to provide transformation in the classroom on many levels: a tool for authentic assessment, a tool for authentic publication, a tool for documenting learning for individuals, classrooms, and teachers in an easy to produce electronic portfolio.

The tool I speak of is VoiceThread which as a web-based, inexpensive and easy to learn product that I have been able to share with teachers just starting to integrate technology into their classrooms, as well as seasoned "techies."

The reason it takes first place for me this year is that it has evolved into being a mobile tool. Whereas in the past, the creators of the VoiceThreads (either myself or my students) had to be anchored to a computer, now I can create entire VoiceThreads from an iPhone or an iPod Touch/iPad with a camera.

I now carry in my pocket a tool that makes it effortless to capture learning as it happens. Students can easily carry an iTouch around and film, record with their voice (or typing), no matter where they are.

Rather than bringing the learning to the tool (i.e., having to sit at a the computer to make the VoiceThreads, separate from when the learning happened), the tool can now easily be brought to the learning (i.e., capturing the learning while it is happening).

Here's a VoiceThread that was captured almost entirely by walking around the room and having students reflect as they were learning/working.

What tool would you add to the list for "Best Transformational Tool of 2011?" Please let us know in the comments below. Thank you in advance!

I've been thinking a lot about Technology Integration into classrooms, schools, and districts. Of course, I'm always thinking about this, but I've been recently been working on our school's technology budget for next year, so I'm looking at our "needs" and "wants" closely, knowing items in both categories will be cut due to dwindling budgets that I'm sure most districts are well acquainted with.

Introducing new technologies into learning is not an easy process. Decision makers want to examine data, other districts' successes/struggles, and make sure money is being well spent. There are many approaches to adopting new technologies (or any educational tools for that matter). In this post, I thought I would offer up my own thoughts for a possible plan for investing in and integrating new technologies.

My plan laid out here is a "work in progress." Please use the comment section to revise or expand on my ideas and don't hesitate to trash the entire thing and offer up your own plan!

BOB SPRANKLE'S PLAN FOR TECHNOLOGY INTEGRATION:

Overview:

• Purpose
• Assessment
• Professional Development
• Beta Test Group (with Small amount of the Identified Technology acquired)
• Beta Group Assesses and Reports Out and Initial Professional Development Plan Created
• New People/Small Groups are Trained by Beta Group
• Technology is purchased for the Larger Group and Professional Development is Further Delivered
• Assess Outcomes (identified in Purpose stage)

Now for a bit of explanation:

Purpose:

I can't tell you how many times I've had educators (from teachers to administrators) approach me with something similar to the following quote:

"Okay, we just bought 500 iPod Touches (or other technology) for our teachers/school/district. Now what do we do?"

This has always concerned me as this is the "cart before the horse" scenario (I mentioned this in my last post). A lot of money is often spent as schools or districts try to climb aboard the Technology/21st Century Skill wagon without first identifying Purpose.

Without thinking about Technology at all, the process must start with identifying the need. It could be something such as: "I want my students to create work that is meaningful" or "We want our teachers to communicate more with parents and the community." It might be helpful to identify how these goals are going to be accomplished with or without new technology. This forces the question: are these goals really imperative? In other words, do the interested parties believe so strongly in these goals that they will make sure they happen with or without the purchase of new technologies?

Assessment:
Schools fortunate enough to have Technology Integrators or "tech-savvy" colleagues are then able to go and ask those folks what tools already exist to help achieve the goals identified. There is a very real possibility that in this part of the assessment phase, the conclusion may be that new technologies may not be necessary at all.

If new technologies are in fact identified, another assessment that must take place is to find out if the staff/teachers who will be using the technology have "buy in." It is important to take a pulse on reactions, perceptions, and feelings from those who will be using the new tools. Are they excited about the possibilities that the tools offer, or do they feel that the new tools are being forced upon them? This latter finding doesn't necessarily stop the process, but it will be important to identify resistance early on in the process in order to later address possible barriers of adoption during the Professional Development phase.

Beta Test Group (with Small amount of the Identified Technology acquired)

Find those teachers who are most enthusiastic (or at least willing) to try out the new technology. Also, start small with the purchase of the technology. There's no sense buying Interactive White Boards or iPads (for instance) for an entire school before testing it out with a small group of teachers first. Administrators/decision makers might be inclined to supply everyone with the technology in order for equitability. I believe that using a Beta Test group first is the best route because problems and struggles that may arise with the implementation of the tool(s) can be worked out more easily with a smaller group. Not everyone has to tackle these struggles together. Once all the "kinks" have been worked out, the Beta group can alleviate much of the anxiety and frustration for the larger group if the technology is adopted. This allows for a much more positive experience for the new users.

Alternatively, the findings from the Beta Test Group may be that the technology does not meet the desired needs, or is not worth the costs, or is too cumbersome or complicated to expect widespread adoption.

Beta Group Assesses and Reports Out

The Beta Group defines the pros and cons of adopting the technology and reports back to the decision makers/administrators. If the technology is adopted, the Beta Group identifies hurdles and struggles that may need to be overcome before adoption as well as begins putting together a clearly identified process for Professional Development for other staff.

It is possible that the group decides that this technology is not a tool that would benefit all teachers/students in the school. Technology Integration may actually come in many different forms. For instance, one set of students may benefit more from a tablet-like tool, and another set of students may do better with laptops. Or different technologies may be offered according to different activities/needs throughout the students' day.

New People/Small Groups are Trained by Beta Group

This part may seem redundant but I think it's beneficial. In essence, you are creating a second Beta Test Group of new teachers in order to beta test the Professional Development plan that will ultimately be deployed to the rest of the staff. This time, the group may include teachers who didn't show an interest in the adoption of the technology (bribe those teachers with lots of chocolate to join this new group). When the original Beta Test Group trains this new group of people, it is likely that additional technology may need to be purchased to support the training and additional needs/struggles/issues will be further identified, requiring revisions to the original Professional Development plan.

Technology is purchased for the Larger Group and Professional Development is Delivered

Finally, it's time to "take the plunge." The original Beta Test Group as well as members from the second group are the best choices for leading the Professional Development for the larger group and should serve as mentors/support for teachers as they begin using the tools. New technology is rarely mastered in one or two sessions of identified Professional Development time. Teachers will need to know who they are able to go to for support throughout the year in order to become proficient with the tools.

Assess Outcomes (identified in Purpose stage)

This really should be happening throughout the entire process, but I believe that there should be some type of formal assessment (examples: survey, data examination of student improvement, observation, and even anecdotal feedback) to see if the technology is actually meeting the needs identified. This could take place at an identified time, such as the end of the school year. It is likely that the assessment may reveal other uses for the technology that hadn't originally been anticipated. It is also likely that the assessment may reveal problems in the adoption of the technology: perhaps teachers aren't utilizing the tool (due to struggles with the tool, possibly requiring more professional development, or their own assessment that it is not a tool that "fits in" with the rest of their instruction). It is important to find out if the tools are actually being used, or if they are tucked away in a closet. Decisions may be made by administrators that the technology should be distributed elsewhere, that retraining is required, or that expectations are readdressed or reevaluated.

In Summary

Technology adoption does not happen overnight. There are many things to consider, test out, assess, and learn before large amounts of moneys are spent.

What struggles have you witnessed with new Technology Integration? What ideas would you offer to this post? I look forward to hearing your thoughts on my own ideas and your revisions to them.

Thank you in advance!

Once again, I have the pleasure of posting at Tech Learning on Thanksgiving Day. So, I'd like to start with a "Happy Thanksgiving" to all my American friends, and a "Happy Turkey Amnesty Day" for all of you who aren't celebrating the American tradition.

In honor of all those who are busy cooking up a storm in the kitchen, getting ready for the great feasts for friends and family, I thought I would keep this post short and again invite others to add their thoughts to it in the comment section below (hey, I've got my own T-Day preparations to make too!)

Last year, in my Thanksgiving post, I asked people to share what they were Thankful For (whether you celebrate Thanksgiving or not). So please add your "Thankfuls" in the comment section below.

This year, I want to state my gratitude for the after school Tech Club that I and two other adults help facilitate once a week. Our group has grown significantly since last year (we're up to around 16 students already). It is wonderful to witness the "elder" members (students from last year) help get things going without needing the adults to really do much. (Once in a while, we jump in with our thoughts and help guide the direction of conversation, but so far, the students have been charting the course).

Here's what I'm most Thankful for: the students have met 3 times already and have yet to really talk about TECHNOLOGY. Instead, they've been working on identifying the PURPOSE(s) of their group. Technology is secondary. So far the only technology they've incorporated has been learning Google Apps so that they can record their thoughts and communicate with each other.

Technology is not the reason that they've come together. In other words, I haven't heard one student say, "I want to learn how to make movies, that's why I'm here." Instead, they've identified local and global needs first, before even identifying the technology that will help them achieve their goals.

I ask all of us: is this the norm for teachers, schools, districts? Do we always clearly identify the PURPOSE before making our technology purchases? In my travels, I have often heard something similar to the following:

"Okay, we just bought 500 iPod Touches (or other technology) for our teachers/school/district. Now what do we do?"

This is, as the saying goes, putting the cart before the horse.

I firmly believe purpose should be clearly defined before we even begin to talk about what we need for technology, and I am thankful to be able to witness that this is how the Tech Club students are starting their journey.

I'll include the list of what they've come up with for what they want to work on:

Local:

• Animal Abuse
• Food Pantries
• Core Values/Kelso Assemblies (*my note: this is a school curriculum need)
• Help Homeless People
• Make nursing home more like home
• Set up lemonade stands to raise and donate money to a worthy cause

Global:

• Dominican Republic
• Africa
• Disease in other Countries
• WWF/Save Endangered Species
• Drought/Famine
• People with Cleft Lips
• Haiti’s needs
• Better Education in Different Countries
• Step towards peace

Both:

• Oil Spill
• Writing Books
• Animals
• Cancer
• Medical Needs
• Birthday Boxes
• Environmental Protection
• Recycle
• School Supplies for Africa
• World (everyone, even us) hunger

Looking at this list, it really doesn't look like it came from a group called "Tech Club." The students will eventually start looking for ways to accomplish some of the above with technology, but it is clear that it isn't shiny new Tech toys that are motivating their work.

So, thank you Tech Club students for demonstrating great practice of identifying the important part of Technology Integration: it must all be driven by the Purpose rather than the Technology.

What are you Thankful for?

It's no surprise that much of our personal data is being collected more than ever these days. Some of it may be without our even knowing (such as "sneaky" browser cookies), or perhaps with our consent (Facebook apps for example). Some of our personal data we willingly exchange for services, such as when we use Google to search for things. We know that our searches are going to be "mined" by Google to provide ads that tailor closely to our needs or demographics, and we realize that that is how Google makes money so that we can have a "killer" search engine.

The world is filled with data. Much of our economy centers around the collection, manipulation, selling, and usage of this data.

Recently, my team of teachers did a lesson with 1st graders, collecting leaves on a walk in the woods in order to collect data to determine which leaf (and therefore tree) was most represented in our woods (maple, birch, or oak). It's a wonderful yearly activity: we enjoy the walk outside, then bring all the leaves back in the classroom to sort and tally the results, and then students bring their tally "posters" to the computer lab and create bar graphs in a graphics program with me. By the time they get to me, the leaves are long gone, but I try to help them remember how many leaves they had, what a mess all of that data was, and how we've been able to harness meaning from their sampling or collection. The entire process is a great introduction to scientific inquiry and understanding how to collect and make meaning from data.

Just like the leaves in the woods, there are piles and piles of data all around us. More and more, apps are able to harness the data and turn it into something meaningful, and perhaps even a source of motivation. For years, I've been using the Nike+ Runner's app to track each run I take. I can look back at my speed, my calories burned, my total mileage, and my record runs. It is incredibly motivational to have this data and get real feedback on how I'm doing. The data validates the goals I am setting for myself and makes me want to beat previous goals.

The other day, a new geek tool/toy came to the market: the Jawbone UP Wristband. I'm not sure I need one, but I know I want one, but because it's so cool! In a nutshell, you wear this wristband and it collects data throughout the day ---and night!--- in order to help you live a healthier life. For instance, it will track your GPS routes, steps, distance, calories burned, pace, intensity level, and your active time vs. your inactive time. While sleeping, it will automatically be able to tell when you are in deep sleep vs. light sleep as well as track your sleep time. You can even use it to track your meals: take a picture of the food you're eating, and then later report how you feel. Overtime, all this data will hopefully help you make choices for a healthier lifestyle. (There are other features as well, such as vibrating when it's determined you've been dormant too long, so you'll get up and move around, and it can wake you up during the ideal moment in your natural sleep cycle).

Wes Fryer and I were discussing this collection of data and he came up with a great idea for an app. Imagine an app that could track a teacher's movements within his/her classroom on a daily basis. How interesting it would be as a teacher to look at this information (perhaps on a "heat map"), weekly or monthly, in order to gain insight into where I spend most of my time in the classroom. What would this information tell me? Am I moving around the room enough? Do I tend to stay in the front of the classroom more than other areas? Does this mean I am mostly lecturing to students rather than facilitating student work? Are there certain pockets of the room that need more of my time than others? Why?

While chatting about this idea with me, Wes suddenly jumped to an even cooler app idea: what if each student wore some type of sensor and a teacher could actually identify how often he/she spent time with each student. In other words, set the sensor to count "x-distance" from the student, which would demonstrate time spent 1-on-1 or in a small group with each student. What information could be drawn from this? Would this bring evidence that a particular student is needing more support from the teacher? That others are needing less? Would it help the teacher assess that some students might be gettingless interaction than he/she would desire? I know when I was in the classroom I would often reflect when I felt I hadn't been able to spend much time with certain students (due to a variety of reasons: perhaps they were absent, perhaps my support was needed elsewhere), and I would make the extra effort to spend time with them, perhaps by inviting them to have lunch with me in a small group setting. Being able to track this data of actual interaction would certainly help me make sure all students are getting the attention they need from me.

Think about this moving into collecting data on which students get called on most frequently. I used to assign a student this role during certain lessons, keeping data on how many girls I called on compared to boys, for instance. Imagine if I could once again have this taken care of on a consistent basis with an app and be able to chart this over an extended period of time. This data could be very useful.

I can see a counter argument to these ideas: that this echoes of "Big Brother" concerns, and what's stopping this data from being used in counter-productive ways, such as to evaluate a teacher's performance, or a disgruntled parent using the data to "prove" that his/her child did not receive equitable attention. The data could in fact become a piece of evaluating a teacher's performance, but I would hope that it would be completely controlled privately by the teacher with the good intentions of analyzing one's own performance, with the goal of becoming a better teacher.

Data is everywhere. It can be manipulated in infinite ways. I'd like to see more tools like my Nike+ app or the Jawbone UP to be able to collect data that I can use to inspect patterns and behaviors in order to more closely examine my own teaching in order to learn from the data, set goals, and improve my personal performance.

I just finished reading the book Stuff: Compulsive Hoarding and the Meaning of Things by Prof. Gail Steketee Ph.D. Prof. Randy Frost Ph.D. It is a deep and disturbing venture into understanding what people with "Hoarding" disorders go through. The book is both scientific and personal in tone and the authors do a good job of helping to remove the stigma associated with hoarding and help the reader understand that this is a disease that holds victims in a tight and unrelenting grip. As a side note, after reading the book, I was told that there is actually a reality show called "Hoarders." For the record, it disturbs me greatly that television has stooped so low to exploit people who are suffering from this disorder. In reading Stuff, you want only release for the people afflicted. Though many of the cases in the book are severe and sometimes shocking, the authors treat each person they work with in a respectful manner and manage to avoid slipping into a "car crash syndrome." Rather than allowing the reader to remain removed and judgmental, the book adds insight into how the brain works and even encourages an examination of ones own behaviors.

So of course, while reading, I thought of my own piles of clutter. I must admit that I was relieved to assess that I don't come close to those in the book, but I also began to question why I have held onto certain items that have really no value other than taking up space in my basement or attic. It has encouraged me to start planning some trips to the dump in the near future.

However, towards the end of the book, I looked into an area of my life that I hadn't examined in this way, due to its almost invisible nature: I started adding up all of the digital content that I have stored over the past years.

One recurring theme in the book is that many of the clients represented collect newspapers or magazines. They collect so many, that they no longer read them but report that the inherent value of information contained in them makes it impossible for them to throw them away. Some people relate that they may need that information at some point, so they hold onto it.

Whoa... I do that... just digitally.

Let's take a look a just a few things:

• at present, I have 2485 bookmarks stored at diigo.com
• I have 5,550 photos stored at flickr.com
• I follow 2,109 people on twitter.com
• I follow 556 friends on facebook.com
• I have around 480 articles still unread, stored in my readitlaterlist.com account
• I have 35,165 photos in my iPhoto application
• I have roughly 500 GB of data on my computer and about 2 Terabytes of unique data stored on separate external hard drives
• I currently have 23,910 files stored on my web hosting server
• I have 721 iPhone/iPad apps within iTunes
• and I am too embarrassed to even report how many songs I have in iTunes; let's just say that it would take more than a month to listen to all of them
• I could keep going with all the accounts I own, and even try to count the thousands of emails that I have saved (in case I need them again someday), but I'll leave it here for now

Now, I am cognizant of the differences between these digital "items" and physical objects. Many of the files I reported take up very little space and have little environmental impact (though each file does contribute to physical space and electrical demands... surely a part of my "digital footprint" that can't be discounted).

Many of the files are necessary to get my work done and many are truly cherished (such as photos and music). However, even I can see that it would be impossible for me to ever fully utilize this huge pile of files, photos, apps, etc. in a lifetime. Thankfully, when I leave this world, my digital stuff will be a very small burden for my surviving loved ones to deal with: they will simply need to "erase" all the digits, and empty the harddrives.

Or will they? When I think of the photos for instance, out of the 35,165 that are only in my iPhoto application, only a small collection are worth saving. Being digital, it has been easy to shoot as many photos that I'm able to, hoping to get at least one good photo out of the mix. Additionally, it has been easier to just dump all the photos into the computer without taking the time to toss the "duds." There's plenty of space on my computer. Why take the time to thin out the clutter?

Think of the apps that I've downloaded for my iPhone or iPad: many of them were free. However, many of them no longer serve their purposes (such as an app that helped track the 2008 election). In reality, I probably only use 5 to 10 apps consistently on my iPhone and my iPad. Why am I keeping the other 700+ around?

Sounds like hoarding doesn't it?

But is it all bad? Let's look at my diigo.com account. I'll be honest: when I see a good link, I throw it into that account. But of all the 2,485 bookmarks, how many of them have I actually gone back to? They're there... in case I need them. I do believe that I am helping the collective good when I share my bookmarks publicly as others are able to use them as well... Or... am I just adding to others' digital hoarding?

In this age of "information overload," why are many of us hanging onto piles of it? Does it even matter? Is all this digital "Stuff" having an impact on the environment as we store it in computers that need electricity, take up physical space, cost money to maintain or replace? What percentage of my "Stuff" do I actually need?

What are your thoughts on this? Are we digital hoarders? Should there be a television show about us?

I was reflecting on my reading habits recently, and I realized that I've been reading entirely with ebooks for about 9 months without touching paper. I love having a dozen or so books on my iPad with me at all times. I love that I can bookmark, highlight, insert notes and reflections. I love that I can "zoom" in on pictures and text (especially as my vision gets weaker with age). I love that I can SEARCH the etext (can't do that with a regular book)! I love that I can read by the glow of my iPad at night without waking my wife with my reading lamp. I love that I can see what other (Kindle) readers have highlighted and I even love that I can go and look at all of my own highlights and notes on the web. Ebooks are GREAT! However... there are things I miss from paper books, and things that I still want from ebooks that have yet to come to fruition. First, the things I personally miss (and perhaps things that are a loss to all of us as we move away from paper):

• the smell of books (okay, I might be alone in this, but I really do love the smell of books.)
• the feel, the weight of books.
• being able to tell how far along I am in a book. This is extremely hard to do ---at least for me--- when I see a percentage at the bottom of the screen of my progress, or that I am on page 201 out of 2230; this bothers me so much that whenever I can, I check in with the book I'm "e-reading" at the library or a bookstore just so I can see exactly how big the book is and get a visual on my progress.
• when I read my ebook in public, no one has any idea of what I'm reading. This may sound vain, but I really see it as a great loss. Gone are the days when another reader comes up to me in a café because he/she has seen the book I'm reading and wants to connect over that book (or vise versa with me approaching other readers). I now read in public in secrecy.
• lending books, while "possible" requires planning, compatible operating systems, and time-constraints. Also, I can't give away ebooks after I'm done with them.
• my bookshelf seems to have suffered an untimely death, with no new books coming in to accompany or replace the old books. I've got more space in the house, for sure, but gone are the days when a friend, or my wife, or my daughter can peruse my library and find something of interest that is new.
• and, the darkest and most painful loss is the loss of bookstores. In reading ebooks I can make my purchasing decisions without ever speaking to another human. Dwindling are the conversations that happen in bookstores when folks talk to the booksellers or have a chance meeting with someone else in the "Self Help" section.

Now for a list of things that I still expect from ebooks (especially to soften the loss of actual books):

• MUCH, MUCH more social networking. Okay, I can see how many people have highlighted certain passages from the Kindle books that I'm reading, but where is the connection part with this shared knowledge? For instance, why have so many people highlighted the same passage? Why can't each reader also share their reasoning for highlights, their notes, their reflections? Think Kindle meets Facebook. I believe that this is coming, but why isn't it already happening? If you think of the "Long Tail," it is not only possible that there are thousands upon thousands of readers who are engaged in the same book as I am, but it is possible that there are even readers reading the exact page that I am currently on! Why can't I connect with those folks? We're completely invisible to each other, when we have technology already in existence that would make it possible for connection.
• Speaking of connection, why can't I have the "people" experience when purchasing books? I mentioned this above as a loss, but again, while not as good as true "face to face," technology could make personal interaction possible. For example, go search a book on Amazon.com. Look at the page. Yes, we have the wonderful benefit of other readers' reviews, but there's so much more that's currently invisible. While you're at a particular page at Amazon, do you think that you're the only one viewing that page at that time? There are probably thousands of others viewing that very same page at the exact time that you're viewing it! Wouldn't it be wonderful to have the option of interacting with those other readers/shoppers? As I wrote the first draft of this post, a 5.9 magnitude earthquake hit Virginia and was felt throughout the upper eastern coast. Immediately, my Facebook and Twitter "friends" came together to discuss, post, question, and share information about it. Why can't we do this when we experience "literary earthquakes" while reading? Lovers of books want to connect. We want to share our discoveries and our experiences. We join book groups to do this ---both in the "physical world" and "virtually" such as with online forums. Though reading is in part a solitary endeavor, together we make up audiences of varying sizes (depending on the book). Let's make reading more participatory without people having to leave the book.
• At the very least, ebooks need to mirror the experience of the web in the sense that I can "link out" to other books or experiences from within the book. Ebooks are definitely moving in this direction, but truly seamless and integrated experiences with other media is still in the process of being realized. New literature has the benefit of expanding the new frontiers of what an ebook's potential can be, but at some point I believe we'll want to go back and "hook up" previously published books with the same "multi-media" possibilities. Perhaps software will be able to do this grunt work, or a Wikipedia-type collective effort will take care of this.
• And finally, where is the "bonus-disc" material with ebooks? Just as DVDs are being issued with out-takes, interviews, extended/alternate versions, etc, ebooks could easily be complimented with extras.

The possibilities and the identities of ebooks are still being realized and I doubt we're even close to understanding their full potentials. The above is my "short list" of what I expect from ebooks now as well as what I bemoan the loss of with my increasing dependence on electronic texts.

What will you miss from paper books as ebooks become more dominant? What are your dreams for ebooks?

Thanks for sharing!

I have long recommended fellow educators to check out one of my favorite books, Web Literacy for Educators by Alan November. This book gives passage into the inner workings of search engines and how to fully control them to do your bidding. Before reading this book, I thought I understood how to "search;" but Alan November showed me that I was only scratching the surface. I contend that November's book is a must read for all educators in order to be fully equipped to teach the necessary skills of Internet research to students, and it would serve as an outstanding curriculum guide (equipped with lesson ideas and teaching strategies) for schools.

Many of us (myself included) haven't been taught the proper use of search engines; we've just figured them out as we've used them. But there's so much more beneath even the "Advanced Search" options that Google, for instance, offers, and I find myself still learning new tricks with Google's excellent "A Google A Day" game.

I'm not exactly sure when Google put forth this treasure, but I just found it and am hooked. The game is quite simple in design: you're given a question and need to find the answer. Your efforts are timed, and usually take several layers of searching to arrive at the desired outcome, however, there is of course more than one way to discover the answers. Hints can be given along the way if you get really stuck.

A typical question is illustrated by the one I answered on September 18, 2011:

What bean was so prized by the people of Tenochtitlan that it was used as currency?

It took me 1 minute and 37 seconds to find the answer (but in my defense, I hadn't completely finished my first cup of coffee). When I completed it, "A Google A Day" displayed my path to find the answer (I won't include it here, so I don't ruin your own search). "A Google A Day" is a separate search engine than "regular Google," to ensure the user doesn't find someone else's answer:

To keep the game interesting for everyone, we created Deja Google – A wormhole inspired time machine that searches the Internet as it existed before the game began. Because nobody wants someone's recent blog post about finding an answer spoiling their fun.

Users can go back in time to complete questions on days they missed, and of course, you could repeat the search of any question as many times as you'd like, trying different query approaches.

Along with the game, is the amazing resource, "Tips and Tricks" which includes the link to "Google Inside Search," where users can learn even more about successful searching techniques in the "Features" and "More Help" sections. (There's plenty more to do at the "Google Inside Search" page, such as enjoy and learn the meanings of all the Google Logos that have graced the past Google pages).

"A Google A Day" is an excellent resource for teachers to use with students together or pass on to students for their own independent study. I can imagine classes breaking up into teams to compete against each other, or graphing their best times each day. Each daily answer could also lead to even more research for students.

Students, and teachers, will become "power searchers" in no time with this fun and engaging game.

One of the big news items over the past couple of weeks has been Amazon's announcement of the Kindle Fire, along with other new Kindle flavors. I think at this point, we can safely say that the Fire will not be an iPad Killer, however, Amazon's new announcements should definitely have an impact upon the Tablet market going forward. Specifically, many forecasted that the Fire would be coming in with a $300 price tag; seeing it offered at a hundred less than that is definitely welcoming news.

More exciting to me, is the announcement of the base Kindle model which is now offered at $79, with 2GB of book space. Though it's without a keypad (mostly not needed, in my opinion), we've seen quite an evolution from the original 250MB model ---which was priced at $399. At $79, the base model is a stone's throw from a price I'd like to see it at ---around $50--- which I believe is a price Amazon will reach sooner than later. Even at $79, I'm ready to purchase one for my wife, who hasn't wanted the many offerings of the iPad, but can see the benefit of having a lightweight and inexpensive reader that can go to the beach with her. At some point, I'm sure I'll pick up this entry model for myself so I too can read outside (I love my iPad, but it's definitely an inside tool).

Here's one thing that I can't understand, however: if Amazon really wants to be an "iPad Killer," why don't they offer the Kindle (at least the entry model) for FREE? I've thought this even back in the days when they were raking in the $399 price.

On my iPad, I've bet on Amazon to be the bookstore that will win out in the end. When I purchase a new book, I don't buy from the Apple store, or Barnes and Noble, and thank goodness I never invested in building a library with Borders (though currently, there is an exit plan for any books purchased with them... but for how long?). I want my ebooks purchased to stay with the store that has the best outlook for succeeding so that 15 years from now, I can still read them. This may be naïve on my part, but I think they'll be safest with the Amazon giant. Whether I like the company or not, I am loyal to Amazon.

However, think of how many more loyal readers Amazon would have if they gave away a reader for free (or even close to free)? Once someone commits to the Amazon reader, they're going to buy their books primarily from Amazon. (If have doubts that FREE is even possible, read Free: The Future of a Radical Price by Chris Anderson).

As an alternative, think how many Kindles would sell (regardless of model), if Amazon filled them with books upon purchase? $79 for a Kindle? Fill it with $79 worth of books. Remember, these ebooks are easily copyable digits. They're made once, easily stored and delivered, and easily reap profit. I would plunk down $79 dollars today for a Kindle if it was filled with even half the price equal in ebooks. On average, ebooks come in at $10. Even putting three $10 books on the machine would more than entice folks to the device due to the savings they would realize over physical books.

I've been trying to convince my wife of the Kindle for a while, and besides the previous high price tags, she's asserted that she would rather use the Public Library to borrow books. The wonderful thing is that this is possible with Kindle at most libraries. It was always my belief that you could only do this with an actual Kindle, but today after logging into my Public Library's website, I was able to borrow an ebook which I could send to my Kindle app on my iPad. Most of the books that I wanted to borrow had a long waiting period for them, and I'm not sure if I can renew them after the two week lending period, but this is certainly a feature that has brought my wife on board with the idea of an ebook reader.

How many of you are going with the Kindle due to the new price drops? Will you too be getting on board?

This coming Sunday will mark the 10th Anniversary of 9/11. This will, without doubt, be a difficult day for many. Ten years is a long time, and yet it feels like just yesterday when I received the note handed to me while teaching that alerted to me of the tragedies taking place that fateful day. I still have that note. Every once in a while, I take it out and re-read it. It immediately transports me back to that horrible day and propels me into deep reflection.
This past summer was the first time I visited New York since 9/11 had happened. My family and I went down to Ground Zero and viewed the rebuilding and watched the cranes and workers finishing up the memorial that will open this week. We went to the FDNY Memorial Wall. It was a very somber and profound experience. Very emotional.

My daughter was 3 years old when 9/11 occurred. She has no memory of the actual events except of what she's been told and learned later in her life. Many of our high school and even middle school students in our schools will have clear memories of the day. In the coming days, we will be bombarded with images, video, and recordings from the event in the media. These images will undoubtedly permeate our classroom walls, even at our younger grades. Schools, teachers, parents, and communities will approach the anniversary in different ways. Some will incorporate this historical moment through curriculum, discussion, and commemorative events. Others may choose not to. People will find the approach to marking the anniversary in the way that works best for them.

When 9/11 occurred, my wife and I did not have television. We missed all of the images that most of the world watched for days, weeks, months. In some ways, I feel fortunate to have only text (newspapers) and audio (radio) to inform me of the events, and wasn't bombarded with the terrible images over and over again. However, in following years, I have felt the need to go and witness the images and even video from the day that have been archived on the Internet. I'm not entirely sure why I've needed to do this, but I do believe it is part of my own reckoning with this moment in history that has in many ways defined an integral part of our personal, national, and global identity.

You may have students who feel the need to do the same examination, or who seek guidance in educating themselves further about 9/11 due to the anniversary. It is my strong opinion that curriculum, discussions, or any study of 9/11 brought into the classroom should be well thought out in advance, with sensitivity to many issues such as age group, community needs, parental wishes, religious and political beliefs, etc. As stated above: this anniversary will be very difficult for many.

Parents and students may approach schools and teachers for tools to further understand and commemorate the event. There are many resources available electronically.

One of my favorite endeavors is Scholastic's "I Will" 9/11 Tribute Movement. The intent is to mark the anniversary by making it "the single largest day of charitable service in history." Many resources and lesson plans can be found at the site.

The National September 11 Memorial and Museum has an extensive online site, offering interactive timelines, webcasts, lesson plans and even a virtual tour of the memorial. They provide an excellent handout on "Talking to Your Children About 9/11." They also have several iPhone/iPad apps dedicated to 9/11 and the Memorial. Older students may want to include their stories, photos, or video in the "Making History" interactive, collective section of the site.

The National Association of School Psychologists offers resources "to support parents, educators, and other caregivers helping children understand the many facets of the 10th Anniversary of September 11, 2001."

The World Trade Center Tribute Site offers an educational toolkit for grades 5-12, including a teacher's guide and learning standards to use with included oral histories.

I would be remiss if I were to leave out the collection housed at the Internet Archive: "Understanding 9/11A Television News Archive" which offers up over "3000 hours of television from 20 channels over 7 days" documenting both national and international television coverage. I am by no means recommending its inclusion in resources for students, but rather to note the unprecedented breadth of information available to us due to technological advancements. The sites listed above ---as well as my own thoughts about revisiting this difficult history through education--- barely scratch the surface of this topic.

I would love to hear your thoughts in the comments below about how best to explore this anniversary in education, as well as any sites/resources you have found that would benefit students, families, and community.

Thank you.