THINGAMAJIGS AND DOHICKEYS

WHAT THE HECK IS A.......?

On the most general and basic level, I want to understand what my students and colleagues are talking about in terms of educational and social technology and, when feasible and possible, how to use those “thingamajiggers.” I also want to be able to manage incoming information more efficiently, for both work and home purposes. When the time is right, I would hope to be able to choose tools which can enhance learning and fit realistically into one-quarter classes. Finally, this is an opportunity for me, who works as a “team of one,” to use all the connectivity aspects of technology to learn continually with and from other educators.

I would also like to hear or read a bit from the “non-techie” side – the educators who AREN’T sold on educational technology, or educators who have chosen to form or work in “unplugged schools.” If we are lifelong learners and educators, we have an obligation to think critically, and not be completely sold on ANY educational approach without looking at the other side of the coin. I have concerns about how technology is widening the rich-poor gap, the commercial aspect of the Internet, and the environmental impact of the use of technology. And I’d like to know more about how multi-tasking and frequent use of the computer affect the brain, particularly short- and long-term memory, and the parts of the brain which activate empathy. Will any of the course content look at these issues?

From the first two class sessions, I have a better understanding of how a social networking tool such as Facebook can be used for social action purposes (“crowdsourcing”), and how an RSS feed can help me to manage reading material, subscriptions, and course materials. I also found that using delicious.com as a search engine can be a great resource; it led me to lesson plans on sustainability, something I had been trying to do rather slowly and not very efficiently using general google searches. From Chris Betcher, I learned about newsmap.jp – a rather new and wide and general resource for news articles which is attractive and can be used in many ways. I was so excited about that one (for Humanities), that I shared it with our librarian and the MS Humanities Department.