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Question number 7 on the survey was:  Should the “edcational network” be publically accessible or a “walled garden?”

Here are the results:

• 30.8% of the respondents said there should be public access
• 15.4% of the respondents said they should be a “walled garden”
• 53.8% of the respondents said there should be public access with limits

There’s clearly an overwhelming sentiment towards the need for public access to the educational network.  This raises a number of issues:

• Can you protect the students?
• How do you control users if your educational network is hosted on your own network?
• Should it be hosted externally?
• Who makes the decisions regarding access?
• What are the policies surrounding liability if there is an incident?

While the response is demonstrative of a desire for real world interaction, those educators advocating this need to make sure they are part of the implementation planning process.

Picnik Now Offers Premium Features For Free

Online image editing startup Picnik has announced that users will now have full access to all of Picniks editing features for free.

Tools now available to all users include advanced edit tools, special effects, additional fonts and shapes. The service will be ad supported, but those wanting an ad free experience can sign up from Picnik Premium for $24.95 a year.

I’ve played with the Picnik application online and I have to admit I was impressed. If you wanted to introduce students to photo editing without having to purchase a lot of expensive software, this is the place to visit. Even better now the cool stuff is free.

While doing a little navel gazing in Wordpress I was shocked to find I had reached my 100th blog post. I wondered…what should this be about? Some profound look back over the years? An amalgamation of my learnings and insights? Some deep bits of wisdom?Nope. Just a slightly self-satisfied grin that I’ve been able to keep doing this. Now to the future!

photo credit: chidorian

So often the term “Digital Native” is thrown about when discussing students technical ability we fail to recognize what the connotation actually means.  By definition from Dictionary.com, the word “native” is:

It is the second definition of the word that causes us the problem.  Why do we believe there is a “native ability” conveyed upon our students just because of their birth decade?  They may have been born into a time of accessibility and lack the fear of the unknown but they still have to put in the time to learn the tools like anyone else.

I suggest a change.  This division of digital knowledge is not limited to age demographic.  Throw out the reliance on birth timing.  The new references should be “Digital Leaders” or “Digital Followers”.  Those students/parents/staff/people who lead into the digital space to explore and guide as compared to those who follow the leaders.  There is an equity to the roles since both have acceptance of digital technology.  By identifying whether a student is a “DL” or a “DF” you can guide their interactions and development much more effectively than dismissively saying, “They’re a digital native.  This should be easy for them.”

Thoughts?

Toward A Definition of 21st-Century Literacies

Literacy has always been a collection of cultural and communicative practices shared among members of particular groups. As society and technology change, so does literacy. Because technology has increased the intensity and complexity of literate environments, the twenty-first century demands that a literate person possess a wide range of abilities and competencies, many literacies. These literacies—from reading online newspapers to participating in virtual classrooms—are multiple, dynamic, and malleable. As in the past, they are inextricably linked with particular histories, life possibilities and social trajectories of individuals and groups. Twenty-first century readers and writers need to• Develop proficiency with the tools of technology

• Build relationships with others to pose and solve problems collaboratively and
cross-culturally

• Design and share information for global communities to meet a variety of
purposes

• Manage, analyze and synthesize multiple streams of simultaneous
information

• Create, critique, analyze, and evaluate multi-media texts

• Attend to the ethical responsibilities required by these complex environments

While I’m a big fan of these kinds of explanations I think we can drill this down to a much more digestable level:

• Work with others
• Share what you know
• Learn to manage your sources
• Read critically
• Do no evil

Thoughts?