It's all about the learning

As I am thinking about the book and ways my life has been augmented by Smart technologies my Apple watch is reminding me to stand.  It is good advice since I have been in webinars all day and my body is feeling the effects of sitting.  I feel that I am on the positive side of the fence when we talk about emerging technologies or Smart devices.  Don’t get me wrong - there is always a dark side to everything but I when these technologies are in the hands of good - they are meant to enhance our lives and make them better.  

My daughter recently bought a new washing machine for their home.  It has a special venting cycle unlike mine where I must leave it open all the time so it doesn’t smell musty - but the best upgrade is that it sends them a text notice when the load is done so you can put it in the dryer.  This video on the Internet of Things really describes how our lives will never be the same again due to Smart technologies.  Some may argue it is too much but like our author King theme throughout his book is that there is no stopping this change.

When we are thinking about these technologies, I love to see where it takes us in our teaching and learning.  I get so excited to learn new tools and see how I can integrate them to make the teaching and then learning better.  When we focus on learning and how to make it better for students then technology integration seems like the best step.  As I have read or posted articles about these tools it is to take students to places beyond the walls of the classroom.  It can be complex like a virtual field trip or an app that brings a dinosaur walking around the school hallways.  It can also be very simple.  Each year our kindergarten students have a gingerbread unit near December.  The teachers read several versions of the story and plan all sorts of activities.  In collaboration with them I found a very fun app called QuiverVision.  You have to go to their site and download and print their pictures.  There is a picture of a snowglobe with a gingerbread house and man.  The students do this activity as part of their unit.  Once the picture is colored, they come to the ipad center to bring their picture “to life” in a 3D augmented environment.  It is like magic for them.  The snowglobe “snows” and their gingerbread person waves at them.  It is such an exciting time and I never tire of their excitement over this experience.  Merge Cube is another augmented reality experience.  Using a cube learners can hold a 3D object in their hands.  Students can explore a galaxy in the palm of their hand, hold fossils and ancient artifacts and examine them like a paleontologist, watch as a volcano erupts before their eyes, and create virtual objects that they can hold and share.  I have used this in a fourth grade lesson when they are studying the solar system.  They can hold the entire solar system and touch each of the planets to learn more about them.  I am like the students the first time seeing this technology and it is exciting and magical since it seems impossible to do.  

These are just a few examples of the amazing teaching and learning that students can experience.  I see my role as an educator to give students experiences that make them want to be engaged and curious.  The technologies today and the ones that are still coming will make that possible.  Gotta go - my watch says it is time again to stand. 

My students using Merge Cube and Quiver.