365 Project: March

Month three, ending with photo #90. I'm still trying to include a mix of personal and professional images, outdoor shots, and family moments.

Most viewed was The Mystery Tool, posted on March 29. Its solution, uploaded on March 31, will probably achieve similar numbers, as people continue to check for the name of this object.


My favorite was the Lamoka Point. Being able to hold a projectile point dating from 3500 - 2500 B.C. in my hand means touching history. I am in awe that such artifacts survive to tell their stories.



You can see a slideshow of the 31 March photos here or view all of my 2009 photos to date here.

The two groups to which I contribute are 365/2009 and 2009/365.

Technology

Historically, an important aspect of technological advances has been to help humans control their environment and improve their daily life.

Buttons, belt buckles, zippers - all revolutionized the clothing industry. Isaac Singer maintained that women could be trusted to operate "machinery" and successfully marketed his home sewing machine, freeing wives and mothers from endless hand sewing tasks. Washers, vacuum cleaners, telephones, typewriters and automobiles all impacted households and the workplace.

In the educational world, the word "technology" is most frequently used to describe the inclusion of software, hardware, and Internet applications developed to enhance learning activities. There has been an astonishing number of products created that claim to support and extend classroom opportunities.



Choosing the proper tool, experimenting with it, assessing its strengths and weaknesses, is part of the process of technology integration. Consider whether the new technology

• fills a need
• better engages the learner
• improves upon the tool it is replacing
• is appropriate to the subject matter and grade level

Does the new technology do something faster, better, easier? Will it be transformative?

Will the tool drive instruction or will learners' needs determine the tool?




"Treadle" by dmcordell
"smartboard" by popofatticus
"blocks" by {dpade1337}

Tools

"Man is a tool-using animal. Without tools he is nothing, with tools he is all." -Thomas Carlyle

Patrick Higgins, a member of my PLN on Twitter, recently advised a follower to

"take the focus away from the tools. Ask them [teachers] what they want their students to do first, then find what best fits."

This is a message that I've heard - and used myself - before, but it bears repeating.

Too often those who are technically adept, or at least aware, try to convince others to try new technology tools, teach new skills, to their students. This may lead to failure for a number of reasons:

• the listener is less knowledgeable about the digital world than the speaker
  
• the listener perceives the tools as an add-on rather than an integral part of teaching process
• the speaker overwhelms the listener with too much information
• the tool is inappropriate for the task

Sometimes technology is intrusive. If the purpose of journaling is self-reflection, a simple, inexpensive, portable, composition book might be the best "tool" to use. When interaction and collaboration is the focus, then an Internet-based blog, wiki, or Google Document is a viable alternative, provided the teacher possesses the requisite knowledge of how to use these tools successfully and the students have access to necessary hardware and applications.

As with clothing, one size rarely fits all.


"A tool is but the extension of a man's hand, and a machine is but a complex tool." -Henry Ward Beecher



"Inside a Toolbox" by Siomuzzz