Comments for ToolsAndTaxonomy.com http://www.toolsandtaxonomy.com If we want to get more for less then we have to do things differently Sun, 23 Jan 2011 13:29:10 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.1 Comment on Agile learning, Agile Software development and the Mobile Internet by Dick Moore http://www.toolsandtaxonomy.com/2010/07/13/agile-learning-agile-software-development-and-the-mobile-internet/comment-page-1/#comment-646 Dick Moore Sun, 23 Jan 2011 13:29:10 +0000 http://www.toolsandtaxonomy.com/?p=152#comment-646 Simon I like the whole barbell analogy, considering education as a set of personal investments works form me! The only issue I have with that is that all too often the long term investments are not ‘owned’ by student. That being said, tutoring to my mind is a terrific example of an agile method. A good tutor will establish specific areas of need, and a individual / personalised path to deliver a set of short term goals with adaptable exercises solid formative assessment and constant feedback that allows a student to monitor their progress. Does it matter if the goal is passing an exam rather than developing a deep understanding, well to my mind the answer is no, in all but the most mechanical of subjects we can expect a deeper understanding to develop from repetition and it’s for the summative assessment to assess the level of understanding. Setting short term achievable / mini goals that are achievable and providing feedback is intuitively a “good thing “to do especially for those students that respond to validation. How might it be made more agile, well in my opinion ensuring that the student has a strong voice in student their goals. Simon
I like the whole barbell analogy, considering education as a set of personal investments works form me! The only issue I have with that is that all too often the long term investments are not ‘owned’ by student.
That being said, tutoring to my mind is a terrific example of an agile method. A good tutor will establish specific areas of need, and a individual / personalised path to deliver a set of short term goals with adaptable exercises solid formative assessment and constant feedback that allows a student to monitor their progress.
Does it matter if the goal is passing an exam rather than developing a deep understanding, well to my mind the answer is no, in all but the most mechanical of subjects we can expect a deeper understanding to develop from repetition and it’s for the summative assessment to assess the level of understanding.
Setting short term achievable / mini goals that are achievable and providing feedback is intuitively a “good thing “to do especially for those students that respond to validation.
How might it be made more agile, well in my opinion ensuring that the student has a strong voice in student their goals.

]]> Comment on Agile learning, Agile Software development and the Mobile Internet by simonwalsh http://www.toolsandtaxonomy.com/2010/07/13/agile-learning-agile-software-development-and-the-mobile-internet/comment-page-1/#comment-645 simonwalsh Sat, 22 Jan 2011 17:29:16 +0000 http://www.toolsandtaxonomy.com/?p=152#comment-645 I am trying to understand this concept and wonder if agile learning could supplement a student’s academic learning in between: 1. what is provided in their school and 2. what is provided by their private tutor. Whilst some students can study independently, generally those that struggle at GCSE level for example cannot. Therefore I believe that many students take a barbell strategy towards passing their exams. The schools provide the main core of learning, the student does very little independent study, and then they use a private tutor to help them revise and reinforce what was covered at school. If we were to provide a system by where a student and their mentors (teacher\parent\tutor) could set mini goals that represent their areas of weakness, mapped to suitable asynchronous learning resources, the student could then add a new approach to learning: hence filling the gap in the barbell. Do you think this could be considered a valid application of the principles of agile learning? I am trying to understand this concept and wonder if agile learning could supplement a student’s academic learning in between:
1. what is provided in their school and 2. what is provided by their private tutor.

Whilst some students can study independently, generally those that struggle at GCSE level for example cannot. Therefore I believe that many students take a barbell strategy towards passing their exams. The schools provide the main core of learning, the student does very little independent study, and then they use a private tutor to help them revise and reinforce what was covered at school.

If we were to provide a system by where a student and their mentors (teacher\parent\tutor) could set mini goals that represent their areas of weakness, mapped to suitable asynchronous learning resources, the student could then add a new approach to learning: hence filling the gap in the barbell.

Do you think this could be considered a valid application of the principles of agile learning?

]]> Comment on OLPC (One laptop per child) transforms a continent by Seb http://www.toolsandtaxonomy.com/2010/08/25/one-laptop-per-child-transforms-a-continent/comment-page-1/#comment-643 Seb Thu, 26 Aug 2010 06:57:34 +0000 http://www.toolsandtaxonomy.com/?p=225#comment-643 Good to see the diversity of devices that these mass Latin American schemes are using. Soon <a href="http://www.alt.ac.uk/" rel="nofollow">ALT</a> will have a relevant announcement about keynote speakers at the 2011 ALT conference in Leeds next September. Good to see the diversity of devices that these mass Latin American schemes are using. Soon ALT will have a relevant announcement about keynote speakers at the 2011 ALT conference in Leeds next September.

]]> Comment on Credit not Charity the Kiva Way by Ed http://www.toolsandtaxonomy.com/2009/12/06/kiva/comment-page-1/#comment-642 Ed Thu, 15 Jul 2010 10:36:35 +0000 http://toolsandtaxonomy.com/?p=99#comment-642 Our small Kiva lending team has now made 45 loans to the value of $1,125 of course we can do this because we keep recycling the same cash. More development impact for your money. In 18 months of lending I have only had a single default $12 and that was the local administration team not the lender. Go on feel good about your self join our team at http://www.kiva.org/community/teams/view/members/?team_id=3008 Our small Kiva lending team has now made 45 loans to the value of $1,125 of course we can do this because we keep recycling the same cash. More development impact for your money. In 18 months of lending I have only had a single default $12 and that was the local administration team not the lender.

Go on feel good about your self join our team at http://www.kiva.org/community/teams/view/members/?team_id=3008

]]> Comment on Google – Seeding the Cloud by Ed http://www.toolsandtaxonomy.com/2010/02/18/google-seeding-the-cloud/comment-page-1/#comment-641 Ed Thu, 15 Jul 2010 10:18:25 +0000 http://www.toolsandtaxonomy.com/?p=143#comment-641 Colorado, Iowa and Oregon have all announced that all their state schools are going to use google apps. http://tinyurl.com/252xs7w While this is going to save quite a lot of cash, the really interesting thing will be to see how they use some of the collaborative elements of google docs, chat and video in teaching and learning. Colorado, Iowa and Oregon have all announced that all their state schools are going to use google apps. http://tinyurl.com/252xs7w

While this is going to save quite a lot of cash, the really interesting thing will be to see how they use some of the collaborative elements of google docs, chat and video in teaching and learning.

]]> Comment on Footprint in your pocket and head in the cloud -The Little Black Device by uberVU - social comments http://www.toolsandtaxonomy.com/2009/12/14/cloud-devices/comment-page-1/#comment-265 uberVU - social comments Mon, 21 Dec 2009 11:49:13 +0000 http://toolsandtaxonomy.com/?p=117#comment-265 <strong>Social comments and analytics for this post...</strong> This post was mentioned on Friendfeed by Dick: Footprint in your pocket and head in the cloud a piece I just published on next generation devices and how Android will win our hearts and pockets http://toolsandtaxonomy.com/2009...... Social comments and analytics for this post…

This post was mentioned on Friendfeed by Dick: Footprint in your pocket and head in the cloud a piece I just published on next generation devices and how Android will win our hearts and pockets http://toolsandtaxonomy.com/2009…...

]]> Comment on Footprint in your pocket and head in the cloud -The Little Black Device by davidjennings http://www.toolsandtaxonomy.com/2009/12/14/cloud-devices/comment-page-1/#comment-256 davidjennings Wed, 16 Dec 2009 22:57:11 +0000 http://toolsandtaxonomy.com/?p=117#comment-256 The interesting thing for me is what happens when the ownership and control of these personal devices flips from institution to learner. So far the institutions have been able to impose sometimes draconian limits (no Facebook! no Wikipedia?!) on learners' use of technology because they controlled the scarce resource, the computers. When the devices are no longer scarce and every learner has one, the means to control use of this resource ebbs away very quickly. Will institutions issue 'tethered devices' whose content and access they control? "Use this device for all your learning, alongside the Gphone in your pocket that you use for the rest of your life"? I don't think so. Is that learner looking intently at their device because they're concentrating on a learning objective, playing a game, or messaging their boyfriend? You can't look over 30 shoulders at once. Power and control in the classroom will shift. The interesting thing for me is what happens when the ownership and control of these personal devices flips from institution to learner. So far the institutions have been able to impose sometimes draconian limits (no Facebook! no Wikipedia?!) on learners’ use of technology because they controlled the scarce resource, the computers. When the devices are no longer scarce and every learner has one, the means to control use of this resource ebbs away very quickly. Will institutions issue ‘tethered devices’ whose content and access they control? “Use this device for all your learning, alongside the Gphone in your pocket that you use for the rest of your life”? I don’t think so. Is that learner looking intently at their device because they’re concentrating on a learning objective, playing a game, or messaging their boyfriend? You can’t look over 30 shoulders at once. Power and control in the classroom will shift.

]]> Comment on Footprint in your pocket and head in the cloud -The Little Black Device by davidjennings http://www.toolsandtaxonomy.com/2009/12/14/cloud-devices/comment-page-1/#comment-255 davidjennings Wed, 16 Dec 2009 22:44:10 +0000 http://toolsandtaxonomy.com/?p=117#comment-255 Not quite sure if I've understood you here. "The ability to rapidly assess learner’s understanding, and use that interaction to shape learning activities." Who is doing that rapid assessment and that shaping of learning activities? If not academic staff, is it some AI bot? If it is, then I'm sceptical, because machines don't have a good record of understanding what 'understanding' is, let alone assessing it and acting upon it. I know adaptive tools for personalisation have been touted for quite a while now, but do you have examples of them adapting learning activities in a substantial and meaningful way? Not quite sure if I’ve understood you here. “The ability to rapidly assess learner’s understanding, and use that interaction to shape learning activities.” Who is doing that rapid assessment and that shaping of learning activities? If not academic staff, is it some AI bot? If it is, then I’m sceptical, because machines don’t have a good record of understanding what ‘understanding’ is, let alone assessing it and acting upon it. I know adaptive tools for personalisation have been touted for quite a while now, but do you have examples of them adapting learning activities in a substantial and meaningful way?

]]> Comment on Footprint in your pocket and head in the cloud -The Little Black Device by davidjennings http://www.toolsandtaxonomy.com/2009/12/14/cloud-devices/comment-page-1/#comment-254 davidjennings Wed, 16 Dec 2009 22:38:26 +0000 http://toolsandtaxonomy.com/?p=117#comment-254 I'd say be careful with your use of 'full' and 'rich' in this context. I first read this post yesterday evening on my iPhone. To make the reading experience tolerable, I read it using the instapaper app (which strips out the white space and images). I had lots of inspired comments then, but no means to annotate the text or easily record them on the iPhone -- so I've forgotten them. The point being that there are physical constraints on how much richness and complexity combined with usability you can pack into these highly portable devices. I’d say be careful with your use of ‘full’ and ‘rich’ in this context. I first read this post yesterday evening on my iPhone. To make the reading experience tolerable, I read it using the instapaper app (which strips out the white space and images). I had lots of inspired comments then, but no means to annotate the text or easily record them on the iPhone — so I’ve forgotten them. The point being that there are physical constraints on how much richness and complexity combined with usability you can pack into these highly portable devices.

]]> Comment on Footprint in your pocket and head in the cloud -The Little Black Device by New Gadgets | Footprint in your pocket and head in the cloud -The Little Black Device http://www.toolsandtaxonomy.com/2009/12/14/cloud-devices/comment-page-1/#comment-241 New Gadgets | Footprint in your pocket and head in the cloud -The Little Black Device Mon, 14 Dec 2009 18:32:53 +0000 http://toolsandtaxonomy.com/?p=117#comment-241 [...] Original post by ToolsAndTaxonomy.com [...] [...] Original post by ToolsAndTaxonomy.com [...]

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