Posts Tagged ‘youtube’
Through the looking Glass
Posted on: May 22, 2013
There are MANY spoofs and put-downs of Google Glass.
But how does an “average” person respond to it. Perhaps something like this…
Not everyone will be this excited. But that is not the point.
The point is people bashing a tool and strategy before it has had a chance to be tried out and to prove itself. This bashing happens all too often and squashes creativity and innovation.
We need more people like Mr Excited. They are willing to try new things and they are positively infectious. They might even help organizations be prepared for change because you can count on their passion to push forward.
The problem is that organizations do not always value their change agents. These individuals ask why. They question established practices. They dare to do. This creates tension and many of these folk move on.
But some stay despite the trouble. It should not take a crystal ball or Google Glass to see how valuable these people are.
Don’t be a Glasshole
Posted on: May 19, 2013
If Google Glass takes off, we might need PSAs like these.
Hmm, come to think of it, there should be PSAs for pervasive things like Twitter and Facebook upon signup. Like “How not to be a TWITter” or “Don’t judge a Facebook by its cover”.
There actually are a few online already. But they are not as funny or punny as the one above.
Stream of knowledge
Posted on: May 17, 2013
I found this video thanks to my RSS feed and a short blog entry by @mcleod. A young man shares his thoughts on education in the video.
He contrasted how schooling was like a fountain that reused water while education could be more like a stream where the water was fresh,and ever-changing.
I would add that fountains are pretty to look at but artificial. Stream may flow in a less controlled environment but they are more natural. We also condition our children to appreciate fountains instead of streams.
Same message, different delivery
Posted on: May 13, 2013
Source
Sir Ken Robinson’s most recent TED Talk was one of those talks that you could watch ten times and get ten different takeaways each time.
When I watched it the first time, I liked SKR’s analogy that teaching is like dieting.
Teaching is like dieting. Supposed to happen: Lose weight when you diet; students learn when you teach. Not always! bit.ly/YLS8Vm—
Ashley Tan (@ashley) May 11, 2013
The student in the video below had a less articulate (but more honest) critique about teaching not leading to learning.
His peers would probably agree that he “schooled” his teacher about the importance of meaningful learning over prepackaged, delivery-oriented teaching.
Whether teachers like it or not, we need more students who think like him. If we teach better, then they may not act like him.
Digital sleuthing and proof
Posted on: May 11, 2013
I watched this Fine Bros video from two perspectives.
One was as a subscriber who enjoys the format of their “…React To” series. The kids’, teens’, elders’, and YouTubers’ reactions are as insightful as they are entertaining.
The other was as an educator. The way the Fine Bros conducted the video-based interview was a good example of digital sleuthing.
They first showed the teens a clip from a movie. Most of them already knew what the “cup song” phenomenon was. But they did not know how old the song was and that the cup-tapping idea was “stolen” from earlier efforts.
I think it was a good lesson about not taking things at face value and learning how to dig deeper. This should be part of lessons on being digitally literate.
You do not have to start a lesson on evaluating online resources by examining Wikipedia entries or Google Search results. Those are boring. Go where they are at and they will learn more!
The other lesson was about sharing openly. If the two girls did not upload their video to YouTube in 2009, we would not know that their effort preceded the one in the 2012 movie Pitch Perfect.
Videos and other online artefacts are not called digital footprints for nothing. They are evidence. While some focus on how such footprints can have negative consequences (e.g., you get fired for sharing a nasty photo), they can have positive outcomes too (e.g., you make a case for your intellectual property).
Almost everywhere
Posted on: May 3, 2013
I almost missed the 40th birthday of the cellular phone. Happy birthday mobile phone!
But today I am not just able to call to send you birthday wishes. I can message, tweet, share a photo or video, or order you a product or service online from my smart phone.
Phones have come a long way to become an almost ubiquitous device. We can see and use them almost everywhere and every part of our lives.
Almost. The holdout? Most classrooms. Phones are still not welcome there. They are still not used seamlessly and meaningfully like in the rest of our lives.
Who nose?
Posted on: April 28, 2013
We laugh now at Google’s April Fools joke, Google Nose Beta. But who knows what the future will bring?
Take the ingredients of creativity, innovation, and humour, and the future dish smells nice.
Time will tell
Posted on: April 21, 2013
I am glad to see that the WongFu boys are back and they have a gem in this video short. The go back and forth in time rapidly to tell a story.
WongFu calls this video FLASHBACKATTACK. It certainly fits, although I think that Time Will Tell could have been an alternate title.
Time heals what reason cannot. Time is what we want to most but also what we waste the most. And time will tell because it is wisest advisor of all.
You learn where you look
Posted on: April 14, 2013
There are people who think that things like Twitter and YouTube are complete wastes of time. There are other people who think they are treasure troves.
And there are the more reasonable people who realize there is both good and bad.
You can navel gaze with the worst of them on Twitter or you can create your own personal learning network.
You can watch stupid people doing stupid things on YouTube or you can find valuable lessons in life.
If I was a teen, I might find the normally irreverent nigahiga’s story of his life inspiring. I am glad that he chose to use the platform to send a positive message to his 7.8 million subscribers.
Unless you are Ryan Higa or Salman Khan, you are not going to have such reach. But all educators have a broader reach than they used to. They need to model that you learn from where you look.
After ever after
Posted on: April 13, 2013
This YouTube video talent was a reminder to me that a decade ago:
- I would never have known about him
- He would not have been able to share his talent widely
- He would not likely have been able to create in such a manner
- I would not have been able to see him develop
But today I can. And he can.
The same could be said about our new opportunities for teaching and learning.
Our learners either already know this or they will embrace these opportunities quickly. Our teachers, well, not so much.
