Education | education | technology | ai & NOT A.I. | design

I was asked a question today from a colleague about what online learning resources there were for only a dollar. The answer is better than you might think. I typed in Google, “Free Online Courses” and came up with a whole bunch of viable options. At the top of the list was http://www.openculture.com/freeonlinecourseswhich has options for Archaeology, Architecture, Art History, Classics and Classical World, Cultural Studies, Economics, Foreign Languages, Geography, History, Journalism, Law, Literature, Music, Philosophy, Political Science, Religion, Sociology, Urban Studies. and many, many sciences.

While I was leaving through the website, there was one in the back of my mind which I couldn’t remember, but which taught me a lot about mathematics. The next email, believe it or not, was a request to have a program installed which worked alongside the website I was trying to remember. That website of awesomeness was http://www.khanacademy.org/ Check it out for yourself and learn something well about something important.

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Posted by Dr. Thomas Johnson | ict-design.org on February 5, 2011 in Education, Technology

Tags: Education, Khan Academy, Online, Online Resources

Trials and tribulations of job searching

25 Jan

A while ago, I started a job search using Search Associates. I was trawling through online advertisements for employment. In doing so I came to realize that what may be considered great for the receivers of data entry in the form of forms is awful for people having to fill in these forms. Quite often the receiver is asking you to fill everything in that you already have in another format. Only now you are creating duplicate entries and probably doing this through a time-consuming manner. (That of separate fields)

I understand why it is done, which is because different schools want specific information. This ensures the case. However, I am using this blog as a vent for relief and vow not to make too many of these forms if I think there can be a better data collection method.

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Posted by Dr. Thomas Johnson | ict-design.org on January 25, 2011 in Education

Tags: Complaints, Job Searching

Using Google Docs for students with colored criterion

18 Jan

I have found a fantastic way to use Google Docs with students. Google Docs allows us to share documents like Word through the cloud. We can edit at the same time allowing the sharing of information back & forth.

What this enables me to do is create color coded criterion.

The students take this criterion and color code their answers to show they have covered all parts. It allows very quick examination from a student and a teacher to see where something may have been missed.

Feedback from the students also has demonstrated they like this way of doing things. I have encouraged them to take this idea beyond Google Docs to better examine chunky sets of instructions.