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

Online Learning Resources

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.

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.

The MAC | PC debate

05 Dec

In a colleagues class, students were writing debates. The students were allowed to create their own topic. One student decided the “MAC versus PC” debate. He decided to come ask me, “Which is better?”

“It’s not that simple,” I said. For example, which Mac are you comparing to which PC? At present Apple has the MacBook, MacBook Pro, MacBook Air, iMac, Mac Mini, and the Mac Pro. As well, there are a plethora of PCs tailored specifically to gaming, business, multimedia and cost. In usual fashion, and even though most Mac owners do not like to admit it, the tailored PC is better suited for its purpose.

What is it then that people like about Mac computers? Back in the day it was the graphical user interface with the Apple “Lisa” vs a PCs MS-DOS system. There was also the “out of the bag” aspect that Mac has always had compared to a PC. PCs needed most software installed. The Mac didn’t. Mac continues this “loaded applications on arrival” philosophy today.

The “Macintosh” developed slow clientele, but the introduction of the laser-writer printer and Pagemaker meant it was a desktop publishing machine for a home user. Graphic designers flocked to it, considering it the machine of choice for a long time.

Mac supposedly released Firewire and the palmtop. But even Firewire was a company acquired from Zayante. It was thought that Apple also invented such things as the trackpad on laptop, the mouse, multitouch, accelerometers, and the USB. However, most of these innovations were created by other companies, adopted by Apple, tweaked, released and then marketed well. See this article for more information relating to the misconceptions.

For an excellent history of apple releases with a neat time line, check out this CNet article.

Back to the question, “Which is better?” I stick with my original posit that each computer has its advantages. The PC seems better for gaming, modifying, over-clocking, software availability, budget and uniqueness.

Mac users like the start up speed, Safari Browser (Chrome is giving Mac a run), multiple applications loaded out of the box, superior editing and graphic production software, simplicity, and the idea that fewer malicious programs are written for it. However, the botnet virus has some users feeling unsafe.

Things change daily in the world of electronics. Advertising has a lot to do with it all. It comes down to personal choice. Note: Every computer coming out of the shops today has more than enough power, space, and speed for the uninitiated user’s needs. They can all handle tasks like email, videos, word processing. These should no longer be concerns for someone looking to buy a computer. If you feel happy with the computer you are using, then this is the one that is better than the other. Good luck.

1 Comment

Posted by Dr. Thomas Johnson | ict-design.org on December 5, 2010 in Technology

Tags: Debate, Mac, PC

Students are resources. Here are some reasons why.

07 Nov

To help develop this website and also to tap into the expertise and know-how of students, I asked them to view the site in progress in order to comment, blog, and make additions. I set up the class with a Microsoft One-Note* document available for all students to have access to. I created a few headings. In this case: good blogs, cool links, neat videos, music and games, and then let them to it.

I started with my grade 7 class and I think they had a lot of fun with the assignment. In doing this, I found out more about where they were coming from and they also found out a lot of cool things about their peers.

I feel the project worked so well I will have to try it out with other grades.

*One-Note is an excellent collaboration tool because it can be linked through a common server or LAN thus enabling multiple users to write and create on the same document simultaneously.