Refections based on M.Ed. course “Leadership for Technology in Schools” .

This course has made me work very hard, but much of the work I have done….I did not have to.

One of the examples of this is this very same blog. Many of the articles I have posted here are not required by the course, and many of the articles did not have to be that long. But this is what intrinsic motivation is about, isn’t it? 

Working beyond the tasks driven by rewards (obtaining good scores) or punishment (obtaining low grades) involves more than intrinsic motivation. It is under these stress-free circumstances that most ideas are generated. It is under these circumstances that I have had a few “aha” moments. Please watch the video attached to find more about it.

My blog www.leadership-technology.blogspot.com, a blog I have originally created to fulfill the requirements of the M.Ed. course “Leadership for Technology in Schools” has made me think to expand the publication of educational articles beyond this blog.

I am now planning to publish a series of documentaries under the name “Educational Paths around the World”.

Educational Paths around the world is a tour with the proximity of local people and their culture. From August 2013 to May 2014 I am going to travel around the world and, though a series of 13 documentaries, help viewers discover experiences that will enhance their self-development.

You can follow Educational Paths around the world here:

 www.youtube.com/EducationalPaths

  www.facebook.com/EducationalPaths

 www.couchsurfing.org/EducationalPaths

  www.linkedin.com/in/EducationalPaths

  www.twitter.com/EduPaths

www.prezi.com/user/EducationalPaths

 www.EducationalPathsAroundTheWorld.blogspot.com

Reflections based on video “Technology’s long tail” by Chris Anderson. Applications to Education.

In this reflection I am going to apply the idea of the 4 stages of technology that Chris Anderson mentions in his video to Educational Technology.

1) Critical price. Technology in Education used to be a dream for some schools with a very wealthy budget. Nowadays there are possibilities within any budget.

2)    Critical mass. Due to the above many schools now provide easy access to technology. The critical mass number is not because of the number of schools using technology, but for the number of students.

3)    Displacement of another technology. I can think of many “old technologies” that are being displaced and I am happy about the change. One is the use of online videos, displacing the VCR use, limited to use in the classroom (now expanded to the flipped classroom). Another one is the traditional textbook. I believe that its use has already changed, and with the development of online collaboration platforms it will be soon put to a second stage. Traditional books lack of dynamic updates and dynamic fast links to multimedia presentations/demonstrations/investigations/worksheets. I can also think of many technologies that are being displaced that I am not sure about. One of them is the traditional notebook. Students now use computers to take notes and do exercises and I think that this limits students thinking and creativity.

4)    Towards freedom. Because of the critical mass of students being reached, more and more technology companies are keen to provide free technology for schools as this guarantees their future use. One example of this is google applications, which are provided for free, including some training for teachers. We should have free smartphones and tablets soon….

More here: http://www.thelongtail.com