The End of Public Education?

Forget PLATO (no, not our PLATO), MOOCs, Sal Khan, iTunes U, or SNHU - this may be the end of public education: Knewton (if it works).

"We think of it like a robot tutor in the sky that can semi-read your mind and figure out what your strengths and weaknesses are, down to the percentile." (Jose Ferreira, CEO Knewton, 13 October 2015/NPR)

Read more about Knewton and the history of automated 'adaptive' learning here: The Algorithmic Future of Education (Audrey Watters, 22 October 2015).

http://hackeducation.com/2015/10/22/robot-tutors/

How do you annotate?

Annotating things - be that texts, images, videos, etc. - can be a rich and useful learning activity that promotes critical thing and active engagement with whatever is being annotated. In other words: it is a useful learning strategy. Here is a selection of useful tech-tools:

• Video Annotation Tools: VidBolt, VideoANT, or SocialBook. Adeline Koh has a nice article on using VidBolt in the classroom over on ProfHacker.
• Film Annotation with SocialBook - read about it here on ProfHacker.
• Text / Website / Collaborative Annotation Tools: Hypothes.is, nb, Annotation Studio, eComma, Axiom, Diigo, Classroom Salon, or Lacuna Stories.

Lot's of choices here...try Annotation Studio (MIT) or VideoANT (University of Minnesota) to get started. Or consider the opinions discussed in the article and comments by Lee Skallerup Bessette over on ProfHacker and read about Hypothes.is in Nature (3 December 2015).

Update (14 January 2016): Maha Bali has a nice comparison of Hypothes.is vs. Diigo over on ProfHacker.

Map Your Searches!

Okay, so far we have mapped books, paintings, stories, rivers, green degrees, data, caves, snowy winters, refugees, concepts, minds, Mars, gun deaths, poverty, and more.

How about mapping your Google Searches?

Trailblazer, an extension for Chrome, does just that - it keeps track and maps your search history. In other words: it provides you with digital breadcrumbs to find your way back home! Read more about it and ways to include it in your teaching over on ProfHacker.

Noticing Tools STEM Pack

Here's another suite of fun and educational apps for the iPad: Noticing Tools by the New York Hall of Science, for example Playground Physics. Read more over at Co.DESIGN or risk $9.99 to try them out!

Tinybop Apps

Tinybop Apps are interactive 'playscapes' for curious people of every age. The app design and interactive visualizations are simply incredible. Choose from:

• The Human Body
• Plants
• Homes
• Simple Machines
• The Earth (my favorite)
• Robot Factory
• The Everything Machine (review on Co.DESIGN)

Unfortunately they are only available for iOS...sorry Android folks.

Storytelling with...

There are many great tools and apps out there for digital storytelling - here is a selection that you may find useful:

1. Storytelling with Maps - for example Boston Snow 2015, The Garden of Earthly Delights, or The Connecticut River Higher Education Greenway.
2. Storytelling with Videos and movies - for example you can create your own animated video with Plotagon, annotate a movie (or book) with SocialBook, or annotate a video with VidBolt.
3. Storytelling with Apps - for example Connection - Hollywood Storytelling meets Critical Thinking.
4. Storytelling with Infographics - for example using Easel.ly, Canva, or Infogr.am.
5. Storytelling with Comic Strips, Church Signs, Memes, or Cartoons.

http://www.khoslaventures.com/the-unbreakable-laws-of-storytelling

Bloomin' Apps

Kathy Schrock's Guide To Everything has a nice section called Bloomin' Apps where she compiles and reviews apps for iPad, Android, Google, Windows, and Web 2.0 that support the different levels of Bloom's Revised Taxonomy, including:

1. Understanding Bloom
2. Remembering Bloom
3. Applying Bloom

If that's not enough for you...have a look at the Teaching Professor Tips app (available for iOS and Android) that delivers a useful teaching tip daily to your smart phone or tablet.

Even more ridiculous: let's turn college life and academic success into a game - consider the Ball State Achievements app (reviewed here by Wired Campus).