We need to talk about kids and smartphones
US statistics and a variety of expert opinion..…. but are increasing rates of teenage depression and suicide linked to smartphone use and social media? Since the advent of smartphones in 2007, mental health issues have increased dramatically and anecdotal evidence from Australian schools seems to support this hypothesis. Even if smartphones aren’t the cause of mental health issues, they can fuel teenage angst. With phone use, young people are constantly distracted, less sensitive to the emotions of others, feel disinhibited about saying things and see whitewashed lives that seem perfect. Staring at screens also limits social interaction and its benefits.
http://time.com/4974863/kids-smartphones-depression/
Top 200 tools for learning 2017
Compiled by Jane Hart in the 11th annual survey of 2 174 learning professionals from 52 countries. Includes top 100 tools for personal and professional learning, workplace learning and education.
All 3 lists, including new tools with info: http://c4lpt.co.uk/top100tools/
Top 100 tools for education: http://c4lpt.co.uk/top100tools/rankings/
- Google Docs/Drive 2. Word 3. PowerPoint 4. YouTube 5. Google Search 6. Excel 7. Wikipedia 8. Prezi 9. Twitter 10. Kahoot. Interesting to see WhatsApp at #13 – great for backchannelling, projecting via web, collecting material, sharing resources, no text limitation. Canva, the very simple and effective graphic design tool, is at #19. http://c4lpt.co.uk/top100tools/canva/
WhatsApp: http://c4lpt.co.uk/top100tools/whatsapp/
Analysis: http://c4lpt.co.uk/top100tools/analysis/
Top 10 technology trends 2018
From research firm Gartner – foremost are artificial intelligence and machine learning, used in many areas. Intelligent apps that use AI have the potential to transform the nature of work. Other intelligent ‘things’ such as autonomous vehicles and drones will see rapid growth. Conversational platforms (eg.Siri) will be the main goal for user interaction. Virtual reality, augmented reality and mixed reality are of high interest but need much more development. Blockchain technologies, a core component of the digital currency BitCoin, are still in their infancy, but will have a huge impact on the future of the internet.
Blockchain
Blockchain is a kind of ‘vast, global, distributed ledger running on millions of computers and available to everybody, and where every kind of asset from money to music can be stored, moved, transacted, exchanged and managed all without powerful intermediaries’ (Don Tapscott). Blockchain technologies enable ‘exchange of value without intermediaries acting as arbiters of money or information’. They will enable excluded people to enter the global economy, protect privacy, allow people to monetise their own information and ensure creators are compensated for their intellectual property. Uses of blockchain include cryptocurrencies, online voting, insurance, Internet of Things, medical records, smart contracts, music industry and copyright payments.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blockchain
Robots to mark NAPLAN?
From 2018, NAPLAN writing tasks will be marked by an automated essay scoring system and then double-marked by a teacher. Fully automated testing and marking will be introduced by 2020. Some experts believe it is impossible for a robot to score the subjective aspects of writing. Perelman (ex MIT) notes that algorithms tend to reward ‘verbose gibberish’ and give higher marks to essays with complex words and sentences. ‘Assessment of creativity, poetry, irony or other more artistic uses of writing is beyond such systems.’ Rabinowitz (from ACARA) believes automated essay scoring for NAPLAN tasks ‘works as well as human markers.’ Robots vs humans…it’s happening.
School Library Journal Tech Trends 2017
Free webcasts, available live or on demand. 1. Build a makerspace 2. 60 tools in 60-ish minutes 3. Take the plunge: STREAM (add reading).
18 good Chromebook apps for education
Kahoot, Socrative, Canva, PiktoChart, Haiku Deck, Tiki-Toki….
http://www.educatorstechnology.com/2017/10/18-good-educational-chromebook-apps-to.html