Handbook of Emerging Technologies for Learning - Emerging Technologies for Learning
Some weekend reading for those who are interesting. There’s a lot here, but it looks worthwhile.
Remains of the Day: The iPhone vs. Kindle Edition
So I downloaded the Kindle app for the iPhone the other day to check it out. Yeah, it’s pretty cool. I don’t have a Kindle (yet), so I thought this might be a way to check out the iPhone/iPod Touch’s e-book technology. It’s good, I must admit. Supposedly these two things stay synced somehow, so that the Kindle will know where you left off, and the iPhone will also. Neat.
Along those lines, I’ve also been fooling around with Stanza, a free e-reader for the iPhone. They’ve got a desktop app that allows you to upload a bunch of different documents, including .pdf files, which I did last night. So far, I like it. And free is good too. 
Kids and Kindle - James Fallows
My wife is only days away from receiving her exciting new new-to-her Kindle, which is to say that I expect soon to get my hands on a Kindle 2. Meanwhile this note from a good friend about the machine’s effect in his household:
An (unreported?) Kindle phenomenon: 11-year old girl, drove parents crazy by not reading books because totally addicted to electronics, has now transferred total addiction to Kindle 2 - and now does nothing, ever, but read books, one after another. In bed, in the car, while eating - while crossing streets!
[My wife] says, “Let’s buy Amazon stock. In six months, the world will have discovered this particular phenomenon.” (She is the one who had the sudden insight that this might work for [our daughter].)
This from one of my favorite writers who blogs for The Atlantic Monthly magazine, from yesterday. Perhaps the Kindle and other e-readers will spark an interest in reading for some students? Having approached the issue of reading before, this one got me to thinking is all . . . .
These Lectures Are Gone in 60 Seconds - Chronicle.com
Take a 60-minute lecture. Cut the excess verbiage, do away with most of the details, and pare it down to key concepts and themes.
What’s left? A “microlecture” over in as few as 60 seconds. A course designer for San Juan College, a community college in Farmington, N.M., says that in online education, such tiny bursts can teach just as well as traditional lectures when paired with assignments and discussions.
I found this article very interesting as it really seems to push the limits and ideas of ways to present material in an educational setting. I’d be interested in attending a class with this as the format. Rarely do I read about ways to move beyond our current system of education and this seems intriguing to me. Not that it is perfect, mind you, but it might fit the needs of some learners and some learning contexts well. Another article on this her at the Open Education Blog. Enjoy!
