could be from lack of exposure/insight/wisdom - but every time i see districts pushing for every kid a kindle - it makes me cringe.
as cool as kindles seem - too close to the boxes we've built for my thinking on where ed should be.
it's a matter of focus i guess. and when i try to focus on what matters most in ed these days - while certainly a player - a web based book doesn't rise to the top. i think we have to pay close attention to and be passionate about unboxing everything.
my current thinking includes every kid with access to some tool that can capture thinking any moment of their day.
flip videos (or phones in most pockets) allow for a student to:
1) create their own assessable product - that others not only can help tweak but also learn from.
thinking in my head on - unboxing ed - is that learning is the driving force. not what i learn or who i learn from, but the actual process of learning. that process should have a relativity for most people. a process that includes tweaking. and we're able to tweak only after we assess.
standardized assessing came out of a need to assure everyone was playing the game right and fair. but that assumes a fixed content. and has evolved into the focus of ed. i believe assessment should come from self/peer evaluation. how you are teaching others - how those around you are doing. what you are thinking about and questioning. how you are finding answers to those questions.
and even more unboxed
2) capture random thinking. dan meyer has been a great inspiration to many here. why assume kids do best when we put them in a room and say - be creative in the next 90 min - or - receive all this info in the next 90 min? imagine kids capturing their natural curiosity in the world - whenever that occurs...bringing it back to class - and sharing their genuine thinking and inquiry.
i worry too about the netbook rage. need has to come before tool choice. netbook doesn't supply some basic needs a high school student would want - ie: video edit...
maybe the thing to watch out for when thinking of getting ed tools - is the phrase "every kid a..."
one size fits all box happening - can't be good for learning.
