Monday, March 2, 2015
21st Century Skills The Future of Technology and Education
Link to site (By Louis Loeffler)"...Without 21st century skills, students are being prepared to succeed in yesterdays world?not tomorrows. Schools must do more to keep pace with rapid technology, research, and societal changes. To ensure that students will be ready to thrive in todays knowledge-based, global society, three significant things need to occur:
- The public must acknowledge 21st century skills as essential to the education of todays learner.
- Schools must embrace new designs for learning based on emerging research about how people learn, effective uses of technology, and 21st century skills in the context of rigorous academic content.
- Policymakers must base school accountability on assessments that measure both academic achievement and 21st century skills."
What a great site or presentation by Louis Loeffler discussing the 21st Century skills required to thrive in the Digital Age (e.g. inventive thinking, effective communication, high productivity), learning and the influence of technology. While you struggle through all the layers in this site (a bit messy), you will find all sorts of interesting content in regards to learning, skills, and technology. Great stuff Louis Loeffler! Thanks for sharing this presentation to the world !
Thursday, February 26, 2015
Nine 9 Rules for Good Technology
"What distinguishes a good technology from a bad technology? The following nine characteristics define the former. A technology that has more of these features (Checklist below) is, in general, better than a technology which has fewer of them.
- Is always available.
- Is always on.
- Is always connected.
- Is standardized.
- Is simple.
- Does not require parts.
- Is personalized.
- Is modular.
- Does what you want it to do.
It is important to remember that no technology is perfect. No technology will satisfy all nine rules. However, some technologies will satisfy more rules than others, and some technologies will even break a rule or two and still be very good technologies (if only because no better alternative is available)..."
(So if you are creating some form of technology you should perhaps keep these nine characteristics in mind.)