A “Revisited” blog post indicates that I reread the original and used AI-assisted tools (e.g., Grammarly) to improve grammar and word choice.
First published April 22, 2014.
This is that interesting time of the academic year when I am trying to bring the semester to a soft landing and concomitantly prepare for the fall semester. This summer, I hope to revisit several books that have especially informed me about the uses of digital tools for teaching—especially Michelle Pacansky-Brock’s Best Practices for Teaching with Emerging Technologies, Susan Manning and Kevin E. Johnson’s The Technology Toolbelt for Teaching, Steve Johnson’s Digital Tools for Teaching, and Julie Lindsay and Vicki A. Davis’ inspirational Flattening Classrooms, Engaging Minds: Move to Global Collaboration One Step at a Time.
The writings of Alec Couros through his informative Becoming a Networked Learner and Curtis J. Bonk have impacted how I teach, learn, and “reach out” to others via social media. The challenge continues to find a balance between tool use and being controlled or constrained rather than enabled by the tool.
Jane Hart has opened nominations for her 8th annual Top-Tools-for-Learning List. I think I’ll withhold my vote until early this fall so that I have more time to answer the following critical questions better:
- Which tools will enhance my research and communication capabilities?
- Which of these tools do I want all my students to know how to use? (Which, on the other hand, are better suited for my advanced research assistants?)
- Which of these tools will be around in four years?
- Which of these tools serve me best when I am engaged in my role as a partner of Schneider Consulting?
- Among subsets of tool types, which best serve my needs?
- How much learning time do I or my students need to invest to use these tools?
- How portable are these tools across the browsers I use most?
- How portable are these tools across the hardware and different operating systems I most frequently use?
- How much of the attractiveness of these tools to me is due to their “wow factor” and the fun they engender?
- Will mastering this tool increase my likelihood of becoming a more effective teacher or enhance my learning ability?
