Robert+Coven's+Cool+Tools+Reviews+Reflections+and+Application+Plan


 * //Duffle://**

The overall theme for the Cool Tools sessions seemed to be: making use of the unintended. The first session I attended, in which Jonathan List demonstrated Duffle, embodied this theme. Duffle is meant to provide users a central location to plan and record a trip. Jonathan converted it into a historical database. The simple itinerary tool became a historical timeline. For example, instead of Wednesday being “flight to Belgium,” it became “establishment of the Belgian Congo,” and Thursday became, “Congolese independence.” The properties of the itinerary tool won’t allow for historical dates, but events can be placed in chronological order. The “places” tool can be used as digital postcards--allowing for images of locations studied, with informative captions. There is also a convenient link to Google Maps, allowing students to pinpoint the location of a particular event. On the surface, other tools seem less useful. There are tools for lodging and restaurants, for example, but these, I suppose, can be repurposed into artifactual and event-related categories.

Duffle is not a tool I would find myself using in the classroom--it is too cumbersome. However, the session demonstrated two important things. One, with considerable creativity--like Jonathan’s--a teacher can always make do. Two, that there is a need for a useful and intuitive history database--one I hope to put together from off-the-shelf components, or from scratch.


 * //iPad//**:

Dr. Manfra and Nathan Stevens facilitated the second Cool Tools session I participated in on Tuesday. Their focus was on using the iPad in the classroom. I entered the session with a positive bias. I am a Mac and iPod user and fan--like any good acolyte, I make quarterly pilgrimages to my local Apple Store, where I venerate the latest icons of technology.

But the session started off with a glitch: I couldn’t get the wireless keyboard to communicate with the loaner iPad. Perhaps I had angered the iGods by not making the appropriate imprecations. Like the first session, the problem became an opportunity. Without the comfort of a physical keyboard, I was forced to use the touch screen. I’ve long taken pride in my typing skills--developed in one of the most valuable classes I took in high school--that have served me well in college, graduate school and that gave me my first job opportunity. So, despite the fact that Cary Academy provides its faculty (and students) with tablets, I have always resisted shifting from the keyboard. With the iPad, the keys fell from my eyes, and I was liberated.

I am now an apostle, with a new testament. I plan to go forth--after purchasing an iPad--and sell it as the best hardware for our school to use. Every 3-4 years, the school refreshes its hardware. I hope to influence the decision, for the next round (in 2 years), toward the purchase of iPads. Like me, the students rarely use the screen interface of their tablets--they are pen-enabled screens, not touch pads like those of the iPad--relying on the keyboard, instead. So, they are relegated to being very expensive laptops. An iPad would be superior as an information consumption device (e-reader, web browser, etc.) and, with all the new apps coming to market (FinalCut, Aperture, Scrivener, Pages, Numbers) and the tools on the Internet, the iPad will be an excellent productivity device, as well.


 * //Video Screen-captures://**

The second afternoon began with a Skype session, with Dr. O’Byrne, on the “creation and use of video and image screen-captures for informative, multimodal tutorials to allow you to ‘flip the classroom’.” Once again, creativity triumphed over balky technology. Quite some time was spent in establishing communication with Dr. O’Byrne. After much pantomime and restricted text, Dr. O’Byrne launched into his presentation. It was ironic that a presentation on using computer technology to make more time for valuable classroom interaction had none, but the real message of Dr. O’Byrne’s talk came through.

I have long shared an interest in decreasing the amount of class time devoted to lecture. Through modeling, I have found a means to facilitate a transition from teacher-focused to student-centered instruction. I look forward to moving toward a classroom in which students produce historical knowledge, rather than being merely consumers. The annotation and screen capture tools, like Skitch, that Dr. O’Byrne introduced will help in this process. Ultimately, I would like to see my students present TED talks, not just watch them.


 * //Collaborative Literacy://**

If teachers and students use the same tools, it increases the opportunity to collaborate. The Google Tools Dr. Castek presented provide an easy way to work with students. I’ve already used, to a limited extent, Google Docs with my students. But Dr. Castek’s presentation showed me ways of doing more. By linking Custom Google Search, Google Docs, and Google Sites (easily integrated), my students can engage in collaborative projects. They will have complete and easy access to the materials they need to research, analyze, and publish.

Further, there are Google Tools for any type of project. For example, I already use SketchUp in my architecture class--they use the tool to create their drawings. Google Maps, Google Earth, Picasa, and Google Books are all excellent resources for a high school history class. I’ve already made considerable use of Google Books, and some use of Google Maps and Earth.


 * //Wii://**

The session on the use of the Wii in the classroom was not particularly valuable. Part of the problem was the environment of the session. It was difficult to engage with the games. The short follow-up session did present some provocative questions regarding ways to use the games as a spur for class discussion. The games might provide an easy and engaging way to enter a discourse regarding physics. Less obviously, a game might be a way of developing a discussion on deeper, philosophical questions. For example, students might look at the ways race and gender are depicted (i.e. heroes and villains), power and authority are established, and what (hidden or explicit) cultural agenda might be revealed.


 * //Prezi://**

Prezi is a tool important for what it promises, more than for what it delivers. With Prezi, students can create a diagram that can, to a limited extent, provide a model of a complex system. The tool provides ways of showing nexuses and nodes, links and voids, and relative priority and hierarchy. Properly executed, these elements can create very powerful models of human behavior, historical events, and natural phenomena.

However, the promise is not fully realized in Prezi. The limits come from the boundaries of the site and the interface. To be more useful, it would help if a student could make links to material outside the Prezi site, e.g. multimedia, documents, and other sites. More limiting is Prezi’s reliance on a linear script. The viewer is made to watch the presentation in the order prescribed by the producer of the Prezi. While this insures a stable and coherent message, it also limits the interactivity that should be part of any Web 2.0 technology.