This is a program I’m using for my Athletic Training 12a course. It’s a modification of the Conconi Test, and is menat to be used in the field for a practical test of how fit the athlete is at the time (have they recovered fully, have they improved etc…)
Basically, you plug in the distance you’ll be running, biking etc. The speed you’ll start at, and how long you want the intervals to be.
The app then spits out an mp3 file that you can listen to on your ipod, mp3 player for the test.
the test starts with three beeps, and then beeps at each interval to keep you on pace. At the end of the distance there is a double beep which means you are increasing your pace.
Every time you complete the distance you call out your heart rate to your coach/partner (or you can simply remember them for when you are done.)

If you gather about 4 or 5 pieces of heart rate data, you can then plug them into the FaCT software and overlap them with your baseline.
Changes in the performance line will give you a solid idea of how you are feeling that day, and can help you modify your training appropriately.

I had a great experience working with a Russian programmer who built this app, and I’ll blog about that experience soon;-)

Click on the pacer program to check out the app

(1) just a term I use when I’m making a wild statement without having any firm data or citations:-)

Came across Tom Woodwards use of Exhibit to create a nice searchable tool of the TED talks.

I always enjoy spending some TED time, and Tom’s Exhibit makes it pretty easy to move through them.
This is the first time I’ve heard of Exhibit and is definitely something I’m going to work with.  As I gather student fitness data from our Athletic Training course I’m going to see how exhibit may help me present the data and allow people to search it in different ways.

Always fun to explore some new tools.
Kudos to Tom for the exhibit and to David F. Huyn for Exhibit

So I stumbled into this article and after reading about the new project for the Xbox. I had a couple of opposing reactions.  The first (predictably as I’m a guy who likes tech toys) was wow…now I need to get one of these.  Followed by the reaction of holy sh** how much further to the full virtual immersive experience?

The gaming industry is leapfrogging ahead providing us with a growing realism in the virtual world.  Now we don’t need a controller, we become the controller.  Sure it makes for an immersive experience, but take it further.  Partner this type of intuitive controls with a virtual world.  I’m now no longer holding a button to fly in Second life, my physical actions allow my character to fly.  If people were getting addicted to games and virtual worlds before, we haven’t seen anything yet.

And now I’m struck with an aweful realization as I’m struggling to set up an online Athletic Training course in Moodle.  Sure, we are offering student athletes in BC access to some cutting edge technology and knowledge in regards to training (See Fact-canada.com), but how can I provide them with the kind of immersive experience that is possible with the ever progressing gaming technology?
I’m focussing on creating a community of athletes so that the students can learn from and with each other, but wow…could you imagine the kind of course that you could develop when the students’ bodies are the controllers?  In our case the potential for virtual training practically mocks the moodle environment to the trashbin.

Okay,…maybe not so drastic, but I can’t help but feel that public education is falling behind, perhaps it already fell behind and got run over by the corporate technological hoard.  They just haven’t told us yet.  I have seen a desire in BC for education to become more privatized, to see industry play a bigger role.  Once microsoft decides that education is a place to grab some more cash, how are we going to compete?  Of course, microsoft could provide some rich interactive experiences for students (which would be a big plus in our DL environment), but the idea of corporate education scares the bejeezus out of me.

So, my sci-fi loving side of me can envision some great places this technology can take us (and some pretty iffy moral conundrums as well), while my public educator sides quivers with concern.  Will they at least let us know when the ministry of education becomes a subsidary of Microsoft?

Web 2.0

• disruptive technology.  about doing things differently.
• move from content consumer, to content publisher, all about engagement and collaboration
• Is it disruptive?tools that are created don’t know how they will be used.
• if we don’t master the technology, the technology will amster us.  You need to gain total ownership.

poor babyboomers:-)  Not used to change thrust into a word of change.

Lose your culture because of changes in staffing.

Flexibilty in the work schedule increases staff satisfaction.

Boomers constipated with knoweldge;-) great quote!

If we are going to go and ask for the information, then we have the responsibilty to contribute and evaluate. this will be usefule for the 21st century skills curriculum for the 8/9 school.

We are the moral guides of our society, and we need to participate and engage not leave it to your children to deal with it on their own. (use this for our parent training development)

Service, and responsibilty will keep and attract clients.

Cyber Risks:  (Cyber Safe DVD:  Find it)

• all teh risks we’ve had in the real world.  WE just need to decide how to deal with it online.
• soical networking adds a new danger to our youth “bad judgment”  Tevor Franklin has branded himself with this.  What options has he taken away? WHose job is it to tell Trevor not to do this.  It is our job, why we have to engage fully into the digital world.  How will it impact the rest of his life (metadata…tagged) Business building the research tools to find all teh dirt on everyone.
• Things that mcrosoft found on Facebook (because they didn’t close their profiles to the public.  How would they be a candiditate be us.
• No longer what goes on the road stays on the road.

Digital tatoo!

Gain that social contract that we own our image.  You cannot just take pictures of me.

No pictures!  Gain ownership of your digital tatoo!

Resource kit!  online at learnnowbc.ca Get it for PAC!

Gives parents a voice at the table.

Overcoming SAcred Cows!

No closed networks in schools.  Teaching them rules of engagement  Part and parce of being an adult.  We need to take break donw the walls.

WE have to be willing to sacrifice, to break down teh sacred cows in education. All of this will cahllenge us.

own the technology!

Be safe, but be there!(ask your kids to help you)

Use the tools

Recruit!  It’s our responsibilty to be there:-)  Learnnowbc facebook page.

Great, informative entertaining closing keynote!

Monterey Insitute for Technology and Education:  Funded by the Hewlit foundation.

NROC:  Adopt and adapt high quality online courses, in a sustainable manner.

• MIT open courseware
• Connexions (CNX.org) like a learning object repository but no check on quality

NROC:  looking to provide curricular content and maintain it.  Complete course foundations with a flexible learning object structure.

If you like what you see then become a paying member.  What is the fee?  She’s waiting till the end so it is likely to be higher then we want:-)

LMS agnostic:-) great quote.

Quality: media rich, editorially rigorous

Members have access to secure testing , and teacher resources.

LO is:  has more than one piece to it.  Grphics, video, interactive exercise etc…

Remember to check these sites for Athletic training and math course.

Over 1 million dollars to develop algebra…time to think about how this is going to impact education overall?

THey host learning obejcts: $3000 dollars annual fee…for a district of under 3000 students

Still can’t incorporate it into the LMS, but you can link to it…..hmmmm

Is ERAC going to look at this??

Building a network of communities in Drupal.

Okay…so teachers need to start working together to keep the big businesses out of education….how do we compete against the onslaught?  How to

DL Vision:  THe notion is that there would be one distributed learning system in the province.  But this is at odds with the way that the DL schools fit inot the school districts.

In the middle of a transition in BC…not moving towards one DL school (whew…)

30 rural districts with DLl schools.  Urban districts 16

69% of DL enrollments are rural (2006/07)  2007/08 rural 60.4%

2008/09 54000 students projected to take DL  8 or 9% of the student body touching alot of secondary student population, not small time.

Students not only enroll in online courses at the beginning of teh year, but throughout the year.

September enrollment patterns:

• students who cross enroll large segemnt
• adults growing segment

students who attend band schools but live off reserve will get funding.  If aboriginal community offers courses over the internet may be able to take advantage of economies of scale.

4 big DL schools: surrey, vancouver, Sannich

How do we compare to US:  BC is probably has a higher percentage of students than in any of the states

• How do we compare to europe?? to countries that also have strong public education systems

Audits:

• Active policy (this we need to focus on)
• teacher-led supervision and assessment
• residency
• required areas of study
• equitable access

Quality Review:

• results
• enagagement
• support
• pro-d

Challenges:

• Access
• teacher support
• administration
• content development(scattered and thn and difficult to share across the province) He thinks that service gives the competative advantage not content.  I think that we will get there, but not quite yet.

Flip assessment strategies on it’s head, offering multiple assessments

Kids can do seom of this…..

Equates time and money…if teachers chase things that’s money that could be better spent. So working together can save money…difficult in this method of funding.

Alberta spent 200 million on a learning object repository….

VSS offering a place to put the learning objects

Digital skills are essential for success in the classroom, the boardroom and the community

Today’s learner demand teh right resources on the right devices, when and where they are needed (Happy that she mentioned that they demand the right guidance as well)

Today’s learners want to engage in the global world.   It’s not like talking to you neighbour next door.(cultural, time zones etc..)

`Engagement is momentaryy and driven by emotion.  Engagement happens inside the consumer not inside the medium.  Engagement is about establishing a realtionship, not a transaction.  (Excellent!  this speaks to the idea that the teacher is key in the success of students)

Effective instruction is more than good pedagogy and good instrcutional design.  (can we make it more relevant)

Lessons Elearned#1

Learning is a personal act. We cannot “do learning” for anyone else.

#2: different kinds of learning deamnd appropriate stratedies and resources

#3:  technology may not guarantee better leanring….it can focus attention, engage, create connections and collaborations, and allows us to have relationships with information in our own uniwue ways.  (Once again this is the idea that technology is just a tool

#4 the better the experience the greater the likelihood that learning will occur.

Eight simple Rules for engaging learners:

• capture the attention
• convince them to care.  Why should they stay?
• motivate them to change
• give them choices
• connect them with community (remember this for Athletics 12a.  Need to design the course to enhance the sense of community) (personally…I need to expand my personal network)
• Induce them to participate.
• Enable opportunities to contribute (this is the single most important variable in ensuring that employees are happy)
• make it an experience to remember.

Try to incorporate these rules with what we already know about brain reearch and learning.  I need to sit down and consolodate these ideas as I put together the Athletics 12a course.  Key for the athletics course will be the community, and participation is key.  Should I make a facebookgroup for athletics 12a?

Deconstructing IDS and Gaming design the comparison is very similar. Are instructional designers funsuckers??  The notion as play as a strategy (this ties into my idea for Math11essentials and engaging students through story.)

ellen@sageroadsolutions.com

http://www.sageroadsolutions.com

http://twitter.com/edwsonoma

They have the iniatives for developing 2 courses for 2008/09

They use TOC’s to free up their design expert.

Website and magazine advertising.  Great idea for our athletics 12a course.

Challenges and solutions

• identification of student profiles, instructional approaches and design suggestions
• file structure and organization (naming conventions..lowercase no spaces)
• creation of the templates (good idea style sheet)
• enrollment keys….can be useful to maintain student control
• application of varied assessment tools
• incorporate teacher feedback before students access material
• groups…can this be a good way to move cohorts
• diagnostic and formative assessments (simple use of students sending in a formative assignment and receiving the answers)
• For choice activities simply put under the same category and select highest grade.
• inclusion of student exemplars.
• video requirements: simply used a point and shoot camera.
• discussion forums assessment:  students can’t see what others post until they put there’s up. Not automatically subscribed, but once they have posted they get subscribed. Assessment rubric
• inclusion of webquests:
• Remember Nanaogong

Summary:

• moodle platoform
• clear consitent documentation with embedded reading and assignments
• video presentations
• creation of interactive community
• regular teacher communication with students using forums and Moodle chat.
• find out what student are bringing to the course.  Phone conversation.
• diagnostic and formative assessment
• opportunity for students to redo assignemnts and improve grade
• variety of summative assessment tools.

orkflow:

• TOC coverage and contracts through the summer
• file organziaion and templates
• work on muktiple units/courses maximizes wait times
• Hiding new lessons until all feedback ash beem incorporated.

• some great tips in this for athletic training 12a.  Consistancy, templates, contact with students, workflow

What is different about simulations than other activities?  bring another level of experience for the students.  Guiding questions…

Simulations can provide a narrative thread.  (so the idea that math 11 essentials moves to a story format may be possible?)

Simulations need to have a logic and rules and follow it.  Students need to be able to suspend disbelief.

Effective simulations should promote critical thinking through multiple perspecticves.

Objective and measurable results.

Students have a choice to act, that changes the result.  This leads to the type II idea of simulations.

Looking at the first simulation and it looks like it is expensive option that they don’t even have it nailed yet.  THey should allow students to control the player so they can pause it or rewind it if they missed something the first time.

If students can link to pages they can create their own simulation.

assessing simulations:

• self assessment
• peer assessment
• set up exectations ahead of time

well…this is not what I was expecting, and so unfortunatley I’m not pulling much out of this one.  I’m going to say that this is an intro into the idea, and I’m looking for something much more complex and expansive.

NASA, NOAA, universities