Special Blog Post Assignment #1 Due Thursday 2/7/13 at Midnight

In this Special Blog Assignment which is due THURSDAY February 7, 2013 at midnight, create a post titled Special Blog Post #1 in which you do the following:
1. Read the post Many Students Misinterpreted the Data in Did You Know?.
2. Answer the question in that post about what you found when you did the WolframAlpha search.
3. Do two more similar WolfranAlpha comparative searches. For each (a) state exactly what you searched for and (b) what you found. If a search is unsuccessful, try again until you have two successful searches.
4. In one or two paragraphs, discuss how WolframAlpha can be useful to you or your students or both.
5. Go to Gary Hayes Social Media Count
Watch the Social Media Count change. There are 9 tabs (Social, Mobile, Games, Heritage and Now, +1 day, +1 week, +1 month, +1 year). There are 20 possible combinations of Subject and Time Frame. Try them ALL. If you want to stop the clock at 1 minute (or some other interval), try doing a screen shot (Mac: Command/Shift 4 - or 3 for whole page which may be easier; or use Snipping on a PC. For detailed instructions on doing a screenshot see page 9 of the Project Instructions.
6. Think about these changes that are happening at such an astounding rate. What do they mean for your professional career as a teacher? Write two or more paragraphs in your Special Blog Post #1 following the requirements in Writing A Quality Blog Post.
7. Send Gary Hayes (@GaryPHayes ) a thank you Tweet. Tag it #edm310 so I will see your Tweet.

Many Students Misinterpreted the Data in Did You Know?

Many students interpreted the data in my version of Did You Know? as demonstrating that students in the United States were behind, or inferior to, students in India or China.

Lets take a look at the data. One slide reads: "The 25% of the population in India with the highest IQs outnumbers the ENTIRE population of the United States." What is the population of India? What is the population of the United States? While we are at it, what is the population of China? Do this: Go to WolframAlpha (There is also an app for Android or Apple phones and iPads or tablets which you can use if you prefer). Do a search for Compare Populations of India, China and the United States. What do you find? You will be asked to report on this in a Special Blog Assignment that I will post later today.

Another slide reports: It is estimated that 18 million Chinese speak English now and 300 million are learners. If we add these two numbers what do we get? The next point on the slide reads "So...if the "learners" do learn English there will be more people in China speaking English than the ENTIRE population of the United States." And what is the population of the United States?

Back to India. One slide reads "Let's assume ... the best 25% of K-12 students [in India] are designated Honors Students." The next slide reads "Then ... India has more K-12 Honors students than ALL of the K-12 students in the United States." Why is it easy for us to come to this conclusion? Because India has four times as many people as the does the United States. It is all a matter of the size of the population!

When you encounter data you must keep your brain on and think clearly about what those data really mean.

Special Workshop on Google Tools 6 pm Wednesday 1/30/13

Stephen Akins will lead a special workshop on Google tools this Wednesday starting at 6:00. He will be the Lab Assistant in the Lab from 6:00-8:30 so the presentation/discussion/workshop will be continuous.

Fifty-two percent of the students in EDM310 this semester reported that they had used Google only as a search too. Google, however, has over 50 different tools, many of which are extremely powerful and useful, in addition to search. Come Wednesday night and let Stephen demonstrate and help you learn to use other Google tools.

Eleven Students Did Not Do Blog Post #2

We slipped a little. This week there are eleven students who did not do Blog Post #2 on time. Three of them should know better since they have taken EDM310 before. One was sick so that means ten have red boxes by their name on our Evaluation Form. Red blocks are dangerous. Be on time with your work!

A quick look at what many of you have written about Did You Know indicates that many made the same mistake in interpreting the data comparing China and India with the United States. Watch for a general discussion of what the data really mean here on the Class Blog later in the week.

Don't forget that all posts from now on must have an image in them, probably at the top.

Summary Weeks 1 and 2 and Update January 27, 2013

Writing

I am extremely pleased (on the whole) with the quality of your posts for Blog Post #1. Most were well written and informative. Here were the major problems: 4 students did not do the assignment; 4 did not do all parts of the assignment; 4 were late; one student did not put all parts of the assignment into one post; 3 exhibited significant writing and/or proofreading problems; 3 more may have writing problems which were not particularly evident.

How could you have made your post better? One important way was to find out about more about Dr. Pausch. I raised that possibility indirectly with the question "Do you know anything else about Dr. Pausch?" I wanted to see if any of you would look him up. Remember the class motto "I don't know. let's find out." If you don't know something, find out. Seventeen students already knew more about Dr. Pausch or looked him up and reported on what they found. If you didn't do this, we want you to look things up when you don't know something. Take advantage of the technological tools available to you. Be inquisitive. Create a desire to learn within you.

Mandatory Class Attendance

This was another bright spot this semester. We had only 4 unexcused absences out of a total possibility of 408. Excellent!

I am extremely pleased that the semester is off to such a good start. Keep it up.

Some Reminders

1. I have posted revisions to Projects, Activities, the Syllabus (Lab schedule) and Blogpost Assignments. Make sure you are using the latest version as indicated in the sidebar of the Class Blog.
2. I have made all photos available. You should have gotten a Gmail with a link to the page where you can find your photograph. You can also go to the Emergency page for the Manuals. Near the top, in the middle, are links to the photo pages. If your picture is not a picture of you, please let me know.
You can use your own picture of yourself BUT the picture must be a HEAD shot of you and you ALONE. ALONE.
3. The list of Groups and Podcast Assignments has been shared with you and is on your Google Drive. If you do not see it, remember to click More and then All items... Order your copy of the assigned book now. Eight of you will also have a chapter from a second book available for you in the Lab. This is indicated in the assignment column of the Doc.
4. I have also shared the Class Roster with Groups which is alphabetical by last name. This Doc contains contact information for all EDM310 students.
5. Several of you are still sending mail to edm310new. From now on send all mail to edm310help@gmail.com which is read by me and Lab Assistants or to strange.john@gmail.com. Do NOT send any mail to edm310new. I use that address only at the beginning of the semester.
6. Wordle and Java Problems Thaere have been some major security problems identified with Java in the last three weeks. As a result some of the browsers have introduced measures which prevent Java from working or require extensive permissions from the user. If you are having Java problems, set aside the Wordle project until the Java problems are resolved. I will keep you posted.

Thanks again for a wonderful start to the Spring 2013 semester. Keep it up!

Monday January 21, 2013 Update

1. Your C4C Assignment (due midnight 1/27/13) is in your Google Docs (Drive).
2. Your C4T Assignment (due midnight 1/27/13) is in your Google Docs (Drive).
3. If you can't find either your C4C assignment or your C4T assignment, be sure you have selected All items under More.. in the left column of Google Docs. If you have done this and one or more is still missing, email me.
4. Most students (more than usual) answered the Questionnaire #1 due last midnight. Only 7 failed to do so. Great! We shall find out why the 7 didn't do it in class this week.
5. We had a much better record than normal of blog post #1 being completed on time. Only 9 students did not do this assignment on time, two of whom do not yet have a blog (and they attended no classes last week).

The EDM310 Lab (and all of the College of Education labs) will be closed Monday January 21, 2013 for Martin Luther King Day.

Link to Questionnaire Sent

You should have received a Gmail with a link to the Questionnaire at about 3:30 pm yesterday (or before). It is to be completed by Sunday midnight 1/20/13.

If did not get the link to the Questionnaire, check your Gmail again. Send me an email immediately (strange.john@gmail.com) if you did not get it.

EDM310 Classes Start Next Week - All Materials Now Available

EDM310 begins its 9th semester in its current form. Welcome!

A few reminders:
•Do NOT be late with any work in EDM310.
•Write well. Proofread everything you write.
•Learn to be an effective and honest evaluator - of your own performance of of that of others.
•Be open to new ideas. The world of education is changing fast and you must not teach as you were taught.
•Use your creativity
•Learn. Always be engaged in learning. EDM310 is NOT a "burp-Back" course where you will be told what to memorize and what to do. We will give you the tools to learn and we will help. But YOU must do the learning. Actually, we ALL must be learners!
•Don't worry about the first two weeks. they are hectic, often confusing, and very different. But they will pass.
•Have fun LEARNING!

All EDM310 Class materials are now available in the column on the right titled Essential Materials for Students and Visitors.

About the stamp: It was issued in 1980. The image is Glow by Josef Albers. Learning Never Ends!

Syllabus for Spring 2013 Now Available

Welcome

Have you created a Google account yet? If not, do so now. You must have one by the first day of classes.

The Syllabus is now available. Click Syllabus Spring 2013 in the right column under the heading Essential Materials for Students and Visitors. Other materials will be available on or before Monday January 14. You can consult the materials for last semester by clicking on the appropriate item in the column to the right.

EDM310 is NOT a course in which you learn how to use a computer. Nor is it a course in which you learn to use Microsoft Office (word processing, spreadsheet, database, presentation software). If you do not ALREADY know these things you should not enroll in EDM310 but instead take a course which addresses these outcomes. Otherwise, we shall see you soon.