As I find myself getting closer to a ‘big’ birthday (thankfully not this year) I have realised that I am reminiscing just as much as I am reflecting (good for CMALT!), and not just about work. This post helped me with a thought process I’d been struggling to complete for a while:

• “What music will you listen to for the rest of  our lives”

The most emotional time of our lives (so far?) are when we are growing into adults, the late teens, and the music we listen to then will always be associated with the emotions we had and continue to have. This stands to reason as

“our relationships with music really gets going when we enter puberty, and becomes most intense from then through to early adulthood. This is no coincidence. It is music that plays when we fall in love, when our hearts break, when we discover sex and learn the meaning of true friendship.”

In my late teens I, like so many others, thought/dreamed of being a musical genius of the likes of Freddie Mercury, Robert Plant, or Eddie Van Halen (there, you know my musical tastes now). It didn’t matter that I had no musical ability at all, but it did matter that I couldn’t work out if I was going to sing/shout (Dave Grohl, Freddie Mercury, David Coverdale, James Hetfield et al), thump some drums (Roger Taylor, Mick Fleetwood, Lars Ulrich, Dave Grohl again, etc) or strum the gee-tar (Joe Satriani, Slash, Eric Clapton, Brian May, Michael Schenker, etc). These were my heroes, not because they were famous or rich, but because they used a talent to bring me happiness, put a smile on my face during all the usual teenage troubles.

What I know now is that I am passed the (st)age of rock stardom, and many other kinds of stardom for that matter. BUT, and this is important, the age of self-publishing has given each of us the ability to put ourselves out there on the Internet, and bare our passion or interest for all to see, much the same as the song/lyric writers did in the songs I head-banged to as a spotty teenager.

The bands I grew up to were doing much the same I am doing now – they wrote their songs because they wanted to, just like many of us are writing our blogs because we want to. The likes of Led Zeppelin, Iron Maiden, Metallica, Queen, and Whitesnake are Rock Stars to me, just like people like Steve Wheeler (@timbuckteeth), Stephen Heppell (@stephenheppell), and Sir Ken Robinson (@sirkenrobinson) are held in such high esteem to many of us involved in learning today.

If you didn’t see this post last year, then please check out the video “Obvious to you, amazing to others“. When I read the article on music I immediately thought of this video – the people I looked up to musically, and still do, are doing the same as I’m doing here, we are all writing about experiences, passions, interests, life. Whether you have a recording contract and a number one hit single or write a blog about your passion (coffee, learning, technology, poetry, swimming, etc) doesn’t matter – to someone you are their Rock Star, just like you have people you look to and think of as your Rock Stars.

Rock On!

Image source

Related posts:

1. EdTech trends for 2010 .. it's started!
2. Video: A Brief History of Tech in Education #edtech
3. Video: the 21st Century Learner

While we may make judgements about students, their attendance in class, etc, or make generalisations about background and/or ability, do any of us really know what they deal with, or have had to deal with in their past? Watch this and be inspired.

Do you know ‘where’ your students have come from (and I don’t mean geographically)?

Related posts:

1. Video: Don’t do this to your students …
2. A Vision of Students Today
3. Presentation: Social Media & how (students) can survive online

I was lucky enough to be present at a presentation from Tom Scott (@tomscott) today at Bournemouth University, where he used the following as part of his demonstration of the possibilities for Social Network(ing) – “Looking at social media in a very different way”:

Recorded at TedX Sheffield in 2010, Tom uses real-world examples of what has happened in different situations around the world, and puts them together to demonstrate how close we are (or how easy it is) to a riot (topical?).

We are already doing so much that has implications beyond  our current understanding of ‘online behaviour’, all Tom has done here is join some dots as to one possible outcome of one little action, and the way in which it can escalate, be misinterpreted, and grow out of control.

Makes you think? It did me.

Tom’s website is http://www.tomscott.com/

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It’s not easy to find an example of the typical ‘how to use … ‘ type post that covers the positive and negatives of the subject. It’s even harder to find one that’s funny. But I have and here it is, all nicely packaged in a 3 minute YouTube video: funny, informative, technical, etc … enjoy!

It is important, as I have said before in my QR Code posts (see related posts below as well as clicking the link to my QR Code Resource page) that your QR Code is;

• tested fully, with different apps on different platforms/phones,
• pointing to a mobile-friendly or mobile-ready web site (not just the page, but the whole website),
• positioned in a sensible place (the video talks about tube/underground stations and in-flight magazines – why, as the scanner will not have a reception! Or what about billboards at the side of the road, when you’re driving and shouldn’t be using your phone, or even have time to get it out and scan as you speed past),
• checked and working and, if you change the URL it is pointing to, tested t make sure it points to the right place.
• using a shortened URL to make the code as clear as possible, and
• not printed as an after-thought on your poster in the bottom corner because your print designer doesn’t like them and has put it out of the way so it doesn’t block his careful design

Keep an eye on my blog here or on the Twitter hashtag #QRCodesBU to find out about an event I’m helping organise with Dr. Milena Bobeva (@milenabobeva) at Bournemouth University. Scheduled for early 2012 … ahh, you’ll read about it shortly (when we’ve got everything in place)!

PS. no kittens were harmed in the typing of this blog post (if you don’t understand what I’m talking about, watch the video!)

Related posts:

1. QR Codes: What are they?
2. QR Codes: In the Classroom
3. What’s Black & White and scanned all over? #QRCode

Many thanks to Sue Beckingham (@suebecks) for showing me this video this afternoon, very succinct and effective.

Even in 2009 (when this video was produced) it was obvious to many that we were entering a new development phase of technology that will have a dramatic change on education, and how we think about technology in education – and this was before the iPad changed the rules/scene yet again in April 2010, after the iPhone and the emergence of smart phones and ‘always available’ computing!

Coming so soon after the 2011 Future of Technology in Education Conference I can’t help but draw a comparison with the themes of the day that included the ‘bring your own device‘ (panel debate) and ‘students as the agents of change‘ (James Clay). Where the technology is going no one can predict (although many are trying) which means we can’t predict how we will use it. Needless to say, we will use it and, more often than not, find uses the original developers had not thought of and make it our own!

Related posts:

1. Video: History in the making with Social Media and Clay Shirky
2. EdTech trends for 2010 .. it's started!
3. Video: Sir Ken Robinson “Changing Education Paradigms” (RSAnimate)

For the past few years I keep hearing the phrase that we are “preparing students for jobs/roles that don’t yet exist”. I’m sure the majority of people have seen this video (below) but if not then I urge you to spend 5 minutes and watch it.

You could consider this the fourth part in the ‘What is a Learning Technologist’ series.  See my profile page for links to the other three parts.

What I want to work on is the future of the phrase that (at time-stamp 0:46) “we are currently preparing students for jobs that don’t yet exist … using technologies that haven’t been invented … in order to solve problems we don’t even know are problems yet” and whether we apply this to ourselves, and our own roles?

My thought is this: if we are preparing students for roles that don’t exist (yet) what are we doing to prepare ourselves for this change, for the roles in which we are already employed? Do we update our own list of roles and responsibilities to match the changing environment we are expected to work in? I’ve been in my current role for 4 and a half years and the job specification has not changed even though my daily tasks, responsibilities and capabilities has radically altered. In fact it would be safe to say that even the environment I work in, the people I work with, and the students I support is so very different from when I started. Yet my ‘role’, or the description my role is assigned, has not altered.

Let’s go back to the video again. At 3:32 the video ‘claims’ (I haven’t checked the facts) that new technical information is doubling every two years and that “for students starting a 4 year technical degree this means that half of what they learn in their first year of study will be outdated by their third year of study” and, if you carry this further, will be outdated by two ‘generations’ of change by the time they finish their first year of employment. If you take this further back it is also likely that the learning materials the students start using in their first year are not up to date, perhaps two or three years old, therefore their final year of study could be as much as 4 ‘generations’ old.  This is not preparing students for the job market.

Bring this into line with employment and job specifications for Learning Technology professionals … how many of us are spending our working day on things that we did not do last year, or use tools that were not available last year, or the year before? How much of this daily activity is written into our contract or job specification, yet it is something that we  involve ourselves with, and engage in, in order to complete our tasks and responsibilities in our current role and/or environment?

Add the often rigid structure used by employers regarding role/pay progression routes into this mix and you can see where I am coming from – how do we as individuals, or as a discipline of Learning Technology, advance our own role and responsibilities in a structure that is not capable of recognising the unique talent?

While it is not appropriate for employers to update or  modify their employee career ‘structures’ as often as the above might suggest, is there scope for periodic reviews of the whole, or in part, to establish a route for individuals to shine through and be rewarded for their work above and beyond the role suggests?

I don’t know if I’ve been able to capture my thoughts adequately, or eloquently enough here, but I welcome your thoughts on whether your role is ‘future proof’ or you also feel like the industry we work in is leaving you behind ‘officially’ while you keep up to speed because of your own private pride/desire/dedication to your job? As always, please leave a comment if this post/idea has made you think.

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I found this video on Twitter tonight thanks to David Walker (@drdjwalker) who re-tweeted the video from The Partnership of 21st Century Skills.

The video is called “Above and Beyond: the story of the 4Cs”. Enjoy

The video is described as;

“In an increasingly complex, demanding and competitive 21st century, students need to learn more than the 3R’s they are tested on in school. It’s time to help them go “above & beyond”, by embracing the 4Cs –communication, collaboration, critical thinking and creativity.

“To get the word out to about the “3Rs + 4Cs” approach, P21 and FableVision partnered to produce a short, animated film called Above & Beyond. Enjoy & share, so we can help ALL our students flourish in the 21st century.”

What I took from this video is that it is a good example of how two different perspectives can work together, whether they complement or conflict with each other, to produce something truly unique (and hopefully something that works). But also it is through such trial-and-error that learning takes place, ideas are developed, and relationships are built.

Go on, when was the last time you encountered an opportunity to do all 4C’s?

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There are some good animated videos from Derek Sivers YouTube Channel that are worth watching (try a few out and enjoy the distraction for a few minutes) but this one I especially liked. This rang true with me and my blogging activity; what is run-of-the-mill or simple to me is special and innovative to others, in the same way as reading someone else’s blog post or research has inspired me may not be  anything special to them … ??

So, who has inspired you, and who have you inspired … ?

This other one is a little sickly in the way it gets the message across, but essentially it’s about considering who is on the other end of your communication (personal, business, etc) and there is a need to consider how they will react to your rant, to your action, etc.

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I wasn’t aware of all the different labels that have been assigned in the past, but here is a brief overview (for those who are equally in the dark):

• The Lost Generation: Those who fought in World War I (born pre-1900)
• The Greatest Generation: Veterans of World War II (born 1901-1924)
• The Silent Generation: Also known as ‘War Babies’ (born 1925-1945)
• The Baby-Boomers: Those born in post-war boom and are generally attributed with(born 1946-1964)
• Generation X: (born 1960′s to early 1980′s)
• Generation Y: Also known as ‘Millennials’ or the ‘Net Generation’. This label is more about their attitude  (born between late 1970′s to early 2000′s)
• Generation Z: Also known as the ‘Internet Generation’ (born early-mid 2000′s)

From what I can see the movement from one categorisation of generation to another has been about the enlightenment of the individuals to their surrounding based on different elements of cultural and economic influences. However, I think this only applies to the earlier classifications. Once we see the eruption of technical capabilities, and our reliance on it in our every-day lives, we can see the classifications above become entwined with technical advancement. This is why I opt to use the term ‘Generation T’ for children born post 2008/9 … the ‘Tablet Generation’. As with the classifications above I would also advocate the use of  the ‘App Generation’ in reference to the way in which we are now using and talking about technology – everything is about the App, whether it is smart phones, tablet PCs, or cloud computing (Chromebook).

Here’s a good example:

YouTube: Baby Works iPad Perfectly. Amazing Must Watch!

In this video a father gives his child a tablet for the first time, just look at how quickly she learns to use the home button to exit the app and find another …

You Tube: A 2.5 Year-Old Has A First Encounter with An iPad

There are loads of examples if you look for them, but the fact is that tablet computers are so intuitive that children of all ages can use them. Robert Thompson explains that a tablet, “with its touch interface … can help children extend their creativity using intuitive applications that allow them to color, trace letters and do simple counting exercise — the possibilities are endless.”

Please note that I am trying to stay away from identifying one tablet over any other (or even operating system) as it is the technology and how we utilise it that interests me, not brand or price (although we cannot ignore the importance that is placed on form over function and preference on iPad or Blackberry PlayBook or HP TouchPad, etc).

While the jury is out on whether tablets will replace traditional computers that use a keyboard and mouse, the children/student of the future “will still need laptops, because they’re great for doing school work and just try passing a degree without one, the same goes for many jobs” (Tablets: A backseat for creativity). This is, of course, based on the assumption that the education system will not change and we will still instruct and assess in the way we do now, which we have been doing for many decades before. But this too is changing, just look at the way in which recent Web 2.0 systems (blog, wiki, podcast, etc) have been introduced to the learning environment, and the way the students have engaged with it. If this continues then the historical framework of teach/assess will also change.

Are we ready to embrace the changes? I think we are; there are already schools around the world providing tablets for each child, game consoles are used for game-based learning, etc. While these could be viewed in isolation, don’t forget that 25/30 years ago there were only a very few schools that had a room full of computers for students to use, this is now viewed as the norm, in fact it is essential equipment.

So, how long will Generation T last? I don’t know, but I’m sure the developers at the big tech firms have already started planning for the next big ‘thing’ – but will it be a game-changer like the advert of smartphones and tablets? I welcome your input and ask you to leave a comment or thought below.

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Watch this and enjoy … or start worrying and change all your settings on social media and network websites … !

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