Mike Falick's Blog

The "Google Generation" Thinks Differently: Multi-Tasking as a Way of Life

A recent article that appeared in the London Times accurately describes the "Google Generation," identified as today's students.  The Times discusses what many people have noticed (and particularly those of us whose children seem to be connected to a laptop/cell phone continuously):

According to researchers we are in the midst of a sea change in the way that we read and think. Our digitally native children have wonderfully flexible minds. They absorb information quickly, adapt to changes and are adept at culling from multiple sources. But they are also suffering from internet-induced attention deficit disorder.

Children do have the capacity to assimilate learning faster and simultaneously from multiple sources, says Clark. “The downside is that they expect more variety, so their boredom threshold is falling. Some teaching is adapting to that and becoming more dynamic, some is not.”

The article shows why engaging students with "old world" media will be increasingly difficult for these digital natives.
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How the Google generation thinks differently

Digital-age kids process information differently from parents. Our writer admits misjudging how her son was learning

My elder son Oli is almost 15 and way beyond the stage where I might usefully help with his homework. But in the run-up to his recent end-of-year exams, I felt compelled to take a hovering interest in his revision. This chiefly involved loitering on the landing and popping into his room at frequent intervals laden with the laundered contents of his sock drawer.

Every time I crossed the threshold, the scene was the same: textbooks remained firmly closed in his bag while the laptop was open on his desk.

On the screen was some history/ physics/English document, but also his Facebook and iTunes pages. In his ears were the iPod plugs, playing back a podcast. And sometimes, just to fracture his concentration even further, he might have had a half-played video running on YouTube as well.

Yahoo! For Teachers: Here's a Great Collaborative Tool for Teachers

I just signed up for a new service from Yahoo! called Yahoo! For Teachers that provides an ever-expanding repository of teacher generated resources, projects, and lessons.  From the Yahoo! For Teachers website:

Yahoo! For Teachers is the product of Yahoo! listening to teachers and delivering what they wanted - access to more resources and the ability to connect with other educators.

Teachers partnered with Yahoo! every step of the way to develop this new resource that empowers teachers to create, modify and share curriculum materials that meets state education standards.

Yahoo! also created the Gobbler, a unique collection tool that allows teachers to easily find and gather images, text and other information on the Internet and incorporate it into their own portfolio of curriculum materials.

Combining teachers’ input and leading technology, Yahoo! For Teachers is the ideal resource for the 21st Century Classroom.

   

Flyp: The Future of "Old" Media

Flyp is a new (or at least new to me) website that combines text, video, and audio to rewrite the rules for online magazines.  It's interface is a friendly, page-turn style.  While the site is decidedly Democrat-friendly in its politics, the interaction of video, audio, and traditional text presents a compelling layout.  In addition to the political articles, there are other articles on a broad range of issues.

From the Flyp website:

Flyp is about what moves America and Americans, covering everything from politics to lifestyles; social issues to cultural developments; war to peace; music to movies. Our goal is to connect the dots in ways that both inform and entertain.

Flyp combines video, text, animation, high-quality design and interactivity in a new kind of storytelling that blends the best from the world of print with the latest from the Web.

Phun Physics: A Program that Allows You to Play with Physics

Here's another great example of how Web 2.0 can make something fun.  The Phun Physics website allows you to play with shapes and objects online and determine the physics of those objects.

Phun Physics is a program that you download, and once you do, prepare to become addicted.

Here's a video from YouTube that explains Phun Physics.

From the Phun Physics website:

Welcome to the new homepage of Phun - the 2D physics sandbox!

It's not pretty, but it is a wiki, which means anybody can edit it. It also has a Phun Forum where you can discuss all things Phun. If you want to share videos of Phun, please join the Phun YouTube-group http://www.youtube.com/group/phun. Read more here.

• Phun 3.5 released. Read the full changelog here!

Download Phun!

Forvo: Interactive, User Generated, Word Pronunciations (in Many Many Languages)

Today, I came across Forvo, a new website that allows users to find out how to pronounce words.  It's an interesting concept that relies on users to submit a word, which another user will then pronounce. 

What is intriguing about Forvo is the idea of this kind of multi-lingual, world-wide, web-based assistance as a platform.  Forvo is still new, so the word bank is still developing.

From the Forvo website:

What is Forvo?

Forvo is the place where you´ll find words pronounced in their original languages. Ever wondered how a word is pronounced?  Ask for that word or name, and another user will pronounce it for you. You can also help others recording your pronunciations in your own language.

Interactive Mad Magazine "Fold-Ins": Now on the Internet

I can't remember exactly how old I was when I got my first Mad Magazine, but I vividly remember doing the fold-ins.  Now, you can re-live/live that experience online.  It's especially interesting to do some of the political fold-ins from the late 1960s and 1970s.

More Fun with Animoto: Here's Spring Branch ISD

Yesterday I posted information and a video I made using Animoto.  Here's a longer video that highlights Spring Branch ISD that I created this evening.  (This took about 30 minutes to create, but the compilation process done by Animoto took quite a while). 

I am blown away by the marketing implications for this incredibly easy to use technology.

Let me know what you think.

Animoto: A Great Tool to Create Digital Media and Engage Students

During the Convocation on Friday, David Warlick spent a lot of time talking about the flat classroom.  Right after lunch, he introduced the audience to Animoto, a new website that allows for extremely easy creation of digital content.

David suggested that this would be a good way to engage students.  He said, "imagine introducing a Shakespeare lesson with an Animoto video.  It's like MTV!" 

It took me about 10 minutes to find the pictures online and create the video below.  Very cool stuff!

Smithsonian Images Puts 2.5 Million Pictures Online

The Smithsonian Institution has created an amazing new searchable website containing over 2.5 million of its images.  From the website:

Smithsonian Images is administered and maintained by Smithsonian Photographic Services, the main photographic office for the National Museum of American History Bering Center, National Museum of Natural History, and  National Air and Space Museum. As such, the Office maintains an archive of over 2.5 million contemporary and historic images from these museums. This site offers the public an opportunity to research and purchase prints or digital files of these images. At this time only a small percentage of our images are available for online purchase, for other images call the number below for information and purchase, or visit our web site at photos.si.edu.

Yahoo NewsGlobe: A Great Way to Get Your Daily News

Here's a really interesting way to receive news in real-time.  Yahoo's new NewsGlobe spins the planet and highlights news stories from around the globe.  You can let the NewsGlobe do the work, or you can spin the globe yourself and select news stories for a particular location.