Blekko: The Newest Search Engine

Liz Exo’s Blog Post:

This article gives readers a look at a new search engine that may give Google some competition, according to the author. It’s called Blekko, and it has a few new “dimensions” that makes it interesting to new users.
The author of this article was originally skeptical about this new search engine, but he put it to the test and found that it can definitely compete with the trustworthy Google. So, here are some of the features of Blekko that are newer than what Google is offering;
The “tag” feature allows registered users to add important tags that may apply to the site they are looking at. As long as it is used properly, the tag feature would help let other web surfers know more about the site before they open it up.
The SEO (search engine optimization) feature is great for the owners of a website because it allows them to compare different sites.
The “IP” feature shows the IP address under which the current site is operating. If you choose to use the IP feature, you can see what other sites use the same IP address. This could be interesting to see if this would help you find extra websites, if you were doing a research task, for example.
There are other features like the links, chatter, cache, and spam feature that set Blekko apart from Google as well.
I think this search engine is an interesting concept, and I would love to hear if anyone has any input to see how this could be used in the classroom or maybe just for the benefit of teachers? I seem to think that these features could somehow be put to beneficial use.

Daytona State College - All eBooks

As my title alludes, Daytona State College is looking to get rid of traditional textbooks. The campus started using eBooks in several departments in 2009, and is hoping to be a 100% eBook campus by next fall.

Instead of each book costing students anywhere from $50 to over $200, each eBook will cost about $20. Students can either buy an eReader (like the Kindle or the iPad) at a reduced cost from the school, or read their books from one of the school's computers. Students and teachers could also print out their eBooks and place them in binders, if they so choose.

The CFO of Daytona State College is hoping that by having such a large reduction in costs for textbooks, more students will be able to stay in school.

No one is very sure about the success of this program, however; the National Association of College Stores sent out a survey to college students, which found that 74% of students prefer to have printed textbooks in class.

I have to say, I agree with that 74%. It would be really difficult to have to carry around something like an iPad to every class and/or to the library. I would be really afraid I would drop it. Every classroom would need to have a bunch of power outlets, also, just in case several students' eReaders were losing power at the same time. And, if the students doesn't buy an eReader and just uses a school computer, how would he be able to bring his book to class? There are positives to using eReaders, though; instead of carrying around 4 large textbooks, a student would only need the eReader and it is much more environmentally friendly. All in all, I am really unsure about how I feel about going 100% eReader on a college campus. I think it could have many more problems than benefits.

Digital access, collaboration a must for students

This article was written in response to a survey refereed to as “Speak Up 2009: Creating Our Future: Students Speak Up about their Vision for 21st Century Schools,” which is the latest education technology survey put on by Project Tomorrow. According to the survey. Students are emerging as "free agent learners" which are students who increasingly take learning into their own hands and use technology to create personalized learning experiences.
I think that this article is articulating everything that we have been talking about in class. The survey stresses that using technology in the classroom is becoming increasingly important to students.

The survey noted, "Students, regardless of community demographics, socio-economic backgrounds, gender, and grade, tell us year after year that the lack of sophisticated use of emerging technology tools in school is, in fact, holding back their education—and in many ways disengages them from learning." I feel as though this statement alone expresses everything that I have learned so far in my education classes. In order to close the achievement gap and ensure that our students are succeeding to their highest potential we need to find innovative ways to incorporate technology in the classroom. This semester has really taught me the many ways that I can accomplish this very goal. The report identifies three essential elements of a new emerging student vision for American education. They are:

• Social-based learning: Students want to leverage emerging communications and collaboration tools to create and personalize networks of experts to inform their education experience.
• Untethered learning: Students envision technology-enabled learning experiences that transcend the classroom walls and are not limited by resource constraints, traditional funding streams, geography, community assets, or even teacher knowledge or skills.
• Digitally-rich learning: Students see the use of relevancy-based digital tools, content, and resources as a key to driving learning productivity, and not just about engaging students in learning.

The article also noted "[that] while the three elements offer the potential for remarkably new approaches to teaching and learning in a classroom, students likely will see the use of these emerging technologies as a “natural extension of the way they are currently living and learning outside of that classroom.'"

Overall, I was really impressed with the way that this article truly describe everything that we have been learning in class. I'm really glad that we post all of our stuff online so that we can access these resources and use them in our future classrooms.

State data systems present privacy concerns

This article was all about privacy concerns that are taking place in the state of Indiana with school data systems. Kalina stated "We are truly paranoid about privacy and maintaining the integrity of the system." There has been great concern regarding keeping student records in online data systems. Last year I remember receiving an email from IWU explaining that someone had "accidentally" forwarded a document full of student information including addresses, social security numbers and academic info to a plethora of people on campus. Getting this email was honestly terrifying. How could someone "accidentally" send this type of information. As a student, I was frustrated that the university that I trusted with my personal information had betrayed this trust. After this incident I'm still really hesitate to submit anything to the university online. The article suggested that "Having as few people as possible have access to student-level data is probably the best thing you can do to make sure you maintain [data] privacy and security." Though this statement may seem obvious, in IWU's case apparently the person who was supposed to be in charge of this information misused the privilege whether on accident or not. Overall, great precautions need to be taken before I will feel comfortable with student records being available on online data bases.

Universities commit to open-access journal movement

This article discusses the move made by a dozen major American universities towards making academic research material available online free of charge. These universities, which include Duke, Harvard, Cornell, MIT, University of Michigan, and University of California Berkley, among others, have signed the Compact for Open Access Publishing Equity (COPE), which means that rather than paying $10,000-$20,000 in subscriptions each year, the universities will cover the costs of publishing the articles themselves (about $1,000- $3,000) and will be able to access the other open-access articles. This movement, which is essentially "increased open access, means more opportunities for the research of our faculty and researchers to reach a wide audience and have a meaningful impact on the world,” says Peter Lange, Duke's provost. I think that this movement encompasses everything that is right about today's movement towards technology. Technology should be enabling and encouraging the sharing of knowledge between scholars and learners alike. The increased availability of professors' research will no doubt enrich the education of students and lead to more progress for other professors, as it should.

School Leaders’ Opinions on 21st Century Skills

Liz Exo’s Blog Post:

As it is probably clear to most of us already, with the new century came new technology and new technological skills to be learned. This article discusses the possibilities of creating new assessments that are directed towards new technological skills. 43% of the schools that responded to the survey stated that their school district already implemented new assessments to test skills like problem solving, teamwork, and critical thinking.

The article also discusses the issue of cyber bullying, and it states that 34% of school districts said that anti-bullying and other computer safety policies have already been implemented.

A final point brought up in the article revolves around the push towards electronic “textbooks” if you will, rather than traditional printed books. The problems that would need to be addressed before making the switch would be to make sure each student has equal access to the internet outside of school, which seems to be a problem for many low-income areas. It is interesting to note that 24% of schools that responded to the survey said schools should move towards electronic reading because textbooks are boring. However, I feel like this may be a controversial issue. I personally have trouble reading long texts online, because I feel like if I cannot write on the text (underlining or highlighting important information) I have a lot more trouble understanding and remembering what I read. So, besides the issue of availability, educators should look at all perspectives before making the switch.

Metal Detectors are No Longer Enough

School districts have begun using x-ray machines in schools to increase the level of safety. There have been over 100 installed in Illinois, Tennessee, Virginia, Texas, and New York. People who support using x-rays in schools argue that this way, security officers can see what is in a bag, rather than just knowing that there is metal in it. While this makes sense, I went to a school that had no security checks at all. The thought of metal detectors is strange to me, but to put an x-ray machine in a school? It would make me feel as if I was trying to get on a plane, not go to class. I feel very mixed about this issue; I feel that it is a good idea, and that certain schools probably do need this amount of security, but at the same time, it could really disrupt the way students enter school. Is there going to be a machine at every single entrance? I went to a very small school and we still had 8 or 9 doors around the building. A school would almost have to block off every entrance other than the one that had the machine to truly keep the students safe. And blocking off these entrances could create a huge line of students waiting to get into the building.