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Something I’ve long suspected is confirmed by real research by the Nielsen/Norman Group. Even though young people are comfortable with technology, they are not experts. I noticed this first with my personal sample of nieces and nephews, ages 24-7, who live all over the country. They know what they know, and like how technology makes their lives easier and more convenient, but they rarely look under the hood of technology or explore it deeply.
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Today’s children (ages 3-12) are more experienced using the Internet than previous digital natives. But how are they different from other web users? Jakob Nielsen’s latest usability finds that most of the same web design guidelines apply with some important differences.
First, digital natives have more difficulty distinguishing advertising and promotions from web site content. Where adult Internet users tend to ignore banners and advertising, children are inclined to click and explore everything on the page.
Second, while adults hardly think twice about sharing personal information, children are more aware of privacy and security issues. Digital natives think twice before disclosure.
It seems that we’ve taught our children about stranger danger (in this case, the stranger is a computer), but we need to work on media literacy.
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Back in 2002, Shelly Luke Wille, William Myrhang and I designed a model classroom for the National School Boards Association (NSBA) Technology + Learning Conference. After the first class, word spread about our innovative room, seamless technology, and the learning that was happening. We were at capacity for every class. Educational decision makers didn’t just see how a classroom could be designed for collaboration, they actually experienced it, working in pairs, following the leadership of expert educator Shelly Luke Wille. If we want to change the classroom, educators and policy makers have to experience a different classroom for their own learning. We have to change perception about what a classroom is if we are ever going to catch up to the needs of the 21st century learner. To see how we did it, Read the article: How to Build a Classroom in 24 Hours or Less
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Nimble Press wishes you peace and joy in the new year
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National School Boards Assocation T+L Conference
Denver, CO
I arrived at the convention center as the sun was coming up for the first session of the day. I shook off the melting snow from hat, scarf, coat and gloves to a warm welcome from Darryl LaGace, Chief Information and Technology Officer at San Diego Unified School District. I’ve been following Darryl’s innovative projects since 2000 when he helped transform Lemon Grove School District. The great thing about Darryl’s projects is that they are not just pilots. He thinks big and he thinks long-term.
At San Diego, the 2nd largest district in California and the 8th largest in the country, the school board committed to developing a comprehensive online high school program over a 3-year period. Drop outs were increasing. According to LaGace: “We wanted to provide an opportunity for kids in our school district rather than refer them to a resource we couldn’t manage (such as an unaffiliated virtual school).” iHigh is a blended approach with facilities on high school campuses as well as satellite locations, offering core courses, AP courses, and extracurricular options. In year 1, 2008-2009, 3933 students completed 5052 courses for credit recovery. iHigh also engaged 20 full-time students and 200 part-time students. LaGace shared lessons learned after the first school year: 2008-2009.
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