It was cold last week in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida (just my luck!). But that wasn't going to stop me from catching some sun...I sat outside and talked with Instructional Media Specialist Sherry Newman of Nova Southeastern University. Sherry is working on her doctoral degree in instructional technology and working as a Middle School Technology/Media instructor. We talked about kids and technology and the need to build more connecting and interactive classrooms. And, we talked about where kids who are socially different, such as those with Asperger's, fit in and what they need from us to succeed in school and after school.
Click on the MP3 file below to listen to today's podcast interview:
Download Newman.mp3 (3.76MB; 10mins,57secs)
"We live in a copy and paste environment..." : this podcast talks clearly about the assumptions that are made about students and their 'innate ability' to understand technology.
I think part of the problem is that we (in education) don't always know how to model good use of technology. In fact I'm not convinced that we know what "good" use is when applied to learning and teaching. I have more to say on the subject but rather than repeat myself I'll point you in the direction of an old post:
http://keeneweb.org/workersplaytime/2007/09/06/skills-gap-for-the-digital-nativesreally/
Posted by: Jenny Darrow | January 11, 2008 at 12:23 PM
I am an adult with aspergers, and one of the things that gets me is my hypersensitivity to noise, so my suggestion to you as someone that is writing alot on aspergers and doing pod casts is to use this 'understanding technology' and ability to navigate through technology to try and figure out how to make a crip sounding podcast, as I (hopefully I am not the only one) find it hard to get through a pod cast when there is so much secondary noise going on.
Posted by: drconfused | January 12, 2008 at 05:36 AM
Response to Drconfused: I am sympathetic to your need for a low-stimulation podcast due to sensory issues...perhaps a solution is to post transcripts of podcasts for folks like you to read.
Posted by: Larry | January 12, 2008 at 06:00 PM
Was there much discussion about the use of assisted technology to address writing deficits?
Posted by: Ariane | February 22, 2008 at 12:00 AM
Ariane:
No, but I'm sure Sherry knows a bit about this. Try contacting her at Nova U. if you'd like to discuss.
Posted by: Larry | February 22, 2008 at 08:38 AM