Traveling in Europe and Technology Use

I certainly learned how difficult it is to write any type of coherent blog entries during my trip to Europe, visiting Florence, Rome, Naples, Venice, Italy; Vienna, Austria; Budapest, Hungary; Prague, Czech Republic; Madrid and Barcelona, Spain; and Dublin, Ireland.  I did find that I could manage just fine without a phone as long as I had Internet access with my iPad or iPhone (both in the “Airplane” mode so I did not get charged roaming charges).  Many I talked with before leaving on my trip assured me there was lots of Internet access across Europe.  Well, I did find there was lots of Internet access, but very little of it was free.  As I booked housing, I soon was just as concerned about having free Internet access as I was with the location of the housing (Why is it that the more expensive hotels charge for Internet access but the less expensive hotels do not?).

Throughout my travels, I was interested in noting how the technology was used.  In booking a visit to the Sistine Chapel in the Vatican Museum in Rome, I was able to do this online and then the window attendant scanned my QR code for entrance.  The QR code was also used for entrance to a concert I attended in Vienna on Christmas.  I attended church on Christmas Day at St. Stephens Church.  For the main service at 10am, there were cameras and big screen TVs throughout the church so if you ended up behind a pillar, you could still see what was going on in the front of the church.  However, at their next service, the TVs were not used.  I guess this had something to do with the fact that the Catholic Cardinal in Vienna was doing the main service at 10am.

All of my reservations for tours, housing, plane flights, train flights and boat rides were done online.  I had every reservation in a pdf on my iPhone in case I needed it, but in every case, there was no need for a paper reservation.  I guess charging a credit card each time helps to keep a reservation!

The Rapid Transit systems (like BART in San Francisco or METRO in Washington DC) in all of the large cities (Budapest, Madrid, Barcelona) were outstanding.  Their signage helped to overcome the language barriers.  In the rapid transit trains in Barcelona, the path of the train was shown over almost every door and the next station was illuminated with a little red light.

I took many trains in Italy, Budapest, Prague and Madrid.  In each case, the trains were on time.  In some cases, these reservations were made online, but, in most cases, doing train reservations in person guaranteed the train schedule I wanted.  The train schedules are not always posted online and it appeared that most people just knew the train schedules.  Because my schedule changed slightly once arriving in Europe, this worked best for me.  It also helped in talking with someone because of the language barrier.   The large signs in the train stations made it easy to see when my train arrived.  There was always an assigned seat so I knew my place .

Overall, the technology enhanced my travel and gave me options for each place I visited.  I can’t imagine traveling now without being connected to the Internet at least once a day.  So, does this mean I’m addicted to the Internet or is it that the Internet has become like water in my life?

 

 

Cell phone or Internet in Italy?

I have now been traveling around Italy for the past week (Naples, Amalfi Coast, Sorrento, Rome and Florence). I made the decision to not have a phone which has been fine. However, I have really missed an ongoing Internet connections. Others I talked with before my trip assured me there would be an Internet connection throughout Italy. I can tell you that there appear to be Internet connections throughout (because my iPhone shows there are), but they are all locked down. Maybe I’m not traveling in the right spots to find the right hot spots? Traveling on the train, there are Internet connections, but the directions are in Italian, so I need to see how to do that – and, of course there is a fee involved.

In addition, when I do get an Internet connection it is intermittent – it will work for awhile and then stop working. I didn’t know this, but the wind has something to do with a good Internet connection and that was evident in Rome during a wind and rain storm. My daughter, who is going to school in Florence, says this is how it is in Italy.

I am now going back to how I used to do things – type them up and when I do get an Internet connection, to copy and paste in my messages. So, doing everything in Google docs is not working, posting daily updates to Twitter won’t work and there will just need to be a time lag in sharing pictures on Facebook.

I also went for just traveling with my iPad, so I am learning more about the iPad can do each day as compared to my regular computer which can do everything. I am learning some of the limitations…and how to overcome them as compared to having a computer, which is good.

No doubt, there is incredible history, beautiful structures, and breath taking views across Italy which I enjoy daily.But I do miss the constant contact to the Internet of the US.

How about you…would you prefer to give up your access to Internet or a cell phone or both for a month?

2011 Predictions and Travel

At the beginning of 2011, Michael Horn from Innosight Institute made 6 predictions about education and online learning – let’s see how he did.

But first, I wanted to share that I  will be traveling around Italy and nearby countries for the next month.  My daughter is attending the Cal State University based in Florence this year from August to May and I am going to visit.  In addition, I will be talking with people about online learning in the various places I will visit, but for sure in Madrid and Dublin.  If you know of people involved in online learning – college or K-12 – please let me know so I can meet them while traveling.

Now, back to Michael’s predictions. Here were his six predictions and my commentary below each prediction:

1. Just under 40 percent of all U.S. postsecondary students will enroll in at least one fully online course in the fall of 2011.

• The Sloan C group came out with their report in October 2011.  They reported, “Thirty-one percent of higher education students now take at least one course online.”  and “Over 6.1 million students were taking at least one online course during the fall 2010 term, an increase of 560,000 students over the previous year.”  Michael’s prediction was a little high, but if this growth rate continues, we should see 40% reached by the end of 2012.

2. Public school budgets will continue to shrink, so more districts will do more business with online learning providers to fill in the gaps.

• No doubt public school budgets are shrinking.  Read about the K-12 budget reductions in California,  Texas,  New York, and in general, from the Huffington Post. But, in Utah, they are talking about adding money for education and the same in Florida.  Maybe Florida and Utah are signaling a turn around for education funding in other states.  Of course, Utah and Florida are two of the leaders in online learning as rated by Digital Learning Now.  It is not clear whether people are moving towards online learning because of the budget, but iNacol officials will tell you that they get inquiries about how to start K-12 online learning at least once a week.  I am not sure that districts are turning to online learning because of financial reasons because we know initially that online learning is not less expensive or is it because they want to better serve students in different ways?

3. An increasing number of suburban schools will begin using online learning, too.

• Absolutely true.  Most major school districts located in urban areas have some type of online learning initiative.  But, I think many of these were in place before 2011, such as LA Unified, but no doubt larger city school districts continue to grow programs.   Keeping Pace 2011 , released in October, indicates that “Single district programs are the fastest growing segment in K-12 online learning.”

4. Not to be outdone, education entrepreneurs will create high quality chartered schools that jump in the online learning game as well.

• I think this prediction has certainly come true.  Whether you believe education entrepreneurs work in the public or private sector, there have been a number of reports and articles written regarding the for-profit entrepreneurs.  I highlighted some of these reports here.  Tom Vander Ark continues to keep us up-to-date with the latest information as he did with this blog entry.  Certainly, to make it in the current economy in many places of the U.S., one has to be entrepreneurial.  A few examples would be investor money raised by the Khan Academy and Edmodo.

5. User-generated online content will begin to explode in education.

• This is another area that is difficult to measure.  I think that good online teachers are continually creating their own online content.   If you participated in the EduMooc in summer 2011 or the current Change11 Mooc, then all of us who are participating are continually creating content.  And, I think most would agree what is occurring in Curriki and with Open Educational Resources is facilitating this trend.  So, I think it is safe to say this is a trend that will continue, but I’m not sure of any reports that illustrate this trend.

6. Mobile learning, the subject of increasing hype in the United States, will make its impact in the developing world first.

• As with other technologies, the “developing world” and business embrace new technologies first, and then, education.  The multiple-screen world – computer, tablet, and smart phone – are wreaking havoc with software developers to know which size to create their content (there is new technologies that are developing for multiple screen authoring).  In addition, online educators at every level are working to figure out which type of device can best facilitate student learning. In this eSchool News report about mobile technologies as well as the Horizon Report, both validate this trend is not going away.  And, you just have to walk down any street in the world to see the prevalence of mobile devices.  This is another trend that will continue long into the future.  So, this prediction is right on.

What will we be reflecting on a year from now when we look back on 2012?  Only time will tell!

 

The #pencilchat narrative

Just wanted to capture the various blogposts and narrative regarding #pencilchat that I have seen so far.  I wrote about #pencilchat yesterday.  If you want to get in on  the fun, take a look. Or you can see the #pencilchat trending chart here (which I  learned about because of #pencilchat).

John Spencer started us off with this blogpost.

Jennifer Wagner recalled a blogpost she wrote in 2010 entitled “Pencilology”.

An article about erasures in USA Today from a few months back was shared.

Malyn Mawby sketched and wrote about it based on the Tweet, “”Give a man a fish and he eats for a day. Give him a pencil and he can draw a fish. And she added: “which he can sell so he can still eat.”

Tom Johnson started the blog, “Pencil Integration“

Study Design wrote about the Twitter trend.

Steve Wheeler added to the satire and allegory sharing the ruminations from a head teacher about #pencilchat.

Tom Bennett added to the satire and allegory with his blogpost stating that #pencilchat was condemned by the United Nations.

Another person found the Pencil Talk blog.

David Coffey blogged about it here…talking about the #pencilchat network .

This morning (Sat. Dec. 3), Liz Dwyer wrote about it in Good Magazine. And Elaine Plybon from the Dallas Examiner, wrote about it here.

Pictures here, here, and here …and a pencil in the foot – ouch! have been shared related to #pencilchat.

And others shared real #pencilchat type products here and here (that are really for sale, but did not grow from #pencilchat”)

And various related videos here, here and here and a cartoon here.

I am enjoying learning and sharing with my new PLC:  the #pencilchat network!

Friday Frivolity #pencilchat

It is always refreshing when someone can poke fun at the things we, as educators, do and say.   Today, it came via Twitter with the hashtag #pencilchat.  You can see some of the fun here.  And, I have to say that I have been laughing out loud reading the tweets coming through by twitter stream with #pencilchat. So, in case you missed it, yes, this is for fun and it is an allegory or metaphor or irony (depending on your persective) for the many issues we deal with – especially in the use of technology, online learning and education.  So join in and laugh along!

Then across my Twitter feed came from:  @JohnTSpencer “Do you know how crazy it is to start a chat and then watch one of my favorite former teachers on it? #howfun #pencilchat”.  Yes, John was in my 8th grade Academic Block class many years ago in Clovis, Ca.  I don’t recall his sense of humor and clever wit from his 8th grade year in the same way that is revealed in his blogposts, his tweets, and his books.  Way to go John – you have become a master of the allegory (but I don’t think I taught that in 8th grade English, but I do remember you were a good writer)!  It is fun to see an idea take off like this #pencilchat hash tag and it is good to laugh at and with ourselves!  Now, following the tweets are  the blogposts.  John started it and Iowa Tranformed continued it and now there as entire blog dedicated to it.

Here are some of my favorite #pencilchat tweets!

johntspencerJohn T. Spencer: Learn to see the world in shades of gray. #pencilchat

@jpatten John Patten: THIS JUST OUT! LIST OF COMPANIES JONESING TO TAKE OVER PUBLIC EDUCATION!, pencilpages.com/mfg/index.htm #pencilchat

fredbartelsFred Bartels: Christianson’s book “Disruptive Disrupters” explores how schools that fail to embrace pencils will disintegrate. #pencilchat

anotherschwabAndrew T. Schwab: If we wait for the research, we’ll still be using sticks and drawing in the dirt.

InukshukBill Belsey: Our old Superintendent would have never supported a BYOP policy. He always told our students & staff to “Get the lead out!” #pencilchat

jcorippojcorippo:  “@markbrumley: In heart of Silicon Valley, school succeeds with no-tech education bit.ly/t3pLHJ #edtech #teachers” see #Pencilchat

timbuckteethSteve Wheeler: I’m resisting pencils at present. If I adopt them, I’ll have to change the way I teach. #pencilchat

delta_dcDavid Coffey: Give a man a fish and he eats for a day. Give him a pencil and he can draw a fish. #pencilchat

pgowPeter Gow: Won’t the kids from affluent families have all the really nice pencils? I worry about a Graphite Divide.

@jbellsd60 Jarrod Bell: Pencils – “this too shall pass” #pencilchat

And I added a few as well:

robdarrowRob Darrow, Ed.D.: We need to teach students that what they write will be their “graphite footprint” and may be found by future generations. #pencilchat

robdarrowRob Darrow, Ed.D.: What does the research say about the use of pencils? We really shouldn’t be using them until we know for sure that they work. #pencilchat

Happy Friday!