Kim Cofino will be our featured guest during this week’s Shifting Our Schools podcast. Kim has found a spot in the blogosphere as a leader in helping our students make learning connections outside the classroom. To learn more about networking for learning, spend some time on her Always Learning blog. 

My wife Margaret reminds me of our previous SOS discussions about making connections around concepts. Many of our schools use the Understanding by Design approach to curriculum design, so we focus on concepts as essential understandings. Margaret points out that real critical thinking comes into play as students learn about the hierarchical nature of concepts and their connections to other ideas. From a teaching perspective, we can look at how to facilitate the process of students taking the steps to gain an understanding of concepts. One significant tool teachers have used for a long time is concept mapping. Inspiration and Cmap digitally provide the means to create and save mind maps on our computers. At the same time, newer Web 2.0 tools like Bubbl and Mindmeister (among several) offer the additional benefit of collaboration.  

Another way to look at how to connect is with hardware and the Web. As a handheld user for many years, I became a reader of gadget blogs like Engadget and Brighthand, hoping to one day find an article describing a tech company that would create a learning tool for the education market. This hybrid wifi-enabled computer, phone, camera, GPS, and tablet device would come with a software package focused on the needs of students and educators. The reason for asking for such a Swiss knife handheld is that if students are to be at the center of the learning process, they must have ubiquitous access to the Web and the means to gather data on the spot, process and then publish it.

Are we there yet? The business market has costly connection tools that one would feel uncomfortable giving students to keep. We are getting closer to some of the products from HTC, Apple, and even Asus with the EEE PC. The EEE is helping to drive the costs down. Battery life continues to be a problem for many handhelds. At the same time, the Microsoft mobile operating system needs to come closer to offering the smooth functionality of the Apple iPhone and iTouch platforms. 

Yet, the signs look very positive. I look forward to my sons having such a device when they ask a science, historical, etc. research question wherever we might be. They want to take a photo/video of something exciting and want to know where we are and where we are going.