Hans Rosling presents data in a beautifully clear manner. This is what math should be in school, in my opinion; more analysis, more evaluation, more interpretation, more questions, more thinking. The math we ask our learners to do is mostly pencil and paper computation of things nobody ever computes by hand anymore. Hans Rosling’s careful analysis can shift opinions, defeat prejudice, question what’s taken for granted. Wouldn’t it be great if that was the kind of math we did in school?


You will find more links to some of this brilliant man’s work in the r.u.a.ware blog article.		 You can use this calendar page as your desktop’s wallpaper.

When was the last time you learned something completely different that required a certain effort? Do you remember how it felt?


Here’s some of what you could have missed if you don’t follow @malalande and @a_spector on Twitter:

 
Disrupting education http://www.edsocialmedia.com/2012/05/disrupting-education/ via @edsocialmedia. Like VHS over Beta? Not better, but cheaper and more accessible.
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    Tom Whitby ?@tomwhitby My friend @PeterVogel "Technology in Education: The ‘cloud’ ate their homework" http://bit.ly/Km6vGf #Edchat
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    Very interesting article by @InnovativeEdu (Lisa Nieslon) on #BYOD Myths Debunked: http://thejournal.com/articles/2011/11/09/7-byod-myths.aspx
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@langwitches SnagIt can take a scrolling screenshot. See http://www.techsmith.com/snagit.html
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    Explain Everything allows you to illustrate a video lesson with an iPad, see my short tutorial. http://wp.me/pfSP3-1BP #ictblog #mlearn
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Want to learn how to "Flip your Classroom" with TedEd? Watch my video tutorial. #ictblog #flipclass #teded @TED_ED http://wp.me/pfSP3-1Bx
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BYOD In the 21st Century



Wondering what BYOD means or if your school is ready for it? In this 8-minute Pedagogical Quickie, I present some of the many advantages and limitations of this concept for education





Rendez-vous Virtuel du RÉCIT, June 5-7
Table nationale de concertation
des services du RÉCIT à la FGA, June 14-15

 ISTE 2012 Conference in San Diego, June 23-27
(International Society for Technology in Education)



Who watches a TV show at the specific time at which it airs anymore? Who watches movies on a regular subscription-free TV channel, chock full of commercial interruptions? Some people still do, of course, but one must admit that their numbers are shrinking. The networks and cable providers are noticing… Remember Blockbuster stores? Netflix, Apple TV, the Boxee Box and other devices and services have seriously changed the behavior of the filmed entertainment consumer … And I think this behavior will have repercussions in education as well.

While on-demand access to filmed entertainment is new to us, to the following generations, this will be as it has always been; you watch what you want, when you want it, where you want it, on whatever device you prefer. Well, it’s perhaps not everything you want, not yet… some shows and movies are missing from the selection. But you just might settle to watch something else, a series you weren’t so sure about, because it’s there, easier to access and cheaper. And this is where education is susceptible to being transformed completely… Flipping the classroom and BYOD are perhaps just the beginning.

I read this great article on Ed Social Media: Disrupting Education (http://www.edsocialmedia.com/2012/05/disrupting-education/). Even if some consider face-to-face teaching (notice the nuance here: teaching, not learning) to be of better quality than online lessons, the Internet video might win the battle anyway. Why? Because it’s easier to access, because it’s free (or very often, it is) and because it’s flexible.

Apart from the fact that kids have to be somewhere safe while their parents are at work, why should learners be forced to be taught on a rigid schedule, the equivalent of watching TV shows when they air? What if the learning material was accessed when it made more sense to the learner to access it? Of course, we can’t expect teachers to be “activated” and give a lesson when need be… This is where Internet video shines. Online, the learner could access the concept explanations from different teachers through video. Now, instead of having access to a single teacher when he or she deems it relevant, the learner will be able to get help from a number of teachers whenever he or she needs it.

This leaves another question, then… In light of these changes, why maintain a subject-rigid classroom schedule? What if teachers were to be available to help out more with projects and big-picture questions than with lectures on concepts or techniques? I’m not saying I have the answers to these questions… But I am asking them! ;o)

How do you think Internet video, especially on-demand learning, will affect school organization in the near future? Let me know @malalande on Twitter.		 May Newsletter
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