Jed’s Journal

I am thinking about what will follow the 2009 blendedschools.net conference, and I have the original Batman theme song in my head. It is the “…dada dada dada, dada dada dada…” that is running on a continual for-next loop. Here is why.

First, let’s start with the history of the conference. Our first conference was in 2005. The theme was 21st Century Teaching & Learning. The conference was designed to jump start the use of Web resources, learning management systems and online instruction in K12 schools. In 2006, the 2020 Vision conference focused on designing curriculum that prepares the kindergartners of then for the world they will emerge into when they graduate from high school in the year 2020. Educating the Digital Native was the theme for 2007. That conference emphasized identifying the skill, knowledge and practice differences between digital natives and digital immigrants, and shared instructional methods that accommodate, challenge and empower today’s students. Last fall, we explored how to leverage social networking technologies for expanding and enhancing teaching and learning in our conference Our Learning Space. This year, Global Living & Learning.

This morning, I am thinking we should focus on ”…dada dada dada, dada dada dada…” Watch Tim Berners-Lee give this TED presentation The Next Web of Open, Linked Data. Tim Berners-Lee is frustrated by the unlocked potential of data. He sees the current Web as a big document sharing environment. He claims the future of the Web is data sharing, challenging us, coaxing us, charging us, “I want you to put your data on the Web.” But how? Tim Berners-Lee gives a three point answer. 1) use URLs to point to data. 2) anyone accessing the URL should send data back. 3) relationships in the data should identify and point to other URLs with data.

Wow!

Imagine the power! Imagine the implications!

The first spinoff might be simple data, like contact information. I add a Skype ID to my Facebook profile info, and it updates my profile info on the blendedschools.net website, contact info at my bank and in Blackboard, Plaxo, Linked In, utility companies, frequent flyer programs, alumni associations, professional organizations, etc. Wouldn’t that be nice?

Nicer still would be how it could affect teaching and learning and assessment, enabling dynamic sharing of curriculum around the globe based upon student engagement, task completion, skill acquisition proficiency or a myriad of other parameters. Imagine a global, living, data-fed, data-designed curriculum that promulgates personal education plans, personalized curriculum and personalized instruction based upon all of the research data.

Okay, back to Earth. Let’s think shorter term. What can we do this month and this year to increase data connections to make the education world smarter by aggregating data and helping educators access data?

There are two reasons why I have been looking forward to today. First, it is, of course, April Fool’s Day. Although it is not a holiday in its own right, it is the only internationally socially acceptable open season for hoaxes and practical jokes. That’s inherently fun, isn’t it? Don’t worry. I am not going to play a practical joke on you in this post. I do want to point out, however, that now more than ever it is important for us to be socially aware of international mores, cultures, practices and beliefs. For a wide variety of reasons, the Earth is flatter now than ever before. There are more multinational citizens than ever before. A surprising percentage of jobs are no longer location dependent. 70% of Internet users contribute to and communicate with social networking technologies. And the working middle class by American standards now spans the globe. Now, more than ever before, we need to be attuned with a worldwide culture and a worldwide economy, which is why the theme for the 2009 blendedschools.net Conference is Global Living & Learning.

Our 2009 conference will address a variety of critical questions about preparing our students to live and learn globally. How can we help students acquire the technological, political and social skills they need to live and learn globally? How can we use technology to facilitate global social awareness? How can we help students access global learning resources? What are some engaging ways technology can help our students make global social connections? 

Today, the 2009 blendedschools.net Conference–Global Living & Learning is open for registration. The conference will be held in State College, Pennsylvania on Thursday and Friday, October 29 and 30, and will give us opportunity to celebrate yet another international custom.