Wii Cool

Johnny Lee opens the doors to awesome new ways to use the Wii remote for digital white boarding and 3D head tracking applications. I am sure many, many of you have already seen this... BUT... if you hvae not, take the five minutes to watch the video. Right now!

Trust me, it is worth it! And now ... I am off to Radio Shack!

Scientists: Is technology rewiring our brains?

Researchers seek a better understanding of technology's effects on reading, learning

I was struck by this article because of its perspective. Being entrenched in educational theory and eLearning, I don't often consider the very real possibility that our ubiquitous digital immersion is not simply changing how we behave and relate - it is altering the physical reality of our gray matter. I recognize the need for new theories of learning, like connectivism, but do neurosurgeons need to start questioning their knowledge as well?

If so, is it just another stage of our evolution? Should we plow ahead as usual, or should we pause to consider the ramifications of that "rewiring?" Internet usage moderation?

<::no tomato throwing please::>

Sloan Consortium Report

Every year the Sloan Consortium's report gathers more attention. Their 6th report, like the others, includes a plethora of quantitative information from a broad array of colleges and programs; this year's included more than 2500 colleges and universities. Of course all the key question areas are pertinent. However, with Monday's acknowledgment by the National Bureau of Economic Research that we are in a recession (and have been for a year), this year's focus on the economy's impact on Online enrollments could not be more timely.

Here is a link to the executive summary: http://www.sloan-c.org/publications/survey/staying_course

Here is a link to the full text: http://mirror.nber.org/dec2008.pdf

From a student of educational technology, and for what its worth since I cannot you money ... thank you Sloan Consortium!