tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8318734518772387227.post100860536769251635..comments2024-03-29T06:57:49.917-04:00Comments on Lisa Nielsen: The Innovative Educator: 12 Reasons to Ditch the Pen - Why it's no longer mightiest against the swordLisa Nielsenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07759123507185453030noreply@blogger.comBlogger14125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8318734518772387227.post-72828376455486850812010-10-29T21:30:19.993-04:002010-10-29T21:30:19.993-04:00Totally with you! My students have a wikispace ea...Totally with you! My students have a wikispace each and that's their workbook. (well that was my plan) Parents started moaning about my teaching techniques. Not relevant they screamed!! Sometimes you wonder why you bother being a teacher... But... just got awarded a grant and now my students will have an ipod touch each. Principal is backing me so now its time for learningMr Machttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12402666181856941020noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8318734518772387227.post-29698807151627967672010-10-14T18:00:35.977-04:002010-10-14T18:00:35.977-04:00@Mary, good question. Electronic note-taking is d...@Mary, good question. Electronic note-taking is definitely easily shareable with others, but I'm not a secretary or note recorder. If someone at a meeting wants that, they can assign someone to that task, but I would not be a good choice. Better yet, if they want a record they can audio or video record and just automate the process for anyone who want to go back and review what was discussed.<br /><br />What I do at meetings is very personal to me and doesn't take the form of traditional notes. Rather than explain in abstract terms, here's an example.<br /><br />A great resource for education may be shared. I place that in my "Tech to Investigate" file on my computer or blackberry. A must-read book may be shared. I put that in my "Books to read" file. I may be asked to contact John Smith about his thoughts on a particular learning platform. No sooner is that said, then I've emailed John Smith. We may be asked to find out if people prefer one vendor over another. I send out a Tweet or post a Classroom 2.0 discussion and can shoot an email out back out to the team or post a round up before the meeting is over with thoughts and feedback. Someone may say we should collect and share everyone's contact info. In less then a minute I can create a Google form and share a tinyurl link with the group. And...I'll have all this information posted in a logical way on a wiki page so that everyone can access it after they've left the meeting. <br /><br />Unlike traditional meeting and note taking methods, my meet time is work time and instead of leaving with "To Dos" I'm already done.Lisa Nielsenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07759123507185453030noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8318734518772387227.post-88494285323540354162010-10-14T15:03:53.540-04:002010-10-14T15:03:53.540-04:00Um, am I missing something? In 3 you tell us that...Um, am I missing something? In 3 you tell us that electronic note-taking is easily sharable with others, in 4 you tell us that it's easily editable by others, but then in 5 you tell us "I don’t take traditional notes so you won’t understand what I write". Which is it? Useful for sharing or not?!Marynoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8318734518772387227.post-61314548110692817362010-09-24T19:34:32.232-04:002010-09-24T19:34:32.232-04:00@stacyast, you are making me feel guilty for not h...@stacyast, you are making me feel guilty for not having the time to write a post that is in the works that explains how you can annotate work digitally in ways much more powerfully then you can on paper. Until then, I'll give you a few nuggets. Anything you read online can be annotated and what is so much more powerful online is that your annotations can be shared globally if you'd like them to be. That turns to connecting and conversing. Powerful! A great tool for that is Diigo. If you don't use it, start now. You can annotate on any digital program though and when doing so digitally you open many more doors. <br /><br />As for your thoughts about pen vs keyboard speed, if you invested a small amount of time upfront you could keyboard or thumb at least twice as fast as you write. It's well worth the time upfront for the lifelong payoff.Lisa Nielsenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07759123507185453030noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8318734518772387227.post-32596998344705660222010-09-24T18:50:58.290-04:002010-09-24T18:50:58.290-04:00For me, personally, i like to take notes by hand. ...For me, personally, i like to take notes by hand. I feel that I write faster than i type, and it means more to me to write it (see it, write it, say it). I am a spatial learner, so being able to draw pictures or graphs quickly to go along with my notes is very valuable to me. <br /><br />Often when I have an assigment that I need to read online, I end up printing it out so that I can take notes on it or highlight it, and it's easier for me to read and comprehend that way.<br /><br />I do agree, however, with your point about being able to spell check and share the notes, and especially reducing the clutter that so many papers causes.<br /><br />Thanks so much for your enlightening article!stacyasthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05909242931925658268noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8318734518772387227.post-6660116198256137202010-09-07T16:57:51.470-04:002010-09-07T16:57:51.470-04:00There is a big debate about digital vs paper in hi...There is a big debate about digital vs paper in higher education right now, but it's more about receiving information (rather than writing) in digital form. eBooks are less wasteful and potentially less expensive, but students are divided in their opinions of whether they want to go paperless, and eBooks might even be less useful for students. Is this just a cultural throwback to paper? We've got a post on this topic over at one of my blogs, at http://theactiveclass.com/2010/08/24/teach-paperless-not-yet/Stephanie Chasteenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09229343140455046757noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8318734518772387227.post-67001985205676278792010-09-04T09:19:24.137-04:002010-09-04T09:19:24.137-04:00Even fourth graders are ready to ditch the pen. No...Even fourth graders are ready to ditch the pen. No more sloppy copy to copy again! However, virtual reality for young Scholars is not the same (yet) as seeing your work on the classroom wall. So, we still print, and hold, and hang, and admire our final products.Teacherhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07955950564277463329noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8318734518772387227.post-79111003886524189882010-09-04T07:22:08.095-04:002010-09-04T07:22:08.095-04:00@Greg,
Most any device that has a keyboard will d...@Greg, <br />Most any device that has a keyboard will do, but I do believe that requires stitching a laptop, netbook, or smartphone to your hip. For me, my Blackberry is a fantastic tool that allows me to do most of what a laptop allows me to do while I'm on the go. I prefer a touch keyboard to one on a screen as typing speed is important to me. <br /><br />@Peter van L. <br />I couldn't agree more! Why are we copying down what the speaker says. The speaker should be handing out notes to participants. If we want to capture the experience there are numerous ways to video or audio tape for free...or why not simulcast for others to join who are not able to commute using a webcast or UStream?Lisa Nielsenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07759123507185453030noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8318734518772387227.post-56053688238688055142010-09-04T02:07:04.748-04:002010-09-04T02:07:04.748-04:00Hi Lisa,
Excellent article and I agreement on all...Hi Lisa,<br /><br />Excellent article and I agreement on all the benifits of digital writing. Remembering the last meeting I was in with someone making classical notes and others sharing lots of printer documents, it's time for change.<br /><br />Peter van LoevezijnPeter van L.https://www.blogger.com/profile/08909960863711522113noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8318734518772387227.post-86591791366638773092010-09-04T00:11:08.580-04:002010-09-04T00:11:08.580-04:00Hi Lisa, following your article I've decided t...Hi Lisa, following your article I've decided to digitise my current paper-based materials to reduce my home clutter.<br />I was wondering, for those of us who don't own a smartphone or have a laptop permanently stitched to our hips, what other tech. options would you recommend? If I could know of the available options I could go ahead and reduce my written notebooks.<br />Once again, thanks for this thoughtful post, which I've shared with my Twitter friends.<br />Greg.Greghttp://www.teachergreg.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8318734518772387227.post-19348506715057579282010-09-03T12:31:24.443-04:002010-09-03T12:31:24.443-04:00@Mr. Hay,
Look what happened when Math teacher Er...@Mr. Hay, <br />Look what happened when Math teacher Eric Marcos ditched the pen/pencil paper. He took Math to a whole new level doing much of what I describe above when he and his students used Tablets for Mathcasting. You can read about how that works here http://theinnovativeeducator.blogspot.com/2009/07/kids-teach-kids-with-mathcasting.htmlLisa Nielsenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07759123507185453030noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8318734518772387227.post-82696825293653515062010-09-03T12:19:23.641-04:002010-09-03T12:19:23.641-04:00For the most part I agree, but doing Physics and M...For the most part I agree, but doing Physics and Math problems without pencils and scrap paper is still a little cumbersome.<br /><br />So we can ditch the pen, but still need pencils for now.David Hayhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05136336165017176455noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8318734518772387227.post-16179992511955706682010-09-03T09:51:13.156-04:002010-09-03T09:51:13.156-04:00@Jenkins
You make great points. For personal in...@Jenkins <br /><br />You make great points. For personal interactions there are times pen and paper do make more sense. Additionally, the kind of hand(writing) I am referring to does not touch upon drawing/sketching etc which sometimes is better done via electronic means and other times, especially for intimate communication, is best done by writing. <br /><br />I do disagree that digital writing is always less personal then that of pen and paper. I’ve had deep, intimately personal, passionate and meaningful communications digitally and have been able to do so and make such connections only because of the opportunities provided by the digital world.<br /><br />As far as my supposition that note-taking is outdated, I was hoping someone would bite on that. I was interviewed about this for an ed piece coming out in the NY Times (stay tuned for a post on this) which dives into this more deeply. To clarify in part, I mean that “traditional” note-taking is outdated. That is to say capturing the regurgitation of a speaker on paper. Instead we should be making meaning of what the speaker is saying, much like is done in the brilliant link you sent. There’s no reason why the speakers notes shouldn’t be provided to the audience/students in advance, and then listeners can get past the simple recording of words (there are endless free and easy ways to automate the process) and move to the making of meaning. <br /><br />I also agree with your point about a hand-drawn / written postcard. That extends simple capture of words on a page and there is indeed something romantic about a piece of paper potentially traveling across the globe to reach a loved one. But…for many other purposes, I’ll stick with my keyboard ;-p<br /><br />Thanks for bringing up some smart counterpoints and extending the thinking on this.Lisa Nielsenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07759123507185453030noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8318734518772387227.post-14259361461873025712010-09-03T09:17:48.102-04:002010-09-03T09:17:48.102-04:00Hey Lisa, thanks for the post. I'd suggest tha...Hey Lisa, thanks for the post. I'd suggest that (hand)writing does, actually, represent a different kind of communication. It's more personal and less public, and it's sometimes useful.<br /><br />The slowness, the romantic-ness, the interest in taking notes (which is not outdated; I'm creatively inspired by http://www.austinkleon.com/visual-note-taking/): these affections are certainly misplaced if we're talking about workplace writing or PLN-making or sharing what we know. Pixels are better for all of that.<br /><br />But two nights ago at dinner, I annotated a conversation with a friend on my placemat with a blue marker. I kind of fell in love with someone else for making me a hand-drawn/written postcard. It's just a different kind of - perhaps more intimate on purpose - communication. I don't think your list of 12 and the 3 bullets above it are mutually exclusive.Christina Jenkinshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18190980241529302262noreply@blogger.com