Tag: technology

Using tech in the classroom effectively

It doesn’t matter if we’re talking Twitter or robot arms: there’s a way to use technology appropriately, and way to really screw it up. You want to have engaging communication between professors and students, but no one want to get overloaded, or have communications turn into a Kardashian-esque spam/gossip/lulz fest.

Or even worse, accidentally make Skynet.

Today’s book discusses ways to use social media and emerging technologies effectively in the classroom, creating meaningful uses and relationships when sharing information and taking full advantage. The Professor’s Guide to Taming Technology focuses on the technologies, the different learner groups (generational, etc.), and what technologies may develop in the future. It’s recommended for professors looking to incorporate emerging media into their classes. It is also useful for students who may be a little behind on the tech side, but might want to find out what may be coming soon to their classrooms.

We’re scannin’ your retinas…

… in today’s book, that is. (We know: cheap, baiting headline. Sorry!)

If you’re like us, you’re torn between thinking it’s a little Big Brother-ish and thinking it’s really really cool. Today’s book, America Identified: Biometric Technology and Society by Lisa S. Nelson discusses how the government, companies, and individuals use fingerprinting, retina scanning, x-rays, handwriting analysis, and other means to keep things secure. Not just a look at the different technologies, Lisa looks into its impact on American society, and examines the area where privacy, technology, and ethics intersect. A pretty sweet read, and currently sitting on our New Book shelves!

 

Using technology to change classroom learning

Cathy Davidson’s argument for using technology to change learning environments is the Book of the Day. Now You See It: How the Brain Science of Attention Will Transform the Way We Live, Work, and Learn argues that studying something she calls “attention blindness” in the brain shows how developments in technology being under utilized in learning spaces designed for the last century can be detrimental, and she’s got a good reason to think that. What started as her experiment of giving college freshman iPods (before they supported apps, and were just music players) lead to teachers and students turning them into learning tools.

The book follows that research to a compelling end, and a strong case for modern technology in the classroom, all centered upon how our brains react to it.

Learn how to take advantage of RSS feeds

 

Do you follow blogs or news sites for class? Maybe you use journal databases for assignments or research? All of these sources and more can be sent to you instantly upon updating if you take advantage of their RSS feeds.

In today’s book RSS for Educators: Blogs, Newsfeeds, Podcasts, & Wikis in the Classroom, the author John G. Hendron shows how utilizing a reader can assist teachers in keeping their classes fresh and how to simplify research.

But you don’t have to be a teacher just to get use out of this: students would be wise to see all the ways they can keep up with course-related information. This book should be of interest for teachers and students, particularly distance learning, interactive media, classes that have heavy research or discussion of current events, or anyone looking to incorporate technology into the classroom.

Stay positive with these technology-related doomsday scenarios

In another optimistic entry to the Billington Library Book of the Day catalog, The Technology Trap, examines how super-powerful technology, combined with the unreliable human factor, can wipe out civilization.

Complete with helpful tables to tell readers all about who has (or used to have) nuclear weapons, ballistic missiles, and histories of accidents and terrorism, this is a pretty bleak book. Not only does it discuss the unreliability to a world covered with nuclear weapon silos prone to mechanical failings, but it also takes the time to examine human factors (depression, discontent, incompetence, etc.) to show how the two make an awful combination for our planet’s safety.

So by all means, check out what the author, Lloyd J. Dumas, thinks about the state of the world, maybe do additional research, and see if you agree.

The Internet melts your brain in today’s book

If you hear someone talk about being too connected on the web, you’re likely to expect a thesis on the dangers of Twitter or why Facebook is going to ruin us all. Not so, in today’s Book of the Day, OVERconnected: The Promise and Threat of the Internet by William H. Davidow. Instead of looking at oversharing personal information, Davidow points out larger issues like financial failings, natural disaster, and other events have become larger in how people feel their impact and how professionals react. Remember that Icelandic volcano that erupted last year? Would you have without the Internet constantly reminding you?

It’s an interesting look at how the connections we’re forced to have because of the Internet overload us into not only acting quick, but also perhaps has us sacrificing some caution. This book is good for those interested in social and interactive media, history, science, economics, and sociology.

Still looking for eBook Reader Users

So, we’re sitting on a Nook,  a Kindle, and a Sony eReader, and to help us move from here, we’re still looking to find user experiences. Anyone willing to share can contact me at bbaile14@jccc.edu, or contact us through facebook or @JCCCLib on Twitter.  We’ve had a few responses, but we can always use more.

Thanks a million!

DARPA: Not Quite Skynet

Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency: it doesn’t exactly bring to mind much more than futuristic military weapons, killer cyborgs, and super soldiers.  However, this Pentagon-ran project has led to everything from driverless vehicles to the Internet to, yes, advanced future weapons.

Department of Mad Scientists is an inside look at DARPA and all of the advancements they’ve brought to military and civilian populations with both good and/or controversial results. Author Michael Belfiore attempts to show readers the entire spectrum of DARPA’s projects: at least the ones that can be known.  Though it may be a secretive organization, I don’t think we have to worry about DARPA building Skynet.

I think.