7 for 7: Ubiquitous, Open & Simple Tools

"It's not about the tools, it's about the learning."

I find it amazing how far digital technology has come in 7 years. Prices have come down and power has increased in just about all areas. There has been a proliferation of new hardware and software (residing both on the devices and in the cloud), with manufacturers and programmers scrambling to find the sweet spot that will entice us to purchase their products and/or services.

Most applications are like automobiles: The buttons and levers might be in different places, but the basic skills needed to operate them are increasingly consistent. Grasp how to run one word processing program and you can probably figure out the basics of others quite quickly.

Questions: Given the above, is there a need for everyone to buy the same car . . . or is there a need for everyone to use the same digital tools? In our learning adventures, does everyone need to travel to the same place to be educated, to be enlightened, and to share and collaborate with other inhabitants?

Certainly there is something to be gained in the cost-effectiveness of group purchasing, but where is that sweet spot that will leverage the most learning for dollars spent in purchasing, supporting, and maintaining these digital tools? That is the big question that is being asked and debated very frequently in Maine and beyond during these days of recession.

We do know that we want digital technology that is easy-to-use. Simplicity is important.

David Pogue: When it comes to tech, simplicity sells . . .

Here are some of the ubiquitous, open, and simple-to-use tools that I find appealing:

1. Wikis. The mothership, Wikipedia, which humbly first appeared about 7 years ago, is a massive repository of knowledge, democratically gathered, which has proven itself over time. And, of course, we all can easily create our own free personal or institutional wikis using a growing number of online sites. Each wiki user can easily and personally configure the wiki to his/her liking without having to deal with bureaucratic barriers. I am using Wikispaces and Google Sites for my own work. Wikis are both simple and powerful at the same time. Albert Einstein: "Everything should be made as simple as possible, but not simpler."

2. Skype. Started in 2003 with the motto, "P2P telephony that just works," Skype has proven itself to be the kind of tool that is simple and effective to use in sharing voice, chat, video, and files. Check out Jim Moulton's blog post, "Using Skype with Students" at Edutopia on Skype's virtues. By the way, my Skype handle is adagio10. Hans Hofmann: "The ability to simplify means to eliminate the unnecessary so that the necessary may speak."

3. Blogs. Weblogs were first utilized as personal journals, but they have become so much more. Again, the user can shape and control the space without having to go through bureaucratic hoops to get it done. There are blogs on every conceivable topic now. It is a superb tool for educators who desire a read/write digital presence. Combine them with wikis and you have a powerful combination. E.F. Schumacker: "Any intelligent fool can make things bigger, more complex, and more violent. It takes a touch of genius - and a lot of courage - to move in the opposite direction."

4. Nings. Want to make your own free public or private social network with minimal aggravation? Nings allow you to sculpt your digital space, allowing forums, file storage, individual participant pages, video, audio, and so much more. Confucius: "Life is really simple, but we insist on making it complicated."

5. Facebook. I've had an account on Facebook for a couple of years now, but only started using it regularly about three or four months ago. Its power to connect people with one another is outstanding and, again, it is very simple to use. The user has full control of who he/she chooses to be connected. Leonardo DaVinci: "Simplicity is the ultimate sophistication."

6. Google Menu of Products/Services. So many easy-to-use possibilities! Elbert Hubbard: "The sculptor produces the beautiful statue by chipping away such parts of the marble block as are not needed - it is a process of elimination."

7. OpenOffice. An open source productivity suite which includes word processor, spreadsheet, database, presentation, drawing & formula. I do a newsletter for my church. Initially I used Appleworks drawing, then Pages. Now I use OpenOffice Drawing. It meets my needs as a desktop publishing app. No, there aren't a lot of fancy templates built in, but I like to start with a white canvas anyway. Frank Lloyd Wright: " 'Think simple' as my old master used to say - meaning reduce the whole of its parts into the simplest terms, getting back to first principles.”

What ubiquitous tools do you suggest?

Mac Swiss Army Knife

I've always been a fan of the MacGyver series and the Red Green Show. Although different in many regards, in each, solutions are created using the simplest of materials. Enter the Mac. There are three simple, straightforward functions of the Mac computer that I think everyone should know. With these "household" items many problems can be easily solved. They are part of the Mac "Swiss Army Knife."

My list: PDF creation, Stickies & Preview. Feel free to add your own.

1. Everyone should know that PDFs can be created of almost anything on a Mac using this method.

2. Everyone should know the incredible possibilities and deceptive power of the onboard sticky note feature. Don't just casually look 'em over, but do check the help menu for these gems to see the handy-dandy functionality of Stickies.

3. Everyone should know the handy annotation features as well as many other functions of Preview.


What else?

Breaking Even in Maine

Learn about personal finance and more at Nicole Ouellette's Breaking Even, Inc. Fascinating reading!







Related Resources at LIM Resources Wiki: Living Simply

Simplicity

Awhile back, George Crawford, teacher at the Jonesboro School, posted an article titled
Change: Certainty and Uncertainty in the School Year Ahead and the Future.

I think George has hit upon a key issue in the world in which we are living. Complexity - and the chaos that comes with it - can have a detrimental effect. More and more I see us reacting to events in a crisis mode. Whatever happened to deliberate planning and implementation? Whatever happened to patience, consistency, and thoughtfulness?

George's point was that in a chaotic world, we need to have some rootedness, some things that we can depend on. I am thankful that the most teachers still, at some level, understand this. What some see as resistance to bureaucratic demands, is merely a need to maintain sanity in the presence of a flood of data and directives.

We all have many roles and only so much time and energy. The question is: How do we strike the right balance for ourselves and our family and friends? How much time do we allocate to relating to our students on a personal level? What is important?

To this end, there is a need to simplify. What is essential? Too often, our tools become increasingly complex, sapping our limited energy from the more human elements of our existence. Too much information (data) is as incapacitating as not enough. Where do we draw the line?

I would suggest that the reason Google is growing so fast, is that it understands this. It understands that we don't have to know anything about automobile mechanics to drive a car. The simplicity is on the surface, the complexity within. And the motivation, to get from point A to point B, is clear. Likewise, it engineers its online applications to be easy to use and clear in purpose.

Check out Kern Kelley's Description of the Google toolbox at the Tech Curve.

Also this: The Paradox of Choice: Why More is Less

What do you think?

Appropriate Tools

"Everything should be made as simple as possible, but not simpler." ~ Albert Einstein

I'm preparing for a series of workshops at a Maine school next week. On Monday I'm scheduled to teach Dreamweaver. On Tuesday we'll be doing iPhoto, and on Wednesday and Thursday I'll be working with teachers on collaborative projects for their classrooms. I'm looking forward to Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday - but, by no means, Monday.

Let me first of all admit that I very reluctantly agreed to do the Dreamweaver session. Reluctant for a couple of reasons: First of all because I'll admit I'm not as fluent in it as I should be, not using it regularly; and second, because I think it is the wrong tool for the job. While Dreamweaver is a powerful and polished professional web editor, it is too complex for beginners and, in most cases, completely unnecssary for creating functional classroom web sites. It is like learning to fly using a 747 rather than a small airplane. There are just too many buttons/options to confuse the beginner.

I guess I'm of the school that would start neophytes with a hand saw before they moved up to a power saw. I would have them hand mixing the batter before I introduced the power mixer.

I've just completed my 2-year training with the wonderful eMINTS people at the University of Missouri. I've been very impressed with their organization, their resources, and their conceptual framework. Terrific educators . . .they have it together! But . . . Dreamweaver was their required editor, and it was one of the few things with which I disagreed.

A better web editor for the job would be one similar to Nvu, a free download that covers the basics in an understandable way while still allowing for very effective websites. Who could ask for anything more? :) My view is that there is a need to match the appropriate tool to the context in which we are working, so I'm struggling on how to meet my commitment and, at the same time, do what I know is right in terms of keeping the focus on the learning rather than the specific tool.

I would like to start with Nvu in order for beginners to have a better understanding of the pure basics, but on the other hand, presenting two menu schemes in such a short period of time could simply add to the confusion. So what I'll probably do is simply work with a pure white canvas using Dreamweaver, and eliminate as many extra windows as possible. I'll show the templates later. Anyhow . . . a good part of the session will be on planning pages, evaluating pages others have done, and discussing reasons for having a web page in the first place. In other words, what can a web page bring to the classroom?

Let me admit that I also have concerns about tools that are being promoted in other areas, such as online classroom environments. Is the tool easy to use? Will its design enourage implementation? What is it really needed for? Will it be used?

"The Simplicity Paradox refers to the fact that one always want a powerfully functional object which by nature of its very potential belies a complexity of operation. To make something simpler, often means to make something less powerful. How do you make something powerful, but simple to operate at the same time? This is the challenge."
~ The MIT Simplicity Consortium Challenge

The Beauty of Simplicity
The Laws of Simplicity
Simplicity Consortium
Simplicity Blog
The MIT Press: The Laws of Simplicity

That brings me to the essential question:

How do we decide what the best tool for the job is?