Recommended "Reading"

Whilst perusing the educational bounty of the worldwide web I happened upon this gem of a video. Hopefully by now you are familiar with Sir Ken Robinson and his argument regarding the ways in which the modern education system undermines creativity from his TED talk (if not, please watch it before Wednesday). If you found the TED video encouraging, problematic, or even a bit confusing and are looking for more historical contextualization and paradigmatic analysis of contemporary education from Sir Ken (this time with some lovely animation), take a few moments to watch, read, and contemplate this video from the Royal Society for the encouragement of Arts, Manufactures and Commerce (RSA).

For GEDI Seminar Feb. 2 --Hot Off the RSS Feeds

Please make sure that you also read the Wired Campus story, "Video Uses Student Voices to Explore New Directions in Education," on Michael Wesch's new video project before seminar on Wednesday.

GEDI or GEDI Discussion, What's the Difference?

Now that GEDI Discussion is open and ready for your critical interaction, some of you may be wondering about the points that distinguish the GEDI blog (where you are currently reading) from the GEDI Discussion blog. Well, in short, the GEDI blog is digital space where GEDI staff (i.e. Shelli, Holly, and Justin) will describe upcoming assignments, present information about new happenings and compelling information relevant to course topics. Although it is not advertised to the wider world, this blog is a public venue and readable by anyone with internet access.

Conversely, the GEDI Discussion blog is a forum (but not quite like the forum tool we recently used in Scholar; think about differences, similarities, pros/cons, etc.) for YOU and your GRAD 5114 colleagues to engage in out-of-class conversations about course topics. In order to make the GEDI Discussion blog an inviting and comfortable space for critical reflection and thoughtful engagement, access is restricted to class members. In other words, you should be comfortable to explore tough questions, dig into texts we're reading, think deeply about pedagogical theories. There are no foolish questions nor wrong answers. YOU (collectively speaking) are the only authors and only readers of this by-invitation-only, private blogging space.

Digital Media - New Learners Of The 21st Century

"Featuring the foremost thought leaders, innovators, and practitioners in the field, Digital Media is a startling preview of a 21st Century education revolution." ~PBS


Watch the full episode. See more Digital Media - New Learners Of The 21st Century.

Speaker on Multicultural Education This Evening

Just in case you are interested in the topic of multicultural education, there is a nationally-known speaker, Dr. Sonia Nieto, on campus tonight, Monday, Jan. 27, 7:00 p.m. in Colonial Hall, Squires Student Center.

"Buying" the Book

Great news! If you haven't already made the trek to Tech Bookstore or one of the VT bookstores to purchase Weimer's Learner-Centered Teaching: Five Key Changes to Practice, you can quickly and easily access a FREE electronic copy through VT Libraries (a HUGE thanks to Carrie Tyler for finding and sharing this information). Depending upon your operating system and existing software, you might need to download a FREE copy of Adobe Digital Editions to maximize your electronic reading pleasure.

Prefer a more tangible reading experience? Don't forget, bookshops are you're friends. Deals in town got you down? Take a quick study break and check out the options at Powell's, Barnes & Noble, Alibris, Amazon, or maybe even Google Books.

Please get a copy (digital or physical) as quickly as possible. This is a great text and we'll be drawing upon it throughout the term. If you're worried about the shipping  timeline, remember, the first two chapters are available as PDFs (Scholar - Resources - Week Two).

Let us know if you have any questions.

Gmail Homework

As we discussed during class, one of GEDI's main functions is the exploration of the pedagogical utility and academic application of different pieces of (emerging) technology. In all likelihood, each of us routinely googles topics, phrases, questions, and/or concepts. But Google is so much more than an amazing web-crawling search engine.

While Google is by no means a new technological development, it is constantly adding tools and functionality to its already robust repertoire. Throughout the semester we will model some of the ways you might integrate various Google Tools into your teaching and research endeavors. We all have varying levels of technological comfort as well as a diverse range of experience teaching with technology (remember, things like chalk, markers, pencils, PowerPoint, DyKnow, HTML, etc. are all technologies). Aware of the fact that technology is not everyone's preferred cup of pedagogical tea, we hope to engage in a long critical discussion about the "when," "how," and "why" of using technology to achieve learning objectives. But more on this nebulous topic later.

Welcome to GEDI!

There is where pertinent information for the GEDI seminar will be posted. You should regularly check this site, the "Weekly Topics & Tentative Agenda" column on the right, as well as any of the relevant articles or posts listed via the RSS feeds on the lower right. We may post thematic photos:

We may also post additional relevant articles, such as this one.

Throughout the semester, the GEDI staff will use this as a space to alert you to GEDI assignments, tasks, and post other information relevant to our conversations about contemporary pedagogy.