A colleague reminds me that in my conversations with publishers and elearning types, the question or claim comes up in regards to whether print is dead. SO not. The answer why is a matter of resolution Current computer screen resolutions are around 96 dots per inch (dpi), and mobile typically maxes out at 160 dpi. Print typically starts at 300 dpi, and gets up to 1200 from even a cheap laser-printer.

I’d much rather read at 600 dpi, and regularly print out the articles I review to mark up and send my comments back to the editor. And I read real books! To be fair, on the other hand I do load papers onto my Treo, but that’s for when I want to read and am not carrying a briefcase or something else to stuff paper into. It’s that mobile affordance of convenience over bandwidth (though it’s not novels or other full books, but white papers typically in the 10-20 pages, and not when it matters).

Which isn’t to say that there isn’t a role for electronic media: currency of the information, small bits, and dynamic and interactive are very useful for learning and just content isn’t a learning solution without other things around it. Also, I check abc.net.au/news to keep up with what’s happening in the world and my second homeland, and am at Google and Wikipedia all the time. But there’s still a role for print (hey, my kids practically devour books).

The preference for print will change over time, as our technology yields higher screen resolutions and portability increases (I hear the Sony reader is pretty darn good), but until then when I need or want to comprehend text, print is still king. (Which isn’t t say that publishers don’t need to realize that they’re in the content business, and context is king.)

I learned about the Institute for Information Industries when they brought me in to Taiwan to run my game design workshop and a mobile design workshop, and lined up a couple of talks with companies as well. (It was a great opportunity; I’d welcome more such!) They’re a government-sponsored supporter of information technology in Taiwan, and their coverage area includes eLearning.

They’ve now released their 2nd eLearning Insight newsletter (even if it is labeled #1 :), and if you are interested in Asian eLearning, it looks to be worth investigating (it’s in English). There’s a link to subscribe at the bottom.

As the opinion pieces say, Taiwan’s got a burgeoning eLearning industry, and they’ve got some people doing some very interesting things.   I remain impressed with Tak-Wai Chan, one of the leaders in intelligent tutoring systems research and Director of the Research Center for Science & Technology for Learning at the National Central University.   They’re also looking at establishing and maintaining links with Korea and Japan.

Check it out!

Well, we’re back from what turned out to be a fantastic trip. I’ve been backpacking in Yosemite with my colleagues the past 5 years or so, and wanted to help my kids understand the wilderness (and why Daddy keeps going back). Last summer I took them camping to Yosemite and we took a day to see the Valley, and they really seemed to notice the beauty of the place. This year I wanted something more.

We got them backpacks and arranged an easy trip where we hiked in a mile to a high-mountain lake, and camped there (with prepared meals). We spent the night in Tuolomne Meadows the night before, then hiked in in the morning. The backpack belts were too big, particularly for my daughter (just 7), so it was a strain, but we made it up there and they were thrilled when the camp was set up. We spent that day practicing casting (ostensibly fishing, but for naught).

The next day we hiked up Mt Hoffman to above timberline to get great views, and then back down and around the lake, the latter of which had some pretty adventurous moments (navigating a giant rock fall). We saw grouse and marmots, in addition to chipmunks and squirrels. We woke them up in the middle of the night after the moon had set to really see the stars. Yesterday we hiked back out.

The great thing was that the planning to make it a good experience, with elements of effort and adventure but also great natural beauty, paid off. My daughter asked if we could go again next year. They’ve seen me model how much I value the experience, and now they’ve had a taste that was positive. The people at May Lake High Sierra Camp were just great, both patrons and staff. Now we’ve got to do something next year that’s just the right amount more!

I hear that visitation is actually dropping at Yosemite, and while I’d personally appreciate less crowds, I realize that in the bigger picture we need people to understand the need to preserve wilderness. And one way is to get people out there to experience just how it’s different, and what it does for you.

Yes, I’ll be off the grid again. A couple of weeks ago I was off with my buddies to recharge in the wilderness. This week I’m starting the family. Last year I took them camping, this year it’s their first taste of actually sleeping in bags and tents that are carried (though we’ll get meals from one of Yosemite’s High Sierra Camps).

I want my kids to learn to appreciate and enjoy nature, so I’m taking it gentle. I hope it sticks! So, look for me after the end of the week. Until then, hope you’re having a great summer!

On my way home from Austin yesterday, there were some great moments, and some disappointing ones. Let me explain:

Having dinner on my connection through Denver, there were two televisions I could see. One had the debate on, one a baseball game. Guess which one had the audio on, and which had the text? Naturally, the baseball game was being listened to, and a few of us were trying to read the riotously bad text transcription of the debate. I know in other countries they’d take pride in following and debating national politics.

On the other hand, on the flight from Denver home, I sat next to a very bright young man who’d worked as an aide for Senator Feinstein and then was inspired to get a master’s in education and teach history. He told me inspiring stories of how he used games and activities to make history come alive, like competitions to write the Treaty of Versailles, and World War I games of Diplomacy (with propaganda affecting the outcome). He was creating websites for his classes where students could access all the presentations he made, and was looking for ways to connect them to more resources.

Of course, he was lamenting that as a single, employed teacher he couldn’t afford to buy housing and had to rent. I reckon that our government still doesn’t get that when you look systemically at our society, good teaching is one of, if not the, best investment in the future.

It was nice to hear the candidates largely bash No Child Left Untested, er, Behind. We need more meaningful ways to make knowledge come alive and be available for use when needed, teaching knowledge application for complex problem-solving, and rote tests don’t do that. Similarly, making that knowledge meaningful makes it stick better. That’s why I like that the Center for Civic Education‘s programs (disclaimer: I’m on the board) have demonstrable increases in civic participation. Students might even want to listen to the debates!

An interesting trip, overall, and much better than the day before (when I ended up spending an unexpected night in Denver, sigh). So here’s to passion for learning, teaching, and participation!

I have to admit that I‘m a contrarian sometimes, and this Digital Native Digital Immigrant thing was cute for a while, even useful for some awareness raising, but at the end of the day, I think it‘s false. The premise is that kids are growing up with a digital world, and that the multi-tasking nature of their lives is different leading to different expectations. The more sophisticated version of the argument is based in Vygotskian forms of psychology, where the tools you use change the way you think.

Consequently, we see calls for more use of media, games, community, etc. There‘s a push for shorter, more engaging content, less verbosity and more ‘presentation‘, etc. All good things, but for the wrong reasons.

This is a topic I‘m willing to be wrong on, but so far I don‘t see it. The extension to the Vygotskian argument is that it would have to be a whole new culture, but this sub-culture is still grounded in the prevailing mind-set of 21st century earth. So, wherever it‘s flourishing, it‘s still not fundamentally different.

Here‘s why: we still have the same wetware, and we‘re still processing the same languages and viewpoints. It‘s evolutionary, not revolutionary. Yes, there are and will be changes from an environment where more people can share their viewpoint (and see the controversy over Andrew Keen‘s view that the internet is destroying culture), but it‘ll be gradual, and from a learning point of view what‘s best is still what‘s best.

The funny thing is, all the stuff they‘re touting for the digital generation is really what‘s best for the older generation too (ecommunity, immersive simulations, rich media). We just couldn‘t do it before. So it‘s a fun argument to lobby for doing what‘s right, but it‘s based upon a false premise and that I can‘t abide.

It‘s ironic that I, who‘ve generally been a rebel (e.g. my views are further apart from the mainstream than either major party is from each other), am coming down with such a ‘establishment‘ view, but it‘s what my reason tells me. I‘m happy to be wrong, so let me know where I‘ve missed it.