XLS Commons
Posted on February 12, 2008
Filed Under Uncategorized | 3 Comments
On the recommendation of my wife–who is a devourer of books–I recently took up and, to my surprise (for I am generally a slowish reader), rather quickly finished reading Atul Gawande’s Better. Some of you have probably read this book, so I’ll spare you the summary.
Dr. Gawande’s central focus is on human performance. What does it mean to get better at something? How do we do this? What is it that makes us stumble in this constant striving quest? Despite a myriad of obstacles, he says, we must improve. And, more notably, we do. Somehow. How we do that is what he sets out to discover.
Posted on February 4, 2008
Filed Under Instructional Design | Leave a Comment
Music resonates from my mouse with each click I make through the unfamiliar landscape of Blackboard. “Digital immigrant” is the refrain. You see, my native language is WebCT, and I’ve arrived in a new culture where Blackboard is spoken. For the past nine years, I’ve handled WebCT upgrades with at least a modicum of aplomb, and oftentimes with appreciation for new features that either simplified or enhanced my course design and delivery efforts. Exploring the new landscape of Blackboard, though, has brought home Marc Prensky’s notion of digital natives and digital immigrants. While his analogy has received some criticism, the inherent charge to adapt to the digital world is worthy of consideration.
