What is it? What can it do? Who can use it? Why would you want it? When can you get it? How much will it be? I don’t know all of the answers but I have explored to find some of them. This is one of two articles I will write.
One General Use
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V6Tsrg_EQMw&list=TLqTCMxOdQCtw
One Educational Use
I have been to CERN. Since it was a couple of years ago, I used this teacher’s journey to “see” what the LHC is like now, and to be a part of his journey. CERN was an interest of mine and I visited during the World Summit on the Information Society, but this time Google Glass took me there.
http://blog.ted.com/2013/05/06/a-virtual-field-trip-to-cern-via-google-glass/
I wish I had Google Glass when I was flying into Egypt. To see the landscape was one thing from the plane you could see the edge of the city go into the into the Sahara desert. In the airport there was a huge crowd and a big sign that said ” All who have drugs will be prosecuted” . Then the passage to the hotel. In the morning from my hotel I saw the river Nile with rushes floating down it. Morning prayers and calls to worship resounded.
Then I went to actually see the pyramids at the first morning light. It was something I could not bring back, in photographs. The interior art in the pyramids is incredible and has artwork that I have never seen in a school book but I was following a guide and while bending and climbing I could not change lenses and take photographs there was unsure footing and changing light.
Back on the sands.. the steps of the pyramids are huge and hard to climb. Again I could not hold on to camera but I did get a few lucky shots. It was magic There is a solar boat. Do you know it? If I had Google Glass you could see it. You could see the Sphinx from wonderful views. I do have a picture of myself on the camel ride but I was too excited to photograph from the animal’s back. This is something that children would love to experience vicariously.The camel ride was a little rocky, bump. bump. bump!!
The museum of antiquities is huge.. Did you know the eyes of the statues seem to follow you around most are of color and it was a design to scare away grave robbers, eerie.. you walk
The eyes of the statues follow. I really mean it. How do you capture that.. with Google Glass…
visitors did the regular tour and King Tut’s Treasure but that is a very small part of the museum, some of it is Greek as well.
Then to the souks and the sounds and smells of the city. Travel writers do not capture images for education. No one shows us how papyrus is made, and the mythology. With Google Glass a teacher could integrate the elements of culture into a learning landscape to actually “see” Egypt. Better yet, classes could share their countries with others. I look forward to child focused sharing of Google Glass.
But I am putting the cart before the horse.
What is Google Glass?
Google Glass is a wearable, voice-controlled Android device that resembles a pair of eyeglasses and displays information directly in the user’s field of vision.
Google Glass offers an augmented reality experience by using visual, audio and location-based inputs to provide relevant information. For example, upon entering an airport, a user could automatically receive flight status information. Users can also control the device manually through voice commands and a touchpad located on its frame.
The Google Glass operating system is based on a version of Android, and it can run appscalled Glassware that are optimized for the device. The glasses have built-in Wi-Fi andBluetooth connectivity and a camera for taking photographs and videos.
Google X, Google’s futuristic technology lab, formally announced its work on Project Glass in 2012. The company made the device available to testers and developers in early 2013. I saw that even “Vogue ” Magazine is looking at it now. I don’t think it will be available to the general public until 2014, but there are rumors, so I always get ready.
I don’t have Google Glass yet, but like you , I am dreaming up uses. Education is a great place for Google Glass. There are some uses that people have shared but before I share those. I am a TPACK lover. I had been trying to explain the framework of how I think using technology works and this is it with a lot more sophistication.I am a member of SITE.org.
We are the Society for Information Technology & Teacher Education, and it is our mission to promote research, scholarship, collaboration, exchange and support.
Google Glass facilitates everything here and then some new ideas. It’s transformational technology in a very disruptive way. Superhero powers in one tool. Who knew? Technology has changed the world in so many ways I can’t remember all of the special powers of the superheroes.
” it is the knowledge required of a teacher to successfully integrate technology into the classroom.It seems pretty difficult to achieve, I have to admit. I would like to think I have all the aspects down packed, but unfortunately I don’t think thats the case…”
“As a student teacher I believe I have the potential, with experience and of course practice I hope to one day be fluent in:
– choosing appropriate content & relevant software &
– to incorporate it into a vartiety of appropriate KLA’s.
This is the ideal situation.
Is it possible? YES I think it is!
Is it easy? NOT QUITE !
Lets hope one day my answer to that last question will change… hold thumbs!
Google Glass facilitates everything here and then some new ideas. It’s transformational technology in a very disruptive way. Superhero powers in one tool. Who knew? Technology has changed the world in so many ways I can’t remember all of the special powers of the superheroes.
” it is the knowledge required of a teacher to successfully integrate technology into the classroom.It seems pretty difficult to achieve, I have to admit. I would like to think I have all the aspects down packed, but unfortunately I don’t think thats the case…”
“As a student teacher I believe I have the potential, with experience and of course practice I hope to one day be fluent in:
– choosing appropriate content & relevant software &
– to incorporate it into a vartiety of appropriate KLA’s.
This is the ideal situation.
Is it possible? YES I think it is!
Is it easy? NOT QUITE !
Let’s hope one day my answer to that last question will change… hold thumbs!
Tutorials for you to explore… they are fun!!
Welcome to the World of Google Glass
Getting the Sense of How it Feels to Use Google Glass
Here is the real Google Glass Home page.. I separated it for teaching purposes. Fall into the experience.
“You’ve got a cell phone at one ear and an iPod at the other. You know that Blackberry is now a verb and that Spam is not just canned meat. It’s the 21st century…. Today’s students, digital natives, were born into a media- saturated world, and their lives are immersed in technologies from cell phones, iPods, handheld gaming devices, PDAs, and laptops they take everywhere, to the computers, TVs, and game consoles at home.” (21st Century Schools, n.d.)
So what is 21st century education? It is bold. It breaks the mold. It is flexible, creative, challeng ing, and complex. It addresses a rapidly changing world filled with fantastic new problems as well as exciting new possibilities. (21st Century Schools, n.d.)
Technological advances of the 21st century have brought us closer together and at the same time further apart. Advances to technology and infrastructure have made physical proximity optional, not only in education, but also in fields such as business and medicine, and they have made availability for interaction effortless. As a result of the increased opportunity for interaction across countries and around the world, teachers need to know how to foster cultural competence, emotional awareness, and leadership skills to facilitate not just interactions, but meaningful interactions and relationships. Interestingly, this specific type of knowledge is largely absent of the “standards-based” movements in education and not always seen as worthy of prolonged instructional time and effort.
Partnership for 21st Century Skills. (2007). Framework for 21st century learning. Retrieved from http://www.p21.org/documents/P21_ Framework_Definitions.pdf
This tool, this technology is a key to transformation. I was on the National Information Infrastucture Advisory Council as the only K-12 teacher. We have been talking about 21 Century Skills for a long time.
“WHAT IF WE BROUGHT TECHNOLOGY CLOSER TO YOUR SENSES?”
Now that is intriguing. Think of all the superhero powers and think of what you can do with this to become a super teacher. Here is how they share it.
Glass isn’t like a smart phone, laptop, or even a smart watch, or as it provides an experience like no other product on the market.
To me it is a disruptive technology because we have to think in different ways to imagine its use. But that’s not hard for those of us who use T-Pack in our thinking. It’s not even hard for those of us who have had situations that we have not been able to share with others, or puzzles that confront us in the learning landscape.
People have been interested in what Glass is, simply because they’re trying to figure out what it is and what it could become. What are your ideas?