Just what are siftables?

Siftables are cool. They’re small, block-like, wireless, and interactive computers.  They look like this:

And you can do many things with them beyond playing games… like sequencing music, or creating interactive stories.

I introduced my grade 6  students to siftables during my InfoTech classes recently, and they were very impressed by the cool things they can do.  So impressed, in fact, that many of them chose to write David Merrill, the inventor of Siftables, a short email note letting him know as well.

Many of my students received a response from David Merrill, including David B, in grade 6.  Here’s his response:

Hi David,
Thanks for your message. I have been hearing from many of your classmates
also — it seems like my video was a bit hit.

I invented Siftables because I thought that the world needed a more
physical, hands-on way to use computers. It took a few days to come up with
the specific idea, but I have been thinking about this kind of thing for a
long time. Here is a longer answer, that I wrote in response to an email
interview request:
http://tinyurl.com/dh4oog

We are working to make them available to the world, so please stay tuned!
I’m not sure yet how much they will cost.
Take care,
-David

Hey…  technology works.  I it when stuff works!

Shift happens

Did you know?

And so… what is our role as teachers in the 21st century?  What is your role as a students?  And the parents of students, what should they be demanding of the system?

It’s a brave new world out there.  And while the change is profound, it doesn’t necessarily mean that we throw out all that we know about teaching and learning. Even though the question “why do we have to learn this stuff?” will persist, the answer (it’s not the information, it’s the process you come by it) is no less correct now than a hundred years ago. Or ten.

I don’t think we as teachers (or we as an education system) have done enough to explain why we do what we do, or why it’s important for you (the student) to do it as well.