More data visualisation

In educational psychology there is something called "The Media Debate" (yes, in capitals) the question is whether technology adds anything new to the learning/teaching experience.

Here's an example of why I think the answer is yes:

http://www.idkwtf.com/videos/latest-videos/the-civil-war-in-four-minutes

The information in this video would be placed on a time-line or a map in a textbook. You can't see both at once. You certainly can't see them move.

Take Sherman's March to the sea... You can read about it in a textbook but watching how fast it happened after the slow movement of borders before that gives you a new visual of how devastating it must have been.


More ed stuff to come, probably in the next few days. I was at an educational technology conference a couple weeks ago and haven't really brain-dumped yet.

Chief or Shaman?

Over on a friend's journal there was an interesting discussion of intelligence. The topics ranged from just what IQ tests measure and whether those are valuable, (or were valuable to our evolutionary forebears) to the stereotypes of the smart kids as the same kids who lacked social skills.

I want to ramble about those ideas a bit. And eventually, I may get to the subject line.
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