XplanaZine

We all have stories about that one special present we wanted for a birthday or for Christmas. That’s why the character of Ralphie in A Christmas Story is at once endearing and someone with whom we all identify. I mean, it may not have been a Red Rider BB Gun, but there was some special toy we all wanted as kids.

For me, it was a suped up HO slotcar and a cool track with a lap timer and a bunch of other newfangled features. I still remember how my brother and I reacted when we saw the the box under our Christmas tree and realized that it could only be that special present we had been asking for.

I was still in elementary school at the time and I remember returning to classes after the holiday and telling all my friends about my new prize. I was so excited, in fact, that I convinced my mother and teacher to let me take the car and track up to school and put it on display for a day. In the end, everyone but my teacher was pretty impressed. My teacher tried to look interested but I don’t think she was equipped to properly appreciate the meaning of a fast car for a little boy. I mean, I’ll give her credit. She tried to ask some meaningful questions and make the car and track relevant to the class, but she just couldn’t grasp the general significance of the toy and what it might represent..

Of course, unless they had kids of their own, I don’t think any of my teachers spent much time thinking about kids’ toys and what they represented. After all, there wasn’t really that much of an intersection between our play world and what went on at school. In reality, about the only thing in common between our classroom experiences and our play at home was recess, that one moment in the day where we let the outside world of play intrude in the school world.

Well, I hate to state the obvious, but things are certainly a bit different now. Schools and teachers are increasingly interested in kids’ gadgets and how those can be applied more formally to the education process. And, as technology becomes more integrated into our classrooms, that interest will only increase.

I guess that’s why I love this time of year. This is when companies make announcement about the new toys for Christmas. This is when the kids really start making their lists. And, just as important, this is when we start getting glimpses of new toys or technologies that may have an impact in education.

Last week, CNET ran an article on new tech toys for the holidays. After looking at the list, I would have to say that my two favorite new toys are Iz and a new Elmo doll.

• Zizzle, a new company founded by former executives from Tiger Electronics, is launching Iz, a three-legged plastic creature that kids can use to create music, or use as an MP3 player speaker.
• Mattel unit Fisher-Price will feature an Elmo doll that can be programmed to know a child’s name, favorite food, even nap time.

What these two toys have in common is the personalization of technology. Both are toys that can respond to what kids want and they both bring emotion into the equation either by appearance or sound. What these toys portend is more personalization of technology in our lives.

I like these toys, in particular, because they remind me of what we can and should be doing with online education. The idea of distance or online education shouldn’t be less personalization but rather more. The technologies we have available to us now provide all the tools we need to make learning a personalized experience. If the current lineup of toys for kids is any indication, we’ll soon have a slew of toys that will make online learning highly customizable and personal.

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