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"How will we remember 2011? On a broad level, many would agree the past year has been a difficult one with the economic recession, social upheavals and political differences weighing on the minds of many. And at times, the discourse on the state of education in 2011 seemed to reflect this same uncertainty found elsewhere in society, as debates raged on topics such as firing teachers, NCLB reauthorization and fair teacher evaluations."

"Alan November elevated the "Official Scribe" as one of the roles that empower student learners.I see the role of the scribe as follows: The official scribe plays an important role in the classroom community. Their work is essential for students who were absent from class or need a review on a specific topic previously discussed. The official scribe also takes pressure off other students from having to take notes, but invites them in to contribute with corrections, additional information or resources."

"According to our research, more than 90% of Creative Commons photos are not attributed at all. To make matters worse, less than 10% of the photos that do credit the original work are attributed properly. This means that more than 99% of Creative Commons photos are not adequately attributed. Not without pride, we are happy to notice that most of the bloggers using Foter.com attribute CC photos properly, which is greatly facilitated by our "ready to paste" attribution info. Every time they intend to use a searched image, all they need to do is copy the image and the accompanying attribution details into their blogs. Most is not enough, though. People often find CC photos on various sites and wonder how to attribute them. In order to help you, our team prepared a comprehensive infographic that reflects interesting research findings, gives details of Creative Commons licenses and illustrates how to properly attribute CC photos. We do hope it will contribute to the overall quality of posted materials and promote respect for copyright owners."

"Thank you to Larry Ferlazzo for sharing the following Infographic on his blog."

"Growing numbers of Twin Cities teachers are embracing blogs as a way to improve their students' writing skills, and students are discovering how they can connect with a global audience."

"Almost 4 years ago, I wrote a post on Langwitches titled Teaching Hyperlinked Writing and Reading. 4 years later, many (most?) teachers have not heard, let alone are teaching and coaching their students in the use of hyperlinked writing. The word "hyperlinked" is still being underlined in red as I am typing the word, indicating that it must be somehow misspelled or that the word does not exist."

"Choices. Kids need access to choices in instruction so that when the moment arises they can make discerning decisions about what they will do. I just watched that happen. At a conference with adults where kids were invited."

"XW1W uses today's instant technologies to share answers to the same question across the world once a week. XW1W is a simple, social way for students to learn about real life in other cultures from real kids all across the world. By simply "hashtagging" Twitter or blog responses to a weekly question about daily life, students can share and learn about other cultures from their international peers."

"What does it really take to reach the speaking world's biggest stage? PREZI outlines steps to take on great 21st century presentations

"Over the past year, in my work with ASCD affiliates, we have been exploring ways to revolutionize the ways we serve their affiliate members. Why? The writing is on the wall that today's educators have different needs and expectations. It's difficult to get out of the classroom to attend conferences, and when educators can get away for professional development they want to be actively engaged in acquiring meaning and building understanding. One concept I have asked affiliates to explore is the deconstruction of conferences, workshops and seminars into a newly emerging kind of professional development: the unconference."

"During last year's edJEWcon conference (a Teaching & Learning Institute for Jewish Educators, which I help organize with Andrea Hernandez and Jon Mitzmacher), we invited our Middle School students to attend our keynote session with Heidi Hayes Jacobs. We all watched magic happen, when students (without being asked) created their own backchannel and added their perspective to the conversation about THEIR learning."

"This conversation is starting to get old. It is 2011, not 1875. It's time we collectively got our heads out of our filters and prepare students properly for the world they will graduate into, not the world we grew up in. Everyone needs to be vocal, everyone needs to be an advocate for students in the 21st Century. I've written about this before, but the message is still not getting through. The red tape and fears are mounting and students are suffering in the wake of ill-informed adults. The Internet filters, in their current state, have got to go. Protecting students is one thing; a blanket denial of modern learning is another."

"Visual representations of data is extremely valuable for all of us in the education industry; we've got to consume a lot of it to make valuable decisions for our students and schools."

"Social studies supervisors and teachers across the country are revising their unit plans to meet their state's content standards, as well as, the Common Core State Standards for Literacy in History and Social Studies. Simultaneously, many states are implementing new evaluation and observation frameworks. The performance ratings employed by the most popular evaluation models encourage a shift away from teacher-led direct instruction to more student-centered activities incorporating inquiry and synthesis. In social studies, primary source document analysis goes hand in hand with the 9-12 Common Core reading and writing standards. Here are five top resources to align your curricula to the Common Core with student driven lessons. "

"This week I'd like you to meet top-notch STEM program developer Dr. Susan Pruet. I was fortunate enough to work with Susan as she developed and directed two remarkably successful NSF-funded school reform efforts involving STEM education: the Maysville/Mobile Math Initiative and, more recently, the middle grades program Engaging Youth through Engineering. Susan - best described as a high-energy dynamo - has a talent and a well-designed process for establishing successful STEM reform initiatives. And she is masterful at joining hands with teachers, administrators, and community & business leaders to make it happen. In this guest blog post, Susan passes along some of her wisdom on how to design and implement a successful, sustainable STEM program. Here are 7 tips Susan thinks you should know up front."

"We've introduced you to a variety of quality image sites where you can find Creative Commons images, but the Creative Commons license goes far beyond just images. Different types of content are licensed online using Creative Commons - videos, music, and even blog content. You'll find plenty of it online to share, remix and use commercially. When it comes to Creative Commons music - there are certainly no shortage of websites with audio you can use for any occasion."

Curriculum 21, Heidi Hayes Jacobs and her faculty, have created a new PD "hub" filled with specific links, blogs, organizations, resources, videos and connections to help teachers and learners CONNECT globally. Take a special look at the Global Competencies and Matrix released by Asia Society and CCSSO.

"Augmented reality experiences are generally triggered by geographic location or image recognition. In the latter case, apps can be programmed to recognize specific images and then take a series of actions when those image are encountered. For example, when looking at a car engine an augmented reality app may identify where and how to top up fluid levels. Of course that trigger image can also be a printed image in a book or on a wall. Imagine walking around an art museum and pointing your device at a painting on the wall. A video pops up immediately displaying an interview with the artist and explaining the nuances of the painting. Tap on the screen and it shows you other works by the same artist. Another tap and you can order a print. The art becomes a digital doorway to an augmented experience that enables you to explore and learn more. Now consider a similar scenario with a printed image in a book."

"How to Use the "4 C's" Rubrics - This excerpt appears in the Buck Institute for Education's book, "PBL for 21st Century Success: Teaching Critical Thinking, Collaboration, Communication, Creativity." Rubrics for each of the "4 C's" are in the book, and we offer guidance below on how to use them in a PBL context."

"To help teachers do PBL well, we created a comprehensive, research-based model for PBL - a "gold standard" to help teachers, schools, and organizations to measure, calibrate, and improve their practice. This term is used in many industries and fields to indicate the highest quality process or product. Our conception of Gold Standard PBL has three parts: 1) Student Learning Goals (in the center of the diagram below) 2) Essential Project Design Elements (shown in the red sections of the diagram), and 3) Project Based Teaching Practices (which we explain elsewhere)."