The Technology Integration Matrix (TIM) illustrates how teachers can use technology to enhance learning for K-12 students. The TIM incorporates five interdependent characteristics of meaningful learning environments: active, constructive, goal directed (i.e., reflective), authentic, and collaborative (Jonassen, Howland, Moore, & Marra, 2003). The TIM associates five levels of technology integration (i.e., entry, adoption, adaptation, infusion, and transformation) with each of the five characteristics of meaningful learning environments.

Research offers a way to start conversations that can affect educational reform. Considerations on Technology and Teachers is a collection of some of the best research articles from the Journal of Research on Technology in Education (JRTE) over the past five years. JRTE editor Lynne Schrum and the editorial review board chose these articles because they provide context about where we have been and how we should be moving forward, both in research and in practice. Topics include the impact of project-based learning on teachers' technology use, e-portfolios in teacher education, and the outcomes of a campus 1-to-1 laptop program. At the conclusion of each article, the original authors reflect on their study, examine the landscape since their research was published, and provide suggestions for further study.

TED has earned a lot of attention over the years for many reasons, including the nature and quality of its short-form conference presentations. All presenters lucky enough to be asked to speak at TED are given 18-minute slots maximum (some are for even less time such as 3- and 6-minute slots). Some who present at TED are not used to speaking on a large stage, or are at least not used to speaking on their topic with strict time restraints. TED does not make a big deal publicly out of the TED Commandments, but many TED presenters have referenced the speaking guidelines in their talks and in their blogs over the years (e.g., Ben Saunders). Below is a photo of the TED Commandments that have been sent to speakers in the past.

DyKnow is the leader in interactive education, fostering collaboration and promoting interaction while minimizing electronic distraction in classrooms nationally and internationally. DyKnow's award-winning products are utilized by thousands of students in K-12 and Higher Education environments

Textbook companies over the years have tried to address this problem by providing additional add-ons and perks with their textbooks, such as CDs or DVDs with information that had been added since the book was published, websites that kept the content current by providing "up-to-date" information about a topic, or by trying to get states to adopt a quicker refresh cycle. None of these tactics have been successful.

Are your students fully engaged in relevant, deep learning that is preparing them for the high-tech living, learning, and working endemic in today's global society? Designed to align to the Partnership for 21st Century Learning (P21), ISTE's new standards, and the enGauge framework for 21st Century learning, Dimensions21 (D21) is an audit system that gauges a school or district's current status and readiness to implement 21st Century learning.

For hundreds of years verbal messages have been the primary means of explaining ideas to learners. Although verbal learning offers a powerful tool for humans, this book explores ways of going beyond the purely verbal. An alternative to purely verbal presentations is to use multimedia presentations in which people learn from both words and pictures--a situation the author calls multimedia learning. Multimedia encyclopedias have become the latest addition to students' reference tools, and the world wide web is full of messages that combine words and pictures. This book summarizes ten years of research aimed at realizing the promise of multimedia learning.

There's a long history of comics in the classroom, and the list of references at the end of this article is a great starting point for learning about this concept. While there's still resistance to this medium being used in education - whether by staff or students - there is also a growing movement to use every valuable tool available. Comics have some great uses in the classroom and in a variety of curricula. From pre-readers to high school students, from English to ESL to Science and Math, comics can help students analyze, synthesize and absorb content that may be more difficult when presented in only one way.

For more than a year now, Apple's iTunes U has served as a repository of educational multimedia content and resources. While these materials have always been accessible to K-12 educators, the focus of the content has been primarily on post-secondary education. But through a new initiative launched by several state education agencies, along with the State Education Technology Directors Association (SETDA), K-12 now has its own home within iTunes U.

When we began preparing for our laptop program rollout, teachers were excited but a bit nervous.  One thing we've tried to do is give them a chance to communicate with us and with one another about the challenges they see in the year ahead.  We began a Google Doc for them to use to share their questions, fears, and frustrations as they thought about how their classroom would change after our 1:1 rollout.

How can children lead productive and satisfying lives in the 21st century if in school we are having them use technology from the 20th century? The hallmark of the 21st century global workplace is the computer. According to a recent Pew Internet and American Life Project study, "The Digital Disconnect: The Widening Gap between Internet-Savvy Students and Their Schools," students spend 27 hours a week online at home and an average of 15 minutes a week at school. Students are not using computers to any appreciable degree in school because district leaders are not providing computers to students to any appreciable degree.

I've been getting this question a lot lately from administrators, parents, and taxpayers. The question isn't malicious, but rather comes from folks with a vested interest in making sure that our technology dollars directly benefit students. Does giving teachers laptops directly benefit students? For people who aren't actively teaching in a classroom, that's a hard question to answer. I don't think it's very hard for teachers to answer the question, though, especially at the secondary level. For most people entering the business world, there is no question that they will have a computer on their desk when they are hired. It might be a laptop, a desktop, a shared desktop facilitated with some sort of flextime arrangement, or even a computer allowance so that the new hire can buy a machine that makes them the most productive. However, it's not terribly likely that they'll just be handed a dry erase marker and a whiteboard, pointed towards a copy machine, and told to go for it.

ISTE's unveils revised National Educational Technology Standards (NETS) at NECC