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All content from Rice University's open education initiative Connexions is now available for download as e-books. Connexions rolled out the availability of more than 1,000 titles this week in the popular EPUB file format. EPUB is the standard used by most smart phones and e-readers worldwide. The files can be accessed with enTourage's eDGe, Apple's iPad and iPhone and with Google's Android, among others.

Recently, many libraries across the nation have begun adopting Twitter as a means to keep on the cutting edge of new technology as well as keep patrons informed and interested in library services.Not sure Twitter has a place in your library? Here are all the resources you'll need to make an informed decision on whether or not to become part of the growing number of Twitter users.

"Center on Instruction, your gateway to a cutting-edge collection of scientifically based research and information on K-12 instruction"

This website was created to aid educators in finding valuable resources and information on new ways to integrate leading-edge technology into your school. Additionally, this site focuses on a very important area in education: STEM content areas. Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics are key components of our educational infrastructure. Great attention is being placed on these areas as the need for improvement and advancement are becoming overwhelmingly critical for our students. This site demonstrates how Apple's iPod touch mobile device and other Apple equipment can be infused into the curriculum not just during school hours, but anytime and anywhere. These devices allow students to take ownership of their learning and are providing them with authentic and real-time educational opportunities

Learning can take place in a variety of settings. Check out the video done by the students at Magnolia High School! http://www.youtube.com/user/WatchDogNews?feature=mhum

Includes:Academic Earth; Arkive.org; Australian Screen Archive; BestOnlineDocumentaries;BigThink; Bloggingheads.TV; Edge.org Video; Europa Film; Treasures; Folkstreams; Fora.TV

Iron Teacher is a contest based on fun but with serious intent; bringing together cutting edge educators with sharp ideas to infuse new life into traditional lesson design. We aim to revolutionize the way teachers look at teaching and learning through the use of innovative methods and unconventional ideas. Basic Premise: Like Iron Chef, participants are presented with key "ingredients" and required to come up with a final product that is judged on Originality, Adaptability, Student Appeal, and Ability to Meet Outcome. The Iron Teacher goal is two-fold: 1. To help teachers discover new strategies, ideas, or tools that will get their students to care, communicate and create something of value around the curriculum. 2. To help articulate the lesson design and creative brainstorming process used by master educators.

"You don't know me, but I know you..." Smokescreen is a cutting-edge game about life online. We all use Facebook, MySpace, Bebo and MSN to keep up with our mates - and we've all heard the stories about parties on Facebook being mobbed, or people getting stalked on MSN. The question is, what would you do if it happened to you? Over 13 missions, Smokescreen follows the story of Max Winston and Cal Godfrey, two mates who've set up an exclusive social network called White Smoke. After Cal's involved in a car accident and falls into a coma, White Smoke becomes huge - and starts attracting huge problems. Each mission sees you explore the world of White Smoke, and find out who you can trust - and who you can't.

"You'd heard about this parent from other teachers. This parent was a handful. Rude. Combative. Aggressive. Even litigious. In response, you worry, if just a little. You have enough to deal with, and butting heads with an angry parent-especially one angry just because-doesn't sound like fun. You don't get paid enough for that hot mess. So you keep calm and hope to ride the year out. Maybe they won't call. Maybe they'll skip parent-teacher conferences. You've even considered grading their child a little easier just to avoid the hassle of it all. We've all been there. Nothing can solve this problem, but there are ways to take the edge off so that you can open up the lines of communication and deal with the parent on equal terms so that they're child has the best chance for success."

"Doctors, lawyers, and other professionals never stop learning new techniques and strategies to hone their craft and remain on the cutting edge in their field - and so, too, do teachers. Teachers should consider the concept of "lifelong learning" and a few reasons it's a great frame of mind for educators to have."

"Apps are big business, and they're one of the main reasons for the success of iOS. Android may shift more units than Apple's mobile platform, but the App Store still tends to get the lion's share of the best apps, from high-end audio tools through to cutting-edge education offerings. But what can you get if you're not willing to spend anything at all? Surprisingly, quite a lot; as our selection shows, fantastic free iPhone and iPad apps are available for all manner of tasks, from sprucing up photos and composing music through to keeping fit and exploring the world."

"Here's one way to get kids excited about programming: a "robot garden" with dozens of fast-changing LED lights and more than 100 origami robots that can crawl, swim and blossom like flowers. A team from MIT's Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Lab (CSAIL) and the Department of Mechanical Engineering has developed a tablet-operated system that illustrates their cutting-edge research on distributed algorithms via robotic sheep, origami flowers that can open and change colors and robotic ducks that fold into shape by being heated in an oven."

"While NASA is well known for its cutting edge space exploration and technology, the organization actually does an amazing job sharing their inspiring advances with educators and students through a huge number of STEM focused mobile apps and websites. Their flagship app, the 'NASA App' continues to be one of the most popular government apps and while it has been around for a few years now, it continues to grow in popularity with an ever expanding media catalogue and regular feature updates."

This is a terrific class taught by author and online educator Ann Bell. Cutting Edge!

"Ed note: Part 1 of this 2-part series can be seen here; note that some of the language has been slightly revised from the original post by Nigel. He uses the term passion projects, which is very close to Genius Hour and Passion-Based Learning. The differences across the three terms are often a matter of individual use and interpretation, a point we wanted to help clarify by using the three terms interchangeably even though they may not be exactly the same-passion projects needn't use a Genius Hour format, nor does passion-based learning necessarily need to take the form of projects. In that way, the above model can be used for any of the three, but it felt most precise as a model for teachers to use to design Genius Hour projects. So, here we are. You can (and should!) read more from Nigel at thelearnersway.net. In an ongoing effort towards polishing the edges, over the years we have continued to refine the processes we apply to the Personal Passion Project. We have gained insights into the sorts of projects that work well and which will cause difficulties. We have added a degree of structure while maintaining the required degree of freedom necessary for a personalised project. The results of this learning are presented (in the model above and the text) below."

"In a digital world of links, likes, tweets and pins, there are very few mechanisms for connecting our ever expanding digital world with the physical one around us. QR codes are one of the simplest and most well established ways to make this connection, and for students it can create a number of unique and fun learning opportunities, meshing the digital and physical classroom. In the below presentation, cutting edge educator Denise Webster shares the tools she uses, as well as some real world examples for making the most of QR codes in the classroom."