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"All it takes is a quick look at one of the extensive comment threads of an iPhone-eccentric post to see that people have different opinions on iOS. But what you rarely see debated are its accessibility features."

Goodplanet is a French NGO founded by the photographer Yann Arthus-Bertrand. It offers information on the environment, its latest news and opinions. It presents different views and different aspects of the ecological debate without taking side with any of them

"Many a debate is sparked in education about the need for 'engagement' in teaching and learning. Some dismiss 'engagement' as the bastard language of OFSTED to encourage an adventure playground style approach to learning. For me it is something a little more quotidian, a little bit more…well, normal. It captures a buzz symptomatic of students tackling a challenge with effort and enjoyment. That being said, perhaps engagement isn't the key at all. Maybe, against our instincts we should concentrate on boredom as the real secret to success for learning."

"I spend a significant amount of time watching Twitter; in particular teachers and educators on Twitter. I call this research although I know I am deluding myself as at best it is usually procrastination. I am beginning to notice with interest that Twitter is causing the power balance in education to be shifted slightly away from the centre with a number of grassroots initiatives that look as if they are influencing policy for example a few high profile Tweachers meeting with Ofsed and the Headteachers Roundtable . Among the many topics currently being debated in this Twibe is evidence informed teaching practice and Random Controlled Trials (RCT). This interest has been particularly apparent over the last 18 months or so. I see the trigger being a presentation given by Ben Goldacre a doctor, academic and author of the Guardian column Bad Science and the book Bad Pharma. "

"Collaborative discussion is an extremely valuable exercise for students to share, challenge and debate their opinions and ideas with their peers. As a facilitator to this discussion the teacher's role is often to guide, focus and document the class conversation to ensure the discussion is shared evenly among students and that the whole class is gaining from the experience. TodaysMeet is a valuable free tool that can be used to add a meaningful backchannel to this conversation, providing opportunities to share thoughts in a live forum and gain immediate class feedback."

"We have come to a point in the education technology journey where it seems rather dull to still be asking if the iPad is the right device for the classroom. The answer, in case you've missed the last few years of debate is that it is a great option, but this is not universally accepted and never will be. Nonetheless, one of the attributes you'll hear put forward is that it is easy to use because of the intuitive nature of iOS. This is absolutely true; you can put the iPad into the hands of almost any child and within a short period of time they will have mastered it. So does it then follow that you can out the iPad into the hands of teachers and expect the same results? No."

"Recently, there's been much debate over whether or not everyone should learn to code. Software engineer Yevgeniy Brikman says that this is the wrong question: there's a huge difference between learning programming and learning computer science, which is the more valuable skill. "

A social-media guide for public broadcasters targets the skeptical and the ambitious Until now, hundreds of independent NPR and PBS affiliates have had no common resource for best practices in social media. By Andrew Phelps Even though NPR and PBS have social media policies (while other news organizations choose not to and still others debate their value), hundreds of independent public broadcasters have shared no common resource for social-media best practices. The Corporation for Public Broadcasting wants to fill that gap with a newly released social media handbook for stations, which is hosted at the National Center for Media Engagement website. CPB commissioned the marketing firm iStrategy Labs to write a guide that targets a broad audience: not just the stations who need guidance, but the stations who still need convincing of social media's value."

"A new research project by the Open University explores the much-debated concept of "the digital native". The university does this by making full use of the rich resource which is its own highly diverse student body."

"Every day on Twitter, media outlets, and through my inbox, I am lambasted with arguments as to the essential elements of 21st century learning and teaching and its merits. Most of the skills and knowledge associated with 21st century learning begin with "C" for some strange reason, and deal with notions of creativity, collaboration, citizenship, etc. Here is a very popular framework. While I do acknowledge that we need a perpetual debate as to what learning is and what excellence in teaching might be, I think that much of our focus as educators has been diverted to thought experiments where we are trying to predict the future. We are told what skills students will need in the future as if we have a crystal ball. How can we presume to prepare young people for any kind of future? Will they need lasers are on their heads?"

"Analogies are one of the best kept secrets in education. Often used as multiple choice question items or as warm-ups to begin a lesson, analogies are use teaching and learning strategies because of their flexibility, ease of use, and tendency to force cognitive load on students. I use them constantly in my classroom, primarily due to their grab-and-go format. Any place, any time-verbal, drawing, exit slip, discussion, one-on-one, whole class, group work, begin class, end class, abstract or concrete thinking, analogies are imminently useful. They're also everywhere-debates, commercials, sitcoms, poetry, hip-hop, video games. What's not to love?"

"The above video is a pedagogical model of how a number of teachers are using collaborative discussion in our school. This can be used many ways, such as: Discussion of a section of a book or assignment Sharing of ideas and debating about essential or guiding questions in a unit To reinforce understanding of a homework assignment"

"The gift of time: Often underrated and underestimated Educators know there is much to investigate, debate, and expand on in our profession. Inevitably you will hear, "there doesn't seem to be enough time"…but time, we seem to find. Just go on Twitter and peruse for awhile, you will find dedicated educators taking risks, asking questions and issuing provocations to one another. We somehow find the time because we know our professional development (PD) is essential to the contribution we can make as teachers to student growth and innovative practices. Contrary to some current thinking out there, educators (and their practice) are always evolving, as is the curriculum that guides us. So given the gift of time, how do we use it most effectively or more so, in the most sustainable way? "

"For years, Canadian parents and educators have engaged in passionate debate over how kids learn math. The math wars, especially contentious in Alberta, have pitted "old" math versus "new," or "discovery," math. But Daniel Ansari, of the University of Western Ontario, says it's time to end the wars. The researcher says the evidence shows that the best way to teach math is with elements from both methods. He refers to the two schools as  "procedural learning" and "conceptual learning," and says they can complement each other when taught together. Ansari says he understands why the topic is so contentious, but adds that it doesn't need to be that way. He offers his solutions for educators, and for parents too. "