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Recently, the authors engaged in a collaborative inquiry with a sixth grade science class to explore mind mapping, a graphic organizer that can be used to generate ideas, take notes, develop concepts and ideas, and improve memory (Buzan 1979). With a very limited body of research available on how to best use mind maps in the classroom, the authors decided to explore ways mind mapping could be used for the teaching and learning of middle school science. This article reviews research about graphic organizers, describes the ways the authors incorporated mind mapping into a sixth grade science curriculum, and discusses what they learned by using mind mapping as both a teaching and learning strateg

Another Datatel school has offered their codebase for their datatel integration. I'm not sure if you have the resources to mod this script, but thought that it might be more doable than starting from scratch since you lost your programming resource. 

10 Foundational Principles for Using and Safeguarding Students' Personal Information High-quality education data are essential for improving students' achievement in school and preparing them for success in life. When effectively used, these data can empower educators, students, and families with the information they need to make decisions to help all learners succeed. Everyone who uses student information has a

How can people learn from material and content delivered directly to their mobile devices? There are many organizations interested in this subject, and the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) is one of them. This website provides access to their working paper series on mobile learning, instructional videos, and external websites. The question is a timely one, as there is the hope that this mode of delivery can "supplement and enrich formal school and make learning more accessible, equitable, personalized and flexible for students everywhere." In the Working Paper Series area visitors can read four different papers, including "Mobile Learning for Teachers in Latin America." Additionally, the site contains recent issues of the Mobile Learning Newsletter

The problem is that to have a Google Docs account, you need an email address.  You need it to verify your Google Docs account.  Most elementary and some middle school students don't have email addresses and their parents may not want them to have one.  Mailcatch.com is a disposable email address service.  You create an email address by just using it.  Then you go to mailcatch.com and retrieve any emails sent to it.  In a few hours, the email disappears.  You can't send email from it and you can return to it to get recovery password emails.

TED, a nonprofit organization that produces a popular annual conference on ideas, is launching TED-Ed, an online collection of lessons it hopes will bring the best educators to any classroom with an Internet connection.(march 2012)

The goal of this website is to identify universities that set the standard for best practices with regard to adjuncts. The best schools should be recognized and honored for what they are doing. The project is also designed to promote transparency in higher education employment practices for the sake of teachers, students, and parents.

When people are stressed, their ability to perform various tasks can be compromised. This stress can be created by high-stakes situations, Reframe problem as difficult and learners learn better.

The Consortium for School Networking has posted a web 2.0 and mobile acceptable use policy (AUP) guide (PDF download). Though brief, the resource outlines AUP policy formation and, most significantly, lists relevant laws for a couple dozen U.S. states. The guide also links to sample policies and additional resources.

lThe course introduces pre-service teachers to the applications of different instructional technologies in mathematics classrooms (K - 12).  Students will examine and interpret the meanings of effective and appropriate use of technology through readings and activities.  Using technology along with existing school curriculum, either as an aid or as a supplement, students will learn to create, adapt, and find technological resources.  Students will be exposed to and use Web-applets and other resources on the Internet, computer-based learning software, multimedia presentations, mathematics forums, interactive whiteboards, spreadsheets, dynamic geometry software, calculators, and calculator based laboratories (CBL).  

Easy as 1, 2, 3: A primer on using Open Education Resources from Virtual School Symposium 2011

To experience the world of high quality reporting from North Korea, meditations on the state of journalism, and a wide range of other stories, direct your browser to the Global Journalist website. Originally created for the International Press Institute in 1995, the publication moved to the Missouri School of Journalism in 1999. Today, journalism students work with staff members to produce content for the site and its accompanying radio show, which is broadcast on KBIA, central Missouri's NPR affiliate. With funding provided in part by the Donald W. Reynolds Journalism Institute, the people at the Global Journalist provide users with current and archived radio shows on the homepage. After listening to a few recent stories, interested parties may wish to click on the Free Press Watch section. Here they can use the interactive map to learn about various transgressions committed against members of the press around the world. Also, users shouldn't miss the Blogs area, which contains links to high-quality news blogs from "Persian Letters" (billed as "a window into Iranian politics and society") to the Guardian's "Newsblog

Stop Stealing Dreams - what is school good for

 technocentrism and pedagogical dogmatism. If the goals of technology integration are separated from the goals of educational reform, teacher educators are faced with an important choice. Should we, as educational technology leaders, concentrate our efforts upon developing, testing, and disseminating a wide range of educational technology uses that support a broad spectrum of pedagogical approaches? Or should we recommit-and state publicly-our intention to help schools change the nature of teaching and learning through particular applications of digital technologies?

One of the best, most concise explanations of why the antipathy to technology in education.~JB The conflict between computers and schools is really a conflict between educational paradigms. The traditional and dominant paradigm is rooted in the book and the pedagogy is one of transmission. Teachers, who have presumably read more books than their students and listened to more scholarly lectures, transmit what they've learned to their students in a similar fashion. The students who do best within this system are those who can capture the transmission - as unfiltered as possible - and mirror back to the teacher what they have delineated. Within this model, digital technology can provide improvements, but they are cosmetic. Teachers can enhance their lectures with presentation software, videos and other forms of multimedia, but the methods stay the same. For teachers who don't understand how these new tools can enhance what they are teaching, then technology can be a distraction. Within this system of learning, (Inquiry based and student centered) there is real value in having the widest range of technological tools for not only consuming information in all its multimodal forms, but for creatively demonstrating what one has learned.

"iPad deployment includes all of the steps between buying an iPad and beginning to use the device. For an individual's personal iPad, this is often a very fast and easy process lasting no longer than five minutes: You just open the box, turn it on, download the apps you want on your device, and go. But for a school, or district, with potentially hundreds of iPads-each one requiring a specialized list of apps that need to be purchased before protecting the devices with a case and sending them out to classrooms. As an administrator or teacher, there are a few things you will need to know before you deploy your iPads. Lucky for you, the eSpark Engineering team has created a five step road map to aid in this journey, highlighting the best practices and considerations relevant to deploying and supporting iPads in education environments."

Use building android apps to build "will be logic and reasoning skills as well as the ability to leverage technology to get things done quickly, efficiently, and in a completely individualized way."

GeoTagging: The process of attaching geographic information to digital media, most often photos. Here, we focus on geotagging, geocaching, and even orienteering for schools, clubs, and organizations. See: http://edgis.org/geotag

If you're somewhat inexperienced with website design, you may wish to check out Weebly. The program has received solid marks, and it gives users the ability to create a free website and blog. The program uses a drag and drop website editor, so users just need to move the videos, pictures, maps, or text they want into place. Weebly provides the hosting, and they also offer over seventy professional templates. There is also a special version available for educators and schools. Visitors are required to register online, and this version is compatible across all operating systems