Background/Context: New information technologies make information available just-in-time and on demand and are reshaping how we interact with information, but schools remain in a print-based culture, and a growing number of students are disaffiliating from traditional school. New methods of instruction are needed that are suited to the digital age.

Great video playlist focused on games and learning

"The term 'digital divide' has long been used to describe the gap between those with access to communications technology and those without-applying to both home computer ownership as well as the delivery of home broadband access, which is still an issue. More recently, the term has referred to the gap in the type of engagement with the digital world. It has come to mean the divide between those who use technology to learn and create and those who use it more for entertainment or staying up to date on social networking sites. It might easily be summed up as the gap between creators and consumers."

"In this post, we discuss the examples of (1) toy lending libraries and (2) the user-friendly authoring/designing environment called Scratch. These efforts emphasize the importance of play and creative expression in learning and cognitive development. "

1.30.09 | The Maker's Movement, the return of "handicrafts," tinkering-these are some of the most fascinating cultural practices making the news recently. In early 2008, an article in the New York Times described the Bay Area Maker's Faire as a gathering of "folks from all walks of life who blend science, technology, craft and art to make things both goofy and grand."

In October, Myanmar's pro-democracy leader, Aung San Suu Kyi, got a quirky request on YouTube. A hyperactive instructor in a plaid jacket posted a video inviting her to do a Skype interview with his "World Regions" geography class at Virginia Tech.

"It's easy to be depressed about the state of our educational system. Progress is often trapped in a political holy war between over-testing, which dulls curiosity and boil the humanity away from learning (the most human of endeavors) and those who fear any accountability that might demonstrate the incompetence of a policy, dogma, curriculum, or educator."

From Davidson: "I don't have the metrics, but I'll stake my professional reputation on the following statement: In the last one or two years, there has been a seachange in how even the most traditional academic, nonprofit, or corporation values, respects, and "counts" relevant, professional online publication and interactivity."

From NPR: "It is a constant complaint: We're choking on information. The flood of data on the Web has reached mind boggling proportions, and it shows no signs of stopping. But wait, says Harvard professor Ann Blair - this is not a new condition. It's been part of the human experience for centuries."

From the site: "This is a rough DRAFT of a doctoral course I will be offering in Spring 2013 in our new Ph.D. Lab in Digital Knowledge. All the work in that course will have a public component... Since many Ph.D. students today will be teaching in classrooms with hundreds of students and with some hybrid online component, one focus of this course is how to see those situations as opportunities for collective learning, rather than simply "mills" for replicating tired, outmoded Industrial-age ideas."

Resource on thinking about peer learning

James Gee discusses innovations in assessment

"When I think about the 'ethics and responsibilities of the 21st century classroom,' I think not only about our ethical responsibilities toward students but about our ethical responsibilities toward teachers.

by Cedar Riener and Daniel Willingham: "There is no credible evidence that learning styles exist. While we will elaborate on this assertion, it is important to counteract the real harm that may be done by equivocating on the matter."

"Keith Hampton, a sociologist at the University of Pennsylvania, is starting to poke holes in this theory that technology has weakened our relationships. Partnered with the Pew Research Center's Internet & American Life Project, he turned his gaze, most recently, to users of social networking sites like Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn."

Summary: Kim Jaxon, a teacher-consultant with the Northern California Writing Project, describes a peer response strategy that, in addition to providing responders with focused guiding questions, allows them adequate time to draft thoughtful responses. Excerpt from Article When I first asked students to give feedback, they were writing immediate feedback in class.

Resource for teachers related to teaching with digital tools platforms

TED Talks Larry Lessig, the Net's most celebrated lawyer, cites John Philip Sousa, celestial copyrights and the "ASCAP cartel" in his argument for reviving our creative culture.

Digital Media & Learning website

Texts related to digital learning from MIT Press. From their site: "The John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation Series on Digital Media and Learning examines the effect of digital media tools on how people learn, network, communicate, and play, and how growing up with these tools may affect peoples sense of self, how they express themselves, and their ability to learn, exercise judgment, and think systematically."