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The U.S. Department of Education is developing a new National Educational Technology Plan to provide a vision for how information and communication technologies can help transform American education. The plan will provide a set of concrete goals that can inform state and local educational technology plans as well as inspire research, development, and innovation. A draft plan is expected in early 2010.

The U.S. Department of Education is developing a new National Educational Technology Plan to provide a vision for how information and communication technologies can help transform American education. The plan will provide a set of concrete goals that can inform state and local educational technology plans as well as inspire research, development, and innovation. A draft plan is expected in early 2010.

the Department of Education is engaging more actively in education internationally and has developed its first-ever, fully-integrated international strategy, Succeeding Globally Through International Education and Engagement, to guide our work.

Two business men who are creating education apps and supporting students who are creating education apps have begun "The App Evaluation Program for Schools" which allows teachers to test educational apps for kids for free. "The apps, which cover everything from math, spelling, and reading to language learning, storyboard building, and puzzles, are provided by developers around the world and sent to teachers two or three times per month. Teachers receive a questionnaire after testing the app as a way to help developers improve, but Larsson stresses they are not required to fill it out."

Seems like a nice way for teachers to get new iPad educational apps free to evaluate and then use if they find them valuable

From the summary: " The NETP presents a model of 21st century learning powered by technology, with goals and recommendations in five essential areas: learning, assessment, teaching, infrastructure, and productivity. The plan also identifies far-reaching "grand challenge problems" that should be funded and coordinated at a national level."

Outstanding stuff, Dan! Thanks for sharing this with us.

Digital Media: New Learners of the 21st Century addresses this vital question, taking viewers to the frontlines of what is rapidly becoming an education revolution. The film, targeted at parents, teachers, and anyone concerned about education in America, explores how exceptional educators are increasingly using digital media and interactive practices to ignite their students' curiosity and ingenuity, help them become civically engaged, allow them to collaborate with peers worldwide, and empower them to direct their own learning.

I love how the video taps into the power and importance of "play" as a route to learning.

Regarding what's missing from the Core Common Standards -- new texts, new media, viewing...  Where does "complexity" of new media text get taught? How will teachers learn to parse it?  Is new media analysis and production a discipline?  Yes in my opinion.  Is it interdisciplinary? Yes.  Media related to various content areas have their own criteria.  Video, photography, blogs, social networks and the systems that deliver them are, in a way, their own languages. They are increasingly dominating how our society functions, informs and represents itself.  HOW can this still be an afterthought for educators?  Fear?  Uncertainty on how to proceed?  Because it's not tested? The text landscape is more complex than the textbook.  

Skype in the classroom is a free directory for educators who want to use Skype to bring education to life in their classrooms. Join today to share resources, chat with teachers and even pair classes.

Thousands of education videos on TV and online, an invaluable resource for any busy education professional.

This looks great, Ken. I have been looking for an alternative to Teacher Tube for awhile now.

Ones I've seen are Pommie, but worthwhile. Useful to use for individual teachers or for discussion at a school PD. Huge variety of topics covering Across-the-school situations to specific subject areas

Important look at the future of technology in education.

a collection of lists of sites that provide recommended lists/reviews of educational apps.

SIte that contains links to lots of educational iPad resources

"What does the iPad have to teach educational technology about how a phenomenon becomes popular and adopted? Quite a bit. First, acceptance is high, with a half-million units sold in the first week of release. Six weeks later, Apple was selling twice as many iPads per week as Mac computers. Given some recent history, this should be surprising-the idea of a tablet device has been around for at least a decade or two, but most such devices have not experienced anything close to wide adoption. However, some specific factors have paved the way for the iPad's adoption. And these factors harbor advice that educational technology would do well to heed. Prime the technology pump. The iPhone, direct predecessor to the iPad, came onto the market amid a wave of technology that permitted small packages to deliver powerful computing. This hardware, including GPS location sensors, fast and efficient microprocessors, and the evolution of touch screen technology was a necessary condition for the emergence and success of both the iPhone and the iPad generation of devices. Define (and answer) the problem. The hugely popular mobile smartphones had an equally huge problem. People hated their interfaces. A decade of frustration with labyrinthian voicemail menus and inscrutable settings had created an army of frustrated mobile phone users with enough pent-up rage to fuel a revolution. By providing a device that was easy to use, the iPhone had identified a core problem and set a new bar for its solution, one that was quickly taken up by many others. Whet undiscovered appetites. The explosion of mobile devices also created for millions the idea of constant, away-from-home connectivity. The iPhone upped the ante significantly by providing a full browsing and even computing experience, giving consumers the expectation that they should be only inches away from powerful, networked computing at all times. Provide the practice. The iPhone defined a new set of touch-based interactions. Whi

This is terrific. I wish he had been my professor. Howard Gardner talks about how ineffective one-size-fits-all education is, and suggests how education has to change. I love what he has to say about assessment.

I couldn't agree more. Gardner is one of my favorite thinkers in the field. How do we customize instruction to meet the needs of all our students? This is what we're all struggling to figure out.

Real Lives is a unique, interactive life simulation game that enables you to live one of billions of lives in any country in the world. Through statistically accurate events, Real Lives brings to life different cultures, human geography, political systems, economic opportunities, personal decisions, health issues, family issues, schooling, jobs, religions, geography, war, peace, and more! Educational games are a great way to way to make learning exciting, and simulation games are best of all, putting you in control of the learning experience.

A recent survey commissioned by Cisco revealed that education is transitioning to the new "connected learning" networked economy, which requires technological skills development for increased global competitiveness in education.

In case you missed it, this is a crowd pleaser: Sir Ken Robinson discusses through animation the need for Education Reform 

Multimedia resources related to the Arts for educational purposes.  Also on Arts Edge are the National Standards for Arts Education, which include visual arts.  They will be adding Multimedia as a strand in the standards in their next update.  Another intersection we can emphasize in our work.  

The Encyclopedia of Educational Technology (EET) is a collection of short multimedia articles on a variety of topics related to the fields of instructional design and education and training.

Fantastic resource for all things technology in education