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School leaders around the United States continue to spend HUGE amounts of money on interactive whiteboards for classrooms, despite the fact that these devices universally FAIL to empower students to become more independent, self-directed and engaged learners in the way mobile learning devices (like laptops, tablets or other personal digital learning tools) can. Please do not misunderstand me: It definitely IS a big deal for a teacher and his/her students to have access to an LCD projector connected to a computer in the classroom if previously, the "normal" technology in the room was an overhead projector.

A collection of 50+ resources covering a wide variety of aspects of literacy, with an emphasis on vocabulary development. Each one has an indication as to grades covered and a brief description of the content.

"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 comprehensive set of resources will be extremely helpful in the development of an online learning community with an emphasis on virtual and blended modes of learning.

Good for us all to think about.  And good to know about an article like this.  I'm seeing a little backlash against "technology"  like this in various articles.  I'll try to gather them up.  

Thanks for sharing this, Rhys. I agree -- this is an important article for all of us to read.

Wow, what an interesting perspective. I'm inclined to believe some of those high-performing schools are excelling *despite* the lack of technology, but I definitely sensed the author's bias here...it almost seemed like she wanted to prove that 'fancy equipment' detracts from real learning.

this is a quote about simCEO from Edutopia- What if students created their own companies, complete with business plans? What if they could also buy and sell stocks in classmates' companies? What if they could see how stock prices fluctuated over a 10-year period rather than just a few weeks? The result of that brainstorming became an online simulation called SimCEO. Luebbe, principal of American International School of Budapest, has been fine-tuning his creation by sharing it with educators around the world. They have surprised him by taking projects in directions he never imagined. He expected teachers to focus on financial literacy and entrepreneurship. But some have brought in different content. "They might set the simulation in Colonial America or New York in the 1920s," Luebbe says, then ask students to consider how historical factors would have affected market prices. Because teachers determine all the content, he adds, "they can bring in demographic data, real or fictional news, historical events -- whatever they want." The game becomes an open platform for teacher innovation.""

Way to use smartboards to bring an author to your school. 15 minute chat free via Skype - longer has a charge determined by author.

Some great ideas for developing an IWB lesson.

Some great ideas for developing an IWB lesson.

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

An interesting point of view on why they should pay us more.

An Alan November and Brian Mull article with good references to Dr Mazur's work

Student portfolios, shared class accounts or student accounts, note sharing between accounts; use for conference notes with recordings, photos of student work and your notes.  Create printable, formatted documents from an app that is accessible from mobile and desktop devices. 

an app for making books for the ipad (requires OS Lion) 

"Some big ideas around 21st century skills and teaching with technology. Originally created as a summary of the ASB (Amer. School of Bombay) Unplugged Conference in Mumbai, India 2010. Compiles thoughts from leaders in tech education and explores the big topics of conversation around what the 21st century classroom looks like. Filmed from an original prezi presentation at http://prezi.com/gx6ycgphlszm/"

Awesome video! Don't be put off that it is 11 minutes - watch it!!

Suggestions for iPad use from an apple certified educator, broken down by subject and app type.

This is an interesting post for those of us (er, that'll be me, I guess) in Victoria, Australia. However the rest of this blog is really interesting as well - have a look DSSers!!

I belong to a gooele group on e_portfolios. http://groups.google.com/group/k12eportfolios/topics?pli=1 This site was posted as an example of a middle school using Google for their digital portfolios. As schools become more interested in using these tools, I find it useful to have examples and templates.

This looks an excellent project that could fit perfectly into the NY CL curriculum.

This educator has a wealth of resources for tech-ed, and an especially rich source of links/ideas for ELL, ESL, & EFL's