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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.  

"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

New York City Looking To Bring Networking, Technology and Social Media Into The Classroom. Interview with Lisa Nielsen newly appointed Director of Digital Literacy and Citizenship at the New York City Department of Education

NYC DOE sees the light!! - They have created position of Director of Digital Literacy and Citizenship - primary role to help teachers understand possibilities of social media and how they might use various tools - Facebook, Twitter, wikis - effectively as part of their professional practice.

Was not impressed by the first generation. Would have to see this new batch.

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.""

The purpose of the New York State Education Department's Virtual Learning System is to encourage the use of the Internet as a tool for teaching and learning and to assist classroom teachers in locating Internet resources for instruction. VLS offers the full text of New York State's learning standards with their key ideas and performance indicators, as well as alternate performance indicators for students with severe disabilities.

Most of them free. Many might be really good.

Periodical with news, resources, publications, videos and much more

From the NY Times, this site provides school news, data and conversations about NYC schools.

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

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.

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.

Blog post from Andrew Watt. We help teachers get comfortable with the "new mess."

Arne Duncan talks about 21st Century Ed.

This site is built for google Apps administrators, and provides the latest news on upcoming products, features, and learning resources.

If you are in a school this is good to know

News letter with good links to Technology in education