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Middle School Students Find Their Voice with Digital Cameras

Many educators say text-messaging actually may improve students' writing skills and their ability to communicate, allowing them to experiment with language. Other educators stress the need for students to know how and when to employ different writing styles. "It's up to teachers to understand the digital media and help students bridge their casual and formal writing," said Sharon Washington, executive director of the National Writing Project.

Global-learning themes are becoming more popular in U.S. schools, with some districts offering more foreign languages, adopting immersion programs or embedding international perspectives across all curriculum areas.

Eucators in a Washington state school district say they are seeing more texting lingo in students' written school work. Teachers say they correct students' use of abbreviations and shortened words and are working to help students understand when more formal language is called for, such as in school assignments or communications with potential employers.

An Illinois grade school is using Kindle e-readers to help encourage students of all levels to get excited about reading. The devices' dictionary feature has allowed students in fifth and sixth grade to better understand Washington Irving's "Rip Van Winkle," and the highlighting feature is being used to help kindergarten students sound out new words. Each device can hold up to 3,500 titles, a feature that educators say helps make up for their school's lack of sufficient library

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Alan November writes about six creative ways that your students can make valuable contributions to their learning community: tutorial designers, official scribes, researchers, collaborative coordinators, contributing to society, and curriculum reviewers.

Alan November speaks about students as contributors and his desire to globalize curriculum, linking students to authentic audiences around the world.

a lot of these ideas are applicable to k-12

Free online book about focusing one's energy in this age of multi-tasking.

free online webinars for K12 teachers spanning topics that relate to Personal Learning Networks