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Over 1/2 of children under 12 who use iPads use them for educational purposes. 10% of children under 1 use mobile technology, 39% of kids age 2-4, and by age 5-8, 54% of kids are using mobile technology. The majority of parents now agree that technology can be used for educational purposes, and they’re no longer as opposed to its use as they once were! While 46% of apps that are used by kids 12 and under, a whopping 42% of apps used are for learning math skills!

A recent study of Google+ showed that it is more popular with parents than students,  which could be a favorable indicator of how popular it is for those educators of the same generation.

One example of how teachers are using Google+ Pages to run their classrooms, is that of Mr. McDowell who teaches World History at West Hills High School. Mr. McDowell has made great use of Google’s tools to give students access to documents, schedules, presentations, videos and password protected areas like attendance and grade records.

access to Google+ tools and pages from any computer promotes interactivity on the site and is a big hit with educators

When PhoneSheriff is installed on the child’s phone and the companion “control” application is installed on the parents phone, the parent can: Restrict and Monitor Phone Calls Restrict and Monitor Texts Track the Phones Location via GPS View Photos and Videos Taken from the Phones Camera

BACKCHANNEL DISCUSSION TOOL High school students can sometimes be quite introverted and shy in the classroom, but outspoken online. Additionally, some high school classes move through discussions quickly, and not all students find the opportunity to speak up in class. Both of these issues are addressed as high school classes encourage a Twitter backchannel discussion, in which quiet, shy, and unable-to-get-a-word-in-edgewise students are able to speak up in class without actually speaking up in class, sharing their comments, insights, and even relevant links through Twitter as the discussion goes on. Educators have found that Twitter backchannel discussions provide for more interaction not just in the classroom, but beyond, as students often enjoy further carrying on the conversation even after class time is over.

BACKCHANNEL DISCUSSION TOOL High school students can sometimes be quite introverted and shy in the classroom, but outspoken online. Additionally, some high school classes move through discussions quickly, and not all students find the opportunity to speak up in class. Both of these issues are addressed as high school classes encourage a Twitter backchannel discussion, in which quiet, shy, and unable-to-get-a-word-in-edgewise students are able to speak up in class without actually speaking up in class, sharing their comments, insights, and even relevant links through Twitter as the discussion goes on. Educators have found that Twitter backchannel discussions provide for more interaction not just in the classroom, but beyond, as students often enjoy further carrying on the conversation even after class time is over.

PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT Twitter makes the education world smaller, connecting principals, teachers, and other education professionals across the U.S. and even around the globe. Principal Sheninger at New Milford High School in New Jersey started using Twitter to keep in touch with parents, but found its real value in reaching out to other educators and collaborating with them. He is able to use the tool to find new ideas, new resources, and ideas for professional development

Where can I host my vodcasts? : Where can I host my vodcasts? There are many sites you can host vodcasts on. There are many sites that are free if you don’t need a huge amount of storage space. Some free sites to host include: Podbean Switchpod Vimeo Teacher Tube Can I upload vodcasts to iTunes? : Can I upload vodcasts to iTunes? It’s easy to upload your vodcasts to iTunes! Download iTunes onto your computer by going to www.apple.com/iTunes. Open the iTunes Store. Click on Podcasts – Click on Submit a Podcast! You will enter your Podcast URL (your host site will have this information) and other information about your podcast Once you are approved you can search for your podcasts on iTunes! Please make sure that you have parental consent if you are putting vodcasts online before you start this process!

Education Minister Ng Eng Hen officially entered the blogosphere on Oct 1, joining the likes of Health Minister Khaw Boon Wan and Foreign Minister George Yeo.

Dr Ng told MediaCorp via email that penning his thoughts in cyberspace is an avenue for him to engage the public in a more personal way. His foray online "is an additional platform for me to communicate with parents and the public",

Apart from blogging about events or trips he had attended, Dr Ng also shares pictures taken during his official functions and visits. Dr Ng has also written on issues facing the education system.

Schoology is a startup that seeks to address many of the pain points of the LMS: Schoology is easy to use. It's free. It offers data portability. It encourages communication and collaboration with look and feel of contemporary social networking sites rather than the bulletin boards of circa 1996. But it isn't simply a social networking tool. Schoology provides the functionality of its big name competitors - Blackboard, Moodle.

Most LMSes isolate students in their particular courses. And once that class is over and once a student has graduated, the information contained there - notes, lessons, assignments, discussions - are lost. Schoology blends a social networking interface with learning management tools, so that teachers and students (and parents and administrators) can communicate and collaborate on academic issues.