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Teachers across grade levels are forsaking traditional resources such as textbooks for free, online, and collaboratively-created instructional materials.

A different perspective - why this teacher finds tools like Facebook and Twitter to be ineffective instructional tools.

Information on using images - open-source and royalty-free - in instruction.  Good lesson on Creative Commons.

Instructional resources and lessons from other educators using SMART technologies

Why even tease us with this stuff when we don't have the Smart Boards, we have never been trained on them, and the odds of us getting them seem slim?!! :=)

Differences in instructional practices with an interactive whiteboard - highlights the need for training and equipping teachers with the right tools to use the technology in their classroom

Teachers in digital classrooms have become learning coaches, moving around the room and giving students more one-on-one instruction. Educators who have embraced this approach said it better prepares students for the interactive environments they'll encounter in their college and professional lives.

great piece on how instructional and educational pedagogy must shift if technology like cell phones and tablets are to be used successfully in educational situations

Managed by the State Educational Technology Directors Association (SETDA), we encourage you to discuss, share, participate, and access a wide range of resources, activities and events to: -Ensure readiness for next generation computer-based assessments, -Improve curriculum and instruction aimed at college and career readiness, and -Leverage technology to achieve better results and cost-savings.

From the article: South Forsyth High School in Georgia made the leap to BYOT in 2009 and saw the number of discipline referrals for technology abuse drop dramatically, principal Jason Branch said. In its first year of BYOT, the school had four discipline referrals for technology abuse, after amassing 400 over the previous two years. Instead of working to subvert tech barriers, students were protecting their privilege with what Branch called a "mutual respect and instructional understanding between teachers and students." Sion made its leap trusting students - and trusting teachers. "We have to change the way we teach," said Sion world history teacher Beth Ingram. "Our concept of what knowledge is is changing.

"...for the most part, schools have incorporated these 21st century instructional techniques and tools as add-ons to the teacher-centric 19th century classroom structure, in which the majority of the curriculum is pulled from a textbook, and, despite best intentions, most students learn the same thing in the same way at the same time. Enter personalized learning, a student-centered teaching and learning model that acknowledges and accommodates the range of abilities, prior experiences, needs, and interests of each student--with the goal of moving every student to a higher standard of achievement. It's not a particularly new theory (versions of it have been around since the 19th century), but it has gained currency among many of today's education thought leaders, particularly because technology seems to be ready to do its part to provide a more personalized learning environment for every student."

"Those pursuing online learning will see that, though there is no 'silver bullet' solution, there is evidence to suggest that virtual learning (both part-time and full-time) can provide significant opportunity to save money," the report said. "Future innovation should include careful tracking of quality and outcomes to continue to provide more robust options for those experimenting with lower-cost delivery of instruction."

From the article: "The problem, I began to realize, was my own understanding of how the iPads should be utilized in the classroom. I had seen them as a supplement to my pre-existing curriculum, trying to fit them into the structure of what I'd always done. This was the wrong approach: To truly change how my classroom worked, I needed a technology-based redefinition of my practice."  Interesting to think about going forward.

Awesome example of a TRULY flipped classroom - where students are delivering video on demand instruction!

How to search by Google. In most cases, a simple search works really well. But for more specialized questions, a bit of instruction in how to search improves all searcher--from middle school students to trained professionals--and lets you discover and use more, higher quality sources than ever before.

Resource for TechSmith products in the classroom, as well as flipping instruction in general

This is a great resource from UW Stout - always full of good information.  This month's resources are all about rubrics for end-of-year projects.

From the article: "while more than 9 in 10 teachers who responded to a national survey said they have access to computers in classrooms, more than 4 in 5 said that technology access falls short of their needs."

From the article: "Still, students have had to learn to think of the iPads primarily as a learning tool, not a toy. Teachers and administrators have developed new strategies to deal with some apps' inherent distractions. And, perhaps most significantly, the use of iPads as a take-home device has raised questions about Internet safety: Who's responsible for a student's online behavior once they leave school?"

Resource for learning about integrating web 2.0 tools in the classroom... all videos are 5 minutes or less!