The K to the 8th Power Technology Literacy Assessment assists the teacher and lab director in determining each student's level of technology literacy. The assessment measures each student's technology literacy based on the National Educational Technology Standards for Students (NETS*S) for Grades 6-8. The assessment has four sections of twenty-five (25) questions. Each section is correlated to one or more of the six NETS*S standards. The test results indicate the student's level of technology literacy and recommends specific lessons to address deficiencies. Recommended lessons can be assigned to individual students or groups of students. 

Has great info on the Formative and Summative assessments the Partnership for 21st Century Skills organisation feel measure 21st Century skills.

The digital media and learning initiative acknowledges the emerging vernacular of young people who are "growing up digital" and embraces the writing, thinking, and design tools of the digital age. It is seeking to answer questions such as: Are young people fundamentally different because of their exposure to technology? What environments and experiences capture their interest and contribute to their learning? What are the implications for education? It includes ethnography, the development of media literacy, and the connection between games and learning.

A look at the relationship between facts and 21st Century skills - insightful, well written, well worth a read!

Looks like an online Audacity!

The Neverwinter Nights Aurora Toolset allows even novice users to construct everything from a quiet, misty forest or a dripping cavern of foul evil, to a king's court. All the monsters, items, set pieces and settings are there for world builders to use. But do not stop there; construct traps, encounters, custom monsters and magic items to make your adventure unique. But the Neverwinter experience is not just for one person- adventure with all your friends. Neverwinter Nights can be played online with up to 64 friends, all sharing in the adventure. You can organize and run your own adventures through the role of the Dungeon Master and control all the monsters, creatures and characters your friends meet as they journey on their quest.

Parents and kids agree upon tasks that are to be accomplished, when child completes task, parent releases bonus points that kids can use to buy accessories for their characters.

First video Harriet Wakelam showed in her keynote to ednaconf participants in Melbourne

Is this another way to think of the educational value of games and pop culture?

After Stephen Conroy's appearance on the ABC's Q and A programme someone hacked the Classification Board's web site -- here is a screen shot of it. As of 10am ACDT Friday 27 March the site was still down

The Australian Communications and Media Authority is aware that a list purporting to be the 'ACMA blacklist' has been posted on an overseas website. ACMA does not consider that the release and promotion of URLs relating to illegal and highly offensive material is responsible. The regulatory scheme for online content that has been administered by ACMA since 2000 . ACMA provides the ACMA blacklist to the fourteen providers of filter software which have been tested and accredited by the Internet Industry Association (IIA), as part of IIA's Family Friendly Filter scheme. ACMA is discussing with the IIA what if any action it may need to take to help ensure that ACMA's list remain secure. ACMA considers that any publication of the ACMA blacklist would have a substantial adverse effect on the effective administration of the regulatory scheme which aims to prevent access to harmful and offensive online material. Such publication would undermine the public interest outcomes which the current legislation aims to achieve.

Greg Black, CEO of Education.au in Adelaide, South Australia, poses a challenge regarding the barriers teachers and students face in using web-based tools.

Mark Pesce's take on ACMA's stumbles this week.

As learning moves online and educators and learners look to use and share materials, there are issues regarding copyright and educational exemptions that both groups need to consider. What is legal to use in a classroom often is not legal to make available to the wider internet, despite an educational use or context. If you want to share something you've created as an educator - you might not be able to do so legally. Creative Commons, an international movement to create licenses that allow creators to freely share their works online, is one way of lessening the confusion. MCEETYA (the Ministerial Council on Education, Employment, Training and Youth Affairs) and Creative Commons Australia are teaming up to help educators thread their way through the maze - so they can advise learners and model best practice. In this episode, we talk with Delia Browne, National Copyright Director for MCEETYA and Jessica Coates, Project Manager, Creative Commons Clinic, Queensland University of Technology.

Dear Baronnes - don't wonder out loud -- your prejudices are irresponsible. Do research first, then advise. I often wonder whether real conversation in real time may eventually give way to these sanitised and easier screen dialogues, in much the same way as killing, skinning and butchering an animal to eat has been replaced by the convenience of packages of meat on the supermarket shelf," she told the UK Parliament.

Stephen Conroy yesterday confirmed that the Government would consider the possibility of legal content being blocked by its mandatory internet censorship scheme.

We look at a class taught across two institutions in Korea and Dubai, illustrating how Sloodle can be used to enhance learning and teaching activities that are using Second Life®. Second Life (and Sloodle) formed only one component of the class - and we see how Second Life/Sloodle may be used alongside a range of other communications technologies in designing and supporting engaging learning experiences.

The 2009 edna Workshop tour has the dates dialed in. The tag is ednaconf.