In his article in the February Educational Leadership ("Learning with Blogs and Wikis"), Bill Ferriter argues that digital tools like RSS feeds and aggregators help educators advance their professional learning. But first, some teachers need to join the ranks of the literate

Sadly, digital illiteracy is more common that you might think in schools. There are hundreds of teachers that haven't yet mastered the kinds of tools that have become a part of the fabric of learning—and life—for our students. We ban cell phones, prohibit text messaging, and block every Web application that our students fall in love with. We see gaming as a corrupting influence in the lives of children and remain convinced that Google is making us stupid. 

Here is my list:1. All educators must achieve a basic level of technological capability.2. People who do not meet the criterion of #1 should be embarrassed, not proud, to say so in public.3. We should finally drop the myth of digital natives and digital immigrants. Back in July 2006 I said in my blog, in the context of issuing guidance to parents about e-safety:"I'm sorry, but I don't go for all this digital natives and immigrants stuff when it comes to this: I don't know anything about the internal combustion engine, but I know it's pretty dangerous to wander about on the road, so I've learnt to handle myself safely when I need to get from one side of the road to the other."

4. Headteachers and Principals who have staff who are technologically-illiterate should be held to account.5. School inspectors who are technologically illiterate should be encouraged to find alternative employment.6. Schools, Universities and Teacher training courses who turn out students who are technologically illiterate should have their right to a licence and/or funding questioned.7. We should stop being so nice. After all, we've got our qualifications and jobs, and we don't have the moral right to sit placidly on the sidelines whilst some educators are potentially jeopardising the chances of our youngsters.

If a teacher today is not technologically literate - and is unwilling to make the effort to learn more - it's equivalent to a teacher 30 years ago who didn't know how to read and write. Extreme? Maybe. Your thoughts?

While school leaders (rightly) focus on the importance of the Internet in students' lives and education, we ought to also seriously be considering what this report says about how we communicate with our parents and communities. And asking what exepectations we should have of all teachers of an online presence and use of digital communications.

Most of our parents fall smack into the Gen X category - that which has a disproportionately high percentage number of online users and is increasingly likely to look for information online.

Too often educators think of students as their "customers." Dangerous mistake. Children no more choose their  schools than they choose their physicians or shoe stores. Parents who wouldn't choose a bank that does not allow online account access won't choose a school that doesn't offer online gradebook access either.

Power Searching In a Web 2.0 world. ($99 Fee 5 CEUs) New to this site? Click the course title and you will be able to create an account and register for this 4 week facilitated class! Contact: Dennis O'ConnorOpen for enrollment! Begins February 9, 2009Login as Guest to view!

Introduction to Google Documents: Collaborate & Share Enroll now! February 9, 2009 1 - 5 (5 Days | One Week) 5 CDPUs Learn to use Google Word Processing Documents for productivity and collaboration. Trouble creating your account? E-Mail: wiredinstructor@gmail.comLogin as Guest to view!

How many hours a week will this take? Courses take about 5 hours per week. (You can certainly spend more time if you wish.) Will I be working alone or with a group? You'll be working with an online teacher who monitors the course on a daily basis. Our classes are fully moderated. That means you're working with a facilitator and other members of the class to learn together. You'll be able to get help, ask questions, and learn from both the facilitator and other participants.

Can I preview the courses? Yes, follow the link below to our Moodle online learning system . When prompted, login as a guest. This allows you to see an outline version of the courses without enrolling.

Do you have free materials? Yes, almost all of our materials are free online at 21cif.com. You'll find many years of research based curriculum materials on our site. We support our research project by offering online classes, conference presentations, and custom online programming for educational and corporate clients.

The basis of coolhunting is that you can use Web 2.0 tools to locate creative swarms of individuals who are developing new ideas before they reach a tipping point. Web 2.0 forums, chat, bulletin boards, etc. (even emails) afford a window into the communication patterns of people who are engaged in creative swarms.

That means when searching Web 2.0 for information, at least 80% of people are at a distinct disadvantage. Without being involved in a conversation, they don't earn the trust of the individuals who are involved.

I highly recommend reading the book Coolhunting by Peter Gloor and Scott Cooper if you want to know more about social network analysis, swarm creativity, collaborative innovation networks and so on. There are some very powerful search tools in this field that are like Google on steroids. I'll blog about that later.

We’re trying to help kids prepare for the SAT by offering fun and free videos about SAT vocabulary, made by YOU! We’re offering $600 in prize money to the video that receives the most number of votes. $200 of the payout will go to the maker(s) of the video and $400 to the class or school club of his/her choice.

Curiously, most educators think they are competent searchers and evaluators, when they are really just beginners. Their disposition is to ask for help rather than search for answers. With simple instruction many radically improve their ability to search, and evaluate. This is empowering and greatly increases learner satisfaction. Instruction in copyright and fair use is also part of the program.

As online teachers and learners we work in a computer where information is just a few keystrokes away.

I've been researching and writing about Information Fluency since the turn of the century. My work is published on the 21st Century Information Fluency Portal: http://21cif.imsa.edu You'll find modular online learning content including games, micromodules and assessments on the portal. (Free for all educators.) I include information fluency training in all of my online classes. I introduce power searching and website investigation to the graduate students studying in the E-Learning and Online Teaching Certificate Program at UW-Stout ( http://www.uwstout.edu/soe/profdev/elearningcertificate.html ) because I believe that Information Fluency is a foundation skill for all online teachers and learners.

The Rapid E-Learning Blog shares practical tips and tricks to help you become a rapid elearning pro. It is hosted by Tom Kuhlmann who has over 15 years of hands-on experience in the training industry and currently runs the community at Articulate.

I myself am a long-time sufferer of YouTube-block (despite my understanding of my District's motivations) and I have developed a variety of strategies for treating the condition. I have seven suggestions:

Kiersten, one of my very favorite students, discovered a strategy for including YouTube (and other Flash) videos in PowerPoint presentations and along the way introduced me to Wikihow. (That site is worthy of its own post for sure!).  Anyway, the seniors are having great success adding videos directly into their PowerPoints. It's gone kinda viral as an alternate to linking or to downloading and converting videos to WMVs using Zamzar.

NSSE, the National Survey of Student Engagement reports for 2008 that . . . “Students taking most of their classes online report more deep approaches to learning in their classes, relative to classroom-based learners. Furthermore, a larger share of online learners reported very often participating in intellectually challenging course activities.”

This course examines the intersection of three topics: technical knowledge, learning pedagogy, and digital culture. Participants will learn about best practices for serving in a leadership capacity by creating knowledge sharing social networks in their organizations through the use of Web 2.0 and social networking tools.

Not sure what Information Literacy involves? Also known as Information Competency or Information Fluency, Information Literacy refers to the skills used to identify when information is needed, and then locate, evaluate, and use it effectively. These abilities are especially crucial in our current environment of technological change and nearly unlimited information choices.

I am also concerned that two teachers do not feel comfortable using the resources in the library. I will  redouble my efforts to help our faculty see the relevance of information fluency in all subject areas, to try and energize them with the excitement I feel to encourage them to step outside of their teaching comfort zone,  and to continue to help our faculty members feel at ease using the technology and materials in our library.