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A new report focussed on students' research skills identifies some major teaching and learning gaps in the use of digital technologies. Teachers are strongly of the view that the use of digital technologies is positive although research skills need to be expanded beyond just the use of search engines. Teachers also indicated that there are some disadvantages to using online technologies and some barriers that impede their use. However, today's students have fundamentally different cognitive skills, state teachers, and so inclusion of digital technologies with learning activities and programs is essential to develop sound research skills.

"Technology offers an opportunity to improve students' learning within a context of authentic, challenging, and complex tasks. Schools throughout the world are making strides in accomplishing this common goal. However, it is important to recognise that it takes more than dedicated teachers to really implement change in any educational environment - it takes everyone working to achieve the same vision - technology-enhanced teaching and learning to prepare students for work and life in the 21st century."

Results from a research project in Singapore show that the inclusion of mobile devices in the classroom supports 21st-century instruction by teaching students soft skills, such as problem-solving, critical thinking, self-directed learning and teamwork, according to professors and researchers Elliot Soloway and Cathie Norris, co-founders of the education software provider GoKnow. The pair, who have studied trends in education technology, suggest giving students more control and using mobile devices as essential tools, rather than supplemental ones

"Moving to the Cloud and Collaborative Environments:" Cross-Platform Integration, Vendor Collaboration and the Rise of the Marketplace: The Explosion of All Things Mobile: An Emphasis on Adaptive Learning: Gamification:

Software in the Cloud: HOT Common Core Online: HOT iPads: HOT Tablets Other Than iPads: LUKEWARM The Flipped Classroom: LUKEWARM Bring Your Own Device (BYOD): HOT Textbooks: LOSING STEAM Social Media as a Teaching and Learning Tool: LOSING STEAM E-portfolios: LUKEWARM Interactive Projectors and Whiteboards: LOSING STEAM

Monitoring anticipated tech changes

This is a very helpful glimpse. Very useful for focusing our precious energy, time and budget.

Technology can help educators train students' focus away from rote memorization toward deep conceptual learning by building on prior knowledge and making connections between concepts.

A recent research report of the take-up of laptops in a Sydney region of 14 secondary schools is very informative. The research examined the take up and use of laptops by 47 science teachers and 1245 students. The DER provided the laptops for the students whereas the schools provided the laptops for the teachers. The research developed a misalignment index that indicated differences between the use of laptops by teachers and by students that had implications for learning.

"The eighth big idea is we are entering a digital world where knowing about digital technology is as important as reading and writing. So learning about computers is essential for our students' futures BUT the most important purpose is using them NOW to learn about everything else."

The learning needs of today's students no longer fit the traditional model. Rather than simply learning facts and basic skills, they need to acquire more complex skills in conceptualisation and problem solving. They need affective and metacognitive skills, and the capacity to work collaboratively and to work across disciplines. They need the dispositions required to pursue such learning. They also need learning experiences of the kind of tasks that they may expect to meet in adult life. Such learning requires authentic assessment, designed to demonstrate their grasp of the skills and competencies needed to address real-life problems, and formative assessment, or assessment for learning, designed to provide learners with feedback on their progress to inform their development. The article discusses the application of higher-level questioning, marking and feedback strategies, the establishment of shared learning goals between teacher and student, and peer- and self-assessment.

Great teachers, stable families and a school's location have long been said to be key to student success. But a new study out of the United Kingdom suggests that a school's physical design can improve or worsen children's academic performance by as much as 25 percent in early years. The year-long study by the University of Salford's School of the Built Environment and British architecture firm Nightingale Associates examined 751 students in 34 classrooms across seven primary schools for the 2011-2012 academic year. Students were assessed at the beginning and end of the year for academic performance in math, reading and writing, and classrooms were rated on environmental qualities like classroom orientation, natural light, acoustics, temperature, air quality and color. The researchers found that classroom architecture and design significantly affected academic performance: Environmental factors studied affected 73 percent of the changes in student scores. "It has long been known that various aspects of the built environment impact on people in buildings, but this is the first time a holistic assessment has been made that successfully links the overall impact directly to learning rates in schools," Peter Barrett, a professor at the University of Salford, said in a statement. "The impact identified is in fact greater than we imagined and the Salford team is looking forward to building on these clear results." The study will continue for another 18 months across an additional 20 schools in the U.K. Researchers seek to apply their findings to help schools "maximize their investment in the learning environment."

"Top 10 Posts of 2012: Deep, Meaningful and Creative Learning"

"1. Playing scary and violent video games help children master their fears in real life." 2. Video games can lessen disruptive behaviors and enhance positive development in ADHD children 3. Practical work in science provides children little or no learning at all 4. Chess makes kids smart 5. Gardening improves children's desire to learn and boosts their confidence 6. Playing with blocks increases neuron count in children 7. Teaching kids at a very early age is counterproductive to their learning 8. Music and movement augment children's language capabilities during the preschool years 9. Green spaces or natural backyards elevate children's learning through discovery 10. Drama and comedy in the classroom encourage children to listen and participate 11. Children who construct their own video games experience increased cognitive and social growth 12. Interest areas in the classroom promote a child's autonomy and choice making 13. Economically disadvantaged children reap long-term benefits from preschool 14. Learning, for children with ASD, is affected by classroom acoustics, artificial lighting, and windows 15. Engaging children in planning and reflection enhance their predictive and analytic capabilities

"Scant data exists on the effects of newer digital media on children and adolescents, experts say. The growing ubiquity of mobile digital devices-and the videos, music, games and other online content they provide-seems to beg a re-examination of the roles and responsibilities of parents and children in all of this."

There are digital tools that can help achieve the goal of educational transfer, writes Kristen Swanson, an education consultant. Educational transfer occurs when students are able to use what they've learned in the classroom in new, real-life situations, she writes in this blog post. She also offers three goals for the new year, including the use of less text when designing and consuming multimedia

This week DERN reviews an outstanding study about teacher's views of school practices that reveals the powerful effects of professional collaboration among teachers, with support from the Principal. The study surveyed 2,404 educators in schools across the US. Most of the respondents were experienced classroom teachers and specialist staff in public schools at all levels (elementary, middle, high) of schooling. The findings are reported in a 37 page very readable and ground breaking report.

"Blumenfeld et al. (1991) identified six contributions that technology can make to the learning process: * enhancing interest and motivation; * providing access to information; * allowing active, manipulable representations; * structuring the process with tactical and strategic support; * diagnosing and correcting errors; * managing complexity and aiding production."

"This educational consultant advises teachers to keep brain science in mind when figuring out how to help their students learn."

More administrators say they are leading by example by encouraging educators to use more digital technology in the classroom. They say this type of leadership will become increasingly important as districts work to implement the Common Core State Standards. "Modeling is crucial. If you want your kids and teachers to be users of 21st-century tools, ... you have to show that you can do it too," said Spike Cook, principal of an elementary school in Millville, N.J. "It shows that I'm still a teacher -- I can still instruct and still learn."

"The NMC Horizon Report: 2012 K-12 Edition examines emerging technologies for their potential impact on and use in teaching, learning and creative inquiry within the environment of pre-college education. This article adapted from sections of the report. The report highlights six emerging technologies or practices that are likely to enter mainstream use within the next five years. Key trends and challenges that will affect current practice over the same period frame these discussi"

" Tough...is a leading advocate of "slow education", the opposite of pushy parenting, when children are allowed to develop their own self-motivation rather than perpetually being forced to meet the goals and achievements of their parents."