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Given the growing momentum of these trends, what does it mean for students, teachers, schools, and the education community at large? Collaborating and customizing. Educators are learning to work together, with their students, and with other experts in creating content, and are able to tailor it to exactly what they need. Critical thinking. Students are learning how to effectively find content and to discern reliable sources. Democratizing education. With Internet access becoming more ubiquitous, the children of the poorest people are able to get access to the same quality education as the wealthiest. Changing the textbook industry. Textbook publishers are finding ways to make themselves relevant to their digital audience. Emphasizing skills over facts. Curriculum incorporates skill-building.

Google search of the term “situated cognition”. Situated cognition, and related research threads, seems to me a useful concept for beginning to understand the tendencies of information technology for teaching and learning.

And this is after decades of the movement called “The Scholarship of Teaching and Learning” (see http://www.issotl.org/--and note, the next ISSOTL conference is in Milwaukee October 20-22, 2011). The Association of American Colleges and Universities as well offers sessions and conversations related to the turn to learning--the next AAC&U conference is in Washington, DC, January 25-28, 2012.

With this issue of Web 2.0, we end the run of this newsletter.

Unfortunately, life is not multiple choice; it’s a story problem. If we want to prepare our students for the demands of college and the real world, we cannot afford to whittle away their knowledge to a, b, c, d, or e: all of the above. At the same time, our time as teachers is at a premium and very few of us can afford to spend hours grading essay tests.

Fortunately, the powers that be are aligning in the classroom teacher’s favor, and there are two great tools you can use to reduce your grading time.

So what does QuizStar have that other sites don’t? My favorite feature of QuizStar by far is the “choose all that apply” option. You can create a

What an indictment of the Ivy League and its peers: that colleges four levels down on the academic totem pole, enrolling students whose SAT scores are hundreds of points lower than theirs, deliver a better education, in the highest sense of the word.

ten Google Earth tours. These tours include major themes and events in US History. The list includes the Revolutionary War, the path to the Civil War, WWII, the Vietnam War, the Civil Rights Movement, Lewis & Clark's expedition, the Indian Removal Act, Pre-Columbian North America, the national parks system, and the 20th Century power grid. All of the tours include multiple images and references. Some of the tours also have "tour questions" for students to answer.

The Common Core State Standards provide a consistent, clear understanding

The Common Core State Standards provide a consistent, clear understanding of what students are expected to learn, so teachers and parents know what they need to do to help them. The standards are designed to be robust and relevant to the real world, reflecting the knowledge and skills that our young people need for success in college and careers.