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Cathy Davidson

In general, I agree. However, novelists and poets don't need college?? And perhaps less so to artists and musicians? Perhaps... but what better way to learn the history and analysis of their Art, in order to place their own work in context?

I could not agree more with you Maureen. As a long time middle school teacher in Oakland and Mpls I am thoroughly convinced that our nation and our states are nuts to have cut all of the tech and arts classes out of elementary, middle and high schools. EVERY student should learn a trade/skill set in high school. The hs drop out rate is horrifying and no surprise that the crime rate follows. We have a nation of under achieving teens because the adults have not kept up with funding the myriad of opportunities that would capture and harness their interests and creativity. I look forward to reading your book Maureen and to following you on here.

Ed Tech trend predictions for 2014. Take time, read it, bookmark it and go back to at the end of the year.

Thoughtful article by ed-tech consultant, Alan November. 

Digital publishing tools for creating story books

Technology is leading us down a new, amazing path!

21st Century Skills for even the youngest of students.

See how ed-tech leaders are using digital media to explore educational environments. Learn about innovative schools and what programs they use... great information!~

Asa Spencer of the Thomas B. Fordham Institute writes in the Education Gadfly Weekly: "Traditionalists cringe, tech buffs rejoice: This latest NAEP writing assessment for grades eight and twelve marks the first computer-based appraisal (by the "nation's report card") of student proficiency in this subject. It evaluates students' writing skills (what NAEP calls both academic and workplace writing) based on three criteria: idea development, organization, and language facility and conventions. Results were predictably bad: Just twenty-four percent of eighth graders and 27 percent of twelfth graders scored proficient or above. Boys performed particularly poorly; half as many eighth-grade males reached proficiency as their female counterparts. The use of computers adds a level of complexity to these analyses: The software allows those being tested to use a thesaurus (which 29 percent of eighth graders exploited), text-to-speech software (71 percent of eighth graders used), spell check (three-quarters of twelfth graders), and kindred functions. It is unclear whether use of these crutches affected a student's "language facility" scores, though it sure seems likely. While this new mechanism for assessing kids' writing prowess makes it impossible to track trend data, one can make (disheartening) comparisons across subjects. About a third of eighth graders hit the NAEP proficiency benchmark in the latest science, math, and reading assessments, compared to a quarter for writing. So where to go from here? The report also notes that twelfth-grade students who write four to five pages a week score ten points higher than those who write just one page a week. Encouraging students to put pen to paper (or fingers to keyboard) is a start."

SOME FAVORITE TOOLS When selecting tools for students, carefully consider the following: Advertising - Be careful that if there are ads, that they are appropriate for your students.  Log-Ins - Can you set up a class login, generic login, or must all students have their own?  Be clear on what is required by the site and have that established before your students try to use it. Save/Share - Is there some feature that allows students to share their work with you and others? COPPA Compliant - Review COPPA regulations on all sites to determine if students under 13 years old should be accessing the site.

"# Email writing # Facebook updates and comments # Tweeting and replying # Discussion Boards - Replying and initiating topics # Commenting on blogs # Writing a guest post on a blog # Commenting in newspapers or magazines about subjects of interest # Writing an article for a newspaper or magazine about a subject of interest # Writing to persuade someone / some place to do something you want them to do # Writing to teach others how to do something and knowing how to reach those who care"

#2 is Insetlearning this is an extension tool you add to your Chrome browser. You can take a page from the Internet and turn it into a lesson.

Thanks a lot for sharing this information! I have already been using FlipGrid for quite a while - an excellent site. As for the rest, I am going to give them a try right away.

Some creative tools for summer.

How to guide for building an online textbook. 

Capterra is a great way for school tech people to learn about new software, as well as read and write reviews of Ed Tech software they use.

"If you were one of the 10,000 ISTE 2013 attendees in San Antonio this past June, congratulations.Along with all that juicy professional development, you received a free Microsoft RT Tablet just for showing up. You also were taken for a ride and you were used as Microsoft Marketing Tools for a failed product. "