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Host Eric Robertson's conversation with Michael Truong, Associate Director of UC Merced's Center for Research on Teaching Excellence looks at technology innovations at the UC system's newest campus as an indicator for what is happening nationally. After covering topics ranging from the role of Learning Management Systems to trends in student technology purchases, their conversation focuses on UC Merced's Mobile App Learning Lounge, a resource designed to help students and faculty explore the possibilities of teaching and learning using mobile applications. Truong argues that mobile tools are dramatically enhancing assessment, communication between students and faculty, collaboration activities, and even access to and time spent with learning materials. The conversation concludes with a fascinating discussion about the challenges of teaching in an age of technology driven distraction. Referencing thinkers like Michael Wesch, Sherry Terkle and Nicholas Carr, Robertson and Truong explore how faculty can help students develop critical thinking skills in a "search culture" by moving beyond consuming knowledge to curating and producing it.

"The New Learning Institute delivers engaging, personalized, project-based digital media programs to young people and educators. We work in classrooms, after-school centers, museums, and cultural institutions, or wherever learning takes place. Using the latest mobile technologies and digital media practices and tools, we help young people explore their interests, direct their own learning, and better prepare themselves for living and working in the 21st century."

Wikispaces webinar on Wikis for classes

Biodiversity Snapshots will help you to learn more about the animals around us every day by combining mobile technology and science. We provide you with a field guide, identification tool and way to record your observations all on a mobile device - your phone, netbook, or tablet. You make the observations and participate as a citizen scientist.

Also take a look at the Encyclopedia of Life eol.org and their associated podcasts. There are efforts to create comprehensive collections in several places. There is even a game that helps classification efforts for children that want to add to the sum of human knowledge.

On the face of it personalized and individualized learning are two sides of the same coin, a game of semantics and this is why many teachers still use them interchangeably as if they mean the same thing while in fact there is a noticeable difference between the two particularly in how each trend views the role of teachers and students, knowledge, and standards . David Warlik delved more into the nuances between these two seemingly identical concepts and came up with this wonderful chart. I invite you to have a look and as always share with us what you think of it. Enjoy

5 great ways that we can use iBooks Author in our classrooms. 

Professional Development is a life-long  learning process that  involves different activities including individual progress, continuing education, inservice education, peer collaboration, study groups, and peer coaching or mentoring. The importance of professional development lays in the fact that it is closely related to the overall quality of education and students achievements. Teachers who stop learning and suffice themselves with the curriculum content soon turn into hard working students only a step above their actual students.

"SAMR is one of the relevant learning models teachers can use to effectively integrate technology in education. I have been doing some readings into it and have also posted a wide variety of articles and graphics on what teachers need to know to apply this model in their technology practices in the classroom."

A good collection of links to resources discussing the SAMR model, including practical examples. 

digital education resources

Great resource for teachers wanting to use Twitter.