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"For many of us, becoming a connected educator transformed our lives. Suddenly, we had access to networks of experts and peers invested in improving education practices and willing to share their favorite tools, resources, and strategies. .. So share with us: Tell us your stories about being a connected educator. What has it meant for you? How has it transformed student learning in your classroom? What tools and resources do you rely on most?"

"The Stripling Inquiry Model has six phases; however, it's not a linear process but rather a recursive one in which the learner might revisit a previous stage to ask additional questions or organize information, as the need arises. Each phase involves critical thinking skills that empower young people to learn on their own and develop the thinking skills to be independent, lifelong learners. The phases are as follows: Connect: observe, experience, connect a subject to self and previous knowledge Wonder: predict, develop questions and hypotheses Investigate: find and evaluate information to answer questions, test hypotheses Construct: draw conclusions, arrive at new understandings Express: apply understandings to a new context, share learning with others Reflect: examine one's own learning and ask new questions (Stripling 2003, 8). Technology and, in particular, Web 2.0 tools and services can be used throughout the inquiry process to support the appropriate thinking skills. The key is to focus on student learning, not the Web 2.0 technology. The focus is on the phase(s) of inquiry at which students are concentrating and deciding which technology tool can best support the thinking processes and instructional strategies of that phase of inquiry. This increases the effectiveness of both the learning experience and the use of technology. An outline of the inquiry phases aligned with Web 2.0 technology tools and instructional strategies can be seen in Figure 2."

An excellent post with resources on developing and building a personal learning network.

Cell Phones in education - blog post by Wes Fryer at www.isteconnects.org

Presentations about the uses of cell phones to support learning both inside and outside the traditional classroom have been popular as well as contentious at educational technology conferences in the past year. I first become aware of the wide variety of constructive ways cell phones can be used to support learning through Liz Kolb's presentation for the 2007 K-12 Online Conference, "Cell Phones as Classroom Learning Tools." Liz is the author of the blog "From Toy to Tool: Cell Phones in Learning," and published the book "Toys to Tools: Connecting Student Cell Phones to Education" with ISTE in 2008. This past week, at the eTechOhio conference in Columbus, I heard Ohio technology director Ryan Collins' outstanding presentation "Cellphones in the classroom? Yes way!" In his session Ryan identified seven different ways cell phones can and are being used to support learning:

Some very interesting Microsoft applications that might be suitable for schools. It includes Beginner Developer, Chemistry Add-in for Word, Education Labs for Maths test creation, Microsoft Robotics and others. Hat tip to Skipz

A great place to find tech tools to use with MS Office programs. Find and download alll of Microsoft's free tools for teachers and students.  Updated 3.18.2012 Microsoft Partners in Learning helps educators connect, collaborate, create and share. TeachTec is a Microsoft Partners in Learning resource that helps educators find relevant and effective ways to use technology to inspire teaching and engage students. Together we have consolidated the latest and most popular teacher and student resources that Microsoft provides to all schools, districts and education organizations around the world.

"Transdisciplinarity: literacy in and ability to understand concepts across multiple disciplines. More about transdisciplinarity. Virtual collaboration: ability to work productively, drive engagement, and demonstrate presence as a member of a virtual team. More about virtual collaboration. Sense-making: ability to determine the deeper meaning or significance of what is being expressed. More about sense-making. Social intelligence: ability to connect to others in a deep and direct way, to sense and stimulate reactions and desired interactions. More about social intelligence. Cross-cultural competency: ability to operate in different cultural settings. More about cross-cultural competency. Cognitive load management: ability to discriminate and filter information for importance, and to understand how to maximize cognitive functioning using a variety of tools and techniques. More about cognitive load management. Novel and adaptive thinking: proficiency at thinking and coming up with solutions and responses beyond that which is rote or rule-based. More about novel and adaptive thinking. Computational thinking: ability to translate vast amounts of data into abstract concepts and to understand data-based reasoning. More about computational thinking. New media literacy: ability to critically assess and develop content that uses new media forms, and to leverage these media for persuasive communication. More about new media literacy. More about new media literacy. Design mindset: ability to represent and develop tasks and work processes for desired outcomes. More about design mindset."

PresentationTube Recorder is a simple tool designed to help instructors, students and business professionals record their PowerPoint presentations from the comfort of home or office, and without the need to have Internet connection while recording. The Recorder synchronizes presenter's video, PowerPoint slides, drawing board, and whiteboard and generate videos ready for uploading to PresentationTube network. With visual aids, like the drawing board, presenters can draw lines, curves, graphs, and shapes on the screen to emphasize or clarify their ideas, so the demonstration can be clearer. The whiteboard also allows the presenter to type text while presenting using the keyboard making it an ideal tool to add more details, or explain equations using words, numbers, and symbols. Just follow the instructions below to download and install PresentationTube Recorder. Recorder in your computer. Load your PowerPoint presentation, record your show, upload your video file, and share real video presentation with others.

Diigo is much more than a simple web annotation or social bookmarking tool. It is an online research and collaborative research tool that integrates tags, digital highlights, interactive sticky notes, captured snapshots, and group-based collaboration, allowing a whole new process of online information management, learning, and teaching in the 21st Century. 

This is a great resource on Diigo and how to use.

"Building a personal learning network (PLN) is a great way to exchange ideas, share resources, collaborate and get inspired. Teacher connections can be made with various web tools like Edmodo and Twitter, but did you know you can easily create a PLN within your district through Edmodo?"

Ever wondered what the internet looks like? Well, not like this site, but it does provide a stunning visual representation of thousands of the biggest websites and how they are connected geographically on the network. This is a great way to start student thinking about web and how we are all connected. http://ictmagic.wikispaces.com/ICT+%26+Web+Tools

"This webinar will examine the social networks that have become established by educators. It will examine their scope, audience and the different tools that can be used to connect with these online learning communities. It will look at how teachers can connect to these communities with mobile phones, tablet devices and computers, online behaviour, how information is shared, how to control your content, how to find material and how to leverage this to best advantage. It will also consider some of the ethical issues and dilemmas that must be considered."

 Chrome Experiments of fun with html5 are meant to show off the clean and fast beauty of the new code.  Of  course Google wants you to see it in Chrome for full effect, and I would encourage that as Chrome is an easy and responsive browser, you try it out.  The Wilderness Downtown is a great example of an interactive and connected multimedia experience that mashes together Google Maps and Earth with a driving tune to blast you to your past.  Go in and enter your old address and feel the nostalgia of swooping over your childhood home with a soundtrack and pacing just for you. Students are making digital stories.  They may not be writing html5 apps, but they are accessing, or can access, many sources of media to deepen their message.  A showing of a story like what you help create with The Wilderness Downtown experiment can inspire students to consider how they can use everyday tools like Google Earth to connect with an audience. Just go to http://www.thewildernessdowntown.com/ and type in your address. 

As contemporary learners continue to connect to iconography and visual data in our daily lives, making sense of and creating infographics will become an essential skill. The design features of infographics are listed as critical tools for supporting specific ELA/Literacy standards at all levels.

As contemporary learners continue to connect to iconography and visual data in our daily lives, making sense of and creating infographics will become an essential skill. The design features of infographics are listed as critical tools for supporting specific ELA/Literacy standards at all levels.

The popularity of microblogging, with special emphasis on twitter, the most famous application of the kind, is growing rapidly. This kind of tools for micro-exchange of information and communication is changing the daily life of knowledgeable worker as well as Internet savvy people. From this perspective this paper aims to show how Twitter can be used during conferences, and furthermore how different people are using it. With the help of a survey and analysis of the collected data, benefits regarding the use of a microblogging tool such as Twitter can be presented. The publication shows evidence on how Twitter can enhance the knowledge of a given group or community by micro-connecting a diverse online audience. Statistical data was also used to support this research.

Back in 2011 I was working in the Middle East when a colleague introduced me to Twitter as a tool for professional development and connecting with fellow educators. Prior to this I was aware of Facebook and Twitter, however I considered both as being about nothing more than apps for sharing cute cat videos and status updates. I had a Twitter account for years, however hadn't thought about how it might be a powerful tool to help me become a better educator and provide me with a wealth of new ideas and resources which I previously had not had access to. I had barely used the account beyond the initial setup...

Impacts of Twitter on professional lives

Very handy and open source timeline creator. "1. Create a Spreadsheet Add your dates and places to a Google Spreadsheet. 2. Connect and Customize Connect your spreadsheet with TimeMapper and customize the results. 3. Publish, Embed and Share Publish your TimeMap at your own personal url, then share or embed on your site."