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The Science Explorations link doesn't work.

yes it shows.

Apple's digital textbook venture, launched yesterday in New York, is just the latest attempt to bridge a yawning gulf between technology and learning. It's still the beginning. The gulf is so large, it will take decades and thousands of experiments to cross. But we've begun, and things will move fast.

There were a few comments sent to me personally about the post I put up yesterday about teachers and students "friending" each other on Facebook and other social networks. I can understand that many teachers were reluctant to use the comment function on the blog but I have to say that we desperately need to have these conversations!

Keep in mind that this experiment was focused on "classroom use" of Kindles, not necessarily "library use." Libraries have never supplied the resources used directly in the classroom for literature study (students don't markup library books!). At Cushing Academy, we are using Kindles to support recreational and personal interest reading rather than directly supporting the curriculum. In that role, they have worked very well.

Well, maybe not just like plain old books. Ebooks have many nice advantages for libraries, such as 24/7 access, always pristine and readable copies for the user, built-in dictionary (which our students tell us they really like) and, for the library itself, very efficient use of space and staff time.

"Last fall, Princeton launched a small experiment, replacing traditional textbooks with the Kindle DX, Amazon's large e-book reader. Almost from the beginning, the 50 students participating in the pilot program expressed dissatisfaction with the devices. Yesterday, a university report offered some more definitive findings. On the upside, students using the Kindle DX ended up using far less paper. (Paper consumption was generally reduced by 54%.) On the downside, students complained that the Kindle was fundamentally "ill-suited for class readings.""

Brian Grenier wrote a blog post back in 2007 that I think I missed where he asks the question how do you write a blog post?Miguel Guhlin just wrote a great post in response to Brian's thoughts. In my COETAIL course yesterday we had a great discussion around how blogging was going for those in the cl

Sismic map of Iberic Peninsula, related to Lorca's yesterday Earthquake Mapa Sismologico de la Peninsula Iberica, recurso para el aula para tratar el Terremoto de Lorca

"A report released yesterday gave most states Cs and Ds when it comes to educational innovation and technology, according to this story by my colleague Michele McNeil. States are not reinventing education in ways that are necessary to tackle challenges of raising achievement and preparing students for the rigors of the workplace, the report concludes. "The key to improving results will be to help schools not only to avoid mistakes, but to position themselves better to adopt imaginative solutions," states the overview of the report, "Leaders and Laggards". "In brief, for reform to take hold our states and schools must practice purposeful innovation.""

"It seems like just yesterday that I was a disconnected nomad working hard to maintain the status quo and conform to a rigid system commonly known as education. You see, prior to 2009 I was adamantly opposed to even the thought of using social media for both personal and professional reasons. As a building level leader burdened by endless responsibilities, I could not fathom wasting even a precious minute in what I saw as a perpetual time sap. " Read the rest of this post to see how Eric discovered being connected on social media and engaging in conversations with passionate educators has transformed his work in education.

"An innovation curriculum requires an emphasis on what I am going to call, for lack of a preexisting term, the Five I's: Imagination, Inquiry, Invention, Implementation, and Initiative (the latter being a foundational trait that enables the other four). Here is my take on how to teach each of the Five I's of innovation in our schools."

Love the notion of the 5 I's - many already comfortable with the 4 (or 5) C's - but have a look at Jamie McKenzie's post from 2010 - "A Dozen I Words Trump the 4 R's" - funnily enough, I just came across it yesterday whlst doing some prep! http://fno.org/Jan2010/bookmark.html

"teindl-Rast inspired me to start working on a project that I have been putting off. (ironically when I chose to read this passage I was procrastinating) There is never an ideal or perfect time for any person to start any task. Instead of taking this moment right now, we co"

Many of you are familiar with the Love and Logic Series (Parenting with Love and Logic, Teaching with Love and Logic, etc). Well yesterday a fellow teacher showed me a resource the Love and Logic Institute is providing for teachers. The free resources cover: How to Create a Love and Logic Classroom  Misbehavior Cycle Special Reminders Regarding the Use of the "Recovery Process" for Disruptive Classroom Turn Your Words into Gold The Delayed or "Anticipatory" Consequence Twenty-Three Classroom Interventions

Thanks for the heads up on this book. This is a good campaign to share its message globally with the public, school boards, etc.

Google's great new tool for exploring the body

Hi Holly, you need to upgrade to the latest chrome beta. http://www.google.com/landing/chrome/beta/

Sorry, I wasn't clear. I was using the latest edition (downloaded it yesterday). Well, I guess I'll just have to wait to see what Google says. Thanks anyway!

I learned a tip yesterday that most certainly will help my students. It is that I should use a wireless mouse in class. Here is what I mean. You just have your mouse with you while you are in the back of the room and then when you need to do anything on your computer you can just scroll your mouse on any available surface. I've used slate's and special pointers before with poor performances. With the mouse I can just naturally move things around. Give it a try.

Do you think I can use it with my Smart TV?

We have used the gyration mice in our school for years and I love mine, but we have had about 4 have the gyro die in them, so the longevity is now what I would like.