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"Most educators who learn to use Twitter effectively say they learn more from their personal learning network (PLN) on Twitter than they've achieved from any other forms of professional development or personal learning. Unfortunately educators often dismiss Twitter, or fail to see the value of Twitter, when they're first introduced to Twitter. Our aim of this post is to provide all the information you need to learn how to use Twitter effectively as an educator. We regularly update this post with new information.  This post was last updated June, 2014."

"Project-based learning is centered on the learner and affords learners the opportunity for in-depth investigations of worthy topics. The learners are more autonomous as they construct personally-meaningful artifacts that are representations of their learning. This article examines the theoretical foundations of project-based learning, particularly constructivism and constructionism, and notes the similarities and differences among implementations, including project-based science (Blulmenfeld et al., 1991), disciplined inquiry (Levstik & Barton, 2001) and WebQuests (Dodge, 1995). In addition, an anatomy of a model case will be considered using a WebQuest example developed by the author, describing seven characteristics common among the various implementations of project-based learning. Finally, practical advice and recommendations for project-based learning are discussed, including beginning slowly with the implementation, teaching students to negotiate cooperative/collaborative groups and establishing multiple forms of performance assessments."

"Online learning can take many different forms. It is interesting to look at some of the trends and challenges that moving from an in-person to a virtual environment can pose. The infographic in the post (developed by Education Dive), takes a gander at some of the trends in online learning (and a few fun statistics) and some of the challenges that online learning poses."

"September 27, 2014 Projecting your iPad on a large screen is great for demonstrations, simulations, explanations, and showing examples. There are several ways this can be done in the classroom.  VGA or HDMI Adapter Connect directly from your device to a projector's video cable. Click to find out which of the four possible adapters is the one you need. Document Camera Put your device under a camera connected to a projector. Glare may be a problem. Your audience can see your fingers.. Search Amazon for document cameras. Apple TV Connect an Apple TV to your projector and use your device's AirPlay feature to mirror the screen. Apple TV is available from Amazon.com. AirServer Install software on your projector-connected computer and use device's AirPlay feature to mirror the screen. Get AirServer at airserver.com. Annotate.net Install software on your projector-connected computer and use device's AirPlay feature to mirror the screen. Download the Annotate Mirror Client.  Mirroring360 Install software on your projector-connected computer and use device's AirPlay feature to mirror the screen. Download Mirroring360. Reflector Install software on your projector-connected computer and use device's AirPlay feature to mirror the screen. Get Reflector at reflectorapp.com. X-Mirage Install software on your projector-connected computer and use device's AirPlay feature to mirror the screen. Get X-Mirage. iTools Install software on your projector-connected computer and attach device using its USB cable and choose Live Desktop. Macs can wirelessly mirror to iTools. It's beta software with no documentation and can be buggy. English version currently not available. OS X 10.10 Yosemite Update to OS X Yosemite on your projector-connected Mac and attach device using its Lightning cable. Open QuckTime & choose iPad as the camera source.  If you don't mind keeping your iPad in one spot, then a VGA adapter (for 30-pin Dock connector or for the new Lightning

Helpful educators on Twitter submitted some of their favorite mobile learning websites, apps, and resources. Tony Vincent put these submissions into the set of posters that were placed around the Sheraton Phoenix Downtown at Mobile Learning Experience 2012. If you weren't at Mobile 2012 or missed some of the posters in person, they are posted here for your learning pleasure.

"A new era of personalized professional development is sweeping into schools. We've created this guide to capture the extraordinary changes in PD tools and in the cycle of learning. We look here at tools that support how teachers engage with colleagues; that help teachers learn or find support for implementing fresh strategies and approaches; and that measure how that learning impacts practice in the classroom."

"Today, the availability of affordable constructive technology and the ability to share online has fueled the latest evolutionary spurt in this facet of human development. We stand at a crossroads marking the end of decades of thoughtless consumption and helplessness and the beginning of a new age of personal empowerment, creation, and mastery of our world that results from using technology to solve personal problems and amplify human potential. "

StudyEgg is a new tool that can be used to augment already existing educational content on the Internet by adding new learning features. With StudyEgg teachers can create quizzes based on YouTube videos like Khan Academy or any other freely available lesson/material. GradeCam enables teachers to grade assignments instantly with any document camera or webcam, no special tools needed. The data is then displayed, showing the teacher if all students understood the concepts. Tests can be created on the go to check what students have learned instead of testing them days or weeks later. GradeCam then lets users import the data easily into the gradebook service,  Always Prepped combines different educational resources and services like Khan Academy, Edmodo or Study Island and puts all the learning related data of the students into one unified dashboard. Also able to add non-educational data such as social data to the dashboard. For example, if the teacher knows that the parents of a particular student are getting divorced or that a grandparent has died, the teacher is able to add this information to the data set and can see immediately whether the performance in class might somewhat be related to the happenings in the student's personal life.

The Benefits of Digital Learning 1. Richer Resources 2. Customization & Personalization 3. Cognitive Tutors 4. Engagement and Interactivity 5. 100% participation 6. Digital Archives 7. Collaboration 8. Global Publication 9. Online Learning Communities 10. "Serving the Net" 11. Crowdsourcing 12. Software that gets smarter 13. Internet of Things

One of the perplexing things that teachers and educators encounter when trying to understand educational technology and leverage it to their classrooms is the abundance of those baffling techy terms. Blended Learning is different from Differentiated Learning, Educational Technology might not be necessarily Instructional Technology, a Virtual Classroom is different from an Electronic Classroom or Flipped Classroom; There is also asynchronous, synchronous, and personalized learning, these and many more are but some examples of the growing terminology in this field.

Blog for the new book Mobile Learning Edge by Gary Woodill. See also his personal blog http://www.garywoodill.com/ This 2010 book describes the ways to use mobile for learning content delivery.

"Emerging Practice in a Digital Age explores how colleges and universities are embracing innovation and using emerging technologies to enhance learning in a climate of economic pressure, changing social circumstances and rapid technological change. Aimed at those in further and higher education who design and support learning, the guide draws on recent JISC reports and case studies to investigate how the emergence of new and more powerful technologies together with an increase in personal ownership of these technologies are changing the way we connect, communicate and collaborate, and how these changes can benefit learning. The focus of this guide is on emerging practice rather than emerging technology."

"In 2009 and beyond, being a learner means being connected, and that means understanding how to develop connections face to face, as well as through online networks. It is these connections form the basis of a personalized learning network that literally can make learning a 24/7 endeavor that involves co-learners and co-teachers from around the globe. Central to this ability to learn online, to participate online, is the ability to craft messages that have the potential to impact others. "

Personal learning network app. Good blog review. Uses new Tincan api.

"With the rise of the blended learning model of education, video is becoming an increasingly important medium for instruction. The essential components of blended learning - such as flipped classrooms, MOOCs and "Bring Your Own Device" programs - are facilitated by video instruction to ensure the personalization and flexibility of a digitized education system"

"A list of some of the tech tools, including some that are becoming increasingly popular and widely used, that should be part of any teacher's tech tool arsenal, whether for their own personal use or as educational aids in the classroom. They are listed under the categories: social learning, learning content, lesson planning and useful tools"

"my6sense is the best way to experience your top content from social networks and news sources - all in one app.Read your most relevant items and updates from your Facebook, Twitter, news, RSS and blog streams (*Google Buzz on Android), share via email and social networks, discover fresh content, manage your streams and more! All you need to do is use the service, and we'll personalize your content for you. Using our 'Digital Intuition' technology, we accurately learn what's important to you and personally rank your streams so that your most valuable information is always at the top. There's no need for you to tell us what you like/dislike or set any preferences. It's completely effortless!" So far so good enjoying the random nature of it so far. Especially when the Google Reader is bursting at the seams. Like the integration with my twitter feed too. 

Research paper by Wendy Drexler summarizes how "networked student" concept guides personalized learning to develop portfolio in the context of high school class.

"The Internet might not be the place to send young people quite as easily as a few years ago. I realise this conflicts with the whole 'get a personal learning network/connected teacher' rhetoric - but I'm pretty sure those things are more concerned with creating advertising funnels for particular products and services than actually re-imagining how learning could work for millions of people. So apart from the fact you want to stay open-minded and allowed to think for yourself as a teacher - why else it is now more valid than ever to to think twice about 'getting onboarded'. The late adopter might just be the smart ones after all."

When it comes to using technology in school, the tension between what students and parents want and what schools allow is becoming more apparent - and more divisive. Students want more control over how they use technology in school, but many classrooms are still making it difficult. That's according to the most recent Speak Up 2011 report, "Mapping a Personalized Learning Journey," which reflects the views of more than 416,000 K-12 students, parents, and educators nationwide surveyed on how technology can enhance the learning environment.