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A fantastic read, if not for the fascinating history of reading education in the US. However it totally applies to the Australian context too.

As the post-PC era moves from interesting theory to cold, hard reality, one of the most pressing questions is: How can we use tablets, and especially the iPad, to help people learn? Most of the focus has been on ebooks replacing textbooks, a trend fueled by Apple's recent updates to iBooks. Specifically, the company released iBooks Author, a tool for creating immersive ebooks on the desktop. Plus, the new iPad is now the first tablet with a retina screen, making reading and watching multimedia on the device even more enjoyable. But technology is only as good as the system it's applied to. Much like a fresh coat of paint will not improve the fuel efficiency of a '69 Mustang, the application of technology to a broken system masks deeper problems with short-term gains.

Part of the benefit of jumping forward with a 1:1 iPad deployment like we have tried is that we get the opportunity to impart knowledge to other districts looking to do a similar initiative. While that might not seem like a benefit, it actually also means we can make some mistakes because there is not a long history of this type of deployment in the world. Many districts have had 1:1 Laptop projects, which we have benefited from and could easily be applied to this list I'm about to share. However, for the sake of our specific district, and the questions I get from other districts on a daily basis, I'm going to break down the ten things you should NOT do when implementing a 1:1 iPad program.

This is a very relevant and interesting article about some research that applies in Australia as much as the rest of the world.

Another PEW report, this time into gamification "Tech stakeholders and analysts generally believe the use of game mechanics, feedback loops, and rewards will become more embedded in daily life by 2020, but they are split about how widely the trend will extend. Some say the move to implement more game elements in networked communications will be mostly positive, aiding education, health, business, and training. Some warn it can take the form of invisible, insidious behavioral manipulation. "The development of 'Serious Games' applied productively to a wide scope of human activities will accelerate simply because playing is more fun than working," observed Mike Liebhold, senior researcher and distinguished fellow at The Institute for the Future."

"The easiest way to utilize Twitter to its greatest potential is through monitoring hashtags - which means getting a full summery of data that explains how they are being used. This is such a big part of applying Twitter as a professional tool today that endless programs have been created to help you do it. Whether it is seeing the analytics of a hashtag, or just finding out which ones are used most often, these ten tools will help you do it."

"TagMyDoc allows you to apply a tag on a document which can be scanned and retrieved as a virtual copy."

"Siri is still in relative infancy as a program, but as the technology develops, it will be interesting to see how it's applied in other situations outside of finding basic information, locating a Starbucks, or updating a calendar. One area where Siri's capabilities could be extraordinarily useful is in education, and many are already theorizing about the myriad different ways that Siri could be used to change how we teach, learn, and view it. Here we've collected a few of these ideas about how Siri could make the leap from a simple search tool to a powerful learning and education assistant. While they may not all come to pass, it's certainly fun to think about a world where interaction with technology for education could be so seamless, accessible, and maybe even fun."

Professional Development for me used to be about going to sessions on specific days and then trying to 'bring back' what I've learned and incorporate it into my daily practice. Sometimes this was very challenging, I would get inundated with new information and find it very hard to apply what I learned into what I did on a day-to-day basis. Often my notes would be filed away, not to be seen again.

LayerWise applied Additive Manufacturing (AM) to produce an award-winning Titanium total lower jaw implant reconstruction. To treat a senior patient's progressive osteomyelitis of almost the entire bone, surgeons opted for such a complete implant the first time ever. LayerWise specialists printed the patient-specific implant design incorporating articulated joints and dedicated features. The complex reconstruction has been implanted successfully. It restored the patient's facial esthetics and allowed her to regain her speech within hours. www.layerwise.com

Educators can apply for a free Animoto Plus account for use in the classroom. Its powerful features can be used to create stunning presentations incorporating images, video clips, music and text.

Students are applying for more jobs at an earlier stage in an attempt to secure work in what they see as a tough employment market, research suggests.

Applying the Desert Island Discs approach to technology:" If I were to ask you what are the sharpest tools in your box, what would you say? What would be the 8 technologies you couldn't possibly do without?" Love this quote (after mentioning two older, named laptops) "The laptop I now work on most of the time is my Chromebook (which has no name - it would be silly to give a Chromebook a name; they have no memory, they have no soul)."

"The internet has allowed us to see what would have otherwise remained unseen. Everyone with access to a smartphone, a Twitter or Facebook account now has the ability to report on what is happening anywhere, at any given moment: a comet crashing, bridge cables snapping, a subway bombing. For this fact alone, I love it. But I've had an increasing personal discomfort on one front. Within the bounds of journalism, the fact that someone accused another of having done something wrong has never been enough to warrant an attack. At the very least, you are required to get the other side of the story - but this principle doesn't apply online."

"This series guides you step by step through the process of class and student blogging. Each step provides class blog examples so you can check out how they are used by educators.  Many of the examples are from primary grades but the same principles apply regardless of student age (including adult learners). The activities can be completed at your own pace and in any order!"

"In 2013, we launched version 4.0 of the CC license suite and it is ready for anyone to use now to apply to their educational resources or other creative works. But what does that mean? What's new in 4.0 that wasn't there in 3.0? And just as importantly, what has stayed the same so that you don't have to worry about changes to licenses you weren't expecting? Lastly, I'll go over some examples of organizations and institutions who have already upgraded to the 4.0 version of whatever license they were using. Note: These slides are meant to be used as a resource by presenters - please download the file and see the detailed notes accompanying each slide for the actual information. "

"Edit audio anywhere Copy. Snip. Pan. Record. Flexibly fade volume with envelopes. Apply and move effects (filters, compression, etc.) amongst tracks. And more."