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" The ability for classrooms to beam in authors, subject experts, and fellow students from around the world has been one of the great advantages afforded by Skype. Commonly used by librarians and other K-12 educators to provide real-time engagement for their students, the service just got better. As of today, existing members of Skype in the classroom or new registrants can use Skype's Group Video Calling free of charge."

"Today's education system is evolving to take full advantage of the potential of mobile technology devices to inspire learning and create independent, critical thinkers. However, with tight budgets, many schools are hoping to bring technology into the classroom without the costly burden of purchasing a device for each student. One potential solution that is being explored is BYOD, or Bring Your Own Device. This allows students to bring their personal laptops, tablets, and smartphones from home and use them for educational applications in the classroom. At a time when budgets are shrinking, school districts are considering BYOD programs to integrate cost-effective technology into their educational programs. It's a promising idea, especially for schools that lack sufficient technology budgets. BYOD takes advantage of the technology that students already own and are familiar with. However, BYOD programs have been met with some criticism from staff and administrators who believe the challenges outweigh the perceived benefits. Continue reading..."

Instreamia will offer a 12 week 3-credit course for students with no background in Spanish to communicate through listening, speaking, reading, and writing. This open course will create and provide resources reusable under creative commons standards. Registration for the course is available immediately, and the course will begin January 21 and run through April 8. Students will be expected to dedicate 6 hours per week, for a total of 72 hours. Although the course cannot provide college credit from an accredited university, capable students will learn the material of a first-year college class, and will receive a letter grade.

Our Little Earth is a nice site that provides bi-weekly summaries of the world's biggest news stories. The summaries are written for students. Each edition includes video clips along with the stories. In each edition you'll find stories appropriate for use in social studies, math, and science lessons. You may also find stories about the arts, entertainment, and popular culture. A few "did you know" questions appear in each issue as well. An archive containing every edition going back to 2007 is available too.

"It's never easy to predict the future. But as PM's 110th anniversary celebration draws to a close, we've decided to try. Here are 110 ambitious ideas for the decades ahead. (For more about PopMech's brain trust and methodology, read Editor-in-Chief Jim Meigs' introduction. And if you want to try your hand at predicting the future, take our Facebook survey, and see when other readers think the most important events of the next 110 years will happen.) "

Duckie Deck is a nice educational games site. Each of the games is ad-free and is designed to help children learn something new or practice a skill. You'll find games for learning about potty training, kitchen appliances, and brushing your teeth. You'll also find games for practicing counting and games for learning the alphabet. Duckie Deck offers 125 games in all.

Wow what a great chrome extension. This looks like a great tool for all writers. I especially like the 'collect highlights' tool. Make sure you watch the accompanying video to see how it works.  Read&Write for Google Docs is a cool extension I found on Web App Reviews that can benefit ELLs and struggling readers. The extension provides you with a special toolbar on the top of your Google documents.

Edcanvas is an excellent tool for creating digital packets of information for your students to read, watch, and listen to. Now you can have students check their understanding of the materials in those digital packets by having them take a short quiz.

"IT'S been over a year now since I removed an interactive whiteboard (IWB) from a classroom wall for the first time. Yes, you read that right: removed. And not to put another one up. In fact, what went in its place was a good old-fashioned non-interactive whiteboard - the same sort we tore down just two years earlier."

A web app that searches for a photo on a theme of your choice, allows you to choose one, then provides the structure for you to write a haiku based on it ... and attributes the photo for you!

from @johnjohnston

A list of 8 good web tools that help to create instant polls. Useful for use with students as they do not require any registration. They would allow teachers to get some quick feedback about what has been learnt in the classroom and provide information for future lessons. 

"Since I started this Experiment to use Evernote in every aspect of my classroom, I wasn't really sure what I was going to discover. I was sure there would be some way that Evernote was not going to meet my needs and I would be forced to add another tool to my chest while I continue the experiment for the school year. One way I was weary of was lesson planning. I have used the the traditional planner book for years and it has always been very good to me. I could easily flip back and see what I what I did the year before as I planned the upcoming school year. I'm not a big fan of trying to fix things that are not broken, but I figured I needed to give it a try in the name of the Experiment. Needless to say, I was not disappointed."

"The web is for everyone so, in essence, this web literacies paper is also for everyone. It is, however, likely to be of particular use and value to educators and academics looking for a reference point and framework to help develop web literacies in themselves and others. When we mention 'we' in this white paper we're talking about not only about Mozilla, but the community of people who believe in Connected Learning, and who believe in learning through making and doing. We're people who believe in the practical application of knowledge through project-based and interest-based learning."

"This is an everyday problem familiar to anyone who uses search engines regularly. So here's some good news for us - and bad news for the big portals: There is a better way to build a search engine. And a Silicon Valley start-up company with the unlikely name of Google.com is showing the way. Google.com started as a research project by a couple of Stanford grad students - which, of course, is just how Yahoo, the directory site that has become the Web's most popular service, began. Yahoo tends to be more valuable than other search sites because its index is created by human beings rather than computer programs. But for the same reason, Yahoo has a hard time keeping up with the Web's explosive growth."

eLearning Programs is a Department of Education  curriculum service which offers schools a variety of online K-10 courses and programs which can complement, augment or extend local provision and provide students with access to educational experiences and opportunities that would otherwise be unavailable.  It includes options for students identified as highly able or gifted (CELO Online), and some online VET courses for students in years 11-12.  The courses students undertake are usually delivered by  an online delivery teacher with the support and supervision of the students' own school. eLearning programs vary in length and nature; for example some are full year subjects while others are term by term opportunities.

A nifty site for creating simple content and sharing it out. Easier than a 'Wiki' although the options for 'students' to use prior accounts, such as Google, seem to be absent. Also can't workout if you can lock it down and restrict its ability to be viewed. @Kellywalsh suggests that it is ideal for flipping the classroom.

"Audacious. Egregious. Crazy. These are just some of the adjectives I used in my conversation with Amber.  She actually asked me how I wanted to move forward, putting the onus of a solution back on me. I understand why, too: she's just as powerless as I am. I would love for Apple to face public backlash and financial ramifications for having taken advantage of its customers in such a brazen and unethical way, but Apple seems beyond reproach at this point. It took three representatives before I could even speak to someone who comprehended what I was saying, and even when she admitted to Apple's shady practice, she was able to offer no solution besides "don't use the product." When our data is finally a full-blown utility, however, "just don't use the product" will cease to be an option. Apple will be in control, bringing their 1984 commercial full circle into a tragic, oppressive irony. "

"It is pretty much a given these days that students have mobile phones, tablets, and e-readers. Leveraging what your students already have and already know how to use is a smart idea - even if you aren't implementing a full-on BYOD classroom environment. There are many ways to have students use their mobile devices in the classroom in a format geared towards learning rather than for leisure. The infographic in this post takes a look at ten fairly general ways to use devices in the classroom. The general nature of some of the recommendations makes it a great starting point if this is a newer concept for you or for a particular group that you're working. "

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