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There is a big difference between having a BYOD policy and a BYOD learning environment. The former lays the foundation for a BYOD learning environment but it by no means guarantees it. In order to shift from a school with a BYOD policy to a school with a BYOD learning environment, mindset shifts need to occur organizationally:

ost people use Microsoft PowerPoint to create presentations, however there are many other tools which enable creation of more dynamic presentations. One such example is the Prezi web application which is well known for its unique zooming UI. Similarly, Impress.js is a JavaScript library and a free alternative to Prezi. Unfortunately, Prezi comes with a huge price tag and Impress.js can only be utilized by developers. If you are a lay user who wishes to get the functionality of the aforementioned tools to create more innovative presentations, then try Infinite Canvas. As the name suggests, it is a web based canvas which can be used to add images for creating slides which can be zoomed (in and out) like Prezi and Impress.js.

New report released August 2012 "Business and political leaders are increasingly asking schools to integrate development of skills such as problem solving, critical thinking, and collaboration into the teaching and learning of academic subjects. Collectively these skills are often referred to as "21st century skills" or "deeper learning." Education for Life and Work: Developing Transferable Knowledge and Skills in the 21st Century, a new report from the National Research Council, more clearly defines these terms and lays the groundwork for policy and further research in the field."

"Each election, Prime Ministerial candidates lay out their parties' platforms in campaign speeches. These speeches are more than just historical records; they tell us about national concerns and political obsessions, wars and drought, industry and society. They speak to - and in some cases, exploit - our aspirations and our fears. We've collected speeches by successful and unsuccessful candidates from every election from 1901 right up to the present day."

"Twitter Co-Founder Evan Williams has an ambitious new plan: to shift our daily reading habits away from consuming incremental news bites and towards engaging with enlightened ideas curated by an intelligent algorithm. Ordinarily, such a goal would seem utopian, were it not for the fact that Williams is among a handful of Internet pioneers who have disrupted the media industry multiple times.

"Most desktop 3D printers aren't small or portable, but a new LumiFold claims to be both - a compact and affordable crowdfunded 3D printer available for $400 (£247). 3D printers, such as the Makerbot and Ultimaker cost upwards of $1,000 and operate similar to inkjet printers laying down each layer by squirting a polymer down on the object from a nozzle, the LumiFold 3D prints using light."

"One of the essentials in Reading this year is one-on-one conferencing with students. When I saw that The CAFE suggested using three-ring binders with tons of copies for each student, I went mentally-fetal. It wouldn't just be one three-ring binder I'd need to organize. I have three classes! Knowing that much paperwork would overwhelm me, I set about devising a system. I settled on Evernote with an iPad I've borrowed from my district's IT department. I want to lay out a few screenshots of how it works and why I like it."

"Now, with apps that cost from nothing to a few bucks, you can lay digital worlds over the top of the real world through your phone's camera view. Suddenly data on hotels, restaurants, shop offers, landmarks, social gaming, even menu translations, is at your fingertips."

Fascinating to think how mLearning can overlay with augmented reality when we consider educational connections with this technology.