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Ben W unpacks the world of APIs. He touches on their purpose and what they mean for the personal user. "The biggest reason to use APIs is to avoid re-inventing the wheel as a software developer. You're probably not going to build your own fully-featured mapping application, so if you need a map in your software, it makes sense to integrate Google Maps or OpenStreetMap. You don't want to build your own credit card processor (trust me), so it makes sense to use Stripe. You're going to have a hard time building a market of millions of enterprise software users, so you're going to piggyback on Slack. And so on. APIs present a pragmatic solution that allows us to build on other software while saving on short-term costs. They're not a magic wand, but used wisely, they allow us to build entirely new products and services. And maybe - just maybe - they will allow us to take control of our digital lives and build a new kind of internet."

It never ceases to amaze me how Google has become such an integral part of our lives. Search has evolved in such colossal proportions and especially with the advent of Google instant my belief that Google can actually read my mind has only been fortified. Search Marketers around the world are always on their Toes and as Google states "Don't try to follow our algorithm but try to think about the direction in which we are heading, build content for the users and not the search engines". I sometimes wonder if Google was actually a person he would be an amazing election candidate. But then again the high and mighty also have their share of secrets, secrets that should never come up, what I am about to reveal can be touted as one of the many chapters of the Da Vinci of Google.

High school, middle school and even elementary school students in a growing number of districts are being encouraged to bring in the very electronic equipment they were once admonished to leave at home. "There was a certain inevitability, as these devices became more common and cheaper, that at some point kids would be bringing them to school," explains Tim Wilson, chief technology officer for the ISD 279-Osseo Area Schools in Minnesota. "If something's coming, we might as well invite it in and learn to manage it." To hear Wilson and other tech directors tell it, these devices are more than welcome. Wilson's BYOD program is called Copernicus, after the astronomer who proved that the sun was at the center of the solar system. "This is our attempt to put students at the center of our technology integration," he says.

Alvaro González-Alorda has created a powerful presentation that's a must see for any educator looking to push his or her school / classroom into the future. He talks about what the leaders of today's major schools and companies have to say about what academics will look like in the future. Basically, it's decision time for schools who have been clinging to best practices from the past and not paying enough attention to future trends. In fact, Alvaro lists more than a few trends to be on the lookout for in terms of education technology. The following presentation is on Slideshare and worth spending the next minute of your day on.

A fascinating video about complex numbers on a number of levels. How did he do those things?

LinkBunch is a free service that you can use to quickly send a group of links to your friends, colleagues, and students. To use the service just visit LinkBunch, enter the links that you want to share, and click "Bunch." When you click on "Bunch" you will be given a URL to share with anyone you want to see the links in your bunch. When someone clicks on the URL for your Bunch he or she will be able to open the links you bunched together.

"Michael Fraser calls it the ''rubbish web''. That is the internet we will be left with in five to 10 years unless governments and cyber corporations fix the holes that allow criminals to infiltrate the world wide web and strip global citizens of their identity, money and dignity, he believes. In his bleak view, those who can afford it will retreat behind private corporatised security walls."

Joe Dale posts an iPad idea/tip each day.  He normally posts a 1 - 2min audio clip that contains a useful tip on how to perform a certain function or use a particular feature of your iPad.  So far all the tips and tricks have been really good. If you subscribe you automatically get an email each day with a link to the idea/tip.  If you are interested I recommend you subscribe so you dont miss out on any of his idea/tips!

"he Creative Commons organization has a new tool to help you choose the best license for your situation. The new interactive Creative Commons license chooser helps you select the right license for your work. To select the right license for your work just answer a few questions and a license will be recommended to you."

I visited Eric's High School on February 24th to observe Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) and his implementation of a contemporary learning environment.  I was impressed.  I was most impressed at Eric's reflection that he was once part of the problem, banning devices from his school rather then embracing the use of the technology.  That has changed and Eric trusts his students to interact responsibly with media and communication tools.  These expectations are being met by staff and students. 

"Zack Matere, a farmer in Soy, Kenya, searched for a way to save his dying crops. What he discovered was a desire to help local farmers and businesses access information."

A great post by Chris Wejr in regards to providing time for teachers to tinker. Going beyond the PLC model, Wejr discusses how he provided his staff with time where they were released from class to go and tinker and explore.

"David White of the University of Oxford explains how the Visitors and Residents model provides a framework to understand individuals' engagement with the Web based on motivation and context. He argues that the metaphors of 'place' and 'tool' best represent the use of technology in contemporary society and allow us to better adapt to the challenges of new forms of academic practice. "

"Google's Go language is, not surprisingly, particularly well-suited to cloud development. But according to Rob Pike, one of Go's designers, Go's creators were originally trying to improve C++ but found it "too difficult to couple [necessary] concurrent operations with C++'s control structures, and in turn that made it too hard to see the real advantages." Eventually he gave it up because "C++ just made it all seem too cumbersome.""

Donna Baum (@AuntyTech) put an interview conducted by Dean Shareski (@shareski). He spoke to Larry Ferlazzo (@Larryferlazzo) about curation & his best list of tools. Put onto Theme.

"Doctors have long said children under 2 years old shouldn't have any screen time.  Now, a leading pediatric researcher who's been a strong voice against babies watching TV has a new recommendation.  He says young children can, and should play with touch screen computers."

"Could there be a less expensive Google Glass competitor coming soon? GlassUp aims to give customers an alternative to Google's connected glasses with its own pair of augmented reality specs. Italian company GlassUp was recently added to crowdfunding site Indiegogo and has already raised nearly $25,000 (of its $150,000 goal). Similar to Google Glass, the eyewear works with your smartphone and makes it easy to see emails, text messages, Facebook updates and news right in front of your eyes. Its maker, Gianluigi Tregnaghi, says he created GlassUp two years ago - before Google ever announced its Glass product."

Nik Peachey's post that discusses how you can evaluate apps. He clearly sets out the criteria for evaluating authentic apps that would be for use in educational settings.

"Eric Schmidt, chairman of Google was so taken with Pis (and so horrified by the lack of computer programming currently being taught) that he donated a barrel load of them to British schools. Raspberry Pi is now one of the most talked about products on Quibly and one of the most frequently purchased through our store."

An interview with Clive Thompson about his book 'Smarter Than You Think You Are' in which he situates some of the changes in technology within history.