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In January 2010, the Department offered a program of free, online conferences to support teacher professional learning. The program of web conferences covered the domains of Literacy, Maths, Science and ICT

ASU Developed new online social networking program, Devil2Devil. It is a private & closed system. While all students are able to join, it is aimed at helping freshman connect with their peers.

A teacher brought in two experts via Google Hangout to meet with some students working in a computer gaming program. The students were able to takeaway tips from the experts for their programming and connect with "real" designers.

In my research surrounding the topics of communities of practice, PLNs, and connectivism I kept coming back to the Wenger-Trayner website. There were many helpful writings and diagrams produced by Bev and Etienne (Team BE), however this blog post stuck with me. When I attended undergrad at Michigan State University these practices were newer and not taught. Does anyone know of programs that use these topics in their curriculum authentically? Are their teacher prep programs or universities that have really embraced these concepts?

The Described and Captioned Media Program is a free-loan library of accessible educational media for use by teachers and family member of K-12 students with a vision or hearing loss. This U.S. Department of Education-funded program also serves as a clearinghouse of accessibility information and training resources as well as a gateway to accessibility information from partnering organizations.

This website offers a software program that helps students write mathematical symbols, formulas, and graphs. The program is offered for free to students with disabilities.

Contains 4 math programs that allows teachers and students to create equations, drawings, graphs and statistical graphs on the computer. Offers EmPower Program that will give a disabled student a free 10-year license for these programs.

Can a Smart Phone Program Really Close the Achievement Gap? Students from different geographic regions communicate socially, but also to help each other achieve the common goal of succeeding at Algebra 1. When asked what tech tools students would like to use in learning science and math, their reply was no surprise: "They said they wanted something that would utilize social networking technology - something portable.

This video talks more about what a PLN is and how you can set it up to be "your own filtered TV station/programming."

This video talks more about what a PLN is and how you can set it up to be "your own filtered TV station/programming."

This is an interesting video which communicated the process of reciprocal learning well. Having the inclusion of text being pointed to with a highlighted mouse arrow was awkward for me to watch, but could be a tool to help engage the viewer.

In this study, the role of a PLN using Twitter in a teacher preparation program. Teachers who were already using Twitter found that the power of Twitter as a PLN came not from the sharing of resources, but from the collaboration and conversations of other educators. Many new teachers were initially hesitant to use Twitter as a PLN, but with virtual mentors and an explanation as to the power of a PLN, new educators were more likely to use it as a powerful tool to develop their teaching practice.

I found this study particularly interesting as recently read a blog post by Etienne and Bev Wenger about whether or not colleges are utilizing the ideas of community of practice in their teacher prep programs. The findings of the study are not particularly surprising, teachers are hesitant to use Twitter but find the collaboration worthwhile. Both control groups were graduate students, I would be interested to find out if this is being implemented in any capacity at the undergrad level.

This study discusses the concept of using PLNs during teacher preparation programs. It discusses how newer teachers are more hesitant to use social media like Twitter and do not understand how valuable the tool can be. The studies findings emphasizes how PLNs promote professional development and allow for instant feedback through conversations and collaboration. The study also discusses how some teachers are hesitant at first, which I think is common thread for new and veteran teachers.

The following checklist might prove useful when planning evaluations for programs.

One of the most important benefits of conducting a program evaluation is using your findings to improve services, motivate staff, or even to change public policy. This tip sheet focuses on ways to use your results to improve services.

Has specific information about nonprofit program evaluation.

This is an excellent resource for those who work with primary grades, specifically for primary students with cognitive impairments or delays. This program provides kid-friendly menus for the MS Office Suite.

MS Office, kid friendly

This article examines two communities of practice within a post-secondary online course. One CoP was an on-campus cohort formed by the instructors and instructional designers, the other was an online cohort in which the CoPs were selected by students in the program. This explored the role of teacher leadership in the "school ecology".

Miller begins the article by reviewing what the RTI team and process consists of and then does the same for a community of practice. Following the introduction of both programs the benefits of an RTI-CoP is explored. This exploration includes the ability for professional growth, peer to peer coaching, and an overall improvement to the RTI process by consistent engagement in program improvement. The work then continues to explore CoP by giving examples for creation of such a program and additional ideas for the group.

Great ideas on why it is important to teach EXCEL in the classroom.