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This is backed by McGraw Hill -- I think it is their way of getting free info to create online texts....it's a place where students get paid to upload their notes (i.e. boiled down teacher lectures). A very clever stategy, but there is something about it that doesn't sit well.... I am wondering what ownership rights you give up when you upload notes? This would make an interesting blog post if explored more.

Note** Would be interesting for school districts to analyze their percentage of boomers (older and younger) and corresponds their technology training to these new demographics/usage. A new report from Forrester Research revealed some surprising information: apparently Baby Boomers aren't exactly the technology Luddites that people think they are. In fact, more than 60 percent of those in this generational group actively consume socially created content like blogs, videos, podcasts, and forums. What's more, the percentage of those participating is on the rise.

As I'm not entirely sure of your goals, I'll list a bunch of ideas, and you can just narrow it down to what you think works best for you. #necc09

We looked at ways to allow teachers to buy their own laptop at a greatly reduced rate (something like 1/3 or 1/4 of retail), thinking that would give them sufficient ownership and encourage them to take responsibility. However, there were too many benefits that we'd have to give up... like educational pricing on hardware and software licensing. So the school needs to be the clear owner of laptops.

Clay Burrell's response to the piece in Science Daily reporting that research at UCLA indicates that as technology has played a bigger role in our lives, our skills in critical thinking and analysis have declined, while our visual skills have improved, this according to research by Patricia Greenfield, UCLA distinguished professor of psychology and director of the Children's Digital Media Center, Los Angeles.

Though this article is written for the business sector, there are many great parallels with how we experience social media's acceptance in the educational realm. The suggestions that are given are readily applied to our setting, as well. In the enterprise, many employees think blogs are merely websites on which people talk about their cat or their latest meal. Many don't know the differences between and advantages of such tools as message boards, blogs, and wikis. They have heard of these terms in passing, but the demands of their day-to-day jobs have prevented them from recognizing the distinct benefits of each tool. Solution: It is useless to advocate for social media tools in a vacuum. Unless you're describing a solution to a practical problem, busy workers will not respond to buzzwords like "wiki," "blog," and "community." Your client usually has about a 30-second attention span in which you can sell a social media tool. An aide in my arsenal has been the excellent videos by Lee Lefever at Common Craft. Lee visually explains social media concepts "In Plain English." Common Craft videos quickly explain complex and sometimes unfamiliar technologies in a few minutes, sans the buzzwords, hype, and sensationalism. Problem: Cynical Clients Who Don't Want to Share Information Unfortunately, some potential SharePoint users balk at the technology because they have no desire to share their knowledge for the benefit of the organization. These individuals tend to equate their knowledge with job security; therefore, they feel nervous about sharing out of fear that they wouldn't be needed any more.

Checking out Vocaroo today for a possible segment on PalmBreezeCAFE and thinking about the possibilities for it's use in the classroom. Once you record your audio, you can share the link, embed the sound file (see below) or download the file (.wav). I was able to create my Vocaroo without creating an account.

Very clever vocab builder that is flash based. I only wish that it would have a built-in audio file for each word (I don't think I saw one -- could have missed it).

If you could put a number of items into a box that described your life, what would you include? What do you think would be included if you were a Victorian Servant or Queen Elizabeth I. If you lived during the English Civil War, what items would you include to make a case for, or against, the parliamentarians? And what if you were an abolitionist and wanted to show that slavery was wrong and unnecessary, how would you create your evidence. Via Heather Hurley

I think it might be more accurate to say that "Web 2.0 will be a significant part of the future of learning," and that in the best case scenario it will become an important part of our formal educational institutions.

Within this site you will find lesson ideas, examples, and downloads for mathematics that embrace active learning, constructivism, and project-based learning while remaining true to the standards. The initial focus will be for grades 5 and up, but teachers of younger students may be able to find some uses or inspiration from the site. Higher level thinking skills, such as analysis, synthesis, and creativity are encouraged as well as technology skills and social learning. The scope of this site is mathematics, but many lessons lend themselves to interdisciplinary activities also.

So what's this all about? Well we think IE6 has run its course, so do many others as you can see. This is a place for you to say your parting words to IE6, and bid it farewell goodbye. Wanna say goodbye? Great, simply follow DearIE6 and send your goodbye as a @DearIE6 reply... we'll look after the rest

Invitation to go back through your blog posts over the year and looking for any "aha moments" or highlight the posts that you think were the best/most interesting.

This is a Glog I produced to give a presentation to a group of educators. The intention was to give the presentation entirely using free web 2 tools to show them the potential. I think it succeeds but I would value any comments

Project Spectrum was developed by the SketchUp Team at Google to help people with autism take advantage of their visual and spatial gifts. The idea for Project Spectrum originated when we began getting phone calls and emails from users telling us about how much kids on the autism spectrum were enjoying SketchUp. As the calls kept coming in, we learned that people with autism tend to be visually and spatially gifted-that, in fact, they think in pictures. When people with these gifts get their hands on powerful, easy-to-use 3D design software like SketchUp, sparks tend to fly. Inspired by what we've learned, we've partnered with the Boulder, Colorado chapter of the Autism Society of America, the Boulder Valley School District, and the Life Long Learning Lab at University of Colorado to provide children with software and guidance that may help them to express an idea or even develop a life skill.

I remain very, very concerned with the notion that all we have to do is let the kids connect with the world.... There's a fallacy there, and my experience with how much really deep teaching of digital ethics we've had to do at SLA to counter all that the kids come in the door thinking about the digital world.

If you think that iPods are used just for listening to music, you obviously haven't been keeping up with the latest technology The Apple-developed music player now features all kinds of accessories to help you study better, and now other companies are in a rush to get their designs in sync with the iPod.

Back in 2006, when I was 24, my life was cozy and safe. I had just been promoted to associate editor at the publishing house where I'd been working since I graduated from college, and I was living with my boyfriend, Henry, and two cats in a grubby but spacious two-bedroom apartment in Greenpoint, Brooklyn. I spent most of my free time sitting with Henry in our cheery yellow living room on our stained Ikea couch, watching TV. And almost every day I updated my year-old blog, Emily Magazine, to let a few hundred people know what I was reading and watching and thinking about.

Science influences everything we do and there is no better way to teach science than to experience it. Experience leads to empowerment and empowerment creates the foundation for critical thinking skills and ultimately a scientifically-literate public. Discover the Microbes Within: The Wolbachia Project is designed for high school biology educators in an effort to bring real-world scientific research into biology labs and lesson plans with inquiry, discovery, biotechnology, and a culture of excellence.