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Great research paper on why student test scores should not be used to evaluate teachers.

From Steve Hargadon: "I've started a new community at http://www.FutureofEducation.com to providing an opportunity for those who care about education to share their voices and ideas on charting the course of education in a networked world. It's a place for thoughtful discussion on an incredibly important topic. The site will launch officially at the end of the month with the start of a weekly interview series, but I'm inviting some participation now because of an email Carol Broos (http://www.classroom20.com/profile/beatechie) sent out. Carol is one of twelve teachers who have been invited to participate in a round table discussion concerning the direction of education the new Secretary of Education Arne Duncan on Jan 21. She was sent the following questions, and is asking for feedback and ideas. You can respond either at the new http://www.FutureofEducation.com site or her wiki at http://education20.pbwiki.com/FrontPage. Here are the questions: 1. What is the one most important education issue you wish Secretary Duncan to focus on during his tenure and why? 2. How shall the tenets of the No Child Left Behind act be altered or invigorated? What are its positives? How can its negatives be improved? 3. How should the new administration respond to the nation's need for better prepared and more qualified teachers? 4.What should the new administration do to increase student engagement in mathematics, the sciences and the arts? 5. How should funding equity issues be addressed? There is also a discussion topic on what questions were not asked that might have been." This seems to be a great thing!

More than a digital literacy manifesto-21st century learners all.#educhat

Research shared by Dr. Leigh Zeitz on backchannel research.

Wikispaces is hosting a free webinar. THe email to me today says: "Wikispaces Education Webinar: Join us on August 6 for our Education Webinar. We'll focus on features that teachers have found useful in their classrooms and hear from Nicole Naditz, a French educator and foreign language pedagogy trainer. Nicole has used wikis in her French classrooms and as resource pools for her colleagues. Join us as she shares her wikis including an e-pal exchange and a solar power project with a school in Burkina Faso."

Excellent McArthur foundation white paper that I think is an important read for IT integrators and leaders.

An article in last week's Education Week looks at the increasingly common practice of reading aloud to middle and high school students. In discussing the practice with Mary Ann Zehr (I'm quoted briefly in the piece) I made the point that while there is certainly nothing wrong with reading out loud to teenagers, it is symptomatic of what I call "literacy creep" - the tendency of elementary school-style instructional techniques to find their way deeper into K-12 education across all content areas.

Yet another beautiful analysis of a major problem in education today by the good people at Core Knowledge.

A position which is bound to fire up educators, yet upon reading it I wondered if part of what they're saying isn't true? Perhaps it just sets up a simplistic binary that blinds teachers to the truth that we can be both interesting and effective as educators. Hard to tell.

An interesting article that examines the recent events of Rhode Island school district firing teachers and how effective that really is. Teachers need parents support.

A research paper commissioned by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation that finds that students know when they are being taught well and when they are not. 

#TEDActiveEDU How can we empower kids to reshape the education system?  Fantastic idea worth spreading started by Steve Hargadon on March 3, 2011 calling students to action in speaking up about their education. Our Flat Classroom Keynote from Mount Carmel Area High School "Student Perspective ~ Change Matters" was one of the top 10 videos.

Dear Educators, With this webcasting tool, you can connect live face to face with anyone, anywhere, anytime.....family, friends, students, teachers, colleagues, administrative groups, principals meetings, etc. without having to travel. You can even promote world peace by connecting with teachers and students in their classrooms worldwide and learning more about each other's country and culture The tools for your use include the ability to have live video chat, make PowerPoint presentations, stream video, share your desktop, record and share your presentation, and much more. Guests do not have to download any software. They simply click on the link to your conference that you send them, no cost, no travel and better yet, no wasted time. This tool is affordable and easily fits into a classroom, school or administartive office budget. As a former superintendent in the education system with more than 50 schools spread out 400 miles along a major highway, the ability to communicate with everyone in an efficient, effective and economical manner was essential. Hope you find this helpful. Best wishes, Barry

The Extraordinary and the ordinary- the projected trajectories of current computer technologies and their application for sustained mind controlling outcomes. It's already here- we will be interacting with computers with our minds. Incredible applications for learning.

Resources for strapped schools to increase productivity.

A long list of short n juicy professional development online courses to jump into next few months

Games lab focussed on socially responsible game design for social change.