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This is a fascinating conversation about connecting, symbiotic relationships and more with some powerful, spot on answers. The teachers in our current Flat Classroom 12-1 cohort are amazing (and we have another cohort starting soon -- here's what we've been talking about this week. "This is happening now. Live Mocha and other sites have tandem learning - each learner teaches the other a different language. In my classroom, I have the older students teach younger students about computer hardware. But we could be doing so much more. Some professors like Dr. Leigh Zeitz (his students have served as expert advisors) and Dr. Eva Brown (her students helped run Eracism last year) are flattening their college classrooms with preservice teachers by having the teachers connect with high school and younger classrooms. These preservice teachers are understanding the nuances of the global collaborative classroom before graduating from college! There are so many ways we could be creating these types of learning relationships. This week, let's publicly talk about our ideas and also experiences in creating these experiences. We can learn more and do more in this area and technology opens up limitless possibilities. What do you think?"

In a recent PEW study, National Writing Project (NWP) and Advanced Placement (AP) teachers said that "a top priority in today's classrooms should be teaching students how to 'judge the quality of online information.'"  Furthermore, teachers are concerned that students don't get past Google, Wikipedia, and YouTube into deeper (and more accurate) ways of collecting information. If you want to discuss research sources, social bookmarking is the best way to do this. We should see more classrooms using Diigo (the most superior bookmarking service, in my opinion) or Delicious as they discuss and share the documents they will use in their research papers.  I've found when topics need deeper research or when the sources of research are in dispute, that social bookmarking is the best way to facilitate those discussions. It is a powerful form of pre-writing for students. If they can begin the conversations around research articles and sources, then more accurate information will emerge in their final document. Often students don't verify the sources of information and should learn to view all online information with skepticism and a critical eye as they converse over what makes a good source. Social bookmarking is a key source of discussion, data collection, and citation in the modern classroom.

Another beautiful site and student work. Students update these and use them as they apply for scholarships. As I type this, I'm listening to this student's CD. He and his friends decided to cut a CD for his passion project. I love how this project gets students to do the things they want to do. Things that are important but don't get done move up the list when they are getting a grade - especially for your strong students. I think of the beautiful music that has been recorded on CD as part of these projects and it means a lot. I wish you can hear it, but likely they will release it soon. ;-)

Kyle Dunbar is running a virtual book club. The first book is Flattening Classrooms, Engaging Minds. This website includes a blog that talks about the takeaways and the recordings that they are discussing. Please feel free to join in and mark your calendars - they are meeting on Tuesdays at 7:30 pm. I hope you'll join in. It is vital that you and I both connect with other classrooms around the world. Students are the greatest textbook ever written for each other - they need to connect and learn from each other. You'll meet other educators and model the kind of learner you want your students to be. If you want your students to innovate YOU must be innovative. If you want your students to collaborate YOU must be collaborative. Here's the schedule: January 7th - Meet the Flat Classroom, Chapters 1 & 2 January 21st - Connection and Communication, Chapters 3 & 4 February 4th - Citizenship, Contribution and Collaboration, Chapters 5 & 6 February 18th - Choice and Creation, Chapters 7 & 8 March 4th - Celebrating, Designing, Managing a Global Project, Chapters 9 & 10 March 18th - Rock the World

This is an example of a consent form for research for a research student done at the University of Georgia. If you are a researcher, you'll want to check with your university as to the proper way to format and secure permissions, however, as students become researchers, I have questions about securing permission for research. This is an area we need to discuss and understand because students can now be viable, authentic researchers and perhaps may have links to more accurate data collection techniques than researchers. What happens when researchers partner with students to collect data? A whole new world of research is opening up, so research forms are worth collecting.

There are many who don't understand this one point. I used to have someone who required me to have beautiful lesson plans. They were detailed. I spent more than an hour a day on them. So much time so that sometimes I felt unprepared when the kids actually walked in the door. When those detailed plans were removed and I was allowed to focus on the content created for the students to use and then keep a grid (I keep links, etc. to what I'm doing) - THAT Was when real innovation happened in my classroom. Things like wikis, blogs, etc. happened after those super-restrictive requirements were taken off my shoulders. I had the wrong audience when I had those detailed lesson plans - my audience was the principal at the time. Now, I still have plans but I keep it in a grid in a book and then keep copies of what I use with students in dropbox and other places. I do far more now than then because my focus is the students. Lesson plans aren't bad. However, if you spend your time making the LESSON PLAN itself pretty and perfect then likely you're not spending your actual time PLANNING, printing, collecting, and creating what you'll be doing with your students. Also, when you do things like #geniushour and 20% time projects, you no longer have a lesson plan but a project plan which is an entirely different thing altogether. Don't fault teachers for this.  Teaching is the hardest job everybody thinks they can do and few really can.

Here is a lovely set of resources for educators, parents, and students to create an awareness of the needs of deaf students and how to meet those needs in the classroom. I had a deaf uncle and learned sign language and it has served me well when it was necessary in my life. Younger students often enjoy signing songs - it adds such a rythmic beauty. Here are some great resources. Consider having students sign songs and speeches in your next assembly.

There is a move to have blind evaluation of student arts portfolios in Tennessee as a means of evaluating teachers. Arne Duncan endorsed the view of using this method of teacher evaluation. As a computer science teacher, I'd love this view and in fact, my school does evaluate me by the results of my students. While not all students have perfect work, you can see the rigor in what my classroom is doing with the efolios they build at the end of the year.

All students and educators participating in the challeng will have their name flown on the Exploration Flight Test-I mission as a member of the virtual crew. This mission will be unmanned and will launch in late 2014. So, kids can be a "virtual explorer." There are 4 challenges, age appropriate, to help design protective radiation protection for astronauts. We need to get students interest in space travel for a variety of reasons. This is a lovely real world project for students to join or could be a project for one of your #geniushour teams. "The goal of the Exploration Design Challenge is for students to research and design ways to protect astronauts from space radiation. NASA and Lockheed Martin are developing the Orion spacecraft that will carry astronauts beyond low Earth orbit and on to an asteroid or Mars. Protecting astronauts from radiation on these distant travels is an important -- and very real -- problem that needs solving. NASA would like your help!"

These heartbreaking words from a teacher in the UK. As the world tries to improve education by the numbers, the world has forgotten kids aren't numbers. They are precious, individual and unique and deserve education systems that celebrate and encourage that. OK, teachers, it is time to man the media - you are the media now! Are you fed up yet? It might not be you right now, but if you don't speak, it will be, wherever you teach, such stories impact us all and the profession we care for so much. "As a teacher, I vowed that I would work hard to nurture my students, to make each and every student feel valued and for them to know that they have a voice, and a place in the world. However the last two years have made me feel like that insecure 14-year-old again: I have lost my confidence because of the overly-rigid current education system. We are constantly being told we are not good enough and that we are not doing enough: enough intervention, enough rigorous marking, enough sustained and rapid progress. What excited me the most about becoming a teacher was discovering the hidden talents and sparks of genius in my students. However, it breaks my heart to say this, but I feel that I no longer have time, nor am I encouraged to make these discoveries. We are so caught up with data and so many progress checks that we don't give our students the time to shine. I wonder what would happen if the greats of the world like Einstein, Gaudi, Picasso and Martin Luther King were to attend school in 2013, would they be able to cultivate their talents and thrive?"

If you'd really like to get into the Luminosity program, here is the application form to get into it. Here's info from the press release. This is a cool app that is supposed to improve many parts of cognition. I have it on my list to try and it is very interesting to me. Here's the link and some info: "Preliminary results from the Spring 2012 semester found that students who trained with Lumosity improved more on a battery of online cognitive assessments than students who did not train. Additionally, effects were dose-dependent; engaging in more Lumosity training led to greater improvements on the assessments. Insights from the 2012-13 LEAP academic year on the effects of cognitive training on students' real-world academic outcomes are forthcoming. Educators are increasingly interested in enhancing their students' cognitive and behavioral factors. More than 75 percent of all teachers who applied for the Fall 2013 LEAP semester believe training with Lumosity will promote: cognitive enhancement, increased ability to pay attention, improved self-confidence, and improved general attitude toward learning."

If you live near the Chesapeake Bay in the USA< you'll want to look at this incredible resource! (Or if you're just studying about it!) From the founders: "Chesapeake Bay Education Website BayBackpack.com Launched Check out our new website Bay Backpack, www.baybackpack.com, which provides educators with the resources they need to engage students in hands-on learning about the Chesapeake Bay. This site is an online resource for teachers and environmental educators to engage students in hands-on learning about the Chesapeake Bay and its local waterways. Bay Backpack provides educators with the necessary resources to give their students a Meaningful Watershed Educational Experience (MWEE), which are extensive projects that allow students to gain a deep understanding of environmental issues in the Chesapeake Bay and its local streams and rivers. Bay Backpack houses over 380 teaching resources on issues like pollution, development, farming and many other environmental topics. To learn more about Bay Backpack, visit www.baybackpack.com. Interested educators can also follow Bay Backpack on Twitter @baybackpack or become a fan on Facebook. Please help us spread the word by forwarding this to anyone that may be interested."

Students from our two schools were grouped together to study an issue of social justice using web 2.0 tools. These tools help students put the best practice of collaborative learning into play by working with others to problem solve. Tools such as VoiceThread allow teachers to practice differentiated assessment. Being socially connected, students believe their contributions matter and they feel a stronger degree of responsibility to support their new partners. Students want an authentic audience to express themselves too.

Why use Web 2.0 tools in science and math classes? The primary reason is they facilitate access to input and interaction with content through reading, writing, listening, and speaking. These tools offer enormous advantages for science and math teachers, in terms of helping their students learn using Web 2.0 tools. For example: * Most of these tools can be edited from any computer connected to the Internet. Teachers can add, edit and delete information even during class time. * Students learn how to use these tools for academic purposes and, at the same time, can transfer their use to their personal lives and future professional careers. * RSS feeds allow students to access all the desired research information on one page. * Students learn to be autonomous in their learning process.

"As a mobile learning device, the iPod Touch encourages learning anytime, anywhere! These mobile devices do not tie students to their desks or the classroom; they bring the world into the classroom through the lens of personalized learning. The value of an iPod Touch as a mobile learning device is its ability to transform student learning behavior. According to research by K-Nect Project (2009), students using this digital device achieved higher test scores. This was attributed to more interactivity between students, teachers, and content."

This article is ripe for Diigo commentary!

This article is ripe for Diigo commentary!

This article is ripe for Diigo commentary!

NetGenEd Sounding boards. Kim Cofino is an expert at this model and is running this: "The Sounding Board process is a very easy, fun and eye-opening way for younger students (upper elementary, middle, and lower high school) to participate in one of these amazing, global projects. Basically Sounding Boards act as peer reviewers for the students participating in the project. Small groups of students in the Sounding Board classrooms will review one NetGenEd student group's work and offer very simple peer feedback. This time around, I have to admit, the project is even more exciting because it's part of a larger project organized by Don Tapscott, author of Grown Up Digital: How the Net Generation is Changing Your World. Here's his intro to the wider project:" Please put a call out and join in! Thanks!

A virtual drum roll please… We are thrilled to officially open the application process for the Discovery Student Adventures Pilot Program. Join us as we discover more of our incredible planet earth together with adventure trips to Australia, South Africa, and China. In order to participate in this pilot trip, you must be a STAR Discovery Educator. Not only are you able to take part in this once in a lifetime opportunity, each STAR selected will be able to choose four of their students to join them on the adventure! This is at no cost to you or your students! So with no further ado… here's the official wording and post importantly the link to apply.

With class ending this week, my students want to once more go into Lively to express how they feel about this great service. They love it, although we are moving ahead to explore other options (which we'll announce in January) -- so, they want to have a virtual funeral for Lively which will happen this Thursday. Just check their blog and read this post from the students about what they are planning. Again, this is a student driven project - they are currently reflecting on this process and will be sharing their thoughts about whether the protest was worth it and what they have learned. Stay tuned, the Digiteen Dream Team is a great student blog that will continue!