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Whether or not you realize it, you probably have philosophical discussions with your students. But if you use the term "Philosophy", it would probably be met with blank stares. This website, developed by a college philosophy professor, provides an easy to understand, engaging introduction to philosophy for middle schoolers using FILM. I think it could also be used with high school students and used as a tool for how students could engage each other in a variety of discussions across the curriculum.

The problem with using digital textbooks: keeps power in the wrong hands, not really engaging, kids resist.

So well said ! "We are experimenting with an alternative learning design to engage learners who are perhaps not networked learners yet. We would like to utilise their curiosity to learn through creating opportunities for contextualised collaborative enquiries. "

Katlin Tucker, a dynamic high school teacher presents her approach-pedagogy-instructional strategies to transform teaching and learning. She demonstrates ways she helps engage students and grow skills in several areas, including communication, comprehension & critique, collaboration, content knowledge, etc. A couple of her main tools include Collaborize Classroom and Google Docs. 

This made me say "yes!". I love using digital form to read for my book club, because my notes are all organized - I really can engage with the text, more than I normally would (and no lost sticky notes)

Some great points at how to view engaging teachers who may be hesitant learners/implementers of technology. It may help you get into their thought processes and understand their unique needs in a respectful way. 

Sherry Hegstrom, on her blog "Emerging Technologies in Education" asks the question: What makes for a digital story? She brings up some great questions for us to consider and there are some comments that engage the discussion. Check it out!

The post really points to the possible pitfalls of online courses. It also suggests the importance of examining & evaluating the effectiveness of online courses - including the teacher's pedagogy and instructional methods - and student receptiveness, level of engagement, and success in courses. The comments after the post provide a lively discussion. Blended learning seems to get high marks.

Award-winning educational futurist David Thornburg discusses classroom design and four learning models he has written about extensively in his book, "From the Campfire to the Holodeck: Creating Engaging and Powerful 21st Century Learning Environments" Is your classroom designed primarily for the traditional lecture? For using technology to do the same old things better than differently? Give out too much information vs. using more open-ended approaches? Transform the way information is learned and used? This article helped me to reflect on the way I encourage the use of technology and how to make its use an experience more reflective of what is presented in the CCSS and 21st century learning. What is your response to the article? Agree, disagree? What model(s) do you see yourself using? What movement would you like to make in your approach?

Aimed at high school and college students, "Operation ARIES! is an intelligent tutoring system that using principles from the science of learning and serious learning games. " The game covers 21 scientific concepts shared among psychology, sociology, biology, and chemistry. The storyline of Operation ARIES! involves an epic story of love, revenge, uncertainty, spies, aliens, political intrigue, suspense, surprises, and saving the world. The story elements are presented across the game to maintain engagement. Watch the introduction on the homepage to get a feel for it!

On the Teaching Professor blog, the author starts with: "In May I finished a second edition of my Learner-Centered Teaching book. Revising it gave me the chance to revisit my thinking about the topic and look at work done since publication of the first edition ten years ago. It is a subject about which there is still considerable interest." And that it is. Check out the five characteristics of Learner-Centered Teaching helped me to think about my own thoughts of Learner-Centered engagement as a Tech. Coordinator who loves teachers and teaching.

Excellent introduction to the practice of Curation for Professional Learning. Engage in curation by using the steps of aggregation, evaluation, and organization. Use these resources to support all aspects of your teaching practice.

Online portfolio for teachers - FREE. I would encourage especially pre-service teachers to consider using a tool like this to help provide something more engaging than the standard resume. One of my goals this summer is to use something like this or a blog resume to document my work, experience, skill sets, and learning. 

"It seems like just yesterday that I was a disconnected nomad working hard to maintain the status quo and conform to a rigid system commonly known as education. You see, prior to 2009 I was adamantly opposed to even the thought of using social media for both personal and professional reasons. As a building level leader burdened by endless responsibilities, I could not fathom wasting even a precious minute in what I saw as a perpetual time sap. " Read the rest of this post to see how Eric discovered being connected on social media and engaging in conversations with passionate educators has transformed his work in education.

"In this video I show you how to create an interactive YouTube video. Adding interactivity is a great way to boost engagement and rigor with the videos you create for students"

Helpful look at some of the reasons we need to help students learn how to engage in online content through blended and asynchronous learning environments.

Meet reading standards using this site and engage students with current events. Includes the ability to adjust reading level and assessing students comprehension with writing and multiple choices quizzes. Great resource.