Write up on some flat classroom topics and what we're doing in my class this year.

Fred Haas' reflections are so very real when it comes to ambitious global collaborations. I had to laugh as he said about NetGenEd (last spring's project): "Without question it was a mildly harrowing but ultimately rewarding experience." The learning curve is TREMENDOUS but once you have it under your belt it is similar to your first year of teaching or boot camp for someone in the military. If you're wondering if this sort of thing is for you, take a read of Fred's very real reflections. Julie nor I NOR ANY global collaborator will ever say it is easy - if it is perhaps you're not having to be as engaged as perhaps you need to be. However, it is most rewarding!

Massive multiplayer role playing game for learning Mandarin Chinese. Immersion is supposed to be the best way to learn and here it is!

Massive roleplaying game for learning mandarin chinese.

Current State of Mobile Learning - this is a book that talks about mobile learning. (hat tip to Stephen Downes) - it is an important article for those designing learning to read (as well as my Flat Classroom students writing about mobile and ubiquitous computing.

Very important overview of mobile learning that is a must read for students who are studying education and mobile and ubiquitous computing.

The whitehouse.gov will look the same to most people except that what is behind it is part of the open source movement with the whitehouse code - now powered by Drupal -- is open source. For educators, if you've found administrators objecting to the open source movement, maybe you should consider using the white house as an example.

Open source sofware, like that used by drupal, is being used by many more organizations and gaining acceptance in governments now, like the USA with the white house.

Net neutrality is an important issue being addressed by the US government right now to prevent companies from sort of creating their own version of the Internet. These rules are supposed to keep things "open." I'm also sending these to my digiteen students (you can follow digiteen at http://www.twitter.com/digiteen) and Flat Classroom students (http://www.twitter.com/flatclassroom) for work on their project.

Very important overview of "net neutrality" being debated and discussed here in the USA. This would be an important topic to include under government and business for the Flat Classroom Project.

Barnes and Noble's response to the Kindle: The Nook.

Site that organizes youtube videos for students. This is very cool.

We are working towards this year's Flat Classroom Conference which will be held in conjunction with ASB Unplugged (since we are sharing opening ceremonies we are calling it a mini-conference.) The same powerful learning from last year's conference will be there and you as the teacher and your students will come away transformed! This is the application form and we do have some scholarships and host families for students although we do not have scholarships for airfare. This is in February and applications for scholarships and student attendees are due by October 31, 2009. This wiki has all the information.

Teachers have a different standard. It is fascinating to read this newspaper article and also the responses. Our students on Flat Classroom project and Digiteen will be reviewing this information because teachers are held to a higher standard online.

Read this to understand that teachers don't really have a personal life online.

Excellent article on what Google wave is intended to be: a step up from email to allow for document collaboration. OK, now I finally get it. Seeing people talk about it replacing twitter, etc. I was like "nah - not with THIS" but seeing this blog post made the light go on - a must read for those who want to truly understand what google wave is for and to not get so hyper about what it isn't.

Important NEW technology for workflow software group and virtual communications. This would make a GREAT topic of video and perhaps we could try to get some invites for students to test out.

Excellent overview of Thomas Friedman's lecture at MIT which gives essential information on the history of globalization as written by a tenth grader. This is excellent writing and a nice overview of what he says in the fifty minute video. (She also embedded the video.) Excellent work. Miller also writes for Terry Freedman out of the UK, in a column called "Ask Miller" and I think her writing skills have been honed and improved as she has written for Terry as a ninth grader. She is a product also of the flat world as she has worked to write in a Google Doc for a person across the Atlantic Ocean!

QR Codes are an important new technology that use something called hardlinking.

This video explains RFID tags and QR Codes very well and is from the NetGenEd project and will help someone envision the kind of video made for this topic.

Second Life in Education users are up at arms over the fact that Linden Lab has now decided that http://sleducation.wikispaces.com infringes on their SL trademark (which has been registered for 9 days.) In my opinion this will push more people to options like Open Sim (we love Reaction Grid for ours.) You would think that they would have read the case studies on the mistakes of Microsoft when they "gave up" their monopoly when they got greedy and cornered the market. In this environment, people WILL make alternatives and this is not a group of people (the educators in SL) you want to be mad at you. These are the people who teach others how to do things, for goodness sakes - every company should wish for an army of free volunteers like Linden has. Big mistake, Linden. Big mistake, but one that perhaps it will take years to see. I have seen educators who I have NEVER, I mean NEVER been angry at Linden angry.

Important happening on October 1st about Second LIfe and education

Before you can join the project wiki, you must join and be approved for our main project wiki. After you join and are approved here, you will have to take the second step to join the project wiki.

Excellent overview of the flattners with Thomas Friedman.

This video from Thomas Friedman gives an excellent overview of the topics he is discussing in his landmark book. Am showing this to my class this week.

iPhone programming as part of a college computer science curriculum - ABSOLUTELY! Congratulations Dean Shareski!

iPhone programming is making its way into colleges

I can't tell if this event will be online too, but if you're in London - it is a good one. Love the description and appreciate Terry Freedman pointing me to it: "many authoritarian governments are now also beginning to exploit cyberspace for their own purposes; some of them appear to be succeeding in subverting the internet's democratising potential. We may have overestimated the internet's ability to bring change and underestimated the role that political, social and cultural forces play in determining how new technologies are being adopted. Could the internet actually inhibit rather than empower civil society? Join Evgeny Morozov as he outlines the dramatically different ways in which the internet's potential can be utilised by citizens and regimes."

Understand that some countries are using the INternet to suppress conversation, not allow it.

Modern Cheating

Top five ways students use technology to cheat -- of course, all of them involve the cell phone, which will certainly push many to continue to say they should be banned. To me, teachers should be vigilant and watchful. Also, who says you have to give the same test to all of your classes or a pop quiz on the same day? It is time to get smart!