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Stanford's acclaimed d. school inspired 50 teams of graduate students to pitch projects at Aspen Ideas Festival. Spark Truck, one of the winners is a "mobile maker lab" that brings simple tech to help inspire kids to become creators.

This is a website created by Burlington High School students that are taking a class called Help Desk. In the class they run a help desk to help teachers learn and integrate current technology into classrooms. This was administration's response at Burlington to teachers needing support in incorporating web 2.0 tools into curriculum when they started a one to one device system.

The idea of "showing what you know" and earning badges instead of degrees? In this economic downswing, could something like this become the new emergent way of learning and of assessing? Thoughts?

Sounds like the digital badge is more lke a digital portfolio- which I would more likely support. I find it interesting that our education system (which strives and struggles to provide consistent, high quality education from coast to coast) is seen as deficient but this badge proposal will be the answer? It's like the flood of support for home-schooling after a home-schooler wins a national competition but no one knows about the tens of homescholers I had to remediate in rural NH. Standardization is the key for any system to be integrated into another system. The variety of education models we have in our country makes it difficult for employers to integrate employees. If this digital badge concept relies on a variety of models, they will have the same problem.

The prospect of digital badges to show what you know is both exciting with its potential affordances and worrisome with some of its limitations and ambiguity. It'd be great if the ideal came to pass that digital badges would allow valid demonstration of super-specific skills and knowledge over a greater range of fields and topics than what having a B.A. or B.S. currently does. Digital badges could represent the most particular concepts or skills at a granular level even-- those that are essential in the real-world (whether that be desired by employers or otherwise). If the task or test or challenge, or whatever else would be the means of assessment for earning a badge, was carefully designed and evaluated to be a truly valid measure of proficiency, then earning a badge for something would be a clear indication that you know something. But like Allison said, standardization would be key. What would these assessments/ badge challenges be- so that they would be truly valid indicators of proficiency? Who would be the purveyors or authorities to determine the assessments or challenges to accomplish a badge? Given the medium (completing badge assessments on one's own computer or mobile device - from any site they're at potentially) - what's to stop a user from going "open book" or "opening another tab" in order to look up answers to questions or tutorials on how to do a task, in order to complete the assessment? Doing this would allow a user to ace the assessment and earn the badge- but would defeat any value of the badge in truly demonstrating knowledge or skill. By imagining if digital badges did reach mass-acceptance and use in the real world, and we were to ultimately find them all over the internet like we're now finding social media widgets, it made me realize that the "prove proficiency anywhere I am in any way I want" won't work. I changed fields and career paths from what I studied in college, so I definitely appreciate the value in being able to truly show e

A problem that I had not previously considered - as digital devices begin to pervade educational venues, there is a dark side...

Very interesting article about mHealth summit and explosion of medical tech devices. Yet most innovations are for the consumer industry as opposed to the providers, who need innovations just as much. The regulations and approvals necessary for physicians is a huge hurdle.

I thought this was fitting given the recent snow fall. AR that helps you navigate ski resorts.

"Nearly a third of children aged ten or under now have their own mobile phone, according to survey of parents. One in ten said their child was using an internet capable smartphone, such as the iPhone or Android devices." And yet, most schools make kids 'check' their technology at the door. Things that make you go "hmmmmm".

I saw this on the LabNotes today. It's pretty amazing! What could these kids possibly be using these internet ready cellphones for that isn't learning?

A report on how mobile devices can be something for the family to gather around rather than an individual activity

A rubric (in progress) designed for educational apps by a doctoral student at John Hopkins University. For those hesitant to make the shift to mobile devices, how would rubrics like this impact policy making, especially in regards to accountability?

Bureacratic nightmares and vested interests deny students their due whether it is in US or India

Can SAT prep be done on mobile devices?

Article raises good points about the need for change in pedagogy if using mobile devices in classrooms

This sounds interesting. An interactive game right here in Boston. Would you consider this augmented reality? Anyone want to get a group together and play? It says we "must represent [ourselves] with a senior member of the organization." Would you be interested, professor/TFs? (Post a reply to this link if you do and send me an email just in case - jhnsn.c@gmail.com)

this sounds like it will be fun!

That would be a fun adventure. Keep me posted.

I just started participating in this research project. Even though its not a learning program, its could be a method to use mobile devices for learning.

Is it only a matter of time before we will see more fulfillment of major aspects of the Wireless EdTech and National Educational Technology Plan mobile recommendations? I HOPE so! When Ontario Premier Dalton McGuinty suggested last September that the time had come for electorate to engage in meaningful debate on the issue of handheld media devices in the province's classrooms, the backlash was swift. The public wanted nothing of it.