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International journal of learning and media . This is an almost brand new journal ( open access too 1) and covers topics that are highly relevant to our readings. I fished out lives at war from this journal as well as an engaging article on virtual worlds by Thomas and Brown...

Gateway source for all students: high school and college composition and journalism and student of life. Bookmark this source and then bookmark the hyperlinks in this article. Do you have the 10 (11 for the bonus) tech skills down? I certainly can improve in some of these areas.

A small but very pertinent article in the recent edition of the International Review of Research in Open and Distance Learning (IRRODL) by Seth Gurell, Yu-Chun Kuo and Andrew Walker called The Pedagogical Enhancement of Open Education: An Examination of Problem-Based Learning1 is a real gem. The Pedagogical Enhancement of Open Education is a gem because it is focussed on pedagogy and online open learning. Gurell et al argue from a review of the literature and practical experience that problem based learning can work well with online open education. For example, traditional problem-based learning requires the learner to find and review resources which are usually print based materials such as books, journals, newspapers and so on, many of which take time to locate and access. However, using problem-based online learning using open education resources can remove much of the distraction of finding resources and enable greater attention to the learning task. Although problem-based learning (PBL) may not be suitable for all types of learning, a review of the research does indicate that students perform equally well using PBL as they do in traditional learning. Students engaged with PBL also perform better on retention tasks and on explanatory tasks, reveal Gurell et al. There are many sources of open educational resources. Two such examples that are well known are the Open Education Resource (OER) Commons, the Open Courseware Consortium. However, others such as Academic Earth, Scientific Commons, and Project OSCAR are also interesting. The Pedagogical Enhancement of Open Education is a very succinct review of online PBL and its fit with open online learning. Gurell et al have provided an excellent review of the versatility of online open education and how to maximise pedagogy to achieve improved learner outcomes.

"As professors mix and match book chapters, case studies, and journal articles, the site keeps track of how much royalties are going to cost. Once the book is made, students have the option of buying it digitally or paying an extra $10 (with an additional 3 cents per page if the book is more than one hundred pages) for the textbook"

This article is about students running help desks. This is becoming more common, as students are often better versed in technology than many teachers. The article identifies a relevant curriculum and discusses the dynamic shift from students supporting technology to technology supporting students. This also goes along with the Burlington High School help desk link I shared.

In follow-up to previously posted video, this full article details MIT's Media Lab research on monitoring electrodermal activity (EDA), a measure of sympathetic arousal, and on advancing autism communication through 4 active research areas.

This article further details the research behind the video I previously posted relating to emerging technology related to autism emotion and communication.

This is a classic example of "gee whiz - it's magic" journalism about technology in education

It's intersting to think about what sorts of journalists get handed these kinds of stories. Should this be the education beat? The technology beat? This particular journalist doesn't seem to bring expertise of either kind. (It seems like it's just a Metro desk story.) Mostly he comes across as a shill for Apple.

The financial struggles of print media have led to the substitution of "piecework" journalists, often with no credentials for the story, for qualified professionals with strong backgrounds. Poor articles are the result...

An article on strategies for developing the right environment for blended learning.

This article describes a virtual environment, which has hypergridding as a feature. Students can teleport from one community to the next. This was the first platform to do that.

I wonder how popular environments like this are right now, and how they are being implemented into classrooms. This is fairly recent.

This article outlines various augmented reality apps that are being used in classes. I've actually used Google Sketchup when teaching, giving students an opportunity to design their own buildings and use it to study geometric properties. It was very cool.

I've heard of 3D printers before. I thought it would be interesting to try out in schools. For example, if students were designing towns to learn volume and surface area. This could help with spatial learning, which is essential to understanding math. I don't know how feasible this it though...

Hi Irina, Yes! Nothing like seeing your ideas take a concrete shape. Looks like the cost of these printers is comparable to that of SmartBoards, so it may be feasible to try them out in classrooms pretty soon. That said, unless the projects are well integrated into the curriculum, they will end up as another fancy toy.

Harvey and I had a conversation about these last week - Harvey spoke of the way that these printers could open up opportunities for those who can visualize their creations in their heads, but have trouble putting those ideas in tangible form. We spoke of the potential in art and design.

Many of you have read my "rants" about buying iPads before the teacher's even know what to do with them. This article speaks to the need for Professional Development before full scale implementation.

NSTA's Science Teacher must have known we just spent the class with Paul Horowitz. Jan Mokros (TERC) is an author here

"One teacher commented, "It's hard to manage the class when students become 'click happy' without really understanding what they're doing." However, requiring students to verbally explain and justify their reasoning before proceeding to the next screen was an effective solution."

Connected to a few class discussions (including one in HT 500 about multitasking)... *potential for greater/more diversity in discussion/participation than in person *what do we mean when we say "multi-task"? *weighty topics/140 characters Somebody's got to create something worth tweeting

The latest report on digital textbooks

Microsoft recognized three U.S. schools at its Global Forum Educator awards last week. I didn't find two of them terribly intriguing, but the third, LYNCing Distance Learning Math Classes to Blind and Visually Impaired Students, was a great example of how technology can be used to link educators with special skills and students with special needs how may not otherwise have access to a qualified instructor.

Hi Douglas, thanks for sharing this. I went to the Globaloria link on the site and some of the games made by the children are amazing! This is a nice testament to learning by building.