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The further along I go, the more I am realizing that we have fully arrived in the information age. For our nation to compete globally - we must get out of the trap of growing media consumers, technology consumers, and information consumers. We must grow a generation of students who not only use technology, but understand technology so that they can become active technology producers, so that they can create, innovate, imagine, and disrupt. Possibly, understanding computer science will be as important as learning to read and write - the new literacy.

Interesting comments on Sherry Turkle's new book "Alone Together", a criticism on the pervasiveness of social media

A growing number of kids at increasingly younger ages are engaging in online social networking today-a development that is leading to a surge of news stories, media attention, and economic investment. In this paper, produced with the generous support of Cisco Systems and the Digital Media and Learning Hub at the University of California, Irvine, scholars Sara Grimes and Deborah Fields argue that these shifts in usage and public discussion demand a better understanding of the ways that social networking sites mediate kids' socializing and the opportunities and limits they place on kids' participation, particularly for young children.

New Media Horizons 2013 report on STEM learning

ARTLAB+ is a digital media studio that gives local teens the opportunity to become integral members of a design team. They create new visitor experiences at the Hirshhorn, taking their inspiration from its permanent collection and temporary exhibitions. ARTLAB+ designers hone crucial twenty-first century skills as they make videos, animations, wikis, games, podcasts, and more. By the end of every project session, the design team has created a unique product that enriches the museum experiences of other visitors and showcases each teen's creative growth. After-school, weekend, and weeklong ARTLAB+ workshops are held year-round to accommodate a wide variety of schedules. We welcome all teens, regardless of experience. Looks like a great way to help introduce twenty-first century skills- BB

This is really cool- combining mobile, situated learning in the real world, with creative group projects, and letting kids direct their own active, learning 'flow'.. Can this scale up to schools (or after-school programs), without access to museum artifacts and mobile devices?

article on Google Dashboard--google's new centralized privacy control site

This article describes Google's first large scale attempt at an augmented reality game taking place on City Streets via smartphones. I find it especially interesting to think about the educational value of such a platform.

I also saw this earlier. very interesting stuff.

To celebrate the importance of books and reading, Scholastic is launching You Are What You Read, a social networking site for readers around the world. Users log on to www.youarewhatyouread.com, list the five books that had the biggest impact on their lives, and connect with readers all over the world through these shared "Bookprints." The site also contains the Bookprints of more than 125 "Names You Know" - notable people from entertainment, academia, business, media, publishing, and more - including Scarlett Johansson, Al Roker, Sir James Dyson, Venus Williams, Jodi Picoult, Malcolm Gladwell, Judy Blume, and President George H.W. Bush... More links: http://www.publishersweekly.com/pw/by-topic/industry-news/publishing-and-marketing/article/44983-scholastic-launches-social-networking-site.html http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/scholastic-launches-social-networking-site-you-are-what-you-readcom-106024583.html http://www.webpronews.com/topnews/2010/10/28/scholastic-launches-social-network-focused-on-reading http://abcnews.go.com/GMA/read-scholastic-launches-social-reading-website/story?id=12000023 http://www.publishersweekly.com/pw/by-topic/industry-news/publishing-and-marketing/article/44983-scholastic-launches-social-networking-site.html http://www.bookpublishingreport.com/content/scholastic-continues-90th-birthday-bash-social-networking-venture http://www.galleysmith.com/2010/11/01/you-are-what-you-read/ http://www.tigertalesbooks.com/blog http://www.youthradio.org/news/scholastic-launches-facebook-for-readers

Facebook is about to roll out profile changes - again - but apparently the new ones are a shocker that will at first disappoint and later enthrall us. 

Isn't that what they promise with every roll-out? And then we all fight back by creating groups, sending emails, and overall boycotting the new changes, and then they send a message and apologize? Sometimes I want to tell Facebook: "If it ain't broke, don't try and fix it!"

http://www.ted.com At TEDIndia, Pranav Mistry demos several tools that help the physical world interact with the world of data -- including a deep look at his SixthSense device and a new, paradigm-shifting paper "laptop." In an onstage Q&A, Mistry says he'll open-source the software behind SixthSense, to open its possibilities to all.

Hi there Hongge, thanks for sharing this amazing video. He's managed to bridge certain key technologies and made them more intuitive for the daily user. It's great that he's made it open-source too! Maybe we could pay a visit to MIT to check it out? I wonder though, whether such a device would in the future not only project thoughts and programs but also capture user data and begin to 'suggest' or advertise certain things to you. Scary but the potential is enormous. Again, thanks!

Thanks, Matthew. That video was actually filmed three years ago (yes, even before iPhone 4) and I wonder if Pranav is still at MIT Media Lab. Maybe Karen knows more about him and could make an introduction for us? Machine learning and personalizing content for us is already happening. Personally, I like the idea of personalized content simply because nowadays we can be so easily info-overloaded. It is quite normal for CEOs and political leaders to digest pre-screened/selected info by their secretaries and/or advisers, right? And Google has been doing this for advertising to consumers. I don't mind the right ads appear at the right time when I need the product or service. What really strikes me about Pranav's idea is that it reminds me about the movie Inception, where you can transplant an idea into someone's mind and the distinction between reality and the virtual world is so blurry.

TECHNOLOGY MAKES TEACHERS LESS FREE? Faced with scandals and complaints involving teachers who misuse social media, school districts across the country are imposing strict new guidelines that ban private conversations between teachers and their students on cellphones and online platforms like Facebook and Twitter.

NOW!!! THIS IS REALLY COOL!

I wish it was this easy when I applied to undergrad. 

interesting point that the MBA admissions director from University of Iowa mentions. Admissions dept.'s are finding traditional application essays stale. New/social media outlets like twitter are bringing back originality and creativity. Maybe embracing Tweets as a medium is like a page-limit on a paper assignment. The constraints force students to really hone in on their points, and convey it as succinctly and clearly as possible? Conveying an entire thought/argument in 140 characters... it isn't easy, and perhaps those who can do it best are really effective 21st century communicators, and are worth rewarding/supporting.

A look at how teachers are building the community-centered approach to learning through social media.

Jason Ohler writes about digital storytelling

Pulling together a social media experience on your mobile phone. This might be work that could lead to educational platforms on the mobile device in the US.

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

"Experts believe that the information overload could prompt our brains to evolve in a new way. "