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An article that advocates the use of social media in the classroom. It highlights one pilot program in Oregon.

old tech in new bottles

What is old tech here? Just trying to understand your comment since this "blended learning" looks like exactly something I'd like to do in my classroom. Cool article!

virtual education meets some students' needs

Thanks for sharing this link. This is interesting for me to read because I grew up in this district. I also think virtual classrooms are a valuable tool for children who suffer from illness and might otherwise have to miss extended periods of class time. My younger brother is a college student and is currently stuck at home with Mono and might have to drop the semester- it would be great if he could keep up with his work online, while resting at home.

It is frustrating that his college does not have a distance learning option. Hope your brother feels better soon.

Skype CEO: Our Goal Is to Connect 1 Million Classrooms

The US Department of Education recently released data revealing a large increase in enrollment in online classrooms among high school students. 

New Jersey's hybrid Charter schools test out new model by combining online and classroom instructions in the toughest cities.

A Stanford University group tracked students in eight virtual schools and found that "in every subgroup, with significant effects, cyber charter performance is lower." K12 Inc. made large profit, but at what cost?

It is sad that every good idea gets hijacked for 'profit-maximizing'

This is an editorial discussing how emerging technologies can help eliminate the need for annual standardized testing of students by tracking their progress constantly throughout the year through technology use. IPads, Khan Academy, data analysis, KIPP schools, the achievement gap, online courses and their innovations through emerging technologies are discussed.

In the US, 250000 students are enrolled in full-time public virtual schools in 30 states, according to Susan Patrick of the International Association for K-12 Online Learning, a trade association. Although that's just a fraction of the country's 50 million students, it has grown 30% each year. Some schools in Michigan already shown the advantage of digital learning.

This is an interesting article. I am just concerned that it is not unbiased or driven by an agenda other than improving education. I found this information about the Mackinac Center online: http://www.rightwingwatch.org/content/mackinac-center-public-policy I am starting to realize that a lot of the technology in schools rhetoric is driven by corporate and political interests, and as the industry becomes ever more profitable, I'm worried that companies are going to jump in and try to influence policy, rushing through the movement toward the wrong kind of technology in schools- i.e. sacking half of the teaching staff and replacing them with cheap computers. I think one of our most important jobs as Harvard TIE students is to education the public about the right ways to adapt technology in the classroom, and the important role that teachers will continue to play in this movement.

Stanford Medical School is working on flipped classroom model for some of its courses.

Pretty relevant to what we've discussed in class so far--Verizon is launching a couple of initiatives to encourage mobile ed tech development. One is to encourage students to create educational apps relevant to their communities, while the other is to train teachers on how to use technology and mobile tech in their classrooms. Third part is an online portal for sharing knowledge and materials between teachers.

Talks about various online resources like Youtube EDU, Khan Academy, Teacher Tube, Show me app, etc.

Great ideas for organizing lessons. Very practical.

This article is further proof that many of the emerging educational technology initiatives are driven not by student performance but by the desire to earn profits. K12,inc. seems to be a particularly shady (and highly successful) business in this regard.

Mobile apps seem to enhance study habits, including classroom assignments. It also benefits the teachers.

List of 100 social media tools

In the beginning, they had a great environment in the classroom using the online software. Later, as more classrooms/users began using online program simultaneously the network failed. Every school is different!