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ISTE educational technology conference is a great way to learn about the recent developments in educational technology and a great way to meet other teachers and educators and to share and exchange ideas for professional growth. ISTE 2011 will be held in Philadelphia, PA, USA, with a theme of "Unlocking Potential." More than 18,000 education professionals and technology industry reps are expected to attend June 26-29, 2011.

Sounds promising!

Sacramento, CA, November 26, 2012- They had a simple idea: Find a brilliant mix of innovative people from different professions. Get them together in one space for a day. Invite teachers, EdTech visionaries, hackers and entrepreneurs and encourage them to work on ideas, partnerships, networks, even businesses with the goal of jump starting the economy and revolutionizing education. This should be an interesting conference to monitor - maybe a new educational disruptive design will emerge!

The Design Thinking Toolkit for Educators contains the process and methods of design, adapted specifically for the context of education. You can download the toolkit by registering on the website.

I really like this approach. I'm going to check out the toolkit. I like the intro video and it's approach to design thinking in education as part of the story that each teacher has. This reminded me of what Dede spoke about today in class about how he always starts out with asking and understanding why a teacher is teaching...

Great find, Rupangi, thanks for posting it! I like IDEO's approach to things, and they have been branching out into development, too. It's cool that they are promoting design for education; I definitely think there are lots of application opportunities!

Tennessee Technology Centers (a "career-training program" that is state funded) is using strictly enforced scheduling to help retain students with 1 in 4 odds of completing their program. The school is taking the opposite approach that most higher education schools take. Instead of having the freedom to create their own schedule, they work with the school to determine a schedule from the beginning which is permanent throughout the duration of their time at the school and is strictly enforced. The school is hoping to increase retention of students in 1 to 2 year programs that have low graduation rates, and produce more graduates in emerging technology fields.

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

US News & World Report is adding online college programs to its rankings this year, sparking skepticism that it can accurately be done. This acknowledgement is significant for online learning programs, and puts them into the more mainstream higher education category rather than a fringe alternative to a brick and mortar program.

important annual report on emerging educational technologies in higher education

Debates the pros and cons of full-time online schooling

The pictures alone are worth viewing in this new model school in Sweden. I would love to have attended a school like this one!!

A letter to President Obama about MOOCs and higher education, from his council of advisors on science and technology. This was released just a couple of days ago and highlights some of the potential benefits and current issues in the ongoing MOOC debate which we have all discussed. "Although the new technologies introduced by MOOCs are still in their infancy, and many questions and challenges remain, we believe that they hold the possibility of transforming education at all levels by providing better metrics for educational outcomes, and better alignment of incentives for innovation in pedagogy."

Bill Gates on MOOCs.

Great read on cultivating active learning, including the role of technology (though not transformative technology) in the classroom. Talks about engaging the more "shy" / deeply thinking students in class via Twitter chat - "smart students like to talk, smarter students like to listen."

A special report on the future of higher education and the role of innovation - lots of interesting and relevant topics here, including rethinking assessment standards, flipping classrooms, and reinventing the academic calendar.

Quite an interesting move by University of California, SF - med students will now be able to receive academic credit for editing Wikipedia articles about diseases.

Really interesting article about the potential of a lifelong and nonlinear path through college - reminiscent of Prof. Dede's lifelong and life-wide learning propositions/models.

"The advent of this so-called "lousy product" - the MOOC - may be triggering a change, however. Indeed, recent survey evidence suggests that the acceptance of online learning among certain constituencies may be plateauing. Is it possible that a backlash against MOOCs could even precipitate a decline in the broader acceptance of online learning?"