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Some interesting commentary on the future of touch screens. Potentially has implications for educational uses as well: "Anyone who has used one for a long time will tell you that they quickly revert to using the keyboard and mouse. And it isn't because of the software or touch technology - both are fine.The problem is that you get tired keeping your hands up and on the screen for a long period of time. Touch experts I've spoken with say it's because your hands are above your heart, which isn't comfortable for very long."

Descriptions and salaries for "new" jobs that involve social media, software/curriculum development, and web-based technologies

Reading assessement via Ipod Touch. Hope to see more of this.

Is foreign-language software and technology impacting how Japanese learn their own language and negatively impacting their national culture?

Google is going after Microsoft with their new open source operating system designed originally for netbook users - so no software has to be installed.  It is all browser based and stores docs on Google servers - great for computer crashes - security???

This company seems to package much of the free software for social networks within a company. They present an interesting vision of how it all might work as people collaborate on a project and utilized the system to find the right human resources. This looks sort of like the descriptions of what networked learning should (kind of) look like in schools. This is the industry model. Here's the video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wkP49rBrq68&feature=player_embedded

A primer on data dash boards for schools.

Must see webinar. >>Dr. Glenn Kleiman, Executive Director of the Friday Institute of Educational Innovation in the College of Education at North Carolina State University moderated this discussion with Chris Dede and David Rose held on November 15, 2012. The intersection of mobile computing, social software, and augmented realities enhances and increases opportunities for personalized learning. How do we capitalize on the rich array of technologies to not only engage students, but to provide multiple pathways for expression by all students? David and Chris, both members of the working group that developed the National Education Technology Plan in 2010, discussed future directions for digital learning, including universal design for learning, augmented realities, and social and mobile technologies.

A group of 10 highly selective colleges has formed a consortium to offer online courses that students enrolled at any of the campuses can take for credit. The group, which includes Wake Forest and Brandeis Universities, will offer semester-long online courses using software from 2U, an education-technology company formerly called 2tor.

A few people posted about using Skype in the classroom. Thought I would add to that especially since this article reminded me of the virtual session we had on Monday when HGSE had cancelled classes due to weather conditions.

A teacher's perspective on the issue: http://gazette.teachers.net/gazette/wordpress/steve-sherman/innovation-10-reasons-google-skype-should-be-used-in-the-classroom-a-teachers-view/

This looks promising. If Skype/Google Hangout add a few more features to their interface, it could render obsolete Blackboard and other paid software for video conferencing and online classes. I think the engineers at Google and Microsoft have the skills to put together a better product than what's currently out there. It's just a matter of whether they seize the opportunity.

His ideas is to empower teachers and students to experiment with learning software by giving small grants to teachers.The point is to incentivize the use of technology at the teacher, student and classroom level.

software identifies key topics in digital text and collects videos from YouTube and other online sources to enrich reading

Yes, but would it work in the station rotation model (fig 6) of distributive learning and how much does it cost?

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.

In recent years there has been a major push to equip classrooms with technology, including laptops, overhead projectors, interactive white boards and tablets. It has become big business. But there are questions about whether the investment is paying off. This series explores the push to digitize the American classroom and whether the promises are being fulfilled.

This comment from a reader on one of the articles (Inflating the Software Report Card) sums it up rather nicely: "Data-driven, individualized instruction aimed at identifying a student's strengths and weaknesses, is not perfect, nor can it replace great teachers. But it can and does allow gifted students to zoom ahead, average students to keep up, and struggling students to catch up. If we really want math education to become part of the fabric of our kids' lives, not just raising their scores on a standardized test, but helping them become more competent and effective adults, we need to take advantage of all of the technology available".

ohn Sterman's business management courses have gone toe-to-toe in simulated business arenas, with the latest being a concocted world of video game companies looking for an edge in marketing and selling their gaming consoles and software.

The report, titled "Conducting and Reporting Product Evaluation Research: Guidelines and Considerations for Educational Technology Publishers and Developers," is authored by Denis Newman, CEO of Empirical Education Inc., and produced by the Software & Information Industry Association (SIIA). It's based on Empirical Education's many years of conducting this kind of research, both for publishers and for the U.S. Department of Education (ED). A working group of industry experts also was established for evaluation, and it met monthly for more than a year to sort through the issues and draft a set of considerations.