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Profile of schools and districts looking to not only bring parents into the fold via technology, but also to improve parents' tech fluency.

Parental involvement--an important step in encouraging early literacy...necessary for narrowing academic gaps.

A brief overview of 10 different schools/school districts that have implemented BYOD programs. A good starting point for those who want to explore what BYOD looks like in different schools, as well as the different ways each school uses such programs.

This article highlights some schools that are rewriting their mobile use policies and some successes of bringing mobile technology to classrooms.

Kind of an emerging use of old-technology, but universities and publishers are fighting over the use of electronic scans / copies of book chapters used for classes. I think ti's interesting how content hasn't necessarily changed at the university level like it has for K-12 (like interactive textbooks instead of decades-old material). Maybe due to specialization at universities? Or just that professors at university are less open to adoption of "new" material?

Contrasting perspective on what is needed for personalized learning - related to the NETP's section on Learning 

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.

In contrast with the deployment issues of OLPC, here's an article on 1-1 initiative that focused on professional development, teacher collaboration, switching to a teacher selected, digital based curriculum with formative assessments, and a leased laptop support & deployment model.  (Full disclosure - the vendor is Apple).

A good snapshot of the conversation at the school board level. How informed are the high-stakes decision makers.

The amount of money they are spekaing about to scale their schools into the 21st century is the reason the BYOD option is so attractive. If schools focus on wireless infrastructure then families might be able to forgo soem back to school supplies and video games to get a tablet.

Virtual learning can help districts address many needs, such as filling a gap between courses a school offers and courses students might want to take but aren't currently offered-and a new report offers insights on starting a virtual learning program from a number of seasoned experts.

Ipod over Ipad- for struggling readers. Kids use the recording feature.

Identification badges for some students in both school districts now include tracking devices that allow campus administrators to keep tabs on students' whereabouts on campus. School leaders say the devices improve security and increase attendance rates.

The public school district in St. Louis, Missouri was awarded an Innovative Technology Education Fund grant to buy iPads for all students with autism in six autism-specific classrooms. This seems to be an example of utilizing an emerging technology in an excellent way with proper teacher training, rather than using technology for technology's sake. The schools will be advised on how to implement the iPads by an autism science and advocacy organization and have two full days of professional development planned.

This is great news on the autism-rights front! I know a severely autistic 21-year-old who is highly communicative because of the technology he has used since he was young.

Article from July 2011 that is an example of how to transistion to a BYOD school.

I like it that "the district has focused on making sure that technical staff understand the educational goals of the initiative and that educators understand the technical challenges to enabling it". I my previous experience in non-educational settings, whenever the user community and the technology community were aligned and focused on solving a 'business' problem it was likely to lead to a successful conclusion.

Seven questions to consider before you decide on online learning and educational technology. "Not all online learning is the same. Neither is all face-to-face learning."

This article presents a rough framework to work with from a district point of view.

When a teacher must accept their restriction of their rights, as a special class of individuals, because it protects a district from the abuses of a free, everyone else must understand they are accepting the lost of freedoms for us all.

Digital books allow students with disabilities to read more easily.

I think the main idea and KEY affordance is getting books to these kids faster and more efficiently. In the past, for a visually impaired student, a district would have to request or find the book in Large print or in Braille after the typical book had arrived, so by making an HTML version of the printed book available (at the same time) as the print, allows for screen readers to work and be available to the students without the traditional wait time. Excellent use of technology.

This was also shared in UDL by my teaching fellow. Again, it is not just about the TECH, it is about the TEACHer!! Clearly there is a lot of buzz around iPads in schools at the moment. You can't log on to the Web without reading about another school or entire district or department investing massive coin in a sparkling set of the Wonder Tablets, excited that they will cure all the ills of the current education systems around the world.