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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.

Cross-platform classroom management tools now acquired by Lenovo. Lenovo plans to push it be used also outside of the Education field. Good idea? 

NEXT GENERATION SCIENCE STANDARDS are the science equivalent of Common Core. They are supposed to be released this coming Winter/Spring. Possibly a good opportunity for TIE and other HGSE master's students to get on top of the ed tech game!

Some interesting PBS initiatives in schools. They also have some good stats on teachers and technology (not sure how much is reflected in the infographic I posted earlier).

A good place to find and learn more about the ins/outs/good/bad of MOOCs.

This is an unsuccessful attempt to reinvent learning theories. Shows how the field is not good at building on established knowledge.

Here's an example of one person who excelled in a MOOC. While everyone may not have the drive of this student, this is a good example of how an online technology facilitated a social learning group. Also - yet another example of how online resources can benefit people across the country who do not otherwise have access.

A friend just sent me this same article, Molly! However, my takeaway was much different. Whenever I read articles about young people doing extraordinary things with limited resources and technology, my first thought is always "how is this possible??" The article addresses my question directly: "The answer has to do with Battushig's extraordinary abilities, of course, but also with the ambitions of his high-school principal." The principal, also a graduate of MIT, was focused on developing more skilled engineers in Mongolia, and made it his mission to bring science and tech labs to his students; while MOOCs, the government's heavy investment in IT infrastructure, and the ubiquity of a 3G network made it possible to extend and enhance learning opportunities, the students may have never been exposed to engineering were it not for the encouragement of the principal. This human component, combined with technology, was what nurtured Battushig's drive and talent. This path will not work for just any student. If most homes in Mongolia have an Internet connection and even nomads cell phones, why have more people not found success with MOOCs? The author of the article summed it up best when she said, "Battushig's success also showed that schools could use MOOCs to find exceptional students all over the globe." Battushig is exceptional, just as elevated learning through MOOCs is still the "exception" and not the rule. MOOCs still lack a certain (perhaps human?) element that can move them from producing the anomaly of one "boy genius" to a more widespread level of learning.

Hi Laura - That's a good point about the principal. The principal and the student were both exceptional. While I do not think that MOOCs, as they are right now, can work for everyone, I do think that this example of educating an exceptional student is heartening. Maybe this exceptional student can learn a lot and then in turn, help others in his community. As undemocratic as it is, many advances in society are made by individuals or small groups of people. Overall though, I agree that MOOCs lack, as you said maybe a human element, to promote widespread education.

HopeLab's way of cultivating curiosity at its workplace --- good concepts to integrate into the classroom

Very useful reflective questions in the Leadership for Curiosity section and some useful tools for check in as well

Interesting interview with the Finnish educator Pasi Sahlberg on using technology to improve education and enhance learning: "I think the best way to move forward is to find a good solution to securing time for human interactions for all students in addition to giving students access to learn with new technologies."

Good math apps for children

An interesting infographic on gaming

Struggle is good. A caterpillar story..

Hi T561- a bit old, but an international perspective on the inequality of technology access across the globe. This article links in with the TIE list discussions about the One Laptop Per Child effort as well. If we want to use technology to break down international barriers, like Dede's "Microsoft of the future" film, we have to address the issue of accessibility, both across the globe and within our own student population.

For people interested in the new HTML 5 standard, there are some great things that will be possible. This article gives a quick overview of Canvas, which will use JavaScript to allow some pretty complicated visual effects. This guide assumes a good grasp of the current standards and of typical digital design tools.

Provides a good overview of some social networks used in education

Those of you who have read about the Netflix contest probably know it's fascinating, and this NYTimes blog presents a good summary. More interesting is the fact that this type of work on algorithms may have other applications, beyond telling you what other movies you might like (e.g. commercial, scientific, perhaps even educational?). Therefore, it is tangentially related with our discussion on AI :)

A mother from New York who raised young children in China argues that the high-pressure testing that made them "feel bad" about themselves at the time was a good thing in the long run.