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Through an example of the University of the People (online, tuition-free, non profit university), the article highlights the hardships such organization face to be successful in achieving their vision/mission. Credibility issue for online university issued certificate is also mentioned.   

This "Web documentary" provides a unique way to expose an important political and social issue. Focusing on the issues surrounding China's exploitation of its land and people related to coal, the site casts the viewer as an investigating journalist. You can choose to visit the sites and see the conditions for yourself or you can talk to people along the way and gain insight into their lives (as well as the political system). The content is deep, has high replay value, consists of very high-quality media, and represents an innovative approach to sharing experiences about important world issues.

Wow. I have seen web documentaries highlighting human rights issues before, but this one's style and tone really captures the juxtaposition between socioeconomic classes. The map and additional information buttons are great for Social Studies and History teachers willing to bring this into the classroom. As a former middle school World Geography teacher, I would be interested in showing this to my class, but also hesitant. Any former teachers who would show this to their students?

Wow. I've seen similar attempts at making web documentaries trying to raise public awareness about human rights before, but the filmmaker really hit the nail on the head. The juxtaposition between socioeconomic classes and the attempts mine workers make to brighten their world (i.e. engaging in a Christmas song/dance at the temple) is striking. I'm curious if any teachers would be brave enough to discuss these topics in their social studies classes.

This is an interesting overview of implementation issues - a topic we will address later this semester

Some interesting videos with James Paul Gee et al. discussing issues related to video games and learning. Videos are under 5 minutes each.

Some interesting videos with James Paul Gee et al. discussing issues related to video games and learning. Videos are under 5 minutes each. What do you think about what they have to say?

banned websites issues

This opinion article attacks RIM (Blackberry) for the outage fiasco experienced earlier this week and it got me thinking about the server outages, latency, bandwidth issues that schools face routinely even when trying to upgrade their infrastructure to meet the demands of today's technology. If education adopts mobile devices as essential or central tools in the formal learning space, how might the frequency of "dead zones" or transmittal issues effect the synchronous advantage of using such devices in class? If RIM had issues, I guess maybe it just adds one more layer of complexity and consideration to the integration of mobile technology into the classroom that will have to be accounted for and more importantly - tolerated?

While this is a factor to consider, we must consider the frequency of such outages.

This speaks to the issues we have discussed in class about people who have naive ideas about protecting children from digital threats

One way business industry is trying to overcome the 'safety' issue related to ''ubiquitous'' environment. This is about making automobiles 'smart' and use it as a mean to collect data. 

an issue that is of interest to all digital teaching platforms

Just thinking about Professor Dede's experience with the Bush Foundation, I found this interview with Jeb Bush interesting. He talks some about the Bush Foundation's recent Education in Excellence conference and what kinds of issues are at stake for education reform to stick. Obviously a little bit political, but not too much. Building on some of the previous posts, politics does impact change in education so I think it's important for us to keep these things in mind.

I see similarity in what CEEO is trying to achieve with MIT's Scratch project. Emphasis on creativity, learning from others, reflecting on process. Figuring how to assess its performance remain as an issue here as well. 

I came across this. An interesting way to use technology to bring to light a huge issue as well as honor those who have died. 

issues of evaluating online schools - moving beyond fads

An article with key takeaways from the 2012 Virtual School Symposium. There is good insight on issues of access, evaluation and transparency.

The issue

HGSET561

This is a really interesting article, and coupled with the edX / Anant Agarwal article below from Douglas, I think it brings up additional questions. Even with all the features that Anant says will be added to edX, I feel like they are all just part of the "convenience" factor and in many cases (like grading, discussion forum), more convenience for the teaching staff than the students. It is convenient for the students to do online labwork instead of going to a physical lab, for example. So I wonder if that type of convenience is enough to convince more students to sign up to MOOCs, or if they have to fundamentally change to add more types of value?

Gateway source for all students: high school and college composition and journalism and student of life. Bookmark this source and then bookmark the hyperlinks in this article. Do you have the 10 (11 for the bonus) tech skills down? I certainly can improve in some of these areas.

Someone in one of my classes was talking about the overflow of various apps to use in the classroom and here is one startup looking to address some of these issues.

Summer Davos happened this week. A quick highlight from there that is related to our field. Nothing much new in the article itself but WEF is connecting the importance of improving current education with youth employment issue. the word AR is also used within this article. 

Definitely worth looking at for an overview and detailed look at applying big data in education. Overview slide deck: http://www.slideshare.net/marbienk/educational-data-mininglearning-analytics-issue-brief-overview-12328469 Detailed report: http://evidenceframework.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/EDM-LA-Brief-Draft_4_10_12c.pdf

Interesting EDC study showing positive results with an online Algebra course for rural students in Maine and Vermont.    The 8th graders taking the virtual algebra course performed much better and were more likely to take advanced math classes by the 10th grade.  It's an example of educational technology being used in a very effective and appropriate way to address rural student equity issues.