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Interesting article in EdWeek about an expected rise of mergers in the K-12 technology sector. 

Adrian Sannier is VP of Product at Pearson, and gives a talk at Stanford's "Education's Digital Future" conference about "Rock Star Teachers" who use social media and online platforms to cater to hundreds of thousands of students.

Good synthesis of much of what we studied in T561

Jack West was my high school physics teacher at Sequoia High School :D He is a great teacher!

full disclosure: classmate Alex Schoenfeld first shared this with the us in the TIE facebook group :). But it brings an interesting trend in the adoption and pricing of mobile apps: Article outlining what lots of us know when it comes to moblie apps and pricing - free, $1, and $2 are the price-points that sell, and allow us to try out an app with minimal regret. But with the rise of more and more high-quailty, high-profile, and high-budget educatioanl apps, will the pricing structure change? Will parents and educators be willing to spend the prices of traditional computer software ($50 or more?) for really great mobile apps? The article brings up an interesting model that seems to already be coming to life looking at how apps are being sold and updated lately: "Donahoo and Russell propose there's a better way: subscriptions and content expansion packs.  Launchpad Toys follows the latter tact. The initial price the Toontastic app for $3 (though it's currently free). Users can use that fully functioning app, or choose to add additional characters and themes with $.99 expansion packs. This way, they contend, costs are controlled; it's cheap for parents and children to evaluate an app, and the model encourages regular updates."

Founded in 1972 by Nolan Bushnell and Ted Dabney, Atari played a central role in the early history of video games, going on to create what are still some of the most recognizable arcade games on the planet, like Pac-Man and Pong, to name a few.

very interesting. With the rise and widepsread adoption of mobile devices as the gateway of choice for gaming, more and more game companies are jumping on the mobile app bandwagon. With Atari shifting its focus like this, it instantly makes me think what other founding game company have or will need to do. Sega, another big name in the early gaming days, eventually had to drop out of the hardware game because it couldn't compete. It now produces game content for its former competitor's gaming hardware. And Sega now even ports lots of its classic video games from the 80s and 90s to mobile devices like the iPhone and iPad. Nintendo is still in the hardware game, but it's portable gaming hardware is now competing with directly mobile devices (& apps) head on. Nintendo's revenue and userbase is shrinking, and most analysts and observers are pointing to the rise of iOS and other mobile devices as substitutes to dedicated gaming devices. Will Nintendo still stick around using its current model- making its own gaming hardware to sell its own (highly regarded) 1st-party properties, like Mario, Zelda etc? Lots are predicting (or even encouraging) Nintendo to drop making its own hardware, and to produce content with its prized properties onto mobile devices.

While a seventh grader improves her score using online school, led by a teacher few miles away, online schools debate continues.

Is textbook dead? In the Networked Society Forum (NEST Forum), leaders and authorities discuss how Technology could be utilized to accelerate education and learning for everyone, everywhere. Hole-in-the-wall founder Dr. Mitra speaks of minimally invasive education (MIE), global rise in online education, among others.

This article discusses some tech careers and locations of these opportunities. "The results are clear. Mobile computing, cloud computing, social business, and business analytics have gone beyond niche status and are now part of any modern organization's core IT focus," said IBM's Jim Corgel, general manager of ISV and Developer Relations. "IT professionals who can develop the skills needed to work across these technologies will be ready to meet growing business demand in the coming years."

The rise of wearable computers

beyond laptops to other forms of mobile devices

the rise of the ebook

This article contradicts other studies that suggest we are feeling more socially isolated because of the rise of the internet and wireless media.

Interesting commentary written by Salman Kahn (Kahn Academy) on his ideas about the correct use of technology in the classroom. He reviews the ways that he feels technology can enhance teaching and learning and the critical role that a teacher plays.

A recent study found that undergraduate students actually want more technology-use in classes, such as e-textbooks, game-based learning, videos, etc.

Similar to readings for this week, but slightly more comprehensive in the scope of the blended learning discussion.

More students now than ever are taking online classes. This article explores this and the implications.

This article shares some statistics from the NPD group's research regarding children under 17 and gaming. The percentage of under 17 year olds who video games has risen from 82% in 2009 to 91% in 2011. Mobile gaming is up from 8% in 2009 to 38% in 2011.

Two interesting point about poor schools with the potential to access rich library resources and also the myth about multi-tasking (resonates with part of Sherry Turkle's message in this week's video.