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go half way down the page for the WearCam, which is capable of perceiving and visualizing social-emotional information in real-time human interaction. The idea is to use this to help individuals with Autism and Asperger's understand and react appropriately to the emotions of the people with whom they interact.

not sure students 'should' run PD but teachers need to be more comfortable with the idea of giving up power to some extend and be more willing to learn from students at times

I think it does make sense to include students, too. Also re-enforces the idea that you don't truly understand a topic until you teach it, so I think empowering students somewhat works towards that goal.

A MacArthur Research Network report on youth and participatory politics from June 2012. A nice complement to our time with Helen Haste.

Time to take action!

MindReader API enables the real time analysis, tagging and inference of cognitive-affective mental states from facial video. 

Microsoft has obtained a patent for augmented-reality glasses that would display real-time information about live events as they unfold before your eyes. 

Ted talks are interesting and useful at times in the classroom but will students automatically make connections to class content?  This annotating tool enables either instructors or students to make explicit connections or commentary and share the end product.  

I'm sure we all had some experience with computer based essay scoring during the GRE. This is an interesting article in the NY Times on the future of computer based essay scoring in the classroom.

A California superintendent of schools writing a letter advocating the use of blended learning to help close her county's achievement gap. Interesting reader comments from folks about how back in their day, people did just fine without technology....

A look at a Brooklyn public school that offers a six-year high school/college curriculum geared toward jobs in the technology industry. Ironically, it doesn't seem like technology is being used to transform student understanding. And there seems to be a risk that these kids are being trained to do jobs that will be obsolete by the time they finish school.

Interesting timing on this Surface release after our discussions in class. Looks like they finally figured out a better form factor than the coffee table :)

There was a great forum on the future of technology in the classroom at the MIT Media Lab today. For those who couldn't make it, the video should be posted on this site soon and will also air on NBC on Sunday, September 23. I found it to be a nice blend of policy and practice-focused discussion, and despite weak moderation, I think it's worth the time to watch!

This shows the influence the Horizon Report has on practice and on vendors

This article outlines various augmented reality apps that are being used in classes. I've actually used Google Sketchup when teaching, giving students an opportunity to design their own buildings and use it to study geometric properties. It was very cool.

Talks about various online resources like Youtube EDU, Khan Academy, Teacher Tube, Show me app, etc.

Great ideas for organizing lessons. Very practical.

"This is our second Sputnik moment. At a time when women hold only 24 percent of STEM jobs and blacks and Hispanics also fare poorly in these fields, we better get this argument about diversity of talent right or else it's going to be a very expensive moment, indeed."

I like the ethic and attiude that this article promotes. I have seen this gap for a long time and I have heard the meritocracy argument as well. The fact is that people who benefit from a system want to believe that they inherently earned their spot due to superior intellect, personality, etc. It is difficult to believe that you are a member of an organization because others feel you belong there and your presence reinforces the establishd culture of power.

Tennessee Technology Centers (a "career-training program" that is state funded) is using strictly enforced scheduling to help retain students with 1 in 4 odds of completing their program. The school is taking the opposite approach that most higher education schools take. Instead of having the freedom to create their own schedule, they work with the school to determine a schedule from the beginning which is permanent throughout the duration of their time at the school and is strictly enforced. The school is hoping to increase retention of students in 1 to 2 year programs that have low graduation rates, and produce more graduates in emerging technology fields.

The New York Times takes on Khan Academy

I am getting a bit tired of the 'either/or' scenarios painted by some. Thankfully, some teachers like Ms.Tavenner seem to realize that they can use technology in a useful way to teach effectively. "Ms. Tavenner says she believes that computers cannot replace teachers. But the computer, she recognizes, can do some things a teacher cannot. It can offer personal feedback to a whole room of students as they work. And it can give the teacher additional class time to do more creative and customized teaching."

Technology is playing an increasingly prominent role in America's schools. These days, computer games teach math skills and lectures are given at home via YouTube while class time is reserved for practicing the material, in what has become known as a flipped classroom. I WOULD JUST FALL TO SLEEP IN ONE OF THESE SCHOOLS! It is a shame that people allow their biases to hinder children. People running away from the present and future --- it is like that very bad M. Night Shyamalan movie ---> THE VILLAGE. COMPUTERS are like the imaginary demon! In truth, the demon only lives within the mind of people stuck in time.

In the US, 250000 students are enrolled in full-time public virtual schools in 30 states, according to Susan Patrick of the International Association for K-12 Online Learning, a trade association. Although that's just a fraction of the country's 50 million students, it has grown 30% each year. Some schools in Michigan already shown the advantage of digital learning.

This is an interesting article. I am just concerned that it is not unbiased or driven by an agenda other than improving education. I found this information about the Mackinac Center online: http://www.rightwingwatch.org/content/mackinac-center-public-policy I am starting to realize that a lot of the technology in schools rhetoric is driven by corporate and political interests, and as the industry becomes ever more profitable, I'm worried that companies are going to jump in and try to influence policy, rushing through the movement toward the wrong kind of technology in schools- i.e. sacking half of the teaching staff and replacing them with cheap computers. I think one of our most important jobs as Harvard TIE students is to education the public about the right ways to adapt technology in the classroom, and the important role that teachers will continue to play in this movement.