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The Design Thinking Toolkit for Educators contains the process and methods of design, adapted specifically for the context of education. You can download the toolkit by registering on the website.

I really like this approach. I'm going to check out the toolkit. I like the intro video and it's approach to design thinking in education as part of the story that each teacher has. This reminded me of what Dede spoke about today in class about how he always starts out with asking and understanding why a teacher is teaching...

Great find, Rupangi, thanks for posting it! I like IDEO's approach to things, and they have been branching out into development, too. It's cool that they are promoting design for education; I definitely think there are lots of application opportunities!

Google has launched an open source course building web application for the growing list of K-12 and big-name universities developing online classes. The barebones website is a lightweight way to bring course material online, track student engagement (with web traffic and surveys), and evaluate performance.

This is a good example of how a product is trying to make you feel more immersed by placing virtual objects in the real world instead of a completely virtual world.

This could possibly put the 'fun' back in 'functional' - if students are operating within the "real world" on sincere applications, they may generalize their skills better. I'm all for perceiving my world in 50% cartoon ;o)

Example of a school policy allowing cell phones in school but not for educational intents.

NOW!!! THIS IS REALLY COOL!

I wish it was this easy when I applied to undergrad. 

interesting point that the MBA admissions director from University of Iowa mentions. Admissions dept.'s are finding traditional application essays stale. New/social media outlets like twitter are bringing back originality and creativity. Maybe embracing Tweets as a medium is like a page-limit on a paper assignment. The constraints force students to really hone in on their points, and convey it as succinctly and clearly as possible? Conveying an entire thought/argument in 140 characters... it isn't easy, and perhaps those who can do it best are really effective 21st century communicators, and are worth rewarding/supporting.

Customized digital textbook with audio and video content appears to make a postive impact in some BSchools, while Faceebook is used to foster a sense community. "The iPad is not seen as the latest fashion gadget, but was chosen because it can prove be extremely useful in the classroom," Delphine Wharmby, H.E.C.'s communication director, said. Genevieve Bassellier, McGill University professor, referring to her students' use of her customized electronic textbook. "They see a huge increase in quality...It gives me more flexibility."

Great examples of technology application in the classroom.

At MIT ""The applicant pool for women is more self-selecting .....The women who are interested are very passionately interested."

This article discusses one school's plan to implement effective learning technologies into the classroom. They looked at examples that were working in other parts of the world and incorporated them into their idea which includes many augmented reality applications. They discuss the divide between using technology effectively in our personal lives and not in education, so the classroom remains the same as it has been for 100 years. As we have discussed in class, the education system must use technology in the classroom to help prepare students for jobs that require skills adaptable to technologies that do not yet exist.

This infographic is especially interesting because, as far as I saw it, most of these "innovative" approaches didn't actually seem all that extraordinary. More generally, it's puzzling (and troubling, really) that despite advances in ed-tech in primary and secondary school, higher education institutions are quite far behind the curve as far as innovative uses of technology goes.

I agree - besides a lot of back-office and stick-stuff-online applications, only Mixable stood out (forming study groups), and that seems not to have much scope.

This game encourages students to use Minecraft to build their own cities and engage in critical thinking about urban planning. The partnership with the UN will mean that students' engagement in the project will have real world application and consequences as urban planners consider their ideas and plans. Quote: "The first pilot project is already in the planning phase: Kibera, one of Nairobi's slums, is already being translated into Minecraft by builder group FyreUK"

This is a bit of an older article, but I think it's a great illustration of the way that 'gamification' can transform the exploration of a real-world conundrum into an engaging, appealing experience (with very practical applications).

Also a neat example of the ability of modern formats to draw upon the expertise and skills of an enormous (but broadly distributed and amorphous) community

Teacher recommended apps. I especially like the review of the iDevBooks. Great math applications for reinforcement. For EDC

Application of FreshAir

Another interesting application of AR

It would be great to have AR of this type in classrooms for students to use, but I also think of how helpful it would be for teachers! I imagine it could really help manage student academic information, as well as encourage collaboration and a more open classroom.

Ning trying to spread it's wings. Let's users create their own social networks-mini facebooks-if you will. Ning is slowly becoming popular in classrooms and institutions of higher learning

For those of you interested in trying out a bit of augmented reality at home, try out this green energy augmented reality application available from the GE web site. You will need a printout of the glyph (the black square design provided on the web site) and a webcam in order to get this to work. Audio volume adjust according to the distance of the glyph away from the webcam. This little AR app was designed using ARToolKit originally created by Dr. Hirokazu Kato.

Augmented Reality Sample created for General Electric using ARToolKit. You will need a webcam and a printout of the glyph (the black box design that the AR object will need to anchor to).\n\nI can't directly anchor to the augmented reality sample, so please bring your mouse pointer down to the bottom of the browser window to where it says, "Navigate the Smart Grid," and click the augmented reality icon on the far right of the navigation bar that appears.

An article describing how AR apps for cellphones could provide users with location-based data using barcode tagging.

Very few virtual schools have worked with students this young, so there are interesting questions about jumping from no virtual schooling all the way to this model.

There is a really fascinating and controversial policy story behind this. Through "legislative sausage-making" the states first virtual school is being run by a single district out in Western Mass., mostly as a result of the entrepreneurial spirit of the superintendent. There are big questions about what will happen as students across the state sign up for the virtual school and their districts are required to pay tuition to Greenfield. And Greenfield isn't really providing a school, they are just enrolling students to be taught by a for-profit company, K-12. There are quite a few very interesting policy issues that would be worth digging into as the state launches this new venture in an unusual way.

When I first read the article, I immediately thought "an idealist gone rogue." I wondered if there was even any research/method behind this decision, and you mentioned there is a fee. Did I understand correctly that the school district will have to pay this fee for the student like some sort of voucher? If I get a chance I'm going to look for more articles out there on this project. Thanks for mentioning it, Justin. Interesting, indeed.

The PULP platform is an example of a writer trying to respond to people wanting more than traditional publishing. If this platform, or something like it, was widely accepted by people it might build a better case for alternative forms of publishing in education