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"There are a couple dozen ways to 'use' technology in education. There are also a couple dozen ways to integrate technology in education. Think those two things are the same? Think that throwing a few iPads and a few Edudemic blog posts into a classroom is the best way to launch a 1:1 initiative? In case you couldn't guess, it's not. "

I n recent years, there has been explosive growth in students creating, manipulating, and sharing content online (National School Boards Association, 2007). Recognizing the educational value of encouraging such behaviors, many school leaders have shifted their energies from limiting the use of these technologies to limiting their abuse. As with any other behavior, when schools teach and set expectations for appropriate technology use, students rise to meet the expectations. Such conditions allow educators to focus on, in the words of social technology guru Howard Rheingold (n.d.), educating "children about the necessity for critical thinking and [encouraging] them to exercise their own knowledge of how to make moral choices."

CoZa Cares has recently been involved in many discussions around open source content, free textbooks, and how we can collaborate with other great educational initiatives to bypass the ineffective and corrupt textbook distribution process. On this topic, we want to share the work that Breadbin Interactive is doing to provide free content direct to teachers and learners - without all the storage, transport, or distribution cost issues.

Using the slogan "Rights from the Start! Early Childhood Care and Education Now!", campaigners around the world will be raising their voices to mobilize support for early childhood care and education

Google Search Education is another great educational resource from Google. The site has lesson plans and even live training to help students, and teachers, learn how to search for academic sources, as well as develop critical and independent thinking skills. Students will be able to become skilled searchers and be able to analyze and critique the search results.

Free K-12 educational videos … organized. Tens of thousands of excellent, educational videos in a huge, intuitive directory. Organized, reviewed, rated, and described by teachers. Ideal as a supplement to a curriculum or for independent study. 

YouTube can be a great technological resource for teachers to use in the classroom. But with so many videos and channels, how can educators find quality content without watching hours of video? Here are ten great channels that are certain to provide educational content worthy to spark student's minds.

Google has launched a new site called Search Education aimed at educators who want to teach online search strategies. The site includes lesson plans geared at different levels of expertise - beginner, intermediate and advanced- as well as training videos that walk through different strategies for subjects like using Creative Commons and Google maps.

The second Education Conversations event will be held on Tuesday the 17th of July 2012 at the University of Johannesburg, Kingsway Campus. The topic is: Evaluating and Incentivising Educator Performance.

Over 1,000 education experts, researchers, university directors, professors and venture capitalists participated in a Pew Internet & American Life Project survey predicting the state of higher education in 2020.

" Technology for Ugandan Educators" Professional Development Learning Environment ConnectED's "Technology for Ugandan Educators" Professional Development Learning Environment is a course that . The information about computer technology presented can be used by educators and administrators to learn, create and share knowledge in a series of workshops or as a self-paced tutorial and resource guide. The AIM is to: Increase your understanding of computer and Internet technology Assist you to effectively integrate technology into your daily professional activities

"Here you will find resources to help you as you plan and deliver teacher education programmes and courses as well as people involved with teacher education in Africa."

 The eLearning Africa 2012 Report. The Report is based on a detailed survey of nearly five hundred education professionals across the Continent, and marks the first significant attempt to provide a snapshot of how ICT and better connectivity are believed to be changing the face of education in Africa. The eLearning Africa Report aims to provide regular, yearly snapshots of the eLearning experience in Africa, with the aim of fostering richer, more nuanced conversations, healthier decision-making and more effective action-taking towards ensuring Education for All in Africa.

"Resources for creating your own educational games."

They may look like jumbled and messy flowcharts for the insane, but mind maps are actually extremely useful and perfect tools for brainstorming. You essentially take a flow of ideas and translate them into interconnected webs designed to help clarify your thinking (or mind, as it were). I love mind maps and am always impressed at the amount of care that goes into the creation of one. They truly resemble the crazy way our brains work as we link together somewhat illogical thoughts to form a cohesive idea. In other words, these following mind maps are actually how are brains all work whether you like it or not. There are thousands of mind maps out there and even some snazzy tools to help you make your own. The following maps are some of my favorites and hopefully won't scare you too much. Hopefully they'll inspire and educate!

Education leaders are re-examining acceptable use policies in light of the increasing use of highly mobile information technologies. While acceptable use policies were developed to manage and control behaviour, a digital citizenship policy takes a more comprehensive approach by recognizing the important role of education in preparing digital citizens. The  intent of this guide is not to ascribe policy, but rather to offer guidance to leaders as they strive to better meet student and organizational needs. The guide provides an overview of digital citizenship policies and practices. It draws from research and the practical experience of Alberta schools. 

TED-Ed's mission is to capture and amplify the voices of great educators around the world. We do this by pairing extraordinary educators with talented animators to produce a new library of curiosity-igniting videos.

The #edchatsa community is full of insightful, committed and innovative thought-leaders in the South African education space. As a member of this community you are invited to submit a blog post on a subject close to your heart as long as it has connection to education. Your post will then be published and will be available on this site for comment by others. You may want to introduce readers to a particular edtech tool, open debate around a particular topic, challenge paradigms or simply add insight to the #edchatsa topic of the week. You will also be able to point readers to your own blog or social media platforms.

YouTube for Schools lets schools access free educational YouTube videos while limiting access to other YouTube content. Students can learn from more than 400,000 educational videos, from well-known organizations like Stanford, PBS and TED, and from up-and-coming YouTube partners with millions of views, like Khan Academy, Steve Spangler Science and numberphile. Schools can also customize their YouTube for Schools experience, adding videos that are only viewable within their school network.