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In the current budget-constrained environment, schools are turning to bring-your-own-mobile device approaches to improve access to technology. Having students bring a variety of devices presents challenges to assuring high-quality learning experiences. In this webinar, you will learn how client-aware clouds can help optimize service delivery and improve the learner's experience. Attendees will get an overview of client-aware cloud solutions with specific examples from schools that have addressed the challenges and made it work well.

"This new report, "Learning in the 21st Century: Digital Experiences and Expectations of Tomorrow's Teachers," is the latest in the series and provides new insights that will inform college and university based teacher preparation programs as well as the induction and professional development processes within K-12 schools and districts. Tomorrow's teachers may have the keys to finally unlock the potential of technology to transform teaching and learning, but much depends upon their experiences in their preparation program and how well future school leadership can support their expectations for essential technology tools and resources."

This special report features a series of columns by Dr. Lawrence C. Ragan, Director of Instructional Design and Development for Penn State's World Campus, and will help you establish online instructor best practices and performance expectations. The following snippets are just a taste of the insider's advice found in the full report: Principles of Effective Online Teaching: #1 Show Up and Teach - The necessity of this statement is borne of the misimpression that the online class "teaches itself." Since most of the course is already authored and designed for online delivery, instructors may believe they simply need to serve as the proverbial "guide on the side" as the students navigate the learning system. Not true! Principles of Effective Online Teaching: #2 Practice Proactive Course Management Strategies - The online instructor can help create a successful learning experience by practicing proactive course management strategies such as monitoring assignment submissions, and communicating and reminding students of missed and/or upcoming deadlines. Principles of Effective Online Teaching: #3 Establish Patterns of Course Activities - Although the online classroom environment provides tremendous flexibility of time and place of study, establishing and communicating a course pace and pattern of work can aid both instructor and student, and alleviate confusion around how the course operates. Principles of Effective Online Teaching: #4 Plan for the Unplanned - For those small or not-so-small occasions when "life happens," having a strategy for informing students of these changes can go a long way to maintaining course continuity. Principles of Effective Online Teaching: #5 Response Requested and Expected - Timely instructor feedback is essential for the online learner to manage their learning experience. Instructors are expected to respond to student inquiries within one business day.

The future success of e-learning depends on appropriate selection of tools and services. This symposium will propose that the Virtual Learning Environment (VLE) as an institutional tool is dead, no more, defunct, expired. The first panel member, Steve Wheeler, will argue that many VLEs are not fit for purpose, and masquerade as solutions for the management of online learning. Some are little more than glorified e-mail systems. They will argue that VLEs provide a negative experience for learners. The second member of the panel, Graham Attwell, believes that the VLE is dead and that the Personal Learning Environment (PLE) is the solution to the needs of diverse learners. PLEs provide opportunities for learners, offering users the ability to develop their own spaces in which to reflect on their learning. The third panel member, James Clay, however, believes that the VLE is not yet dead as a concept, but can be the starting point of a journey for many learners. Creating an online environment involving multiple tools that provides for an enhanced experience for learners can involve a VLE as a hub or centre. The fourth panel member, Nick Sharratt, argues for the concept of the institutional VLE as essentially sound. VLEs provide a stable, reliable, self-contained and safe environment in which all teaching and learning activities can be conducted. It provides the best environment for the variety of learners within institutions.

The conference will be of interest to educators, administrators, students, and community members who value the importance of integrating technology into the curriculum to improve instruction, learning, and business. Online learning involves various skills on the part of the instructor and learner. These include social and communication skills, social networking, independent learning strategies, critical and higher order thinking skills, creativity, and effective online and face-to-face facilitation. In addition, there are many challenges that educators, administrators, students, businesses, and community members face. The theme of the conference is, connecting online for instruction and learning that goes beyond the classroom. Presenters from around the globe will discuss the following topics: Connecting online to improve instruction and learning: Online learning and pedagogical/instructional experiences Experiences with the use of technology in face-to-face and online classes. What worked and what didn't work for you? How do you use technology to promote your online workshops, consultation, business, and communities? Research conducted on e-learning Books written on e-learning 21st Century learning and teaching Challenges of the 21st Century learning/teaching environment Leading a business with e-learning technology

"This is the age of tablets, says Julie DeNeen's in her article, "25 Ways to Use Tablets to Enhance the Learning Experience." Of late, many educators are redesigning the curriculum to fit on a tablet. "

As a 21st century teacher, have you ever took the time to ponder on the skills you need to work on to improve your teaching ? what about technology, is it included in those skills ? Posing such questions and trying to find answers to them is one major component of a successful teaching experience. It is a healthy process indicative of a sound professional growth and the more we ask questions the better our teaching practice becomes.

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. 

"One of the main conclusions to emerge from both the Glasgow and Manchester events was that all of us, as learning professionals, need to be able to at least appreciate the potential of technology to transform the learning experience. Most teachers use some technology in the classroom, but how many use it beyond the walls of the classroom? We are not talking about teachers taking technology home for personal use (that should be something most are doing anyway). We are instead alluding to the potential of technology to transcend the boundaries, roles and philosophies of traditional education, and to extend, enrich and enliven learning for all, from the very young, through to lifelong learners."

Through simSchool, pre and in-service teachers, instructors, administrators, and others experience and improve knowledge and confidence in:  classroom management techniques understanding diverse learning styles & behaviors analyzing student information and data task design and implementation much more.....

I love the idea of Twitter etiquette. Twitter just like any other social networking site has its own rules and guidelines that any new member has to accept before opening their account. But there are also other rules that are formed by force of actual use and though they are not as binding as the written ones but they are just as much important. As teachers and educators, the purpose behind using Twitter is primarily to connect with other teachers, learn from their teaching experiences and share with them ours.In doing so we build a community of people that we interact with and for this interaction to be effective we need to abide by Twitter code of ethics. Corey Talked about 11 Twitter etiquettes and based on his list I made the graphic below. Enjoy"

As the availability and awareness of open educational resources grows, educators and open-content publishers are experimenting with hackathon-style content collaborations among subject-matter experts to create high school and college textbooks over the course of a few weekends.

"MIT + K12 is an MIT project that features MIT students explaining math and science concepts for K-12 students. The website isn't a collection of Khan Academy-style videos, it's a place where you will find videos featuring real MIT students explaining concepts while showing them as hands-on demonstrations or experiments. Watch one of the featured videos below."

"Making the most of technology in the classroom ensures that lessons are more than just pages in a book or lines on a whiteboard; it brings them to life. That being said, teachers need to juggle many responsibilities over the course of a workweek, and simply don't have time for inefficient, time-consuming, or undependable technology. In order to even foster authentic learning experiences, first the logistics all have to line up. If you're messing with a complicated setup or fumbling your way through technology created with a poor user design, that's time that you're not spending with your pupils. It is possible to attain the best of both worlds, provided that you scout out the right technology tools to benefit your classroom. Learn more about technologies that are particularly feasible to integrate into your lesson plans below:"

LinkedIn Groups are communities of like-minded professionals who share a common experience, passion, interest, affiliation, or goal. Groups provide members with a private and focused space to discuss relevant topics, share news stories, network, and collaborate with others. Start a conversation with LinkedIn Groups today at http://www.linkedin.com/groupsDirectory

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"Mr. Su believes that better teacher training is needed, so that new teachers have a better comfort level with new technologies. "Teachers' colleges should really be on the forefront," he said. "They should have a compulsory course on using technology in the classroom"

"Enquiring Minds explores how students' ideas, interests and experiences can inform the content, processes and outcomes of teaching and learning in schools. At a time of curriculum reform in primary and secondary schools, Enquiring Minds provides guidance and research to help support schools through the process of change. "

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.