IDT Group

For the wisdom of crowds to work, every individual must work independently.

A network is simply a collection of computers or similar devices that can communicate over a transmission medium.

To actually send any data from one computer to another we need to make use of a network protocol. A network protocol is a set of common rules that defines how data should be sent.

Without a common suite like TCP/IP, the internet would not be possible.

In the United States, Maine has led the way with its laptop program, which has made students more enthusiastic in the classroom, but not necessarily resulted in better test scores.

More than 80 percent of instructors say the laptops help them make lessons more personal to students, make it easier for students to study problems from the real world and to dig deeper into certain topics,

Many teachers who were surveyed also said that students using laptops are becoming better at combining information from multiple sources and expressing their thoughts. Students in the program report that they understand the material better.

If used correctly, computers in more hands can help speed schools along the path to 21st-century learning, Walery says.

The district’s policy didn’t allow for students to bring in their own computers and connect to the school’s network,

put the relative threat of online predators in perspective, while at the same time noting that schools and parents must to more to give students the media literacy skills required to use the Internet responsibly.

On the other side of this digital divide, there are countless young people who feel like they are masters of digital technology, despite the fact they often use these tools naively or recklessly because of a lack media literacy and critical thinking skills.

For insights into where teaching and learning is headed, it is worth watching the evolution of iPod use at Duke University (NC), well known for its 2004 iPod initiative.

Pitroda said the scale of such goals requires questioning basic assumptions about what education is and how it is accomplished

Stories definitely can teach, but they are also designed to be engaging, to pull at your heart as well as your head, and to help viewers draw conclusions about their own lives or actions."

felt that if they knew that they could turn those writing pieces — particularly the personal narrative that is part of the portfolio — into digital stories, their feelings about writing might change."

students creating digital stories about a time each of their lives changed.

It’s this transparency that lowers the barriers to entry and participation.

reputation is a significant resource

What’s the downside to open source?

To innovate or wait: that is the question confronting IT managers on an almost weekly basis.

Perhaps the question instead should be how best to move in this direction yet avoid the faddish false starts that the Chronicle writer cautioned against.

In a nutshell, this theory holds that learning is strengthened, deepened, and made more effective when it is social, is engaged, provides formative assessment (as opposed to just summative), is relevant (tying content to students' concerns), and offers learners multiple paths. But perhaps the single most important component of constructivist learning theory is that learning happens best when students are active—not merely taking notes in lecture halls but writing, thinking, experimenting, creating, and devising.

And everyone involved seems quite happy with being unsure about why exactly it’s important.

The OCW resources, including video-taped labs, simulations, assignments and other hands-on material, have been categorized to match up with the requirements of high school Advanced Placement studies.

“It didn’t cost a cent to do this,” he said.