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 The syllabus for a distance learning class requires much more detail and information than a syllabus used in a traditional class on campus.

"iSchool: a closer look at Manhattan Beach Unified's iPad pilot program email Does Manhattan Beach Unified's iPad pilot program represent the future of education? Kindergarten students at Grand View Elementary School use iPads two times a week. Photo by Alene Tchekmedyian Kindergarten students at Grand View Elementary School use iPads two times a week. Photo by Alene Tchekmedyian Just before 8 a.m. one recent Tuesday, Andy Caine wheeled a waist-high cart into his second-floor history classroom at Mira Costa High School, as the Beach Boys' "I Get Around" played faintly in the background. On the syllabus for the day: the First Amendment. As the first period bell rang, Caine unlocked the cart. "Come and get 'em," Caine said to his class of seniors, and stood behind his podium, on which he's pasted a sticker reading, "Think for yourself. Question Authority." The students put aside their pens and notebooks and lined up at the cart to pick up an unconventional tool that school districts across the nation have been implementing into classrooms. Each student grabbed an iPad and returned to his or her seat. Caine is one of 43 Manhattan Beach Unified School District teachers chosen to try the $500,000 iPad pilot program, which started last fall. At Mira Costa, two English, math, science and social studies teachers use iPads, along with eight science teachers at Manhattan Beach Middle School and 27 teachers of different grade levels at each elementary school. The district purchased 560 student iPads (32 gigabytes and costing around $700 each), in addition to iPads for pilot teachers and administrators. A quarter of the pilot costs are grant funded, while the district supports the rest. Later this year, the School Board will decide whether, and in what capacity, to continue the pilot. Caine and pilot teachers implement iPads into their curricula two to three times a week, a total of 30 to 90 minutes. "I would use them every day if I had the po

In spite of all the talk about Twitter in connection with the Iranian elections and all things international as of late, I doubt that many of my university colleagues will be including Twitter on a syllabus this fall. I've talked before about the "Twitter Cycle" or the fact that, at first glance, Twitter appears trivial, and even, dare I say, stupid. The fact that one's thoughts need to be distilled to 140 characters or less constitutes a seemingly outwardly unacademic endeavor and therefore many open a Twitter account, declare it the dumbest thing ever and never return again. In this post I have two bold goals: to briefly lay out the case why Twitter is the platform for the globally minded and to provide 10 tools that I believe are central to those interested in all things global, including language learning.