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Teachers, administrators, researchers, reformers, government leaders, parents, and others have long extolled the benefits that computer-based learning could have in schools: Educational video games, often referred to as "edutainment" or "serious" games, could make learning fun and motivating, especially for today's students. Computers offer a way to customize instruction and allow students to learn in the way they are best wired to process information, in the style that conforms to them, and at a pace that matches their own.

"# Writing effectively is academically and professionally crucial for students, and helping them attain that skill is a major goal for writing instruction. # The social networking site Ning offers a variety of Web 2.0 tools that can help students learn to write as well as write to learn. # A small pilot in a University of Connecticut writing course demonstrated Ning's effectiveness in helping students write to learn."

"# John Dewey's ideas on progressive education have become newly relevant with the advent of online learning. # Collaborative online learning is an important example of Dewey's intellectual legacy. # Virtual teams move instructors off center stage while increasing their students' - and their own - engagement. # Most campuses already have all the software required to support virtual teamwork."

"# A decade-long case study involving mobile and pen computing at DePauw University demonstrates the synergy possible from simultaneously supporting grassroots initiatives and institutional programs. # While running the two projects in parallel, DePauw faculty and IT staff began considering how to apply lessons learned from each program to the other to increase flexibility and impact in teaching and learning. # Presentations on effective use of tablet PCs in the classroom, which were first explored in a pilot project as an alternative to fixed location pen-based computers, encouraged more instructors to begin using them. # The clear benefits of instructor and student use of tablet PCs led to adoption of a tablet PC option as part of the institutional laptop initiative."

"# Learning takes place in a social context, and encouraging student-student and student-faculty contact and interaction gets at the heart of student engagement in online-education settings. # Because of their fundamental reliance on social participation and contribution, Web 2.0 tools, specifically social-networking tools, have great potential for enhancing the social context in support of learning, especially in online education. # Twitter used as an instructional tool can add value to online and face-to-face university courses that far outweighs its potential drawbacks."

"Educators and educational institutions need to understand that virtual worlds, like other social media, are here to stay and that these exciting forms of media are not a threat to formal education. The genuine conversation and participation that virtual worlds encourage is a step toward more authentic learning for all students."

This looks like it might have great potential for distance learning programs.

Open Yale Courses provides free and open access to a selection of introductory courses taught by distinguished teachers and scholars at Yale University. The aim of the project is to expand access to educational materials for all who wish to learn.

Interesting LMS that looks like it has a lot of promise.

A Ning site with a collection of educators and great resources

Educational Outcomes and Research from 1:1 Computing Settings

"Virtual worlds technology, like the Internet in general, is changing the way we access and experience information and the way we can access and connect with each other. Few college/university presidents or CIOs are currently prioritizing the exploration of virtual worlds, but it seems safe to predict that within the next three to five years, a higher education institution without a virtual worlds presence will be like an institution without a web presence today."

"The standards selected are based on the results of a research review and survey of online course quality criteria. These quality standards were evaluated and assembled into an easy to use document for evaluating online courses with common benchmarks. "

Twitter is a microblogging tool allowing you to post short (140 characters or less) items to the web. There are many tools that work with Twitter. You can learn more by exploring the links posted here under Twitter or through searching Diigo for "Twitter".