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In this issue we present articles that push the boundaries of research on digital cultures, teaching, and technologies in fruitful and generative directions.  Researchers and practitioners in this issue present case studies and analysis of practical classroom use of copyright literacies, learning management systems, mobile/cell phones, social video, Twitter, and Google Reader.  The articles demonstrate how the affordances of digital culture have shifted our understandings of how pupils learn as content can be accessed, designed, and shared.  Despite the affordances of digital culture, teaching and learning-with and through digital technologies-requires effective pedagogy.  Digital technologies are not 'teacher-proof' tools; they require thoughtful and thorough integration into pedagogy, in a manner that reflects carefully articulated instructional and learning goals

A digital storytelling chart looking at the steps students need to be take when creating digital stories. "Digital stories push students to become creators of content, rather than just consumers. Weaving together images, music, text, and voice, digital stories can be created in all content areas and at all grade levels while incorporating the 21st century skills of creating, communicating, and collaborating."

The purpose of the Video Standards Report - 2011 is to provide information to help  e-learning content developers make informed decisions about the use of video formats, codecs and delivery systems for e-learning video content. The report is intended to be used in conjunction with the current VET standards, which are available at: http://e-standards.flexiblelearning.net.au/topics/formats.htmWhere possible, this report aims to ensure that VET video standards support current and future needs of VET e-learning practitioners, particularly given the fast-changing digital media landscape. It acknowledges that content items need to:  have a long life span   operate across a broad range of potential platforms and applications   run on a wide range of devices, including portable media-browsing devices. 

"A theoretical justification for curation and present six key ways that curation can be used to teach about critical thinking, analysis and expression online. We utilize a case study of the digital curation platform Storify to explore how curation works in the classroom, and present a framework that integrates curation pedagogy into core media literacy education learning outcomes."

This fall TSTC will be offering a Digital Media certificate which focuses on virtual world technology and they will be using Second Life as the primary way to deliver the course content. They plan for this certificate program to lead into an associate degree (AAS) in Digital Media starting in spring 2009.

digital future NZ - making content available to all

key points (see also my bookmark to the BLC '07 keynote by Professor McFarlane) - technology is not helping learning (1:30) - american high schools are counterproductive to success in knowledge society (Bill Gates) (2:30) - have a model where kids produce their own digital representation of how they see the world (4:00) - make learning deeper rather than try to cover a lot of content but shallow learning (5:00) - one suggestion is teaching people to be able to recognise an evidence-based argument and not be susceptible to incorrect information (6:00) - model for assessment based on this sort of change to curriculum (7:30) - meaningful coursework - mainly in school - not allowing homework to restrict their self learning - treat school like work in a way with emphasis on quality not quantity (10:00) - need to connect with parents who see school as different than their schooling and unsure about its benefits (11:00) - access to technology (12:00) - benefit based on having the access first bit also that their environment but also their culture at home helps them benefit - top 15% (from BLC keynote) are getting most benefit from access and their culture - but these normally high achievers can't see school as relevant to them based on what they experience at home and are failing at school (13:30) - community knowledge and learning capacity building in technology (14:00) - "digital challenge" program in Bristol (14:40) - community mentors that learn something then teach to others in the community - giving more people access and that means they can have choices on what they can do

The content and technology are continually changing. This article reminds us that learners are also changing. For the past decade, faculty who won awards for teaching expressed concern that they could no longer hold the attention of their students. John Seely Brown, Chief Scientist at Xerox and director of its Palo Alto Research Center, hired 15 year olds to design future work environments and learning environments. He observed that the students did not conform to the traditional image of learners as permissive sponges. It requires us to rethink and redesign education for the Digital Age.

royalty free downloads for media files (eg. Audio and images) that students can use when creating digital content with limited license restrictions however some of these request attribution or have other requirements.

A good piece from someone who is considered an expert in the field. Curation is a becoming a keyword and more common in the education field. It is also not clearly understood  by many: what it is nor how to best leverage it. It is however becoming more critical for digital competency 

This site has been conceived and is being composed to support the activities of our staff and students, encouraging them to publish content digitally and take time to reflect upon their learning activities. We hope that other interested academics, learners or curriculum support staff will contribute to the content found here. If you fall into one of these groups, please get in touch and let us know how you might be able to contribute. We look forward to sharing the Mahara experience with you.

Shmoop wants to make you a better lover (of literature, history, poetry and writing). See many sides to the argument. Find your writing groove. Understand how lit and history are relevant today. We want to show your brain a good time.Our mission: To make learning and writing more fun and relevant for students in the digital age. Shmoop content is written primarily by Ph.D. and Masters students from top universities, like Stanford, Berkeley, Harvard, and Yale. Many of our writers have taught at the high school and college levels. We hold ourselves to the highest academic standards. We source our work (see the "Citations" tab in each history section, or in-line citation links throughout our literature and poetry content). Teachers and students should feel confident to cite Shmoop as a source in essays and papers.

One of the problems facing many teachers is trying to make students aware of the need to respect copyright and fair use of digital content. Even though students can generally appreciate the principles behind the need to pay due regard to the originators of these artefacts too often they are unable to locate anything other than copyright material. Locating suitable Creative Commons licenced content can be a real nightmare for students and teachers alike. To this end SitePoint has gathered up over 30 of the best resources online for audio, video, images and more for finding just the perfect Creative Commons licensed item for use in your next project. So, have a look around and get inspired!

This post explains about the potential of content curation especially for education.This is also offers great direction on the best ways of going about it. 

A well written post about content curation and the benefits it can offer teachers and students especially is part of the inquiry process. Discusses how it may be used to develop information literacy skills so they can become competent at locating, evaluating, and useing information

This is a great Lulu published book from Silvia Tolisano. You can purchase a copy from Lulu for $8.15 or alternatively you can download a pdf version for free. As Silvia says ".... this guide was written especially for educators, who want to teach 21st century skills, such as collaborating, communicating, and connecting, through digital storytelling."

"CommonSense Media blog post introducing Lesson Flows, Darri Stephens shares that the framework redefines the traditional lesson plan by integrating digital learning tools and content with pedagogical intent. Quite simply, you can discover tools on Graphite and then align them to each part of your lesson -- the hook, direct instruction, guided practice, independent practice, and wrap-up -- thinking with purpose about your lesson redesign. Lesson Flows are excellent tools for teacher librarians to use as they design technology-rich collaborative projects with classroom teachers."

"CommonSense Media blog post introducing Lesson Flows, Darri Stephens shares that the framework redefines the traditional lesson plan by integrating digital learning tools and content with pedagogical intent. Quite simply, you can discover tools on Graphite and then align them to each part of your lesson -- the hook, direct instruction, guided practice, independent practice, and wrap-up -- thinking with purpose about your lesson redesign. Lesson Flows are excellent tools for teacher librarians to use as they design technology-rich collaborative projects with classroom teachers."

Have you ever wanted to share your digital resources or look at what someone else has produced? Have you ever made a whiteboard lesson from scratch, only because you didn't have a place to go for quality content? Classmate gives you access to hundreds of thousands of teachers from around the world, all sharing and collaborating across multiple formats.