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ACE was founded to provide an independent voice for educators and advance the education profession. Now, half a century later and in an increasingly complex educational environment, it is even more important that the voices of those who educate our nation are heard and that they have a forum in which to inform themselves; discuss and debate issues; and seek to find shared solutions to current educational questions.

Article by Joyce Valenza. "... curation tools present an exciting new genre of search tool--strategies for scanning the real-time environment, as well as opportunities for evaluating quality and relevance in emerging information landscapes.The best of these efforts model for our learners a new type of citizenship--a desire on the part of experts, specialists, and individuals who feel passionate about a topic, to share their knowledge and updates by forming knowledge-sharing communities."

"John Monash Science School has a number of Policies that provide for the safety of staff, students and visitors while in our learning environment as well as provide guidance around the governance of the school. It is a condition of enrolment that students agree to adhere to the Policies and Procedures of the School. Please find below a listing of policy descriptions and details. Policies can also be downloaded from the list of attachments."

"Building 20 and brainstorming came into being at almost exactly the same time. In the sixty years since then, if the studies are right, brainstorming has achieved nothing-or, at least, less than would have been achieved by six decades' worth of brainstormers working quietly on their own. Building 20, though, ranks as one of the most creative environments of all time, a space with an almost uncanny ability to extract the best from people. Among M.I.T. people, it was referred to as "the magical incubator." "

The collaborative opportunities that the web offers can easily be mirrored within the four walls of the classroom. We should provide students with the right environment where they can work in teams and mentor each other. Mia from the "anethicalisland" site has this great visual featuring 27 tips for teachers to boost team work in class.

Neuroscience has shown that our brains are plastic and that education, gaming and the use of technology can change our brains' connectivity, function and structure. (1, 2) But learning is more than just biology - it is affected by our learning environment and the people with whom and from whom we learn. So how do you take what neuroscience reveals about the plastic, learning brain and combine it with educational research, expertise and common sense? Klevar, in association with Flinders University, are offering you the chance to explore this with Dr Paul Howard-Jones of the University of Bristol, researcher and author of "Introducing Neuroeducational Research: Neuroscience, Education and the Brain from Contexts to Practice".

"Digital Information Fluency (DIF) is the ability to find, evaluate and use digital information effectively, efficiently and ethically. DIF involves knowing how digital information is different from print information; having the skills to use specialized tools for finding digital information; and developing the dispositions needed in the digital information environment. As teachers and librarians develop these skills and teach them to students, students will become better equipped to achieve their information needs."

Listing the traits that make an the ideal 21st teacher. Post tries to answer What does an educational professional need to be or do to tune in and synchronize with the new realities silently emerging inside schools and educational environments?

" We investigate the ways in which digital technology is changing learning environments, social and civic institutions, and youth culture. We work to support the growth of the emerging digital media and learning field and community. We spread thought leadership and best practices for next generation learning and civics. How we do it Carry out an extensive agenda of original research Provide a gathering place for those interested in new models of learning Host a weekly webinar series  Produce blogs, websites, a report series, other publications Hold an annual conference Support emerging scholars by sponsoring workshops, working groups and a weeklong summer institute Partner with like-minded research organizations and individuals"

"Schools are a network of human beings who feel, think, behave, and function within a human system that is alive and never static. Inside living systems, we need to feel safe and felt. This system is wired to thrive, even through difficult times. We're here for deep learning, which is profoundly relational, and connection to one another is a prerequisite for our collective emotional, social, spiritual, and cognitive growth and development. In creating an environment that feels safe and relational, behavior management develops into behavior engagement"

Learning is impacted by many forces such as the learner's disposition to the process, the quality of their teacher's pedagogy, their emotional state and nature of the curriculum. Amongst this long list of factors is naturally the environment in which that learning occurs and the relationship between the environment and the learner.

"Are you creating a learning space where your students have ample voice, engage frequently with each other, and are given opportunities to make choices.Some guiding Questions to help you reflect on the learning environment you design for students:"

Single standards are notoriously difficult to overcome or dislodge, even when they become ludicrously inefficient,

Geocaching is the free high-tech treasure hunt where you use your GPS receiver to find caches hidden by other players. It's a great way to be outdoors, enjoy the environment and the revel in the thrill of the hunt!

Recently posted on Vimeo a fascinating series of short videos on the future of storytelling. The videos juxtapose the perspectives of some key thinkers in this space, including Clay Shirkey (NYU), Joshua Green (UCSB), Ian Condry and Nick Montfort (MIT), Dean Jansen from the Participatory Culture Foundation, Joe Lambert from the Center for Digital Storytelling, and, hmm, Henry Jenkins (USC), among others. Each video is between five and ten minutes long and tackles some of the ways that shifts in the media environment are changing the nature of stories and storytelling.

world are embracing and developing new "ingredients" of learning: superclasses of 90 to 120 students; vertical learning groups; stage not age; schools within schools or "Home Bases;" [all education concepts Stephen talks about more later] project-based work; exhibition-based assessments; collaborative learning teams; mixed-age mentoring; children as teachers; teachers as learners

This paper describes the findings of an exploratory, qualitative case study and examines problems and impediments faculty members encountered in blended learning environments in Turkish Higher Education system. A total of 117 faculty members from 4 universities responded to 8 interview questions. Findings were based on content analyses of interview transcripts. The results show that faculty members' problems with blended teaching resulted in the identification of three inductive categories: instructional processes, community concerns and technical issues. The eight themes emerged from these three categories include the following: (1) complexity of the instruction, (2) lack of planning and organization, (3) lack of effective communication, (4) need for more time, (5) lack of institutional support, (6) changing roles, (7) difficulty of adoption to new technologies and (8) lack of electronic means. This study indicates that teaching blended courses can be highly complex and have different teaching patterns, which, in turn, impacts successful implementation of the blended college courses.

"In the context of a growing emphasis on eLearning, most commonly facilitated by enterprise-scale Learning Management System and a range of institutionally managed and supported communication and collaboration software tools, and in an environment of increasing emphasis on intellectual property rights management and quality assurance, how do universities (and other educational institutions) respond to the use of free, open-access tools in common use by their students? What are the potential educational uses of such tools? What are the current practices of use of these tools within educational institutions? What are the issues, risks and hidden costs? What are the advantages and benefits?"

At the core of FreshBrain is a website that provides high school age students with the opportunity to explore, engage and create through activities and projects. The website takes advantage of the latest technology such as web conferencing and social networking to provide a very progressive environment on which the students can complete activities and work together on projects.

NAIDOC celebrations are held around Australia in July to celebrate the history, culture and achievements of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. This project suggests some ways you can celebrate NAIDOC in the school environment.