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"While attending this particular workshop I was, at first, contemplating how I could utilize this tool as an administrator. As those thoughts wandered, the instructor repeatedly said the words "expand the walls of the classroom". That caught my attention and then I had no problem envisioning how the teachers I worked with could utilize a wiki to do just that."

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What can Google Apps do for your learning institution? Students, educators and help desk administrators at four American Universities share their stories on how Google Apps has reduced help desk calls, helped students and teachers to collaborate, provided free spaces for student organisations to host web sites, solved email problems and provided 24/7 mobile access to information.

The post discusses 7 survival skills for the 21st century and how they might be purposefully applied in a classroom. They are: 1. Critical Thinking and Problem Solving. 2. Collaboration Across Networks and Leading by Influence. 3. Agility and Adaptability. 4. Initiative and Entrepreneurship. 5. Effective Oral and Written Communication. 6. Accessing and Analysing Information. 7. Curiosity and Imagination

Fortunately there are a number of free tools that do these things and they are available for use on any technology platform as they require nothing more than access to the internet. Recently Eric Sheninger used a set of these tools to give his audience at the Hawker Brownlow Conference on Thinking and Learning in Melbourne a voice.

The book 'Non Obvious' by Rohit Bhargava present an intriguing exploration of how careful observation and thought can reveal emerging trends and as the subtitle suggest 'predict the future'. For educators the ability to identify the trends which will deliver the best outcomes for our students from the noise of fads is alluring. While the talk of new technologies, of learner centric pedagogies and teaching for lifelong learning play the part of the obvious trends in education identifying the non-obvious trend is a more challenging endeavour. 

What will tomorrow bring? What will life be like in 2028 as our youngest students of today exit school? What occupations will they enter and what challenges will they face? These are not new questions but with the rate of change in society and the pace at which technology evolves they are questions without clear answers. How then do schools prepare students for this uncertain tomorrow? What shall we teach our children today such that are well prepared for the challenges and opportunities of their tomorrow?

"While some education conferences are genuinely inspiring, others serve mostly to demonstrate how even intelligent educators can be remarkably credulous, nodding agreeably at descriptions of programs that ought to elicit fury or laughter, avidly copying down hollow phrases from a consultant's PowerPoint presentation, awed by anything that's borrowed from the business world or involves digital technology. Many companies and consultants thrive on this credulity, and also on teachers' isolation, fatalism, and fear (of demands by clueless officials to raise test scores at any cost). With a good dose of critical thinking and courage, a willingness to say "This is bad for kids and we won't have any part of it," we could drive these outfits out of business -- and begin to take back our schools."

A post from a public school principal who is doing just that. On May 19th New Milford High School Principal Eric Sheninger will explain how to move from banning to embracing technology and social media.

After two days of talking about curriculum, integration, STEM, STEAM and HASS I am left with more questions than I started with. In some respects, the concept of curriculum integration is simple. It is after all something that Primary teachers almost take for granted. But for Senior and Tertiary educators the question of curriculum integration is inherently complex. At all levels questions emerge of what curriculum integration might achieve, what purposes it serves, what it could and should look like and how it should be supported by curriculum planners. In the current climate, with its debate around the role of education within an innovation economy, shaped by technology and confronting demands for a STEAM enabled workforce the shape of our curriculum is under pressure. 

The Monster Project encourages the development of reading and writing skills while integrating technology into the classroom. Using monsters as a vehicle, students exchange written descriptions via this wiki, and then recreate their partner's monster without ever looking at the "real thing". During the project, students create, discuss, describe, interpret, analyze, organize and assess their monsters as well as the monsters of their peers.

thx @sujokat

What impact is digital interactive technology having on education? And what will the classroom of the future look like? These are just some of the questions that were raised at the 2010 Australian Council for Computer Education conference.

Perhaps you've attended some high brow conference that produces 10 bullet points on "How to Change Education"- and not much happens. Maybe you work an at institution that restricts you from using a certain technology or forces you to use another. And while the image of a revolutionary edupunk is charming, most of us are not ready to burn down our organizations- we believe in their purpose. Despair not! There is something out there- an approach of creatively side stepping what limits us, to exploiting what we are forced to use in new ways, to sneak innovations in the back window that don't rock the house.

From another Diigo site. This blog is great. Has links to other specific learning styles also.