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The Future of Education is a topic often discussed, and at the recent gathering of educators in Florence, it was the title and theme for the conference. Now in its ninth year, The Future of Education is an international conference that attracts educators from around the world and across all domains touched by education. The conference is an inspiring two days of discussion and sharing, with the city of Florence, the centre of the Renaissance, providing a constant reminder of what might be possible when creativity and critical thinking combine. Here are my key takeaways from this event.

There is a debate taking place in the world of education. It is not a new debate but recently it has gathered new energy and the boundary between polite discussion of opposing views and hostility has been stretched. The debate is that between those who are advocates of inquiry based learning and those who believe direct instruction produces the best outcomes. - This article explore how the debate has gone wrong and fails to serve the needs of learners.

EduTech in Sydney has been a remarkable experience. A grand celebration of education and an energising gathering of educators ready to share stories and make connections. Despite the rainy weather some 8000 educators came together in the inspiring new International Convention Centre at Darling Harbour and left two days later with hers full of new ideas and wonderings of what might be the future of education. With many ideas still bubbling away here is a brief list of the key take-aways.

Only those who have taught a class for a year, who have struggled with the challenges faced by students and who have shared in the moments of success will truly understand why we teach. Maybe that is why we seek out opportunities to gather and share what we do, to spend even a Saturday in the company of those who "get" what it is that we do and why we do it. Teaching is a beautiful thing to be a part. 

"Post discusses products created by students through project based learning experiences, with an emphasis on what students create to express their answer to a driving question than just read a summary of the project.  Gathered here are some samples can be used as inspiration for your class projects. And, critiquing these samples can help students think of ways to make their own productions better."

When research is widely available and effectively communicated, people can put it to use in their everyday lives. Making education research more accessible helps both teachers and ed tech developers make informed decisions based on the scientific evidence of how people learn. In this post the author shares suggestions gathered from researchers, developers, and educators at a recent Research Summit on how to increase access to academic research, and communicate it more clearly to the public.

"OneNote is a unique tool that makes it easy to gather lots of information in one place, and is great for collaboration, sharing, projects, group work, and much more. It is free for use in education, and is often included with MS Office "

"In four small schools scattered across San Francisco, a data experiment is under way. That is where AltSchool is testing how technology can help teachers maximize their students' learning. Founded two years ago by Max ­Ventilla, a data expert and former head of personalization at Google, AltSchool runs schools filled with data-gathering technology. Information is captured from the moment each student arrives at school and checks in on an attendance app"

" 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"

Could be useful tool for classes to share specific links with each other. Another way to manage online bookmarks. "A social bookmarking site for schools. Allow students to explore, learn, gather & share resources with everyone in the class. No student sign up required! Easily share resources with anyone in the class!"

"Thanks to the efforts of Roland and Leigh, the Teachmeet Melbourne community had a lovely gathering on February 8.  It was encouraging to see so many teachers brave the 40 deg temperatures, but not surprising given that the venue was a lovely pub with air conditioning and bar!  "

More web-based Science resources that are worth sharing - for Primary school teachers.

 A lot of sites mentioned. Organised under headings: Writing Prompts and Starters; Grammar; Reading & Writing; Poetry; Literature; Shakespeare; Spelling; Vocabulary English as a Second Language (ESL); Other ELA Resources; Blogging & Website Creation; Citation; Web 2.0 Tools - Material Creation; Web 2.0 Tools - File Sharing, Hosting, Viewing and Collaborating; Web 2.0 Tools - Gathering Feedback/Creating Quizzes; Web 2.0 Tools - Document Annotation; Free eBooks and Audio Books

Jan 2013 Photoshop Tutorials. These tutorials are created by Photoshop experts. The article gathers professional Photoshop tutorials that may enhance designing skills and improve the quality of digital works.

Post by US teacher (@tedrosececi) "Here are 10 ideas I have gathered this summer to kick parent communication up to the next level so that never again will they have to ask, "What'd you do at school today?" and hear the annoying, "nothing." Instead, parents will have already experienced the wonderful things that have been happening in their child's world and dinner table discussions will turn into celebrations and extensions of the learning happening at school."

"The days of being shooshed in the library are well and truly over at The Illawarra Grammar School. After a $1 million facelift, the school's staid old library reopened this week as a bright, open space where children are allowed to draw on walls, watch TV, play games, gather to chat, or wander around on their own while listening to stories on headphones."

On March 1st, Google will implement its new, unified privacy policy, which will affect data Google has collected on you prior to March 1st as well as data it collects on you in the future.  If you want to keep Google from combining your Web History with the data they have gathered about you in their other products, such as YouTube or Google Plus, you may want to remove all items from your Web History and stop your Web History from being recorded in the future. It is important to note that disabling Web History in your Google account will not prevent Google from gathering and storing this information and using it for internal purposes. More information at the end of this post.

Soap Box is a service that enables teachers to gather instant feedback from students through their cell phones, tablets, or laptops. Soap Box offers nine useful functions for teachers and students.

"Integrity1 My daughters class flip chart list to describe Integrity. Can you name a few people around you, or in the public spotlight, that seemed to have missed that day in first grade? Promises Mrs. Dillon's first graders are well aware of the power of keeping promises. They know that promises are a contract between two people. One person expects things when that promise is made. Multiple kept promises, those smart kids know, helps build trust. They feel comfortable making friends with those they trust. In class they know it is much easier to finish things together if the other kids keep their promises. The really bright ones know that promises and promises kept are the deposits and withdrawals into and out of the account of collaboration, effort and success. Things get better when you manage that account- you know, positive change. Truthtelling Those little ones know early on what it means to not lie, to lie and to be dishonest. What Giordan's class has figured out is that being aware of the truth and revealing it, even if you know the result might be hard to deal with, is a good thing. The one who added this to the list might have done something wrong, separate from a lie, felt bad and fessed up. Smart he/she was to know that those consequences were much less severe than the ones that follow silence. Mistakes These kids are 7. I will let you figure out who, in the public limelight in those years, might have made mistakes and never admitted them- despite resounding evidence to the contrary. They have some negative role models. On their own level they know there is lots to be learned from having to explain a mistake, from gathering the courage to do so and from the connection that gives you to better future decision making. altruism First grader, kids in general, have a knack for the real kind of black and white. The kind where you know if someone might get hurt, you know if you might get hurt and you just feel what is right or wrong. They al