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They include iPads and iPods, smartphones and laptops. They already cost far less than more specialized technology and their price is dropping still further. But their potential to help change the course of U.S. K-12 education is limitless and their educational impact could soon include nearly every American child, including those with disabilities, according to noted education researcher and author Milton Chen, who calls these increasingly ubiquitous devices, “weapons of mass instruction.”

Register here free now!What:If I put a laptop on your desk, do you become smarter? Just introducing computers to the classroom will not, on its own, improve instruction. By now, using the experience of many districts around the country, we know a lot about how to use technology effectively to support improved instructional practices. Come learn from the experience of educators about key success factors in implementing a digital initiative. Whether you have some digital classrooms in your district, or you have an iPAD initiative, or you only have a few computers in the classroom, you know that technology will soon become a reality. Join us for a free webinar to learn how educators are creating an optimal instructional environment using digital devices and integrated curriculum to power the classroom. Register to: Find out the 9 key factors in powering a digital classroom successfully. Ensure your curriculum leverages technology using real world examples. Find out how to use bring your own device (BYOD) to fund a move to digital. Hear from an educator who successfully aligned a professional learning program to support a digital initiative. When:Wednesday, March 28, 2012 12:00 pm - 1:00 pm MT

Click here to register!What:January's topics will be Edmodo and Backchannel. Edmodo is a safe and easy way for your class to connect and collaberate, share content, and access homework, grades, and school notices.Backchannel is a site that can be used to show a video, while students comment, write notes, and discuss the film in live time on the side of the screen. Click here for more information on Edmodo and Backchannel!Participants must bring a laptop.When:January 10th, 20125:00 - 7:00 PM MountainWhere:MSU Billings College of Education BuildingRoom 160Contact: John Keener - Phone: 657-1743                        Email: john.keener@msubillings.edu Debra Miller -  Phone: 657-2072                        Email: dmiller@msubillings.edu

Imagine walking into a public library filled with PlayStations, Wii game consoles, and electric keyboards pumped up to maximum volume. Teenagers are munching on snacks, checking out laptops and slouching on sofas or beanbags. A carousel of computers sits in the middle, navigated to Facebook. That’s exactly how one enormous room on the ground floor of the Chicago Public Library’s main branch functions. And this noisy library model is expanding around the country.

For years Shirky has allowed his students to bring laptops, tablets and phones into class and use them at will. But he just told students to put them away. He explains why below

Twenty years ago, a simple, standardized way to link together pages of text via the Internet was invented, and the World Wide Web was born.  Perhaps equally amazing as this innovation are all of the commercial communications advances that were either nascent or not even invented then  – email, Smartphones, GPS, and the rechargeable batteries that power laptops, cell phones, and cameras to name a few.   For as powerful as these inventions were in changing the lives of so many Americans, we recognize that technology has the power not just to entertain but to enhance our work-life experience and connect us to our families and communities. This is particularly true for the approximately 54 million Americans with disabilities.

The National Library of Medicine's Mobile Medline Plus builds on the NLM's MedlinePlus Internet service, which provides authoritative consumer health information to over 10 million visitors per month. These visitors access MedlinePlus (http://medlineplus.gov) from throughout the United States as well many other countries, and use desktop computers, laptops and even mobile devices to get there.

Click here to register for this event | Click here to download the full brochure (PDF) When: February 26 & March 5, 2011 9:00am to 1:00pm Mountain Where: MSUB College of Education, Room 122  Billings, MT What: Google Sites is a tool that allows students and teachers to create custom web pages. You can easily create and update these pages adding content, attachments, and embedded media from many other services, including Picasa Web Albums, YouTube video, and Google Apps. A site can be created for a class, a school, or any other group that needs to quickly share information and ideas—even a team or a club. The easy-to-use editor makes it possible to build a site in minutes using templates for specific types of pages, such as announcements, dashboards, file cabinets, or lists. You also have control over who has access to the page; share with everyone, or only specific individuals. The workshop will show how you can set up and maintain your own personal website in Google Sites with knowing limited HTML. Participants must bring a laptop computer.

Because the slightest cold virus could kill him, Lyndon Baty almost never leaves the house, but science has found a way to let the 15-year-old Texas boy go to school — at least virtually. A robot avatar now goes to classes and wanders school hallways for Lyndon, who had been forced to stay in isolation at his home in Knox City ever since his immune system was wiped out due to complications from kidney disease. The teen controls his avatar robot through the laptop on his desk at home, guiding it to classes and telling it to turn to face people when they speak to him.

“Vive la difference!” is proving to be the appropriate motto for speech-language pathologists (SLPs) and other professionals providing augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) support to children of culturally diverse families.