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A passionate and eloquent plea from a university lecturer, attesting to the continued relevance of the lecture as a learning tool. I value her point that a lecture promotes active listening, but I disagree with the notion that a technology that has worked for thousands of years should see continued use simply because it has worked in the past.[1] Given the multitudes of other means of delivery of information today (remember, the lecture was developed when the only other means to spread information was handwriting), the lecture as transmission of information is a tool, not THE tool. She also equates books to lectures, and says that if we abandon one we move toward abandoning the other. A bit of tenuous logic, if you ask me. Still, perhaps worth a read.  [1] See also: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scriptorium#Trithemius.27_Praise_of_Scribes

This one is worth reading, but not because it's necessarily worth following. It's a wrong-headed approach to tech integration, one that values the tools above the pedagogical goals -- because it assumes that the use of the tool is valuable in itself. What it omits is why any one of these scenarios can support learning... which would be a much more effective way to lobby a teacher to use it...

"schools are spending billions on technology, even as they cut budgets and lay off teachers, with little proof that this approach is improving basic learning."

A great explanation of the power of blended learning, whether or not you think Khan's Academy is the pinnacle of the practice. "Educational technology pioneer Salman Khan maps how online learning tools can help physical classrooms evolve to become hubs for creativity and hands-on experiences, and how Khan Academy and the Discovery Lab summer camp fit into that big picture."

This teacher chose to have his students create RSA Animate-style videos as "an easy way to make them visualize their information, make connections, and re-tell their facts in a story that had a very tight story line that flowed.  All skills that would transfer nicely to any traditional essay." He really emphasizes the preparation and planning stages, which is great. He also talks about the process, which is useful.  All said, a great resource.

A nice range of uses for this social bookmarking tool. 

Research showing the effectiveness of Carnegie Learning's math curriculum. "The reports published here provide information about this evaluative research, including an overall summary of findings, a reference guide to aid in interpreting results and reports summarizing individual studies."

Bruce Leslie describes his kids' experience using Skype for language learning.

"My 11 year old son just took a course at Stanford. That has a nice ring to it but it is actually meaningless because these days anyone can take a course at Stanford. You don't even have to pay. All you need is access to a computer and a reasonable Internet connection. So what we can say is my 11 year old son just watched a bunch of videos on the Internet. That doesn't make for an interesting post except that this 'bunch of videos' is currently being heralded as the future of higher education." Joshua Gans, Forbes, 5/7/12

"Online education has officially arrived. What five years ago was the ubiquitous domain of University of Phoenix, is now dominated by sexy start-ups like the recently announced edX by Harvard and MIT. The unprecedented boom of these education technology outfits has thrown the media into a tizzy about the coming of an education revolution. It certainly will happen, but there are some fundamental challenges it must tackle before it can disrupt and transform elite higher education."

"Technology has become a core component of almost every facet of our daily lives but modernizing education requires significantly more commitment than simply providing students with access to technology." Sam Gliksman, iPads in Education ning

Smart post by Sam Gliksman on the reasons for classroom iPad use. A lot of what he says applies to technology in general.

Report from 2006 which summarizes the state of research into educational technology's effectiveness. Positive results for different types of tech use in schools are categorized into a taxonomy of learning goals. This is a very comprehensive review. As usual technology is shown effective only when supported well and integrated into teaching and learning with fidelity.

Another article that discusses the effectiveness of technology in learning. . while also including marketing information

What does the new tech landscape mean for today's educational systems?

"Itzhak Perlman muses about Mozart and modern technology."

"Search, links, media sharing, social media, Wikipedia, games, open source etc. are ground breaking shifts in the way we learn, says Donald Clark. Unfortunately, they're not matched by the way we teach. The growing gap between teaching practice and learning practice is acute and growing. Institutional teaching, especially in Universities is hanging on to the pedagogic fossil that is the lecture. The true driver for positive, pedagogic change is the internet."

Another great video from Michael Wesch. Considers how technology is shifting education, learning, and institutions.

So, so good. Just read it.