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technology is evolving so quickly that a standard set of skills is hard to set in stone.

"We do have a sense of what [digital communication] skills should be," Kahne says. "The ability to find information, for example, has always been on the list. Also, the ability to judge the credibility of information. But now we're seeing things like the ability to present information online in compelling ways emerging as another basic skill of the digital citizen."

“The kids were basically voting with the mouse, and they were voting for digital,” Dopierala says. “I realized that this is the medium for their generation. It’s the medium of the future.”

If we are going to talk about ethics and responsibilities in the 21st century classroom, we can’t just “add on” new digital tools but we have to rethink the basics of connected, interactive, participatory learning.

The Ethics and Responsibilities of the 21st Century Classroom: A Collaborative Guide to the Best Digital Learning Practices for K-12 Teachers and Administrators.” Here’s a link to the public Google Doc that, at the moment, is open to anyone. 

Math lesson time. Math scores: Manitoba, 468; Yukon, 469; Newfoundland and Labrador, 472; Nova Scotia and Saskatchewan, each 474. That's five provinces within 1.2 percentage points of each other. Put another way: Billy got 80 per cent on his test. Sally got 81 per cent on her test. Math lesson, part two: The creators of this test, the Council of Ministers of Education, rightly points out that the margin of error on these scores is greater than the differences in these scores. In plain English, that means that the statisticians who crunch the data are saying that the scores are basically equivalent.

Manitoba remains the child-poverty capital of Canada

Math lesson, part three: Manitoba was the only jurisdiction in Canada to have 100 per cent of the selected schools do the PCAP assessment.

But as Dr. Boyd sees it, adults are worrying about the wrong things.

“Children’s ability to roam has basically been destroyed,”

even though by all measures, life is safer for kids today.”

Simple Guide on The Use of Google Forms in The Classroom

1- Quick review of the basics of Google Forms 2- Hidden features in forms 3-Time saving use examples 4-Troubleshooting and lessons learnt

starting in 1994, calculators were not only permitted, but were essentially required. The driving factors came from the level of mathematics taught and tested and the availability of graphing calculator technology. This change gave students the appropriate tool for accuracy and efficiency -- it was also the one used by most professionals who used mathematics beyond basic arithmetic

before prescribing medication, physicians often search the Medscape or Epocrates websites for the most current facts that might have significant impact on a patient's reactions to the medication. New information can be critical,

The problem is not primarily teachers or students who, in desperation, resort to cheating, but rather the conditions that drive them to such extremes

So what is the Internet of things? Simply put this is the concept of basically connecting any device with an on and off switch to the Internet (and/or to each other). This includes everything from cell phones, coffee makers, washing machines, headphones, lamps, wearable devices and almost anything else you can think of.

NEW forms of media have always caused moral panics: the printing press, newspapers, paperbacks and television were all once denounced as threats to their consumers’ brainpower and moral fiber.

Experience does not revamp the basic information-processing capacities of the brain. Speed-reading programs have long claimed to do just that, but the verdict was rendered by Woody Allen after he read “War and Peace” in one sitting: “It was about Russia.” Genuine multitasking, too, has been exposed as a myth, not just by laboratory studies but by the familiar sight of an S.U.V. undulating between lanes as the driver cuts deals on his cellphone.

And to encourage intellectual depth, don’t rail at PowerPoint or Google. It’s not as if habits of deep reflection, thorough research and rigorous reasoning ever came naturally to people. They must be acquired in special institutions, which we call universities, and maintained with constant upkeep, which we call analysis, criticism and debate.

Indeed, a variety of players – including state security agencies to Internet marketers to organized-crime circles – are creating an online world in which the very concept of anonymity has basically vanished.

“People at first thought anonymity was very simple,” he says. “It's the complete opposite: The Internet is a great tool for spying.”

“We're not working with any individual consumer information,” Mr. Green says. “In fact, we don't want it.” Instead, Generation5 says it focuses on balancing anonymity with consumer targeting.

Regardless, of the particular curriculum, I believe that each student should be able to use the technology to accomplish the following three basic tasks:

a database of simple, easy to follow tutorials covering all aspects of popular computing.

Screenagers: Making the Connections

Effectively teaching the digital generation, or screenagers as we call them in this issue of Educational Leadership, seems to involve two basics: embracing the tools that kids are immersed in and using these tools to engage students in core curriculum topics.

you’re likely to hear that kids today are overcorrected, entitled, arrogant, irresponsible, directionless, and apathetic. With twitter-sized attention spans—these kids lack values, character, and basic civility.

They  still want and need our guidance.