Technically Invisible

"Hear from Dr. Ruben Puentedura, creator of the SAMR model, on how teachers can apply the model - from modification to redefinition - to transform teaching and learning. "

"I represented a group of business people dedicated to improving public schools. I was an executive at an ice cream company that had become famous in the middle 1980s when People magazine chose our blueberry as the "Best Ice Cream in America.""

"On Thursday, third graders will be launching rockets! This awesome experiment focuses on potential and kinetic energy and is being coordinated by Mr. Cory DuBuque and the Falmouth High Science National Honor Society."

This is Dan Callahan's blog. He is an exceptional technology integration specialist.

"Blogging is such powerful learning material and students should blog. Why?………………………Here are just 20 reasons"

" I get at least one of these excuses when I am working with schools while trying to get more tech projects incorporated into the academic planning... Young students can't blog. Young students can't podcast. Young students can't make movies. etc. etc. etc. The truth is they can."

"A recent Times article chronicled the struggles teachers, schools and districts are having when it comes to safe use of social media. SchoolBook followed by offering some advice for teachers, and today Facebook's consultant on education and parent matters provides five concrete tips. Many schools block Facebook in an effort to prevent students from accessing the social network while at school, but their efforts are much like shoveling snow in a snow storm - simply impossible."

"Broadband, Social Networks, and Mobility Have Spawned a New Kind of Learner By John K. Waters 12/13/11 Students are different today because of technology. Every educator knows this, of course, but this change is about much more than agile thumbs, shriveling attention spans, and OMG'd vocabularies. According the Pew Research Center, the combination of widespread access to broadband Internet connectivity, the popularity of social networking, and the near ubiquity of mobile computing is producing a fundamentally new kind of learner, one that is self-directed, better equipped to capture information, more reliant on feedback from peers, more inclined to collaborate, and more oriented toward being their own "nodes of production." "

"Since technology in classrooms is constantly being updated, the way children practice skills should be updated, too. KidBlog is a fast and easy way for teachers to set up their very own classroom blog. Think of it like an online journal. Instead of students writing passages in a notebook everyday, they can do the same thing on the computer and not have to worry about losing the book or leaving it at home. It is a new way for them to discover the joys of writing as a way to get their thoughts across."

"Who says elementary students can't blog? It was a great day! I started the day by reading my previous post to the students about connecting with Chicago. The students were elated that they had been noticed by a teacher from Chicago. Now I have to say that my students think really big cause' when I asked them to guess who had written about them the guesses ranged from President Bush to Jimmy Carter to their principal and many others. I love their enthusiasm! They were pleased as punch when they heard the nice words Steve Dembo had written. Nice way to start the day! We discussed the feelings they had when they saw comments on their site. The students were ready to blog! "

"You are reading Part II of a series of blog posts that started out of the desire to help teachers learn more about blogs for themselves in order to help/coach/facilitate their students' blogging adventure. My guiding questions for this series of blog posts are: How can I make it easier for teachers to learn about the process of teaching and learning with blogs? How can blogging enhance student learning? What are components of QUALITY blogs? How can I guide teachers in experiencing a shift in teaching and learning and help them make a pedagogical commitment to blogging. In Part I, I laid out the importance of READING blogs in order for the teacher to be able to gain and understanding of student blogging as a platform FOR learning, not "just" a vehicle for technology integration."

"In the digital age, kids need to have an understanding of what it means to be a responsible digital citizen. They need to learn the technical how-to's, as well as a more global comprehension of how to navigate the online world. To that end, Melbourne educator Jenny Luca made a commitment to help her students start blogging and to create ePortfolios. Here are six reasons why, at her school, these skills are now a high priority. By Jenny Luca"

"MEET the mini-bloggers. Most think of blogging as an adult pastime but kids as young as seven are now joining in. Some young bloggers are proving so popular, they have started to receive sponsorship. Here HEATHER GREENAWAY talks to children from Scotland's first blogging primary school and a teenage book blogger, who is proving a hit with famous authors."

"Welcome to QuadBlogging 2011 - 2012 We are poised to launch the new round of QuadBlogging to start in January 2012. If you don't know what QuadBlogging is, here's a short video produced by pupils in Mrs. Yollis' class in Los Angeles, Mr. Salsich's Class in Connecticut, Class B4 in New Zealand and Class 2KM and 2KJ Leopold School, Australia:"

"Reporters from The Wall Street Journal and The New York Times probably didn't expect to be joined by TechNewsKids, a blog run by 11-year-olds. Yet all three covered Apple's press conference this September. Benno Kass and Max Iger of TechNewsKids watched the live-stream of the announcement online so that they could "live blog" its contents as soon as possible."

"Blogs for Kids by Sharon Housley Flush out the writer in children. Blogging could draw out a young writer and open doors to their future. Consider encouraging your child to start blogging! Children love having an audience. The instant recognition and approval that comes from a crowd just can't be beat. Employing blogs to help develop good spelling habits, grammar skills, and develop a love for writing at a young age is an innovative concept that has potential benefits:"

"Blogging -- or Web logging -- most often is thought of as an activity for high school students. Did you know, however, that students as young as kindergarten now blog on a daily basis in a variety of exciting ways? Read on to find out how elementary blogging works, what topics elementary students and teachers cover in their blogs, software programs and tools to consider, and cautions and tips for starting your own blog. INCLUDED: More than two-dozen links to blogging software and to elementary blogs across the United States."

"All of our teachers at my elementary school maintain their own classroom blog. As I wrote about in Blogs vs. Static Website and Changes in Classroom Blogs, we still have a long way to go as we need to move forward from merely a one sided communication tool to an online learning space that encourages, fosters and supports students' creativity and learning. Being able to read AND express yourself in a digital world is an important part of being literate in the 21st century."

"When I arrived at ISB last year, one of the first major projects I started with two of our wonderful grade 5 teachers was student blogging (um, and did I mention that we started blogging at the same time as participating in Chris Craft's Life 'Round Here digital storytelling project?). I had come from a middle school position where every student in the school (grades six - eight) had their own individual student blog and was ready to continue that experience here."