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That is a very interesting article! No, I have considered this as it is defined, or specified. Actually I suggested something like this awhile back when I was teaching a group of adult students in computer basics. Some of the drawbacks were brought up by others, such as it would require many more resources than we had available at the time.

Thank you for your response, Marie! I'm certain there are drawbacks due to lack of resources, and I'm sure it's time consuming to set up. Still, I would really like to try this in the near future. Thanks again.

This is a great article about implementing technology into a math classroom to resolve the common challenges of these particular educators. From a student's perspective, I wish these tactics would've been around when I was taking math classes.

Great work, Emmanuel! I truly enjoyed the article. It was nice to read that there are easy solutions to 3 of the most challenges educators face daily. I liked the idea offered in Solution A to Challenge #1 - split the class into 2 groups. One meets with the teacher for direct instruction while the other group works on math activities on a device. It was also nice to know that there is software out there to keep track of data for the teacher. More importantly, I was pleased to read that there are technology programs available to students/ teachers who are absent. These programs help students learn lessons they have missed so long as they have internet access. The programs also help teachers when they are absent. Students are familiar with the programs and can use them and continue to learn when the teacher is out.

Thanks, Rosalyn! I enjoyed the article as well. I like how all of the problems are realistic while the solutions are simplistic. I would have never thought to have students that are behind to watch math videos to catch up while the others receive direct instruction. I too thought it was convenient to have software available for students to work on when teachers are absent. Most days that teachers are absent, students lose on instruction. By having this technology in place, students could use the technology to catch up while the teacher is out or use the day to get ahead on lessons. Thanks for the response, Rosalyn.

Any comments on the article about YouTube being used in the classroom?

When I worked for Brownsville ISD, YouTube was a blocked website. Therefore, no teachers used the site. I think that blocking off the website is detrimental to instruction when there is so much information available and nothing can be done with it. Fortunately, there are ways around this. Videos could be downloaded at home and shown in class. Of course, one should take the time to review the video to make sure it is appropriate and of course beneficial to learning.

I think sharing videos with students can be beneficial to them by having supplemental instruction in case they didn't understand the material during class. The link could be emailed to students via email or by setting up a YouTube channel specifically for your class. I think a good way to implement this would be to have administration give you the okay and of course, inform parents of what you are trying to do and get their consent. Once everything is good to, videos can be shared with your class. More time could be spent learning a concept, videos could provide more in depth information, and so much more.

Before I started my masters, I wasn't aware that YouTube had channels specifically made for education. They offer a great amount of information that can benefit all persons whether it be children or the elderly. These channels are a great source because the videos have already been filtered to make sure that you are only showing students appropriate and relevant material.

What does everyone else think about this article and the specific questions mentioned?

I've only ever encountered youtube videos used in graduate classes so aren't facing the issues of the other commenters. I think it makes a huge difference in attention. Being able to hear the words straight from the horse's mouth in a TedTalk or hear an author speak...etc. changes everything. The conversations inspired from a video talk were better than I think from articles.

How far is your district from enabling customized learning? I interpret this as true differentiation, and for most teachers, without technology integration it remains an elusive goal beyond modified assessments for those with IEPs. A basic prerequisitie of customized learning I believe, is that there are multiple ways the teacher provides for learning the same content...this way if students don't get it the first time, they can go to another explanation that might be more likely "to click."

10 Elements of High-Quality Digital Learning 1. Student eligibility: All students are digital learners. 2. Student access: All students have access to high-quality digital content and online courses. 3. Personalized learning: All students can customize their education using digital content through an approved provider. 4. Advancement: Students progress based on demonstrated competency. 5. Quality content: Digital content, instructional materials, and online and blended learning courses are high quality. 6. Quality instruction: Digital instruction is high quality. 7. Quality choices: All students have access to multiple high-quality providers. 8. Assessment and accountability: Student learning is the metric for evaluating the quality of content and instruction. 9. Funding: Funding creates incentives for performance, options and innovation. 10. Delivery: Infrastructure supports digital learning.

Interesting that many of the states' grades went up because of state regulation changes. It is no surprise to me that Utah is a front runner. I have always admired and appreciate their education website. The resources for teachers and parents, in my opinion, is the best, bar none. Utah Education Network: http://www.uen.org

I was at a conference with a member of the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board (THECB) yesterday and we talked about technology in the classroom. He is the head of the classroom technology development group at THECB and he is not convinced that we are using technology appropriately and that there might be a rush to use technology either to be the first to introduce something or just to ride the wave. I've said this before about other topics, the problem is not the technology, the problem is we don't know what to do with it yet or what we can do with it. There is always a learning curve for anything new, however, the learning curve for educational technology may be the steepest curve we have ever met as human beings. In fact if the curve gets any steeper it will be a vertical line rocketing towards the heavens! It is very difficult to climb a vertical face. So what do we do about it? I think we as instructors have to determine what our needs are in the classroom, investigate tools that can address those needs and finally focus on mastering those tools and not worry about all the other things going on around us. That is not to say that we should become static or satisfied with our approach, in fact we need to be lifetime learners. In any endeavor it is possible to become overwhelmed with information. We have all seen at one time or another the student with the deer in the headlights look because they have become overwhelmed and lost in the content. I think that many of our peers are in the same position with education technology. As a result it becomes necessary for us to help them sort through the web of Web 2.0 If we help them find 2 or 3 tools they can effectively use for collaboration and they can master that is enough in the beginning. Let's then help them identify 2 or 3 tools that can help them make better and more engaging presentations, once they have mastered those we can move on. Human's are extraordinarily adaptable but we also are easily overwhelmed

Our school is a large open campus that the biggest problem is having enough bandwidth. We only have so many ports which makes our internet slow at times. The issue of cost is the reason that they will not invest in any more throughout our campus. Not sure about the price of this investment but if they want technology to be used in the classroom this has to be taken care of first. Don, When I first started this class, I have to say I was one of those deer in headlights type of student. I am not going for my MTT like most of the students in this course, so it was an eye opener to know that I really did not know much about technology as I thought. Although I have learned so much in this class, I think that introducing teachers to a few Web 2.0 tools at a time, and letting teachers explore there potential in the classroom is something that inexperienced users would appreciate.

Araceli, We too have been tackling the issue of ports and infrastructure in general. Fortunately, we have a very supportive superintendent and school board, and they have been very frugal leading up to this point...much of the investment dollars driving our infrastructure improvements have come from our fund balance. We're at the point where we're piloting class sets for Biology next year and a 5th grade 1:1 at one campus using IMA funds, but honestly we're all holding our breath, wondering if we have the infrastructure necessary for these efforts to be successful, at least on the technology side. This summer technology will be making lots of changes to our network, and that always makes us nervous. Last August they moved us from roaming profiles to folder redirect, and come August staff development (and Sept for that matter) we had lots of improvising to do as most users would only see partial profile loads due to the network configuration at the time. This meant users could sometimes see their drives but not access them (permission errors are so frustrating!), or they couldn't see their network drives at all. As it turned out, this really helped drive teacher and student adoption of Google Drive for file management, so in that respect it worked out. I agree with you and Don and many others, teachers need to be eased into new technology tools one or two at a time, and we as instructional (technology?) leaders need to make a compelling case for why the advantages outweigh the time investment for learning new tools.

Our school districts are just beginning to implement newer forms of technology aimed at providing students a richer learning experience. I am certain that bandwidth will be a concern since currently we use the internet for email and submitting paperwork. Do I agree that to do for the say of doing is not the right approach with new technology. Our approach must be strategic and well thought out.

Nice to see that Texas is as high as the "B" category...and another mention of the texas VLE that allows students to take/make up high school credits online!

Is funding a major factor why some school districts don't rush in implementing new technology in schools? I am amazed how some Asian countries had no technology in schools 20 years ago and now it is a different world.

I think that it will be a slow process to bring personalized, adaptive learning to the classroom. The article is intriguing in that it brings to light the deficiencies in the public schools of America. This is a sad commentary on the institutional legacy tempered by political decisiveness impacting every individual in the country who has received an American education. Rather than investing in the future knowledgebase of our young minds, we waste our precious resources on the military industrial machine. I ponder the thought of what will happen next when we have the entire nation wired with high-speed internet access. I consider it a given that every child today has a cell phone or access to one. It is but a small transition from there to a smartphone with complete access to social media, search engines, email, and instant messaging; in short, a completely connected computer. How will the upcoming generation use this technology?

Great ideas to help teachers use technology in their classrooms!

I am my campus's technology coordinator, which is challenging since I am also a classroom teacher. I feel that my strengths are the technical and instructional aspects of the trinity. Since I am only at the campus level, I really just facilitate the admin portion that is centrally controlled by my district.

Lauren, a campus technology coordinator is a full time job. How do you balance that and teach in the classroom? Our campus has a technology coordinator and a tech center where someone is there to help the students and teachers before, during, and after school. We could not live without them!

Maria - Yes, staff development is very important, but admin neglect to see technology professional development as a priority. With that being said, our campus has found that one of the most valuable resources are our teachers. Our teachers have attended many trainings and programs on their own time, therefore, they are very knowledgeable. If admins would coordinate a time and place then those teachers could share what they have learned with the rest of the campus about technology. Maria, just this week I tried to communicate with the district person and ask her about district goals and initiatives and communicate with me. The coordinator turned my question into something completely different and never answered the question. I am hoping we can form some type of communication between the district level and campus levels.

Lauren - Wow! How do you manage to do both jobs? I bet you have great leadership skills, even though you feel like your hands are tied. How many years have you been the technology coordinator? Any tips for someone like me since this will be my first year?

Competency Based Education, or CBE allows the participants to personalize their educational pathway. Students can work through assignments at their own pace and complete a large amount of curriculum in a short amount of time if they are determined enough and willing to work hard.

in Spring of 2014, the Competency Based Education Network announced that 18 different universities will work together to test and use CBE and share their findings. This could help to revolutionize the education industry, which has remained the same for a very long time.

Gena thank you for sharing this very important information. I've been in higher ed for about a year now and I had not heard of CBE! It think this is a wonderful tool for students. I for one am going to look into this further and share with my institution. I believe this will definitely help our students in so many ways. Often times you have students following a career path that isn't even suited for them. Thank you so much for sharing this excellent resource of information!

Elizabeth, It is something that we have been discussing for the past year at TSTC. It has it merits as well as disadvantages and would work better for some instructional areas than others, but I know that as a student I would have loved to have been able to do something like this. I think that WGU does something similar.

My initial response to Gena Jean's Article Post- My initial response to Gena Jean's Article Post- Thanks for posting this article. I have long thought the same thing about traditional education' it lacks the innovation that today's students need in order to be successful in the 21st century. I like the logic behind Competency-based education, (CBE). With CBE "credits are awarded based on the demonstration of content mastery, rather than on seat time (http://web2014.discoveryeducation.com)." One can experience this type of education online or in the traditional classroom environment and so the benefits can reaped in either platform.- which is awesome. However. it is great that students are able to take courses from the comfort of their own home, and still learn just as much without having to drive to school, and waste precious time. CBE is all about levels, as your article stated...students are able to master concepts, and then move on to the next "set of competencies." Therefore, they are always challenging themselves, and trying to get to the next level. I love the competitive nature of this type of instruction. Very informative article- thank you.

@Elizabeth Rodriguez- I also had not heard of CBE, but I think it is great. Looking at the research that Gena presented to us, CBE is a tool that really allows student to be successful from virtually any place. Students can learn so much when they immerse themselves in higher education. With programs like CBE they find more flexibility in their learning process, and in turn this brings more students to the educational realm. I will also be looking more into CBE, as I think that it is a great resource for us in education to know about. I believe that our students can greatly benefit from seeing other options to educational programs such as this. Furthermore, the fact that CBE is flexible, transparent., personalized, and affordable makes it that much more appealing to me. Overall, as the article points out "higher education continues to rise," and so therefore, it is important that we begin to look into other more affordable options to get the higher learning process going for those that simply

@Gena Jean- It's awesome that students are allowed to work without the pressure of performing at a moments notice. They can simply work at their own pace, to ensure that they get their work done and turned in online. How beneficial is that? Greatly beneficial...in fact, it is the way of the world at this point. Education needs to rise to the occasion of our current internet revolution. I love that education has accepted online schooling, it is the reason that I choose to get into a degree plan that will really teach me a thing or two about online learning, and online instruction. Honestly, sometimes it feels as if my online courses have been way more challenging than my traditional courses. I believe that this is due to the flexibility and regards to creativity that an online classroom provides for the online student. Great things are to come!

@Gena Jean I have not heard of the name Competency-Based Education, but I wonder if it just means online learning. The article explains its self-paced, but but would like to get more information of the meaning self-paced. I also have questions on what does it mean by personalization. How personalized will the CBE be? I think I am still trying to get more info on it. Its sounds like a great idea. I would love to see the list of the 18 universities and their findings.

Some kids need more social interaction than others...my oldest is one of them. My younger would probably be just fine without all the k12 drama and testing mania. Face to face instruction may provide students with the structure and extrinsic motivation they need to get through a course, but that might be all it does...help the child "get through." Though transitioning to to a home school or virtual school scenario would no doubt be tough, in the long run I think it would produce more capable, independent, intrinsically motivated people.

I had a student last year who suffered from severe social anxiety and missed far too much school to get her year's credits. She did well in my class as I was able to send her assignments to her electronically and she was able to do them at home, but she fell behind in others, as few teachers at my school do any kind of online interacting with their students. Ultimately she was diagnosed with schizophrenia and failed all but two of her classes. I think she would have been a perfect candidate for this kind of program and perhaps would have been able to graduate on-time while receiving treatment (she now attends an online high school and it doing well).

Eric, it is interesting that you are bringing up social interaction. In my experience, many homeschool students are over socialized (if there is such a thing). Because homeschool students can get their work done in much less time than sitting in classes all day long, they have the opportunity to get involved in social activities much more than someone sitting in school all day long. When they were younger, by noon we were done with school work and meeting other families at parks, museums, and various other outings. And this does not include the sports/music/dance/4-H activities we were involved in. Socialization or lack of it was never a problem. Olivia, I know a lot of parents who pulled their kids out of schools because the were diagnosed with ADHD. At home, they thrived in school work. And as I just mentioned above, once they had their work done, they had extra time to use their energy in other ways.

This type of instruction could be helpful for students who might be hospitalized due to an illness or injury. For example, my daughter spent three weeks at home due to a surgery and was instructed to avoid any leg movement. Now, imagine if she would have been unable to return to school. As a parent, I would support a like program like this.

I don't think that the comment is exaggerated. Students come to our classrooms with a knack for digital literacy. I think they are called digital natives for a reason. I agree that there is some level of frustration as we all learn to learn and incorporate these new tools into our curriculum. However, there is always a level of uneasiness as we venture into something new. If we are going to think and work outside of the box, then we have to expect some failures as we climb to the top!

After the sticker shock of the private high school costs, I was able to focus on the many ways they are using collabortion! What I enjoy in collaborative efforts is watching the students justify their answers/opinions. That is going to serve them well in future jobs.

I think the tools we will be showcasing in this class could be one way. I didn't realize there were so many of these types of tools out there and I'm looking forward to hearing about more. It can be overwhelming, though. So, I'd pick one or two to focus on and get my students going on those.

Luis, I think teachers and administration would encourage more collaboration, but since everything is so data driven, they are weary of what that would do to their numbers especially in the upper grades. I like the idea of collaboration because like your article mentioned students do not all have to agree and they are able to challenge each others ideas. The opportunity to work with others gives everyone a chance to learn from one another, however there could be students who do not like being part of a group. My younger son sometimes does get frustrated when in a group, since he is just one of those who likes to work alone. http://www.districtadministration.com/article/benefits-teacher-collaboration

As a math teacher, I love having my students collaborate. However, I found that just throwing a group of students together and hoping for the best does not work. I found an article called "So Collaborative Learning Tips and Strategies for Teachers" that summarizes a lot of what I have learned in to have successful collaborate learning. Check it out, it is one that you might like to bookmark for future reference. http://www.teachthought.com/learning/20-collaborative-learning-tips-and-strategies/

Elizabeth, I had to laugh at your mentioning the sticker shock! I was thinking I must be in the wrong private school. Although my private school is in Texas, the Archdiocese of San Antonio decided to incorporate the instructional shifts of Common Core, especially the mathematical practices. I find that collaboration is strongly needed in satisfying these practices. Collaborating is essential in make sense of problems and persevere in solving them. (MP.1) and constructing viable arguments and critiquing the reasoning of others. (MP.3) One of my favorite activities is to put a challenging problem on the board and have the students collaborate in groups to solve it. Then the groups debate between themselves as to the correct answers. We have many lively discussions. http://www.corestandards.org/Math/Practice/

For me the best thing about collaboration is that it all fits well with the things that I feel work best in the classroom. I am a big proponent of scaffolding in the zone of proximal development. Problem based learning (PBL) and task centered learning (TCL) are two of my favorite scaffolding tools. Many of the web 2.0 tools we have seen this semester are excellent tools to help develop PBL and TCL experiences. The collaborative nature of many of the Web 2.0 tools lends itself well to learners helping learners and I think this is the best method of learning that we can foster in our classrooms whether they are online or face to face. Collaboration is great but it needs structure and guidance in order to be effective and have long lasting results.

I'd say I'm going to play devil's advocate here and argue what I don't really believe, but I'll be honest: I'm on the fence about collaborative learning. I know in this day and age disparaging collaborative learning is like arguing for ObamaCare in Texas, especially with Social Media and sharing tools everywhere - many, many of which I use and advocate - but working in a group sometimes frustrates the snot out of me, and I'm not alone. http://www.wcer.wisc.edu/archive/cl1/cl/story/middlecc/TSCMD.htm#speed Some people like to just get the work done on their own, at their own speed, without all the trials and tribulations of working in a group. Here it is, Sunday night, and my son and I are waiting to hear back on a video presentation due tomorrow for his 8th grade English class. Obviously they're done with their Staar test and have more time and flexibility than they did a couple months ago, but the teacher has instructed them to work together collaboratively on a video version of a book they read...completely outside of class. So having worked through the challenges of scheduling a shooting time for the raw clips, and the challenges of everyone voicing different ideas on what to shoot, how to shoot, how to operate and so on, we finally got all the raw footage put together Friday afternoon. I keep saying "we" because for some reason my wife didn't want my 13 year old son going over to someone's house and recording themselves shooting BB guns !? Anyway, we specifically agreed and confirmed with one kid, who volunteered to do the editing and put the video together, that we wouldn't wait till Monday to see it for the first time. I send him the footage clips in the form of a Dropbox link Friday evening. At 12:15 AM last night he says he just got them and will hopefully get the video to us sometime today (even though the sent email below showed he rec'd the email Friday). Same old small group story. I know there are times when we need to collaborate in the real w

Eric, I feel your pain. I have to say I remember those days when my kids brought group projects and were always waiting for the group to meet during the weekend. Like always dad had to help on Sunday night. Of course the main excuse they got from their peers was the lack of transportation. Luis made a good point when he mentioned the availability of Web 2.0 tools. With all these real time collaboration tools it should be easier for my youngest daughter once she gets to Middle School and HS.

Eric, I also feel your pain. My daughter ends up doing most of the work on collaborative projects. But I think with the tips in the link I left and teachers giving students time to work on projects in class, a lot of this pain we go through could be alleviated.

Eric, I believe the fault is not in the concept of collaborative learning but in the design of the collaborative project. How can there be a fault in any learning tool or style that works? When we look at anything we do or use in the classroom if that system fails it is usually a design flaw as a result of the creator. Power Point is a great example, I don't claim to be a power user of Power Point but I know what the system is capable of and I know when I have seen a really bad presentation. Collaboration is no different, it takes a great deal of thought and effort on the part of the instructor to create a successful collaborative exercise that can be used to scaffold a class or subject effectively. I think that if you went back and looked at the design of the project you could probably identify ways to make it better and make it work. If you do that you should send feedback to your child's teacher, let them know what the problem was for your child and give them feedback on how to fix it. Remember, teachers are learners too!

Eric, I had a friend who worked for K12 and when she started and was so excited to follow her experience as I imagined it would be an excellent way to reach students and I imagined that perhaps one day I could follow her. As her year unfolded and she shared what it was like for her, I quickly lost interest (at least in that particular school). She had much the same experience described in the article, except her principal was even more abusive than what was described. She was overloaded, had almost constant meetings, did 15-16 ARDs and 504 meetings a weeks (she she was one of few certified teachers, she received the majority of these students who enrolled) and felt impotent to actually help the students she was trying to teach. Worst of all she took a 40% pay cut to do it. No thanks. Nobody becomes a teacher to get rich, but I can't imagine feeling like my students were being under served while also just barely getting by financially.

Eric and Olivia, I don't believe that this type of problem is unique to the virtual school environment. Abusive administrators, overloaded instructional staff and feelings of helplessness unfortunately are more common than they should be at any level and in every format. The solution is to identify the strengths and weaknesses of virtual schools, emphasize the strengths, find ways to minimize the weaknesses and subject the process to a continuous Quality Enhancement Plan (QEP). QEP, if properly developed and employed can lead to the same type of success in a virtual learning environment as is seen in a face-to-face setting. In fact there are many instances in which the quality of the online education is as good or better than what the students are getting in the face-to-face setting. The potential benefits of VLE and virtual schools should not be overlooked or simply discarded because there may be some issues. Progress is made by doing, evaluating, planning, doing again and evaluating to start the cycle over. VLE has not been around long enough for us to have had the opportunity to work out all the bugs. Look at how long we have been practicing face-to-face education and the improvements that we continue to make today in the way we deliver education in that arena, not to mention the continuous research aimed at understanding how to make it even better. Perhaps a blended approach at first is best, it gives us an opportunity to explore the potential of VLE while developing the standards, guidelines and techniques necessary to make it a successful learning experience while using the support of the familiar face-to-face environment. However, it is my opinion that this approach should be used to help us develop the best possible VLE experience for the future. Not as a replacement for face-to-face learning (I believe there will be a place for that for many years to come) but as an effective alternative for those who would benefit from it.

I think that there is definitely a need for an instructor and many of them. With the amazing collaborative tools we have, the ability to bring experts and amazing examples into the classroom (even virtual classes) is endless. The trick here is to teach the students how to use what they Google and how to use it safely. Application is the key. Googling something does not mean you get quality information. We still need the experts to create and curate the information. Many of the students would not push themselves to learn what they are taught in a classroom. Who would conjugate the verbs and use them appropriately in a story? Although the methods of teaching have changed, the material is vast and still needs to reach the students. Google does not do that!

We might not be better than google as instructors that know it all and students can just ask any question and we can immediately provide it, but we are better instructors than google because we can teach the students how to use google in different ways of teaching. All students learn differently and some students need an actual person to guide them step by step and repeat if needed. As instructors we can use hands on teaching something that google can not do. A high quality feedback is and will always be best provided by an actual person rather than a machine or web tool.

1. I do not think that VR can be used in all grade levels. I think that Pre-k to 4th grade (+/-) would need to first learn about technology in general and then they could understand a virtual world, plus they need to understand their real world first. VR could provide a visit to a Zoo or any other field trip that is currently impossible. We could take the students to visit other cultures or animal habitats. 2. I think that VR should be incorporated in High School for the students to learn the technology and be able to use it. 3. Well, maybe 3% of the companies are using VR because of the health concerns. The following article describes why so many developers are going slow in creating new VR devices and the problems they have with people throwing up. The "nightmare scenario", as they call it, has to be solved before the technology can really be sold or used for education. This article is from March 2015. http://www.nytimes.com/2015/03/05/technology/solution-to-nausea-puts-virtual-reality-closer-to-market.html?_r=0 The video you provide is amazing! I hope the developers can fix all the problems and can be an available technology soon. 4. I have had to research what apps are good for my students and try to find apps that do not have links that take them out, which has been a huge problem because once they are out, they click here and there and sometimes find things they shouldn't see. Most apps have their section for more information about the developer, but once they click there and go to the app store, and click here and there, they find other things. 5. Eventually VR will take its claim and there will be hundreds of VR schools and courses.

Ana Suarez, I agree with you about the time and open platform issues with virtual reality environments. I too have taken a course that explores virtual environments, but I am not sure how common it is for K-12 schools to use a virtual world. Maybe virtual worlds may not be a good fit for all levels, but I think benefit can come at the high school level.

Juan Alvarez, you make a great point, this technology may not be ideal for all grade levels. With this technology they may need to roll it out with higher level and work down to work out the issues, so lower level grades can make a smooth transition into the technology if possible. You make an excellent point, many may not consider. Some people are sensitive to the 3D nature of virtual worlds, and this can be an issue when trying to provide instruction. This might be a difficult thing to solve as it deals with the individual perception. Virtual worlds definitely need to be refined to make it more safe with a focus on closed platform. Like you said, students are going to wander once they are out in the world, we need to be able to control how their wandering just like we do in class. I definitely think that virtual worlds will begin to incorporate themselves in school curriculums. During my exploration of Second Life, I met with the owner of a the NOVA campus science world and he mentioned how the nursing program at the college was going to begin simulated practicals using Second Life.

Most K-12 has not embraced virtual reality in the classroom. There are many great learning opportunities such as the CSI lab for science. It is yet another engaging tool to add to the K-12 arsenal of learning experiences.

I believe exposing our students to virtual worlds is beneficial for them understanding and learning at the same time. I remember an anecdote from one class that introduced the Alamo in San Antonio using SecondLife software. My students liked this trip and learned a lot. We saved time and money and were able to have students "travel" and see places that they may not be able to see in real life due to everyday expenses, obstacles, etc.

This was a great article to read and well informative. In my opinion, The vision of Project Tomorrow is ensure that today's students are well prepared to be tomorrow's innovators, leaders and engaged citizens of the world. Also, I believe that by supporting the innovative uses of science, math and technology resources in our K-12 schools and communities, students will develop the critical thinking, problem solving and creativity skills needed to compete and thrive in the 21st century.