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"In 2013, a theme that is absolutely certain is disruption. Some of that disruption will be through technology, some of it decay of existing power-sets. How it will change education over the next twelve months can be guessed in part by looking at the previous twelve, a time period where we've seen iPads capture the imagination of national media, MOOCs catch the eye of the bluebloods in higher ed, and BYOD look like a better and better choice for K-12 public education districts everywhere. In 2013, those trends will continue, along with some new ideas as we begin to demand more than feel-good potential out of learning experiences for students."

"The "Policy guidelines for mobile learning" developed by UNESCO seek to help policy-makers better understand what mobile learning is and how its unique benefits can be leveraged to advance progress towards Education for All. UNESCO believes that mobile technologies can expand and enrich educational opportunities for learners in diverse settings. Yet most ICT in education policies were articulated in a pre-mobile era and they do not seek to maximize the learning potentials of mobile technology. The rare policies that do reference mobile devices tend to treat them tangentially or ban their use in schools. Today, a growing body of evidence suggests that ubiquitous mobile devices - especially mobile phones and, more recently, tablet computers - are being used by learners and educators around the world to access information, streamline administration and facilitate learning in new and innovative ways. Developed in consultation with experts in over 20 countries, UNESCO's "Policy guidelines for mobile learning" have broad application and can accommodate a wide range of institutions, including K-12 schools, universities, community centres, and technical and vocational schools."

Long (about 12 min) but diverse comments and opinions from across the globe from education ministers and other education leaders about what education is today.

The leader of the US Public Sector Education at Cisco describes three edtech trend to watch for in 2013 -- The Internet of Everything, shared services, and cloud computing.

This short United-Eye Productions video employs free-style animation to show five key ways that education is improved by technology: Global learning Game-based learning Virtual worlds, digital simulations, and models Mobile learning Real-time data-based decision making

This RSA Animate was adapted from a talk given at the RSA by Sir Ken Robinson, world-renowned education and creativity expert and recipient of the RSA's Benjamin Franklin award. Watch this lecture in full here: http://www.thersa.org/events/video/archive/sir-ken-robinson

"One of the best services Google+ provides to its users is called " communities ". Any Google Plus user can easily create and host his/her community on the cloud and in a matter of few clicks.For us in education we can use this service to create a community for our class. In this virtual space, you will get to share with your students resources, links, and also get them to participate and contribute in it. You can also create class events with dates, location, and more details and share them with your students and their parents as well. Needless to say that you can use Google Hangout right from your community to hold video conferences with your students."

"This year Sugata Mitra, Professor of Educational Technology at Newcastle University in the UK, has been awarded $1 million in seed-funding for his wish to design the future of learning by supporting children all over the world to tap into their innate sense of wonder and work together. He hopes to build a School in the Cloud, a learning lab in India, where children can embark on intellectual adventures by engaging and connecting with information and mentoring online."

Great article by Doug Johnson sharing ideas for how the role of the IT Director is evolving - very relevant to all models and levels of learning

"Connexions is: a place to view and share educational material made of small knowledge chunks called modules that can be organized as courses, books, reports, etc. Anyone may view or contribute: authors create and collaborate instructors rapidly build and share custom collections learners find and explore content"

"What we are missing in education is not the resources -- but the creativity to make the most of the resources we have."

"Two principles guide this article: 1. Social-Emotional skills and strategies should be addressed and taught in school settings. 2. Video and online games can promote SEL skills and as such, should be integrated into classroom instruction."