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"Games like World of Warcraft give players the means to save Worlds, and incentive to learn the habits of heroes. What if we could harness this gamer power to solve real-World problems? Jane McGonigal says we can, and explains how."

"As soon as it was explained to me, I said, "Wow. I know a lot of professionals who have first world career problems." In my line of work, I interact daily with people who are unemployed or under-employed - many of whom are professionally challenged. They've got outdated skills, or were part of a dying industry that lead them to where they are now. So, when I hear someone who is educated, articulate, and above all, employed, say one or more of the first world career problems below, it can be tough to find compassion for them. I have to remind myself that "perception is reality.""

"After 18 months in the darkness of beta world, Mozilla's Open Badges project stepped out into the light recently with the unveiling of Open Badges 1.0. But will the concept of organizations bestowing their own virtual endorsements for the mastery of skills hold up to critical examination from a world that, even in an information economy, demands most of its skilled workers hold a framed degree?"

"Virtual worlds promise to deliver the best aspects of both real-world classrooms and online distance learning into a single platform. With tools that provide avatars that represent the educators and the students, voice and video capabilities, powerpoint and other collaborative whiteboard technologies and group and private messaging chat, educators are finding that the newest generation of virtual worlds can simplify the lecture and presentation process, allow students to ask/answers questions to their teacher or each other (without interrupting the lecture), socialize and learn in a very streamlined manner. All of this is done with the convenience and cost efficiency of distance learning."

"On Sunday, a salacious article flew across numerous news channels. In print, it was given titles like "Teenagers can no longer tell the real world from the internet, study claims" (Daily Mail) and "Real world v online world: teens do not distinguish" (The Telegraph). This claim can't even pass the basic sniff test, but it was picked up by news programs and reproduced on blogs."

"Sometimes free costs too much. As of January 1, 2013, Flat World Knowledge, which used to describe itself as the World's largest publisher of free and open textbooks online, will no longer offer content at no charge."

Of course, I get tired. Eighty-hour work weeks and way too many red-eye flights will wear anybody down. Nor am I immune to the stress that comes with running a public company for 22 years and shouldering responsibility for more than 70,000 Panera associates. But thankfully, I've never experienced the chronic exhaustion, inertia, frustration, and cynicism that come with a temporary slump or even classic burnout. Hence, I've never had reason to refresh my spirit and renew my spark. The reason, I think, is that I view my work as a lifelong learning journey. I go to work to learn about how the world works. How humanity works. And what will work in the world.

Lani Gunawardena is the co-author of a forthcoming book on global culture and online education. She said some global distance education evangelists tend to assume everybody speaks English and has the same priorities as they do.

"Game-based learning is still little understood and underutilized within the Scottish Educational system. Minecraft is a sandbox game similar to Lego that allows the user to create a world using blocks. Minecraft is being used in America and around the world to enhance pupils learning[i]. This study will aim to show that Minecraft corresponds to many of the learning outcomes within the Scottish national performance framework Curriculum for Excellence"

" Educators also have personal learning networks (PLNs) enabling them to connect with other learners around the globe. If you're new to this world, personal learning networks are created by an individual learner, specific to the learner's needs extending relevant learning connections to like-interested people around the globe. PLNs provide individuals with learning and access to leaders and experts around the world bringing together communities, resources and information impossible to access solely from within school walls."

"Sometimes free costs too much. As of January 1, 2013, Flat World Knowledge, which used to describe itself as the World's largest publisher of free and open textbooks online, will no longer offer content at no charge."

There is no such thing as a "Free Lunch"

"When I think about my own definition of a "meaningful assessment," I think the test must meet certain requirements. The assessment must have value other than "because it's on the test." It must intend to impact the world beyond the student "self," whether it is on the school site, in the outlying community, the state, country, world, etc. Additionally, the assessment should incorporate skills that students need for their future. That is, the test must assess skills other than merely content. It must also test how eloquently the students communicate their content."

"Static knowledge was useful when the pace of change in the world was slower than it is now. The focus now is on having the ability for lifelong learning and contributing. The internet enables this through the sharing of vast amounts of information and the opportunities for collaboration across the classroom and across the world!"

"The overarching theme now of Learnist and Lore (aside from the first letter of the names) is that these sites are designed to function just like the most popular social networks in the world … except they were built just for teachers and students. To me, that says that it's a very exciting time in edtech as companies are able to finally leverage the resources and data from the Facebooks and Blackboards of the world … then turning this into a very useful new tool that can be completely tailored to the education audience."

"In "The New Multi-screen World: Understanding Cross-Platform Consumer Behavior," we discovered that 90% of people move between devices to accomplish a goal, whether that's on smartphones, PCs, tablets or TV. We set out to learn not just how much of our media consumption happens on screens, but also how we use these multiple devices together, and what that means for the way that businesses connect with consumers."

"Note that Virtual Worlds is chugging out of the Trough of Disillusionment, with only 5-10 years to arrive at the Plateau of Productivity. Big Data and Gamification have a bit more hype to hype before their demise. In-Memory Analytics and Text Analytics are just now descending into the Trough! On, no! While Predictive Analytics is cruising!"

"The Global Education Conference is a collaborative, inclusive, world-wide community initiative involving students, educators, and organizations at all levels. It is designed to significantly increase opportunities for connecting classrooms while supporting cultural awareness and recognition of diversity and educational access for all. Last year's conference featured 300 general sessions and 20 keynote addresses from all over the world with over 13,000 participant logins. "

Overwhelmingly, students are open to adopting digital alternatives to traditional resources because they provide value on price, content, and portability. These are all areas where traditional textbook publishers have stopped innovating and fallen flat. Our findings suggest that students have already adapted to cost and access barriers with behaviors not supported by the traditional textbook market. We are at a new precipice in education, one where digital innovation will define the way our students work, learn, and interact - all in a post-textbook world.

"Imagine anyone in the world having access to a world-class education online for free, and getting credentials for it. With the launch of Open Educational Resources University (OERu) on November 1, that's exactly what is now possible. The launch is a significant milestone in higher education globally, and marks a transition from an international collaboration prototype to a sustainable, scalable program of accessible OERu study."

"Some of us learn best in the classroom, and some of us ... well, we don't. But we still love to learn, to find out new things about the world and challenge our minds. We just need to find the right place to do it, and the right community to learn with. In this charming talk, author John Green shares the world of learning he found in online video."