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This great article from the BBC in February of 2014 talks about The Last Places on Earth without Internet Access. As you can imagine, they are few and far between but I found the *why* of the explanation very interesting. And the conclusion deals with something I feel everyone needs to do every day -- unplug. Oh, and I can add one more place where they don't have Internet access - in the guest rooms at the Luxor in Las Vegas. Speaking from experience. Linda

This may sound strange but after reading the article it made think of "Internet Free Zones" like we have smoke-free environments. We are so connected everywhere we go that it seems fine now. But all things in moderation, right. In the future I can see internet free environments happening to help peoples health :) I am sure like everything we overconsume, this will be bad for us too. Great article.

Infographic- The Internet in 2020. A lot there, but my browser allowed me to magnify it so I could read it better. Interesting trends. A lot of changes. A lot to worry about.

A great article that discusses some of the potential uses for technology and communication beyond the walls of the classroom. Through the use of the internet, online programs, and direct communications like Skype, Edmodo, and other instant messaging, students can attend the classroom, even if they can't get to the school on days of weather inconvenience. Snow, Water damage, bomb scares, you name it. Provided that the students could access the internet and had power, the school could exist for that day. Part of the issue is getting kids to realize that the learning can occur outside of the classroom. Another part is that sometimes snow days occur at very inopportune time, like right before benchmark/standardized tests. But, it appears that for the most part the article discusses saving money and keeping the schooling going, when the weather won't allow it. Not sure how many snow days your school has but... not the biggest issue for me. But then there is the other side of this issue. Some parents, and myself included, agree that there just isn't enough time off in the winter. Go to school in the dark, leave in the dark, creates no time for play, no time for a mental break from the classroom. And in a world where students have been accused of not spending enough time outside being kids, I would have a difficult time as a teacher expecting to see them sign in to my classroom, when I was also outside playing on one of those mythical "Snow Days."

This is an article about how a magazine called Cooks Source used an article without permission. When the author complained Cooks Source response was "So, to sum up: everything on the Internet is in the public domain and can be copied and freely used by anyone, and if someone copies your work and fixes it up for you, you should thank them."

Can you trust everything you read on the Internet? Can you trust anything you read on the Internet? Teach your kids which Web sites to trust! The words you are reading now have been read -- and reread -- by several experienced editors and educators.

What a great resource. We have recently had a lot of problems at our school with students using Answer.com and trusting the information there to be fact. We have had some interesting facts come to light as a result...

Zamzar is an awesome tool for educators who are going the extra mile trying to use technology in the classroom. Too many times educators receive files from other schools or colleagues that just don't work on their computer because of different operating systems and software platforms. With Zamzar you can take files of many different file types and have them be converted to another file type. There isn't any software that needs to be downloaded; just internet access.

Incorporating the use of technology and the Internet into the classroom is important as it becomes an integrated part of people's lifestyle. Here are three specific ways instructors can meet their student's expectations of using technology in school.

Start your own school internet radio station.

This is so cool and something that never crossed my mind as being available. Just goes to show we have no idea what is around the corner. I was on the radio station at school and had to drive to Boston to take a test with the FCC to get a broadcasting license, which I almost lost a couple of times for not following FCC rules to the letter. I wonder how that all works now?

When looking for various assessments in relation to technology, I stumbled upon this article that discusses assessments, not only in relation to all students, but students with special needs.  Technology has really made a breakthrough with communication barriers among children with autism.  Technology assessments have helped with data collection, communication, and allowing various learning techniques to create new methods of retaining information.  In relations specifically to children with autism, the internet is a social network for them and allows them to communicate without the need for speech.  It is very interesting and worth a read through.

If you haven't had a chance to use Qwiki yet for checking out an interactive way to search the internet then read the following blog and give it a try yourself. It won't take long before you are hooked. Great tool for an educator.

Tips on how to avoid scams on facebook - written by Richard Byrne

This article talks about how companies use Web 2.0 media as an advertising agent, and how some of these are scams. Furthermore it suggests he Better Business Bureau as a tool to identify these scams. It relates to IML as students need to have the technological literacy to determine which posts are frauds and which are legitimate. Furthermore, the need to have the awareness and ability to check these scams out on a legitimate source

Great article providing a Better Business Bureau list of scam alerts which I found interesting. The article mentions Facebook in particular but I have faced these scams and schemes in emails and on other game sites. I don't trust these surveys either that are sent through emails where they promise you to enter you into a prize drawing etc. So many scams- its good to know there's someone trying to do something about it by making the public aware of these scams. Also teachings students how to use the Internet safely should be part of the curriculum and also digital citizenship. We need to make our students responsible internet users and contributors.

Schools are giving students access to technology, such as Study Island, via their home internet connections. Students are able to keep up on skills, review, and continue working with education resources even when school is not in session.

Degreed is a free service that monitors and validates your lifelong educational learning from internet learning and real world degrees.

If we have a computer, we have a wealth of free tools and free education at our fingertips that we as teachers can use and that our students can use.

This is an interesting idea on how to use facebook as an educational tool instead of the social media giant it has become. My school just went to a 1:1 laptop school and there has been talk of baning facebook. This article makes quite the arguement for an educational use of this social media.

"As companies grow, in the age of the internet, they are drowning in electronic documents. Some people get so many e-mails each day that they don't even bother opening them. Official documents are nice, but they are no way to communicate." This article encourages and promotes the use of videos to communicate and tell stories.

This article discusses WikiTrust, a tool that students can use to evaluate the trustworthiness of information posted online. As educators, we need to teach kids how to use the Internet wisely and how to gain valid information.