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Throughout the ages of educational ideas and philosophies teachers have been big fans of having their students keep a journal. Journals are kept in language arts, foreign language classes, and I have seen them in science classes. Students don't particularly like doing them unless they enjoy writing. If given a choice between keeping a journal in their spiral notebook and keeping it online, I would wager that a majority of students in this digital age will prefer to keep it online. So why not give them the choice and tool of Penzu.

Aviary is a powerful suite of graphics and audio tools that can be used for educational purposes and assignments. It is a very dynamic piece of software that is hosted in the cloud and is an excellent web 2.0 tool. Click here to read more about using Aviary in the Classroom.

Love this app. The opportunities for creativity are only limited by the user's imagination. A great way to introduce students to graphics and image editing.

An overview commentary on the use of EPortfolios for teachers and students. The article addresses what and how to use electronic portfolios and addresses how one should go about setting one up and how to assess the contents. One point not addressed but one I encountered in another technology class I took was what happens when the computers or programs are incompatible between the teacher and the student (using a mac versus a pc for instance). Very interesting.

This is a How-To guide for using Acrobat to create, edit, and interact with assessments. This includes adding and commenting on video and audio elements in the document. We have this program on our school computers so it may be worth giving this a shot!

Over the past two years, Forsyth County Schools in Cumming, Ga., has slowly allowed some of its 34,000 students to bring their own notebooks, iPhones or other computing tools to school and connect them to the district network. By allowing students to bring these devices into school they are allowing students to be creative in the classroom by giving the opportunity. So many districts have students "shut down" when they come into the building, and using mobile devices is what students know best, we need to embrace their knowledge, creativity and abilities in the classroom.

I really appreciated that this article acknowledged the efforts being made by educators and administrators to adapt the process of teaching in response to the communication revolution that technology has created. It is much more involved than simply giving students computers or iPads. And though the buildings and classrooms may look similar to how they have looked for 100 years, what is happening inside in terms of learning and multimedia communication is quite different!

This post was useful to language teachers and educators who are novice at implementing technology in their teaching contexts. It has listed samples of some of how to integrate web2.0 tools into language classes to train linguistic skills.

This article, written by EDUDEMIC author, Jeff Dunn, offers 5 distinct reasons why schools need to move toward Digital Textbooks/ebooks as opposed to traditional paper books/texts. He begins by adding support to his stance by citing Ed Secretary, Arne Duncan's call to make "textbooks obsolete". Among Dunn's reasons and pertinent to our Media/Inform Literacy discussion are these ideas: Using digital texbooks or ebooks on line, allows for students to interact with the book. Some books have videos, highlighting/notetaking features, moveable models and interactive diagrams. In addition, such technological books are more immediate-they are simply accessed by the press of a button. Arne Duncan also remarked that the US is lagging behind other countries in converting to these computerized books. With states desiring a lead position in education in the US, and Obama's push (Connect Ed) campaign to have all schools connected (internet/computer/tech), this transition to Digital Text/ebooks seems a likely probability-and exciting one too. Though sitting back, especially in a beach chair, with a paper book still holds an appeal for me.

Chartle is an awesome site that allows students and teachers the ability to create dynamic and graphic charts based upon data collected in the classroom. This site is extremely easy to use and can be easily used across most grade levels. Click the link to view a short tutorial and example of what Chartle is.

I really enjoyed this article because it addresses the practical application of technology in the classroom and how, as a teacher, we can maximize student time when using Web 2.0

Nice tips to keep the computer lab time as efficient as possible.

This app lets kids access purchased databases and will also let users know available sources within 10 miles of there location. I think this app has the potential of combining 21st century informational literacy skills with "classic" literacy skill.

Students with the "Access My Library School Edition" app for their iPhone can search for their school library, enter a password and then access the Gale Databases . WPS has free access to the Gale Databases through the Massachusetts Library System. It is available online from the school computer network or online. See your school librarian for details.

An Iphone Ap for kids to let them access online data held in a library within 10 miles radius of them.

This article talks about ways teachers are trying to incorporate cell phone usage in class in a positive way. There are some great examples in this article--

I have tried a couple times having students use the phones they have for research in class to supplement the computers we have available.

This is an exciting article about a project that encourages young people into STEM careers through weekend and summer courses in computer game design. The program uses mentoring and collaboration to teach Game Design.

For STEM education, this is an exciting opportunity for students. I have had a couple student go after game design careers and have been successful. I was interested to read about the support that is built into the program (mentors) and the collaboration to help teach design. My former students have told me that is how they like to learn the design is through collaboration with fellow students in the class they are in.

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 article explains MobiSocial's collaborative look at the future of mobile social networking. It offers some info on new apps created to aid in its uses, safety and ethics.

Children are being invited to a Defcon conference in Las Vega, this August 2011, to learn how to become hackers. A major emphasis of the event is the use of hacking skills for positive purposes. The children will be encouraged to put their knowledge to good use and avoid the temptations of becoming a black hat hacker. Apparently the US authorities, intelligence officials and security officers will be attending to keep an eye out for promising hackers who can be hired to help fight cybercrime. How's that for open communication! The Inquirer - Computer hardware news and downloads. Visit the download store today.