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Google has outdone themselves again. Google docs has just added the ability to open a research pane directly within your document. Find information, cite your sources, and add pictures without ever really leaving your document. Great tool for teachers who want to make researching easier for students.

A lofty empirical research article intended for doctoral candidates and other researchers but if you can get past the SAT style language the information contained is rather interesting. While my high school students will not be writing formal literary analyses I am interested in them producing high quality papers based on valid research questions/topics and having them think of new ways to view the same literature. Some of the texts we read in class have so many articles and summaries already prepared that it is sometimes hard for students to think of new ways to approach the material and this article offers some interesting thought processes to consider when preparing a literary analysis.

Recent research study shows game based-learning 'seem[s] to foster higher-order thinking such as planning and reasoning more than factual or verbal knowledge". Also "Instructional computer games seem to facilitate motivation across different learner groups and learning situations" And we already know they're addicting.....

This post highlights the effects of digital technologies on student research habits. It is a good article to debate whether continuing new technologies and media are adding to the quality of student education.

This article discusses research that has been done regarding the needs of people to obtain media and information literacy skills in order to better many of their experiences in 21st century society. The article states that "knowing how to search for, analyze, and interpret information is a skill that will be used for more than just writing a good research paper: People use media literacy skills for applying for jobs online, getting relevant health information, and sifting through online educational opportunities, for example." Ten recommendations for developing stronger media and information literacy skills are given in the article. Legislative efforts from the federal government to provide funding in support of programs that help to develop these 21st century skills are also discussed.

This article succinctly describes the results of a comprehensive research study conducted by Harris Interactive for educational publisher, Pearson. Within the articles a link is provided to access the results, including a 40-slide PowerPoint presentation and a 32-page detailed report, each containing several statistical charts. The report is useful for schools deciding which device(s) to provide for students or to use in a BYOD situation.

This article suggests that blended learning is better than either on-line learning or face-to-face learning. It further suggests that more research is needed to determine what type of learning is best for what type of student.

From the Free Technology for Teachers blog, I found an entry about web search lesson plans created by Google. From our previous readings, I've come to understand research strategies as a major component of media literacy. In the blog, there are links to the Google created lessons. The plans are developed according to skill level. I find this an interesting and helpful teacher resource; however, there are some search categories, which are quite elementary, if not useless. Student's research habits are often deplorable, so these tutorials point them in generally useful directions. It is necessary for our students to develop strategies for differentiating between poor resources and rich, academic sources. Is Google created strategies the best option?

It appears this link may be dead

Hi Kevin, I am sorry about the dead end link. If you are still interested try here: http://www.freetech4teachers.com/2012/05/web-search-lesson-plans-from-google.html

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.

Glog used to plan the research process

Brief article about various ways teens use web 2.0 skills. Takes a look at proper use of tools such as Wikipedia, Facebook, and Youtube.

Research was done on whether students learn better from lectures or hands on and the outcome was clearly in favor of hands on. This article highlights a study and actual research performed to show the difference in results. The study was also done with middle school aged students.

Research topics at different reading levels.

Great article to support how to go about teaching students how to locate, evaluate, and use information effectively.

A teaching guide as well as lessons to go from "search to research"

This article brings up some very good points about turning to e-books for textbooks in the classroom. The research hasn't been done on the effects of doing so....what would the effects be on students and their reading skills, learning, or the repercussions on teaching in the classroom? Also, they bring up a valid concern of how much control this would all give to Apple?

Author Bernard Luskin indicates that most of today's literature refers to the physical changes in technology but as we learn more about human behavior and how people learn, it will dramatically impact the way we teach globally. The author provides 'key takeaways' from the article which all relate to media literacy. He explains that this new 'exploding' environment will impact the future of learning for all levels of education as the media, learning psychology, technologies become popular tools for learning. As we learn more from research and studies about media and how it relates to human behavior, it will increase the effectiveness of the ways technology is used in education. The author states that the 'big "E" is for "exciting, energetic, engaging, extended learning". He explains that E learning has and will continue to grow as a key in media literacy and the way people learn, study, individual behavior in society, and products that are produced. This interest in technology, media, communications and how humans learn has actually developed a new field of study, Media Psychology. The author supports the need for people to enter this field and recommends that we learn what e-learning is about and go beyond the electronic gizmos and gadgets.

The exploding new media and communications environment has implications for the future of both K-12 and adult learning as media, technology, and learning psychology increasingly become tools for learning in and outside the classroom. The new research area of media studies, i.e., the study of media effects, includes media psychology because an understanding of human behavior is vital to the effective use of technology in education.

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.