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I get fired up when I read articles like this...they validated my beliefs...especially when using technology in education. But, it is also refreshing to consider a more balanced view such as this comment to the article. "Education, at all levels, has two very different functions. The first is developing the capacity to ask new questions. The second is developing the capacity to answer questions already asked. Both capacities are equally necessary - a curious person with no technical knowledge of the tools with which he could satisfy his curiosity would be stymied in his goals, while an incurious technical expert would never know which goals to have unless instructed. The methods of developing each of the capacities is different. The latter needs to be more didactic, the former needs (progressively less) guided exploration."

The author encourages educators to take control of their own learning and to remember how important is their role in encouraging students when embracing new tools to develop creativity and innovation; students need to be guided to realize that the technology they use to socialize may be use to connect to experts in topics of their interest, and to collaborate with them.

This article presents proof, by a special ed teacher, that the iPad is a successful tool for boosting IEP progress

This article explains how technology has introduced tools that can facilitate communication with learning disabled children.

"...you can now sort your search results by readability. The readability index is a bit coarse, but it is helpful none-the-less. The index use a simple ranking of "basic," "intermediate," and "advanced."

Students can't utilize web 2.0 if they can't search for tools that are at their reading level.

A great article about how it is actually quite easy to use many of the web 2.0 tools to collect and analyze quickly, the current media and create connections between it and your classroom, or at least ideas to which you teach. This teacher did a great job of doing what so many of us try to do everyday. Finding current events and relating it to our classroom. But by having more feeds connected to one site, she was able to quickly narrow her search to whatever it was that she was teaching at the time. She also made it a point to observe the news feeds with her students and ask them to try to make the connections. If there was a story that made sense or got them intrigued and interested, they researched and read it together. A great way to teach young students how to filter the information that they are being exposed to, and to seek out credible references to initial questions and information.

Here is another useful resource for planning and successful integration of technology in the classroom.

This site looks at information literacy and looks at the 5 different "minds". They relate them to ethical, disciplined, synthesizing, creative and respectful minds when talking about students using web 2.0 applications.

Interesting article that discusses how our brains change when using Web technologies. The term "partial attention" is explained as "a state of constantly scanning for information." Insightful description of how our world has changed significantly now that technology is here to stay.

This article from eLearn Magazine discusses how neuropsyhcologists are studying the effects of using new media and Web 2.0 tools on our brains. Their results show both positive and negative findings. Some of the benefits include certain areas of the brain being worked harder and making strong neural connections allowing us to process and evaluate large amounts of information quickly. A downside is that we are not retaining information for extended periods of time and we are losing the ability to communicate with feeling because we are not always in face-to-face contact with others. The article also discusses Psychologist Howard Gardner's "Five Minds of 2.0 Learners." These are higher order thinking skills he believes individuals need in order to be successful in the digital world. These include disciplined, synthesizing, creating, respectful, and ethical minds. This is an interesting read and could start a great classroom discussion about technology use with your students.

this presents an opinion on Instructors commenting on students discussions. Many observations. The author statesher best advice is "" to be a presence in each discussion room and... what was most important was not the quantity of the interactions with students but the quality of those interactions." The author found if she did not comment students were disappointed and lost interest in the discussion so the teacher is the cheerleader to highlight important things and clarifiy any confusions.

Online lessons reach remote village in India via Skype. Lessons on numbers and the concept of infinity are made accessible via this free communication tool.

Author and innovator Milton Chen discusses how communication using mobile tools and web 2.0 technology encourages life long learning and proposes that project- based learning creates student engagement and involvement.

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.

This periodic table provides links to graphic organizers that can be used for visual representations for ordering ideas, organizing information and planning assignments.

This site discusses the pros and cons of three major Web 2.0 media tools- Twitter, Facebook and the newest of the three, Google+.

Struggling students need inspiration to write creatively. This article highlights the Amazing Story Starter. It can be used as a class resource on a SmartBoard or individually. Awesome creativity tool!

Ironies and contradictions within the educational system are highlighted in this presentation by Adam S. Bellow. He has advice to school administrators about the use of digital communication tools in the classroom. He states that "We're doing kids a major disservice if we don't teach them good digital citizenship." He discusses 7 rules that should be allowed in school, but are problems.

A discussion on the use of Web 2.0 tools (mobile devices!) and the need to update acceptable use polices.