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http://www.technologyintegrationineducation.com . Technology Integration in Education is a site that does away with the hours of searching the net for the right resources for you. TIE is the Facebook or Linkedin of Education. It is the site to go to network with educators and professionals around the world in order to share best practices when it comes to teaching with technology. TIE is the site that allows members to form groups around ideas, resources and skills. It provides a place where best educational videos can be shared. It provides tutorials in the form or Podcasts or live webinars that give members the opportunity to share some of the multiple resources they could use in order to achieve different objectives. There is a constant streaming of news articles from most of the major educational technology magazines available in one location. In essence, everything an educator could need to integrate technology in their daily teaching can be found in this one location. Well know companies as well as start-up companies now have a single location where educators can go in order to see everything. This centralized location dramatically cuts down on the research and planning time and provides a way for companies to attract prospective clients to their company in one centralized location. Educators are able to blog and discuss their teaching as well as the products used in an open and friendly atmosphere. The opportunities are endless.Join us at http://www.technologyintegrationineducation.com

Has anyone ever used something like this in his classroom?  I have students that greatly enjoy having some music playing in the background (I limit it to classical piano, mostly).  Anyone know of a study that demonstrates if this helps students learn?

I've used Simply Noise in my classroom of 5th graders and I have had mixed results. Some kids really like it and some hate it. I tend to prefer the brown noise as opposed to white or pink noise. I think I might make less of a deal of it with my next class next year and just use it for a little longer period of time to get a better read on its effectiveness. I took my students to on a field trip to Environmental Systems Inc in Brookfield, WI and they use brown noise generators throughout their office/cubicle area to mask ambient noise. I found it very soothing. They used to have it timed to go off at 4pm and they found that their employees subconsciously sensed it was time to leave for the day. Not wanting to encourage them to leave early, they decided to gradually bring the volume of the noise down over the course of 30 minutes and that took care of their issue. Not necessarily applicable to what you were asking about, but kind of interesting.

Finally! A book aimed at helping non-profits identify usable communication strategies for social media engage based on case studies (i.e. examples). Many congregations and schools forget to sets goals and plan for internal and external communications and nurture let alone plug into the potential of social media to grow the kingdom of the Lord. As I recall, "Engage!" isn't simply the command of a fictional Star Trek captain, it's the command of the real Captain of the stars . . .

April 3 to 9 Olive Tree is giving away a Free e-copy of the ESV Bible which is one of the translations being considered for adoption by the WELS. Olive Tree's Bible Reader is my choice for lowest cost, richest features of available cross platform digital Bible Study tools. Nice paralleling of multiple translations along side original and nonenglish language editions (Greek, Hebrew, Latin, etc.). Large library of Bibles and commentaries to chose from. Better prices and far less blotted than Logos.

A NY Times review of OnLive's cloud based virtualized Windows 7 PC with MS Office for which you pay a puny $5 a month and use from your iPad. Coming "soon" to smart phones, and, of most interest to churches and schools, to your local Mac or Windows PC. Faster than any physical desktop and using an ultra high speed internet connection, the OnLive PC will almost entirely eliminate the worst time and software costs of operating a Windows PC. Read David Pogue's NT Times review to learn about the benefits and draw backs of OnLive's implementation.

Looks very interesting Randy. Thanks for sharing. this looks very promising. Have you tried it? I just downloaded the iPad app and created an account so I'm going to give it a try.

Shared by Pastor Rob Guenther - I've often wondered why DVD's don't have a TV edit track. You'd think it would easy enough to add a track where the foul language is edited out just like they do on TV. I'd let my boys watch some PG-13 movies if they had such a track. Well, there may finally be a solution I've been looking for... VidAngel.com offers $1 movie rentals. Well, sort of. You pay the retail price of the movie (let's say $20) to get a digital copy and they promise to buy it back (in this case, for $19) within 24 hours. (Or for a $2 "rental" fee if you get HD instead of SD.) I think it works like Red Box in that if you don't return it in 24 hours, they buy it back for $1 (or $2 in HD) less the next day until you run out of "credit" and then you eventually own it for $20. Cool program. But... what I like even better is the filter options they give. You can choose to remove sex scenes or bleep out certain language. Then it shows you what you'll see and hear and the new length of your movie. I think this could work well for youth groups as well as for individual or family uses. I think I'm really going to like VidAngel. I can still be culturally current but without putting garbage into my head. I may ditch Netflix DVD for VidAngel soon.

Understanding our habits and those of others . . How might Christians and churches better use life events, like pregnancies, as opportunities for the Gospel? Target figures out who's pregnant to influence their buying habits. How might we "gentle as dove wise as serpent" ambassadors of Christ act and speak to make the most of opportunities to present the best free offer every conceived . . . salvation? Note that the article is a plug for the author's full length treatment of "habits".

I have not used livecode.com myself, but this video goes over the simplistic nature of the programming language and how well it works for student learning of programming concepts. Check out the impressive portfolio of real apps online out on the web. It might be great for development of church or school apps too.

Just announced - Chromebooks dropped to the sub-$200 price point.  Some of the differences:  $50 cheaper, a 320 gb HDD instead of a 16 gb SSD, a VGA port, only 3.5 hours of battery life.

Simple clear presentation of why businesses (and churches, schools) should care about promoting and monitoring their reputation (i.e. "brand") in social media. What was it they say about "word of mouth" . . Social Media is today's high tech "word of mouth" at warp speed.

Excellent short article with essential IT management concerns and strategies for colleges and other non-profits, including  our synod, high schools, schools and, yes, churches. The same key questions and communication activities need to take place. The upfront costs of an IT system are only the beginning. The costs over the lifetime of the system (even a single computer with software) need to be included and budgeted. 

This author laments on the issues of trying to use email collaboratively wit all of the quirks in applications and OS platforms.

ntroducing a Hangouts app for Virtual Classrooms If you use Hangouts on air (or consider using them) for education, and miss any of the features below: - A full featured registration module to manage attendees - An all-in-one Event Planner/Scheduling/Conferencing app - A comprehensive e-mailing system with fully custom automatic invitation emails, reminder emails and follow up emails - Allow non-plussers attend your classrooms signing in with their Facebook or LinkedIn profiles - Run private HOAs (directly generate unlisted YouTube recordings) - Give the mic to a viewer on-the-fly and make them participant, the time of a question - Get fixed URLs for your permanent virtual classrooms (with or without scheduling) - View a map with geolocated attendees - View your attendees as avatars in a 3D virtual classroom , create a sense of presence, see who's raising hand,... - A unified & moderated chat for participants and viewers engaging in the same chat then you should look into +Business Hangouts : Business Hangouts is an app built for Google Hangouts by Altadyn using the Google Hangouts API (not built by Google ).

Shared by Cindy Krueger I've been following Jenn's Trends on Facebook for social media hints and tips. I'm sharing her recent blog post about protecting and recovering hacked social media accounts. One item of note is the LogDog tool to help protect your accounts. This topic is of special concern because I know a couple people with high profile accounts that have been hacked recently. Fortunately each was able to work with the social media company to get the account restored. Maybe less of a concern for churches and schools that have in person contact with followers but still something people will want to avoid if possible.

Summary of Lifehackers best reader polls of 2010

A desktop wiki like tool for keeping track of notes, phone numbers, and even has built in tools to use as your GTD system. It is cross platform running on Linux and Windows. With Dropbox you can keep your notes synced between all of your computers. You can even attach documents, files, and insert pictures too to keep all of your information in one place. Each note page is saved in plain text making it possible to edit the files with a normal text editor if you do not have Zim Wiki installed on a computer but have access to the files.

Free e-book. "Social media is no longer a new buzzword, an emerging trend, or some passing fad. It has taken a premier role in how we live and interact with each other. Social media has gone through its growing pains and is now a vital part of business marketing for companies large and small. "In this book, we'll cover how social media can help you build your brand, connect with new and existing customers, and improve your customer service before, during, and after customer transactions. Included are some of the most up-to-date tips on getting the most from your social networks. Social media is no longer a trend, it's an important part of your business."

9/1/17 - A new ebook from Church.mag. Shopping page includes free links to PPT and audio of a church presentation. Save 20% with code "levelup" "Unlike most books on social media which focus on building a following or making money, this guide focus on the purpose, proper use and the possibility of redemptive use of social media. It's a guide for personal use but also for educating a congregation and small group."

An interesting take on the topic. Not really 11, many are about how hard it is to sing with the displays. I have noticed that in some congregations we visit. I post this not to endorse the 11, but so that those of us that may be advocating for such technology understand the level of despise that may come with the displays from some members.

Thomas Frey provides insights on the direction learning and institutions of learning need to go given the emergence of online learning and billions needing education. Be sure to ready his paper hyperlinked to the article.