I like the work that Powerful Learning Practice (PLP is the organization started by Sheryl...

Well, guys… It’s that time of year again—time to embark on another excellent adventure known as the beginning of a new school year. If you’re like me, you’re always looking for ways to get to know the individuals that are about to walk through your classroom door—if they haven’t done so already. Regardless, here is a list of 26 thought-provoking questions crafted by TeachThought to set the tone for the next nine months.   In addition to the questions, the TeachThought site also provides teachers with some nifty implementation strategies. Check out these tips here. Classroom Connection: Effective teaching is all about developing relationships. That said, use this resource to learn what makes your students tick so you can best meet their needs throughout the upcoming year. If you ask me, utilizing activities like this one is just another way to ensure your impact is a lasting one!

iCloud iWork now available to anyone. Go for it!: Ever wanted to try iWork but sadly only had a low...

Larry Cuban, for those not familiar with him, is a well known education author and researcher, who...

"Thank you LAUSD for giving anti-edtech proponents ammunition to use whenever a school...

Everone knows my district is a big fan of Flexbooks from the CK12.org group. Here is a short video we created giving you an idea of how CK12 works in a BYOD environment.

The Freshers’ Fair was held in the Roland Levinsky Building on 22nd and 23rd September and, as last year, Learning Technologists were present to tell students about the benefits of using PebblePad to record and reflect on their achievements. There was so much interest that we’ve completely run out of e-Portfolio Overview Guides for Students! Many had already heard of PebblePad through Induction presentations and, as last year, were intrigued by the ability to create CVs and publish ‘webfolios’ on the web. We also ran out of guides promoting ‘myBrand‘, a webfolio that offers advice regarding using the web safely and confidently to promote yourself and your work. This is timely as it confirms that students need support with digital literacy skills, an area which the University has started to address with Helen Beetham, a key contributor to the LLiDA Project. View the excellent photo set from Freshers’ Fair by Jason Truscott

About time someone actually said it out loud. We should no longer put up with ANYONE in a...

"Most classrooms still dominated by teachers teaching answers and students remembering them....

105 Thousand Free Digital Textbooks online: Anyone that reads this blog knows that I’m a fan...

Rafranz Davis recently released a book whose topic is near and dear to my heart: The need for...

From Pre-Fab to Personalized: How Districts Are Retooling Professional Development From Pre-Fab to...

Apps for Challenge Based Learning : These would probably work with Problem Based Learning, Project...

Foundation for Critical Thinking Youtube Channel: Discourse on critical thinking for teachers and...

Tom Vander Ark is the author of Smart Cities and the founder of Gettingsmart.com Here is a short interview I did with him on the idea behind the book Smart Cities, and how cities without lots of universities and money in their backyards can still become "smart." About the book: "As the majority of the world’s population becomes urban, cities must become centers of learning for young and old. Every person, organization and region needs to get smart - to skill up, learn more and build new capacities faster and cheaper than ever. In the long run, education is the economic development agenda. Innovative new tools and schools are making it possible for individuals, organizations, and cities to boost learning outcomes. Most begin with leadership and an innovation mindset. This combination of persistence, entrepreneurship and a collaborative focus on impact can be taught in every classroom and encouraged in every city. This book was created from a two year investigation project launched to discover the civic formula required to dramatically boost learning outcomes and employability." (The last few seconds of the interview dropped. My apologies. They were how to get your copy of the book.) Here is how to get your copy: Smart Cities http://gettingsmart.com/publication/smartcities/ Well worth the read. Get a copy for your local politicians while you are at it, and send a copy to each member of your school board. Tom Vander Ark is CEO of Getting Smart, an education advocacy firm, partner in Learn Capital, an education venture fund and author of Getting Smart: How Digital Learning is Changing the World. Previously, Tom was a philanthropy executive, public school superintendent and has vast private sector experience.

Incredible List of Twitter Education Hashtags and Calendar events: Click on title to go to...

TEDX: Kids need to make technology, not just use it: Published on Feb 10, 2015 As our societies...

The OneNote Staff Notebook app lets an education leader set up an ideal OneNote environment for...

Flipped Learning shifts the classroom from passive to active learning, focusing on higher order...

Download this Five Steps to Writing a Good Poem Poster: Click on title to go to a downloadable...

ELESIG (Evaluation of Learners’ Experiences of e-Learning Special Interest Group) is an international community of researchers and practitioners from HE and FE who work together to share knowledge and practice. On Wednesday 6th October I attended the above event to find out about the work involved in the JISC funded SLiDA Project - a study of how UK FE and HE institutions are ‘Supporting Learners in a Digital Age’. 10 institutions have produced case studies and reports with recommendations on how to develop effective institution-wide strategies and practices - these will be available soon. 3 case studies were presented to the group:- ‘How does the focus on developing digital literacies, through the use of blended learning, enhance the student experience?’ (University of Wolverhampton) Wolverhampton already has a widely acknowledged reputation for developing and using blended learning in its curriculum, especially through the integrated use of e-portfolios. The aim of this project was to embed 3 graduate attributes, one of these being digital literacy, into their programme curriculum, and this involved all services. Templates have been developed in the University’s e-portfolio system for students to record and evidence their digital literacy. Another project also used student ‘e-champions’ to use technology to support other students’ learning and act as a link between students and staff. Blended Learning is now integrated into all new courses. ‘How do research-informed approaches to learning and teaching support and develop learners in technology-rich environments’ (Oxford Brookes University) Oxford Brookes has done 5 years of work on learner experiences of e-learning research and aims to "provide an environment where students are proactively engaged in shaping their experience through influencing learning and extracurricular policy, processes and outcomes". It has identified digital and information literacy as one of 5 graduate attributes and has extended the SCONUL model (1999) as a generic framework. They are currently raising awareness and building confidence among staff through engaging programme teams in radical course redesign. The next step will be to undertake a redesign and development of the curricula in order to map the attributes onto each programme. More on this... How is a student enterprise at Surrey preparing learners for a digital age? Surrey is renowned for work integrated learning (WIL) with programmes in all disciplines providing year long work placements. Its CETL, SCEPTrE (Surrey Centre for Excellence in Professional Training and Education), elaborated on this concept, looking at the role of technology in enabling a ‘more complete education’. An outcome of this is CoLab, a student enterprise providing services to students, staff, business and local communities. 5 Students were recruited by SCEPTrE in 2007 who, in turn, took on further part-time (paid for 5 hours/week) recruits as networkers and technologists. Networkers interviewed the student body; technologists provided services: - websites, conferences, workshops and how to build iphone apps! In 2009 CoLab was incorporated into the University’s professional training framework with 2 full-time placement students managing the part-time workers. As the funding from SCEPTrE has now ceased, CoLab has become a commercial enterprise. Advice for others… engage all relevant services and take a coordinated approach allow all courses to define what digital literacy means to them allow time for people to come on board. Make it real, practical and useful by sharing case studies and exemplars identify champions and work with them to develop pilot projects that are relevant in a wider context articulate digital literacy as being developed through the learning process student-run organisations such as CoLab have the potential to enhance opportunities for creative and innovative projects

Only 40% of the World has Gone Online: State of Connectivity: A Report on Global Internet Access,...

What is the deal with Microsoft? If I didn’t know better, I would say they had went out and...

Appitic : APPitic is a directory of apps for education by Apple Distinguished Educators (ADEs) to...