The Journal: Left to their Own Devices

As schools struggle to find the funding to equip students with and utilize the technology that is available some schools are looking to allow students to bring their own hardware into the classroom. In my school, we have recently had a similar quandary. Teachers and Administrators are often forced to struggle with the pros and cons of allowing students to bring their personal mobile computing devices into the classroom. There are of course pros and cons. The most notable pro would be that it can take some of the fiscal burden off the school. The cons, are far more numerous however, how do you ensure network security, how do you keep students from being distracted by programs they might have on their personal machines? Does it create a disparity between those students who have access to personal mobile computing devices and those that don’t. These and otehr questions are asked and in some cases answered in this article from The Journal. Read more here.

Using Social Media in Education Part 1 of a 3 Part Series #in

I found this online using Digg and thought it was a great read and really helpful. Again, I’m a big proponent of using Social Media to improve education. I just wish I was as eloquent as the author of this post. This is part 1 of a 3 part series that I found extrememly insightful and well put together. Read on here and follow the links to the other parts.

Saffron Interactive: Top ten tips for using video effectively in e-learning #in

For educators interested in incorporating social media into their classes and lesson plans unfamiliarity with the technology can be a major obstacle. Another stumbling block is that, while teachers often have great ideas about using Web 2.o tools and social media, they aren’t always trained in instructional design. I’ve made it a priority to post tips for this kind of thing on this blog and here’s another interesting little tidbit. If you want to incorporate video podcasts here are some good tips. http://bit.ly/6mXcBU

EdNa: $7m in e-learning funding and support for RTOs in Australia#in

One of the things that I find so interesting about education in the US is that we seem to be grossly behind the curve when it comes to incorporating technology into our educational system. It could just be my perception, or where I go to get my news, but I see so many bold Edtech moves being made oversees in both traditional and non-traditional education . Australia for example seems to have made a serious commitment to online education and training. This post from EdNa talks about out a new grant for Registered Training Organizations (RTOs) which will provide 7 million in funding and support to help embed e-learning for companies looking to expand their elearning capabilities. Read on here.

Motorola helps schoolchildren in digital age #in

Motorola is helping children in UK bridge the digital divide. They’ve started an eLearning Foundation that is the only national education charity that actively campaigns to help ensure underprivileged children have home access to online learning technologies. Read more here.

eSchoolNews: New projectors make any wall an interactive whiteboard in#

In a move that can help schools cut costs and improve technology on a budget, two projector manufacturers have just released new products that can turn virtually any surface into an IWB. Epson and Boxlight unveil potentially game changing technology. Read on here.

MobileCrunch: OCLC and Redlaser to Make Libraries Available Through Your Cell Phone #in

The Online Computer Library Center is one of those quiet organizations making a huge difference in the world. They don’t attract a lot of attention to themselves, normally, and much of what they do is plumbing that helps other organizations. They’ve recently partnered with Occipital, creators of the iPhone barcode scanning app RedLaser, to bring access to their enormous database of books to your iPhone. Worldcat performs a similar function for Android operating system cell phones. Read more here.

eSchoolNews: Five ed-tech stories to watch for in 2010 #in

Here’s a post from eSchoolNews about 5 Edtech stories of 2010. I found the article interesting but I have to say that I didn’t exactly agree with the author’s viewpoint on all the stories. I took particular offense to the author’s assertion that the reauthorization of NCLB (No Child Left Behind) was a good thing. From the conversations I’ve had with educators and the research I’ve done on my own, NCLB is the death knell of American education. Students are not getting the full benefit of an education, instead students get pushed through to the next grade just to make the schools look good. It’s the educational equivalent of  ”cooking the books”. Of course that’s just one blogger’s humble opinion and I do agree that NCLB is an important part of improving education in America. I just think we need to get rid of it. This post was originally posted on eSchoolNews, which now requires you to login to read the complete story. More than likely any of my previous posts from this site will require you to login to view them. I’m a big fan of eSchoolNews and a free registration is a small price to pay for all the good information the site provides. Here’s the link to the story.  http://bit.ly/8BgObq

Using Google Wave in the Classroom #in

Here’s an article from LaCrossTribune.com about how colleges in Wisconsin are using Google Wave as a teaching tool. Google wave is sort of a combination of email and twitter on steroids. Take a look at the some of the possibilities. http://bit.ly/5Izwv9

13 Enlightening Case Studies of Social Media in the Classroom #in (via @Socialearning)

Earlier I posted an article from Slate about why Social Networking sites should not be blocked from students. Here are some examples of social media being implemented in the classroom. As the influence of social media spreads hopefully cases like this will become the norm and not the exception. http://url4.eu/10BiZ
[Categories Social Media in Education]