No Future Left Behind

As I watched this YouTube video that I came across via Twitter over a week ago, I began reflecting on my experiences as an instructional technology and design professional working directly with K-12 classroom teachers and administrators.  In the occasional isolated instances where I observed effective integration of instructional technology tied to curriculum, in combination with great classroom management and instructional strategies, learning and understanding of content/concepts appeared to be a natural yet engaging process for 21st century learners.  When students are in a learning environment where they have to think, solve real-world problems, collaborate, utilize technologies that help accomplish learning goals and objectives, and take control of their own learning, they are engaged and test scores are typically impacted in a positive direction.  This video brings up a number of pondering questions and messages; particularly in the fact that learning is not confined to the classroom walls.  What messages do you think this video is sending about where education needs to be headed?

Who knew you could do this with a Wii remote?

When I watched this YouTube video, I thought to myself "who knew that a Nintendo Wii remote can be used to create a simple interactive whiteboard?" As a casual video gamer myself, I never thought of how the infrared (IR) technology at the end of a Wii remote controller can have potential implications in the K-12 classroom; especially for school districts with limited technology budgets. Although the ideas presented in this video are innovative and exciting, they do pose some limitations. Nevertheless, gaming devices, or gaming in general, will have educational implications. What are your thoughts?

Google Documents Resources for Teachers

Google documents consists of several integrated productivity tools that enables students and teachers to easily create, store, share, and collaborate on documents in real time.  These integrated applications include word processing, spreadsheets, presentations, forms.  Recent updates to Google Documents includes a drawing tool and the ability to upload and share any file-type.  This post will list various Google Documents resources organized by specific tools for classroom teachers.  If you have any additional resources to share with teachers, please post them as a comment to this blog post.

• Document (word processing)
  
  • Peer Editing Using Google Docs
• Spreadsheet
  
  • Google spreadheet charts
  • Spreadsheet Formulas in Google Docs
• Presentation
  
  • Using the Presentation Toolbar in Google Docs
• Forms
  
  • 10 Google Forms for the Classroom
  • Introduction to Google Forms (blog post by Matt Silverman)
• Drawings
  
  • Google Docs: Create a Drawing
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• Any Google Document
  
  • Google Apps Lesson Plans
  • Google Docs File Management
  • Google Docs in Plain English
  • Google Docs in the Classroom
  • Google for Educators Classroom Activities
  • How to Share Documents in Google Docs
  • Introducing a new Google Docs (overview of current Google Docs interface and features)
  • Teach Collaborative Revision with Google Docs
  • Using Google Docs in the classroom: Tips and Tricks

Learning Networks and Environments with Symbaloo

When I came across this video I thought to myself "we should see more teachers and students doing this." As I was listening to the 7th grade student I noticed she had used Symbaloo to organize her Web-based tools to research, collaborate, and share content all on a single page. With all of the social networking, social bookmarking, and other Web resources that I have piled up in my browser bookmarks, I wanted to find a more efficient way to organize and access my resources that are part of my own professional learning network (PLN). After creating a free Symbaloo account, I was able to quickly create and organize links to my PLN tools such as Blackboard, Twitter, Google Account, and Ning all on a single page known as a desktop. You can even share your desktops with others. Take a look at Symbaloo to see for yourself and share your thoughts.