Smarter Phones!

From the Sci-Fi movie Minority Report to an i-phone owned by you, the future of Smart Object recognition is closer than you think!

For the complete article, click here.

Not so fast...

Before you make fun of Grandma or Grandpa's futile attempts at texting and navigating the web, watch the 6th sense video below.

Today's technowiz is tomorrow's technophob!

Unless, you stay green and continue to grow.

A glimpse into the future

Don't trade the stimulus cow...

For Magic Beans!

Some Prime cuts of the 100 billion AARA beef:

53.6 billion in stablization

10 billion for Title I

3 billion for school improvement

12.2 billion for Special Education
instructional modifications
assistive technology
related services
instructional content
assessment tools
training

Fee Fi Fo Fum...Arne Duncan says, don't be dumb!
Spend Wisely

Before you buy the latest and greatest technology, ask yourself what information can your students discover by using the technology.

Inverted Education Model

1. Brain research has demonstrated that delays in error correction reinforces the error.

2. Homework may not be reviewed and returned to students for several days.

3. Contemporary scholarly research has shown students learn better from listening to a podcast than the actual live lecture.


We presently lecture at school, assign homework, and then grade.

What if???

We assigned students to listen to a podcast of the lecture at home, and then guided them in class to complete their assignments?

Sound too simple?

Most worthwhile ideas are.

Thank you Alan November for providing this insight at NECC.

Will any of you dare to do a pedagogical flip?

I hope so.

Examine ~ Research ~ React

The Smithsonian is offering interactive web tours to help our students explore America's rich and varied cultural heritage. Students will be challenged to tap higher order thinking skills by utilizing the tools provided to examine, research, and react to the incredibly interesting artifacts of historical significance.

And best of all, it is absolutely FREE!

To visit the site, click here.

Play to Learn

In two weeks, Carnegie Mellon University will be hosting the 2nd Annual Game Education Summit.

I love gaming...
I love education...
I love da' Burgh...

Hope to see you there!

For more information, click here.

A Writing Revolution

"Writing has never been accorded the cultural respect or the support that reading has enjoyed, in part because through reading, society could control it's citzens, whereas through writing, citizens might exercise their own control"
K. Yancey

Web 2.0 is helped shift the focus of literacy from obedience to creativity. So go ahead and Tweet your heart out, the world is listening.

For an excellent article on literacy in the 21st century, click here.

Shmoop There It Is!

Shmoop wants to make you a better lover (of literature, history, poetry and writing). See many sides to the argument. Find your writing groove. Understand how lit and history are relevant today. We want to show your brain a good time.

Our mission: To make learning and writing more fun and relevant for students in the digital age.

Shmoop is currently a Beta Test. To paraphrase Robert Frost, we know that we still have miles to go before we sleep.

To visit Shmoop, click here.

Learn to Laugh & Laugh to Learn

"Humor is needed in literature because it ventilates or disrupts oppressive conditions, it provides a different lens to view reality, provides hope, pleasure, and fun."
Zarnowski (2000)

The moralistic, didacticism of 17th Century Puritan literature is gone. If we want our children to read, let reading be enjoyable, and the universal sound of enjoyment is laughter!

Comic Creator, a free online tool for educators, is just the right medicine to cure classroom boredom. Students can easily write and illustrate their own stories, or develop a comic strip as an extension exercise for assigned readings.

To visit Comic Creator, click here.