iPads vs. Other Tablets

I went to a county technology meeting yesterday and we had a discussion about the iPads in education.  Specifically the ability to manage them on a network, deploy apps, and general settings and maintenance.  The overall feel was frustration.  I love to get a discussion going from those of you who may have used them in schools and have experience working with a large number of iPads.  What are your thoughts?

PLNs...What are your favorite sites in your Personal Learning Network??

Developing Your Own PLN: A Personal Learning Network (PLN) is an individual’s own network of people and organizations from which they learn and share ideas. How do you use the Internet to establish and create a personalized learning network that it is “always on?” How does your PLN help to create an improved learning environment for your students?

Blogging with Students

Today I'll be presenting in Mountainside, NJ to a great group of teachers who are interested in learning how to blog with students. We'll be using kidblog.org - it is a quick and simple way to get students blogging!

Preparing Students to Be Good People

"We need to champion concerted efforts to define and teach our students to be digital citizens because we're not. As a society, we have failed to recognize the crucial educational implications of the incredible shifts that information and communication technologies have provoked in recent decades....As educators, we have grown less confident, more complacent, and just plain meed, when we should have been insightful and bold." - David Warlick

The Flipped Classroom

I started my kids, ages 7 and 9, using Khan Academy to help boost their math skills over the summer. In doing this, I've been thinking a lot about "The Flipped Classroom" model and how successful this really could be. If you don't know about the flipped classroom, check out the article at this link:

http://www.thedailyriff.com/articles/how-the-flipped-classroom-is-radically-transforming-learning-536.php

I think it could really give teachers and students the time that they need to work through difficult struggles. Parents are often faced with trying to help their children learn skills and concepts that they, themselves, can't grasp. In the Flipped Classroom, teachers are available to help students apply the concepts that they learned the night before for homework. I think it's brilliant...thoughts?

Students Publishing on the Internet

So many schools and administrators are so fearful to encourage students to publish work on the Internet. Of course, we as educators, need to take precautions and teach students how to use the Internet safely, but the Internet gives students a voice. It provides for an authentic audience for which they can share their talents, opinions, knowlege and views. Beyond that, they can receive feedback from others when doing so. Students are growing up in a generation where it will be second nature to use the Internet to communicate and express themselves. Let's teach them how to do this safely! It is our job!

Newspaper Publishing Sites for Students

I'm researching the best ways to publish newspapers online for students. I like http://issuu.com/home . What about others? What does your school use?