Blogs on Technology Integration

In 1948, the Swiss inventor George de Mestral returned from a hike with his dog covered in burs. After examining how nature designed these clinging bristles under a microscope, it dawned on him that a similar structure could function as a clothing fastener. The synthesis of his thoughts and prior experiences gave birth to the invention of Velcro.

The Pew Research Center released new data this week on Americans' text-messaging habits. According to Pew, 83 percent of American adults now own cell phones and almost three-quarters (73 percent) send and receive text messages. The research only looks at adults' usage of text-messaging, but it does find that younger adults are much more active texters than older age groups. Cellphone owners between the ages of 18 and 24 exchange an average of 109.5 messages a day -- that's more than 3200 messages per month. That's compared to about 41.5 messages a day for all cellphone owners, a figure that's largely unchanged from figures reported in 2010.

As the new school year gets underway, there will be plenty of times when the "techy" teachers are going to be asked to help others get their classrooms set up. As I spent the first few days helping my friends put their digital lives together, I made sure to follow some important tips I learned over the years.

Another year of school is upon us. My son, who just turned three, just started his first school. He excitedly talks about it, plays pretend school with his Superman and Thomas the Train toys, and loves to carry his new backpack around our house. Watching his eagerness, I hope that, in some way, we all feel that way about this new school year.

And why not be excited? We teach in amazing times. Just think about the technology that you carry around in your pocket or the things you are able to do on the Internet. Technology makes meaningful collaborative and engaging interactive classroom experiences possible with minimal effort.