Blogs on Classroom Technology

Editor's Note: Today's guest blogger is Jim Brazell, a technology forecaster, author, public speaker, and consultant. It is the fifth in a five-part series on the convergence of STEM education and the Arts (TEAMS).

The mandate of the 21st century and what everyone in the STEM game is pursuing is the capacity for "knowledge innovation." According to Debra Amidon, the mother of the knowledge economy, "Knowledge innovation is the creative process that delivers new knowledge, intellectual property and ultimately adaptation and survival." (Debra Amidon, July 28, 2010, Email Interview)

This summer I created a summer reading network that allowed me to monitor the progress of my AP English Language students. They are reading 1 Dead in Attic by Chris Rose and I have asked them to read and annotate the text very closely. I also wanted to monitor their progress by questioning them throughout the summer at varying intervals and compose a response journal.

I am writing this blog post on the new Apple iPad while on a plane returning from the Newschools Venture Fund Community of Practice and Summit in Washington DC. There, at the nation's capital, a gathering of education entrepreneurs from across the country explored the themes of technology and innovation.

The learning landscape is shifting under our feet. It's an exciting and momentous time for technology advances in learning, from the explosion of interest in online courses to free videoconferencing to powerful new devices at lower cost, such as the iPod. Having worked in educational media and technology beginning in the 1970s, I dare say that more change has happened in our field in the last four years than the last 40.