Technology Integration

Terry Heick is Editor at Edudemic.com and Director of Curriculum at TeachThought.com. He also blogs for Edutopia, and spends his nights catering to the whims of his three children who know more than he does.

Google+ Parts

Google+, as you likely know, is Google's own foray into social media.

As much the digital overlap of Google Search, Docs, Calendar, and Gmail software as it is a response to Facebook, Google+ has strong potential application in formal learning environments. First, a look at what makes Google+ tick.

Shahzad Saeed is a student, open source enthusiast and author of the ebook Definitive Guide to Google Summer of Code. He also runs a blog providing guidance to student projects. You can follow him on twitter @shahzadsaeed.

Adora Svitak (@adorasv on Twitter) is a student, author, teacher, World Food Programme youth representative, proud feminist, and advocate for youth voice and literacy. You can read her blog at http://www.adorasv.blogspot.com/.

What's the most powerful resource in your classroom? Is it the formidable stack of textbooks, the encyclopedia, the computer? As much of a reader and education technology enthusiast as I am, I believe this most powerful resource is something else entirely.

Eric Brunsell is Assistant Professor of Science Education @ UW-Oshkosh. He is the facilitator of Edutopia's STEM group, and a regular blogger for Edutopia. You can follow him on Twitter @brunsell.

We all know that the web is full of excellent web resources for science teachers and students. However, unless you live on the web, finding the best websites can become quite a challenge. This isn't a "Top Ten" list -- instead, it is a list of websites that I either use on a regular basis or just find interesting.

Nick Provenzano (@thenerdyteacher on Twitter) teaches high school English at Grosse Pointe South High School in Grosse Pointe, MI. He also blogs at TheNerdyTeacher.com.

I've been thinking about cloud technology over the past few weeks and thought I would share a few great reasons why educators should consider making the move into the cloud.

Sugata Mitra is Professor of Educational Technology at the School of Education, Communication and Language Sciences, Newcastle University, England, and a visiting professor at the MIT Media Lab in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Professor Mitra works in the areas of cognitive science, information science and educational technology, and he has a keen interest in engineering and software development. This is an excerpt from his new e-book, Beyond the Hole in the Wall: Discover the Power of Self-Organized Learning.

In early 1999, some colleagues and I sunk a computer into the opening of a wall near our office in Kalkaji, New Delhi. The area was located in an expansive slum, with desperately poor people struggling to survive. The screen was visible from the street, and the PC was available to anyone who passed by. The computer had online access and a number of programs that could be used, but no instructions were given for its use.

Jim Berman (@ChefTalkJim on Twitter) is a Chef Instructor working with 10th, 11th and 12th graders at Delcastle Technical High School in Wilmington, Delaware. A member of FENI and the National Restaurant Association, he's a contributor to the Cooking Without Borders blog.

This blog is the first of three in a series on Career and Technical Education.

A Viable Alternative to "Success"

What shop class is not:

• A predetermined destination for students with discipline issues
• The alternative venue for teenage offenders opting to avoid prison
• A bandage for an oft-bleeding system

Geoff Butterfield has served The George Lucas Educational Foundation for 17 years as IT Director, Senior Technical Producer and most recently Technical Production Director at Edutopia. He is also co-owner of Coconut Moon Web Services. We will miss him!

I've always said, "I'll leave when the website is done, or the educational system is fixed," which made my colleagues giggle. Anyone who's ever worked on a big website like edutopia.org knows there's always something to do, just as anyone who's ever worked on education reform thinks Sisyphus is a big baby who should stop whining and get back to work.

Andrew Marcinek is an instructional technologist at Burlington High School in Burlington, MA. He is also a regular blogger at Edutopia.org. Follow him on Twitter @andycinek.