Interactive whiteboards are all the rage in classrooms across the world these days, and for good reason. Like most technology, they hold students' attention much better than a traditional lecture-and-blackboard lesson ever could. They also solve the problem of having only one classroom computer for 30 students by projecting the screen at the front…

Educators know there is a disconnect between students' technology experience outside of school and what they use in the classroom. At home many students play and learn with an array of tools that are restricted, banned, or, in many cases, just not available at school. They also know that effectively infusing technology into the classroom does make…

Media--text, images, audio, and video--underwent a transformation from analog to digital formats during the transition from the 20th to the 21st century. Digital media can easily be replicated, downloaded, revised, edited, and reposted, and the implications of this are affecting education, government, entertainment, culture, and society. The…

Personal learning networks (PLNs) are not new. People have long relied on their families, friends, colleagues, and acquaintances to supplement their knowledge about the world. But the times are changing. Information and communication technologies (ICT), including an ever-growing repertoire of open source applications, have freed content from the…

In this article, the author introduces the world of RSS (Real Simple Syndication or Rich Site Summary), one of the least used and understood of all the Web 2.0 tools. RSS technology has two parts: (1) feeds; and (2) aggregators. RSS feeds use a special type of HTML known as XML. Each feed is defined with channel tags, which contain specific…

Those who work in schools understand the demands placed on teachers in the face of mounting pressures from parents, administrators, and standardized tests. It would be foolish to assume these demands do not overshadow aspirations to remain current in educational technology trends and tools. That is why it is more important than ever for ed tech…

Online learning is creating new opportunities for thousands of students across the globe. Educators who embrace these reforms see this trend as a way to strengthen schools and meet students' individual needs. In this article, the authors describe how educators at Florida Virtual School embrace this learning environment to provide students with a…

Online courses are flexible and convenient for students, but creating them takes time and careful planning. Educators need to reflect on the goals of a course change when transitioning from a classroom setting to a virtual environment. In this article, the authors have drawn up an outline of the basic steps needed to go from a traditional course…

Web conferencing tools help educators from around the world collaborate in real time. Teachers, school counselors, and administrators need only to put on their headsets, check the time zone, and log on to meet and learn from educators across the globe. In this article, the author discusses how educators can use Web conferencing at their schools.…

Technology has changed for the past three decades, but the issues have not. Educators still face barriers to incorporating technology into their lessons. In the past, Dave Moursund, the first executive director of International Society for Technology in Education, wrote editorials predicting technology's impact on education. In this article, the…

Should teachers sacrifice class time for professional development? Two authors present their arguments to this question. The first author contends that teachers should definitely use class time for professional development. Technology is changing and growing all the time, and it is their job to prepare students for the world they will inherit.…

Today, information and communication technologies such as Facebook, MySpace, and Twitter are some of the most popular technologies available on the Internet, with millions of users worldwide. Research is still trying to discover how people use them, for what purposes, and in what settings, and investigate how they may be shaping the ways they…

Technology integration happens when schools remove barriers, incorporate appropriate pedagogy and instructional strategies, and provide opportunities and support for teachers and students in the classroom. Assisting teachers in the classroom as they gain the confidence and skills needed to be successful in sustaining new practices is a critical…

By all accounts, the Denver School of Science and Technology (DSST) is a special school. It was the first public charter high school in Denver to become a one-to-one laptop school, thanks to a $1 million gift from Hewlett-Packard. Even though the school accepts applicants via a lottery system and its charter requires that 40% of its students come…

The leadership of today's schools supports both students' academic success and their preparation for employment in a global work environment. As stimulus funds become available to U.S. school districts, it remains critical that technology leaders align technology acquired with those funds with system-, school-, and classroom-identified student…