Educators recognize that they need to create new learning and teaching environments where the curriculum and instructional tools reflect today's world. Schools are full of students who want to engage, socialize, communicate, create, and collaborate in meaningful ways that reflect the world in which they live. How can education re-create itself to…

In 2010, State College Area School District (SCASD) in Pennsylvania, USA, agreed to help develop a virtual international classroom exchange called the Schoolwires Greenleaf program. The program's project-based curriculum paired U.S. students with Chinese learners to collaborate, foster global citizenship, and prepare students for the digital work…

All schools can benefit from giving students the option of online learning, but for many rural schools, online learning is a lifeline. In the past two years, Lane Education Service District in Oregon, USA, has developed online resources for 14 Lane County school districts, which vary in size from 170 students to as many as 17,000. Many of the…

Given the power of instructional technology and the ubiquitous nature of technology in society and the workplace, what are the social implications associated with teachers' decisions to use, or not use, technology to enhance teaching and learning? Despite current U.S. educational goals and the documented effect of the achievement gap, little…

Sixth grade language arts teacher Ms. Jones has just finished teaching a unit she's taught for the past 10 years. She uses the works of O. Henry to teach literary elements. Not much has changed about this unit over the years; the learning objectives and concepts covered have stayed the same. But something is different this year. Students are…

In late February, 13 members of ISTE's Special Interest Group for Teacher Educators (SIGTE) participated in a global exchange, traveling to New Zealand on a SIG-sponsored study tour hosted by CORE Education (www.coreed.org), a nonprofit research and development organization that supports the use of educational technology across New Zealand through…

What can Mali, an impoverished, land-locked West African nation, teach educators about mobile technology? Little to nothing, one might think. Yet in Mali, as in much of sub-Saharan Africa, teachers and students are increasingly using mobile technologies for learning and teaching. While educators in the United States have debated whether, why, and…

Digital texts are not new. In 1991, a videodisc-based program called Windows on Science became the first state-adopted electronic textbook in the United States. It was an interactive, multimedia-based program that enhanced the classroom learning experience with video and audio. Unfortunately, technology changed rapidly and videodisc players went…

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.…