Online Event: Breakthrough Learning in a Digital Age

Breakthrough Learning in a Digital Age. Google. Online October 2009. ...a new forum has been designed to advance a new paradigm for learning by harnessing the largely untapped potential of digital media. ...will bring together 200 of the nation’s (US) top thought leaders in science and technology, informal and formal education, entertainment media, research, philanthropy, and policy to create and act upon a breakthrough strategy for scaling-up effective models of teaching and learning for children. The forum will showcase cutting edge research, proven and promising models to challenge decision-makers in key sectors to help "refresh and reboot" American global leadership in education.

... watch the live broadcasts on October 27th and October 28th.

Online Event: Free Live Webinar: Cellphones as Instructional Tools

Free Live Webinar: Cellphones as Instructional Tools. Thursday, July 23, 4-5 p.m., Eastern time. Edweek webinar. Free registration is now open. Cellphones have been called "the new paper and pencil" or "the new laptop," and they could be in the hands of as many as 10 million to 15 million schoolchildren in the next few years. For their instructional potential and ability to connect students to the Internet, mobile devices are quietly making their way into schools in the United States and abroad. What does your district, school, or classroom need to make this technology leap? Guests will discuss policy and implementation issues and offer practical curriculum ideas for every subject. … Guests: Elliot Soloway, professor, School of Information, School of Education, and Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, University of Michigan; Liz Kolb, education technology instructor, University of Michigan and Madonna University; author, Toys to Tools: Connecting Student Cell Phones to Education; Ron Myers, principal, Trinity Meadows Intermediate School, Keller, Texas

Online Event: Educational Technology Debate

Educational Technology Debate. Edtechdebate.org. Online May 2009.  The Educational Technology Debate (ETD) seeks to promote a substantive discussion of how low-cost information and communication technology (ICT) device initiatives for educational systems in developing countries are relevant to the very groups they purport to serve – the students, teachers, and their surrounding communities. … It has begun with three topics for discussion
1. Are ICTs the Best Educational Investment?
2. Not Quite the Best Investment, but Pretty Good
3. If & When Schools Invest in ICT, Teachers First
…

Online Event: Economist Online Debate.

Economist Online Debate. Proposed: “The house believes that social networking technologies will bring large [positive] changes to educational methods, in and out of the classroom.” Online debate Jan 15-25, 2008. …the current proposition (and upcoming debate) … puts technology itself on trial, and the debate is sure to raise questions that extend far beyond the discipline of education, including: how must we adjust our lives now that technological interaction is increasingly replacing face-to-face communication? Is electronic social networking a valuable tool or merely a distraction? Should we proceed with caution when implementing new technologies, or should we focus on the positive changes that arise from increased electronic connectivity?