When Apple announced the new iTextbooks and the iBook Author App on January 19th they also upgraded iTunes University. When you go to iTunes (free download on any type of computer or mobile device) and click on iTunes U you will see the all new, and free online courses offered from a myriad of universities, colleges and technical schools from around the world. In the public school K-12 setting these courses could be used to advance the course work of high achieving students and also provide support for students that have struggled with traditional course work. In the area of professional development for teachers the new iTunes U is a tremendous resource for developing and implementing 21st century teaching strategies. The opportunity for us to learn, explore and grow as learners using iTunes is expanding everyday.

On the technical side, you only need to download iTunes and many of these courses are designed to be applicable on mobile devices as well. Check out the new iTunes and you will immediately see ways to apply it to your work.

This application is for engaging students with their phones and connecting with parents as well. To continue the search for tools to reduce the digital divide by interacting with students using their phones give Class Pager a try. Here are some problems and applications that were posted on their website:

Problem #1 : Students and parents keep forgetting about homework changes and schedule changes.

Solution: Use ClassPager to instantly message everyone’s phone — where you know they’ll read it.

Problem #2: Texting students directly from your phone violates their privacy — and yours.

Solution: Let ClassPager protect everyone’s phone numbers while you manage everything easily from the web.

Problem #3: Students in class are not engaged, and they’re too bored or too embarrassed to answer questions.

Solution: Use ClassPager to run classroom polls in realtime. Confirm everyone’s understanding.

Socrative is so easy to use! Check it out…

The Best Buy and Microsoft Corporations are partnering with the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to provide help to people without Internet service.  The following announcement will be made on Wednesday October 12, 2011:

The “Connect to Compete” public-private initiative, to be announced Wednesday (10/11/2012) by FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski, aims to assist the broadband-challenged — many of whom are poor, unemployed or live in rural areas — from falling behind in today’s tech-centric economy. Plans include offering Internet skills classes, digital tutoring and job certification programs online and on-site at Best Buy stores, libraries and schools.

It will be interesting to follow the progress of this program. Best Buy and Microsoft are to be applauded for taking these actions to reduce the digital divide in the United States.

U.S. broadband adoption (68%) currently falls far below that of countries such as Singapore and South Korea (each at 90%), Genachowski notes. “If we can take the broadband adoption rate to 100%, we will have doubled the size of the broadband market in U.S.,” he says. “That’s millions of more consumers online that will help boost our economy and our leadership position in the global economy.”

Click here to read the complete October 12, 2011 report in USA Today.

It is a great pleasure to accept the opportunity to present at the EARCOS Weekend Conference in Tokyo, Japan this weekend. The St. Mary’s International School is hosting the conference. It will be wonderful to tour Japan and work with teachers and administrators from International Schools in Asia.

To prepare for the trip I found a voice translator app called Jibbigo. There is a popular Android phone TV add running now that features the voice translator. As I was working with the app I thought how useful it could be in foreign language classes. It is simple and fun!

Can you as an instructional leader harness the power of a modern day social network and turn it into a classroom management and learning tool? Should teachers be guiding students today in how to work and learn in a social networking environment? Edmodo takes the FaceBook concept of online social communication and provides a secure and user-friendly social networking platform for classroom teachers and school leaders. The past six months I have been sharing Edmodo in all my workshops around the country and it usually is the most popular tool in the workshop. It is free, open to all students, teachers, and has a parent connection area.  Students are engaged with message boards, assignments, class calendars, resource libraries, and even a phone texting notification option. Edmodo’s greatest features are simplicity and safety.  I have worked with teachers at the fourth grade level and above who are successfully using Edmodo as a networking and learning tool. Teachers have the opportunity to engage and connect their students in a social learning environment. Try out Edmodo, your students will appreciate the opportunity!

As an educational leader how really networked are you? My networking friends have shared with me what a “Klout” score is. It measures how connected you are in the social media world. My first thoughts are how can superintendents, principals, and administrators use social networking tools as part of their leadership strategies toolbox? How can we empower school leaders to use social media platforms to lead and market their schools and educational programs? Take a look at the Klout web site and find out what your score is. My Klout score was 31 a week ago and now it is 38 because I increased my blogging and Twitter activity. You will be hearing more about Klout and other networking measurement tools for education leaders.  Anyone can grow a network of learners and work together to achieve. Think about how school leaders networking together could decrease the digital divide.

Would you like to turn your smart phone into a school backpack? Do both teachers and students need an electronic backpack? It is certainly a lot lighter! Adam Bellow who is the author and manager of the very popular EduTecher blog has built an app called the EduTecher Backpack. It is available as an iPhone, iPad and Android app. In this backpack you have links to learning resources, videos, blog post, and forums all built into a visually pleasing interface. There is even a place where you can take notes inside the app! This application adds to our conversation about using smart phones to attack the digital divide. This “backpack” of learning tools for the smart phone is one way of doing that. Great work Adam!

Why not engage the students smart phones as classroom response systems? Would teachers like the opportunity to deliver structured formative assessments to their students in a user-friendly online platform?  This summer in my workshops I have been sharing the online assessment tool called Socrative. Teachers can create a variety of assessments in just minutes and then deliver them to the students on a website or mobile device.  The developers provide a series of how-to videos that can be shared with the students and they will appreciate the opportunity to complete formative assessments virtually.    Socrative allows for electronic assessment without the use of an expensive response system or complicated software.  Many of the students already have their clicker/phone with them. Try it out and let us know what you think.