A recent article entitled Open Content in Practice describes a 21st Century Learning environment that is setting the stage for education in the future. Open High School of Utah is a virtual high school that does not use textbooks, but instead relies on open content for its curriculum, which is accessible by students 24/7. The school was launched in 2009, and currently enrolls approximately 600 students.

Sophia.org is an enhanced social teaching and learning website that offers academic content free of charge. There are over 25,000 tutorials that are currently offered in the areas of English, Science, Math, Social Sciences and Fine Arts, just to name a few. It has been described as a mashup of Facebook, Wikipedia and YouTube, that is focused solely on education. Sophia.org has become especially popular with teachers who have flipped their classrooms, and have seen their students’ grades improve after using the content found on this website.

Blended learning refers to the combination of different learning environments, usually a traditional face-to-face classroom model and at least one form of technology-based instruction. Although initial implementation may prove challenging at first, the majority of students and teachers alike find significant benefits in adopting a blended learning approach.

This article by Bernard J. Poole is a must-read for all educators, administrators and school board members.

Ten Pillars of Successful Technology Implementation

A flipped classroom is a nontraditional method of instruction where students are learning material at home, and then applying and reinforcing those concepts the next day in the classroom. Some of the benefits of this type of instruction include the ability to learn topics more quickly, and the ability of the teacher to provide more individualized instruction for the students that need additional help.

Zero To Eight: Children’s Media Use In America

With the rapid advancement of technology over the past few decades, children are consistently being introduced to media at a very young age. A recent research study, conducted by Common Sense Media, has determined the role of media in children’s lives, and provides reliable data on media use among children ages 0 to 8. Some of the major findings of the study include: