The article goes on to discuss some of the problems and shortcoming with educational technology, and the tendency for educators to use technology in an effort to "appease administrators" rather than using technology for truly educational purposes. Riddle raises some excellent questions that get to the heart of why we integrate technology into education.
The site also has a write-up on "What Teachers Need to Know about Using Hashtags in Google Plus." For those who have never used the now ubiquitous hashtag (#) it's basically a tool to categorize whatever you are writing or posting about. For example, if you searched #edtech, your search engine would bring up all discussions that had been tagged the same way. And now, Google Plus is supporting the use of hashtags, and this new post has also the basics you need to know.
The site also covers the free web app,"GeoSettr - Create a Street View Geography Game." An excellent resource for the social studies classroom, teachers can use GeoGuessr (paired with GeoSettr) to create an enjoyable, interactive tour of historical places and landmarks.
Finally, for those familiar with RSS readers (programs used to compile and read "feeds" from blogs and sites you like), Google Reader is shutting down next month and Free Tech has posted a review of "Feedspot - A Simple Google Reader Replacement." Another alternative reader that I'm a big fan of is Flipboard, it's a great way to get all your facebook, twitter, RSS, and news feeds in the same place.
Getting Smart also takes a look at the importance of bilungual education in an article entitled, "Can Sexy Accents Save Us?" The post discusses the often neglected benefits of offering bilungual classes in school, especially given the ever-increasing rate of global connectedness our society is experiencing.
Teach Thought has also reposted an article from October by Psychologist John Jensen which discusses "Critical Thinking From the Ground Up." If you have 30 minutes today, this is a great article to read and it provides an incredibly interesting and detailed analysis of how educators can help foster critical thinking skills within their classrooms.
Today, we'll end with an infographic from Getting Smart on How Digital Learning Contributes to Deeper Learning. See you tomorrow!