Digital School Solutions

Tools:
VoiceThread: Bring digital storytelling into your classroom with this collaborative flash based commenting tool via media (video or audio). Also, check out the educator's version of VoiceThread that will enable you to create a secure network for students and teachers.

Mindmeister.com: This is a great site for creating online, collaborative mindmaps. The basic version is free and it allows multiple users to create, share, and edit mindmaps in an easy-to-use format. Great for students or teaching colleagues who want to collaborate on a project from remote locations.

Ning: Take social networking to the next level in your learning environment by creating customized classroom networks. Our consultants are currently working with several schools in NYC to develop Ning networks from both an organizational and instructional perspective. Note: Ning is now a fee-based platform.

del.icio.us: Excellent social bookmarking tool that is perfect for sharing websites with your students, as well as team members collaborating on a group project.

Diigo: Another social bookmarking and research tool that allows users to highlight/annotate the Web. Perfect for sharing annotations with teams and stakeholders in your learning community.

yolink: Free online search enhancement software that works with subscription databases and integrates with Diigo and del.icio.us. Scans for text through links, returning relevant chunks of information from "one level deep" within linked websites. They also teach about Search Literacy and will send an Education Evangelist to work with your school.

Prezi: Take your presentations to the next level with this "zooming presentation editor" that allows for a flash-based non-linear storytelling experience.

21Classes: This free portal based blogging tool allows teachers to create virtual classrooms providing students with the opportunity to create personal spaces for deep and authentic exploration of topics in new and engaging manners.

Poll Everywhere: Bring real time polls into your classroom that students can access online or via cell phones.

Technology Integration Matrix: Produced by the Florida Center for Instructional Technology, the TIM was developed to help educators evaluate technology integration in the classroom.

Route 21: Developed by the Partnership for 21st Century Skills -- Route 21 provides educators with an interactive framework for exploring the critical skills our students need for competing in today's global economy.

Blogs:
The Innovative Educator: Lisa Nielson is the professional development manager for educational technology at the NYC Department of Education. Through her high energy and inspiring posts Lisa equips her readers with practical and pedagogically sound ideas for transforming their classrooms into 21st century teaching and learning communities.

339 Web: "This weblog records the work done in establishing C.I.S. 339 as a leader in infusing technology with successful middle school education. It also continues the dynamic relationship between DSS and the teaching staff of I.S. 339." --Pat Wagner, DSS Consultant

Weblogg-ed: Will Richardson is a premiere thinker in the blogosphere, as well as the author of the celebrated book, Blogs, Wikis, Podcasts and Other Powerful Web Tools for Classrooms. Will writes with a deep passion for school improvement, continually exploring how the Read/Write/Webb is transforming teaching and learning practices. A highlight of Will’s Blog is the engaging conversations and debates that spawn from his posts, allowing readers a true, participatory experience.

Learning Now: Andy Carvin is an Internet activist, author and Edtech expert writing for the PBS Teacher's learning network. Andy's engaging prose will draw you into national and local (NYC) issues, exploring "how new technology and Internet culture is affecting how educators teach and children learn."

Punya Mishra’s Web: Punya Mishra is the associate professor of Educational Technology at the College of Education at Michigan State University, and the co-creator of the Technological Pedagogical Content Knowledge framework. The TPACK model captures "some of the essential qualities of knowledge required by teachers for technology integration in their teaching, while addressing the complex, multifaceted and situated nature of teacher knowledge" (Mishra & Koehler, 2006).

Reports:
Access, Adequacy, and Equity in Education Technology: This 2008 study released by the National Education Association and the American Federation of Teachers described access to classroom technology as "woefully inadequate" in most schools. The study goes on to report that of the 1,934 public school educators surveyed a large percentage reported that they aren't receiving proper support in the areas that matter most: instructional software, technology integration, learning outcomes management, and designing individual lesson plans.

The Effect of Computer Use on Child Outcomes: This 2008 report conducted by researchers at Columbia University and the University of Chicago explores computer adoption among low income children in Romania.

National Education Technology Plan: This 2004 report released by the U.S. Department of Education, Office of Educational Technology focuses on examining the key issues and recommendations for implementing a national technology plan.

Evaluation of Evidence-Based Practices in Online Learning: A Meta-Analysis and Review of Online Learning Studies: This 2009 report released by the U.S. Department of Education, Office of Planning, Evaluation, and Policy Development states: “On average, students in online learning conditions performed better than those receiving face-to-face instruction.”