Microsoft Offers Free Tech Training To Millions
The online resource is focused on helping users figure out what types of technical skills are required for IT jobs, and provides resources to help acquire these skills. The Web site offers access to several Microsoft online training programs, from very basic (e.g., “How to use the Internet”) to much more advanced (e.g., “Implementing and Supporting Microsoft Windows XP Professional”).
Here comes the e-book revolution
Just because e-books are available on better (the new Kindle) and more
(all cell phones) devices doesn’t mean people will read them. But mark
my words, read them they will. Six trends will conspire over the next
year to drive e-book reading to levels that will surprise just about
everybody.
BlackBerry Babies
The colorful device from LeapFrog has a large LCD screen and full Qwerty keyboard, just like a BlackBerry, as well as a built-in calendar to help children learn the months of the year.
Need help with class? YouTube videos await.
When University of Central Florida junior Nicole Nissim got
stumped in trigonometry, she checked out what was showing on YouTube.
Nissim typically scours the video-sharing Web site for clips of
bands and comedy skits. But this time she wasn’t there to procrastinate
on her homework. It turned out YouTube was also full of math videos.
Podcasting in Instruction: Moving Beyond the Obvious
Minds on Fire: Open Education and Learning 2.0
The world has become increasingly “flat,” as Tom Friedman has shown. Thanks to massive improvements in communications and transportation, virtually any place on earth can be connected to markets anywhere else on earth and can become globally competitive. But at the same time that the world has become flatter, it has also become “spikier”: the places that are globally competitive are those that have robust local ecosystems of resources supporting innovation and productiveness.
Low-cost Handheld Targets Elementary Students
Elementary schools in at least seven cities are piloting an innovative handheld computer that costs only $50 and can be used to help teach reading and math.
Cape Town’s Open Education Declaration
We are on the cusp of a global revolution in teaching and learning. Educators worldwide are developing a vast pool of educational resources on the Internet, open and free for all to use. These educators are creating a world where each and every person on earth can access and contribute to the sum of all human knowledge. They are also planting the seeds of a new pedagogy where educators and learners create, shape and evolve knowledge together, deepening their skills and understanding as they go.
Wimba Introduces New Collaboration Tool
At the inaugural Wimba Connect 2008 user conference Tuesday, Wimba unveiled its new Wimba Pronto, a collaborative instant messaging tool geared specifically toward education.