Thinkfinity has NEW FACE!

If you have not been to the Thinkfinity site in the last couple of days, surprise! The main page for Thinkfinity has changed to support 21st Century Learning. You will find entry points for educators, students, parents, and after school programs. The search engine moves fluidly between the entry areas. Once you click in the keyword area of the search engine, many search alternatives are provided in a dropdown box. You may search by subject area, grade level, partner site, and learning tool (lesson plan, interactives, media, printables, primary sources, and more).

Many people ask: "What does 21st Century learning look like?" If you click on the 21st Century Learning Link within the Educator Entry, then click on a partner site on the right, a model of 21st Century Learning through one of their lessons is provided. I plan to provide one hour webinars in the next few weeks for those that would like a walk through. Watch for those offerings. For those of you that are ready to go - visit http://www.thinkfinity.org/ . I am anxious to hear your comments. What do you think?

For those that aren't familiar with Thinkfinity, an online course is offered through TIE membership summer, fall, and spring. We will also have a booth at the TIE Conference with Field Trainers from around the state to share great educational ideas and resources with you.
If you have questions or comments - here is your chance. Lets talk.

All U Need Web 2.0

This online tutorial from Atomic Learning on Web 2.0 tools will be available FREE until November 30, 2007. Here's what AL has to say about this great resource:

Blogs, wikis, Webcasts, podcasts, RSS feeds, social networks . . . they're all a part of what has come to be known as Web 2.0. Workshop author Vicki Davis is a classroom teacher who has been recognized for her innovative classroom practices using Web 2.0. The Flat Classroom Project, which she coauthored, won ISTE's Award for Best Online Learning project for 2007, an Edublog Award for Best Wiki in education for 2006, and inclusion in the best selling book The World is Flat. Her Cool Cat Teacher Blog received an Edublog finalist award for Best Teacher Blog of 2006.

Atomic Learning is a TIE vendor partner, and a great place to find just-in-time technology PD for students, staff, parents, and administrators.

What if? Simulation Education

"Simulation always comes back to a person asking, "What if?" This month's Edutopia focuses on the benefits of using simulations in education. Written by Marc Prensky, the featured article reminds us that simulations are not new or limited to technology (people have been asking "what if" since the beginning of time), but what we need to remember as teachers in the 21st C. is that for our students, these technology-enriched versions of "what if" meet many of their learning styles. What this means is that even for those of us who are not the most game-savvy (with the line between simulations and games growing ever less distinct), we need to build on the instructional strategies that work for our students. And for many of them, games might be the ticket to helping them reach understanding.

According to Prensky, the benefits from playing games include learning how to:

• cooperate, collaborate, and work under stress
• make effective decisions under stress
• take prudent risks in pursuit of objectives
• make ethical and moral decisions
• employ scientific deduction
• quickly master and apply new skills and information
• think laterally and strategically
• persist and solve difficult problems
• understand and deal with foreign environments and cultures
• manage businesses and people.

More resources from Edutopia: Social Impact Games , Sims Info