If you are a teacher with a passion for teaching, ThingLink is an essential tool for your toolkit.  This flexible tool is well-suited for helping students dig deeper into content as they create. Learning to use ThingLink is an adventure worth exploring.

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How do you use technology to enhance teaching and learning? 

The SAMR Model provides a useful framework within which to consider how you are using ICT. 
Are you using it simply to substitute an old way of doing a task with a new way - without any functional change?
Does the ICT add some value or extra features? 
Does it significantly change the task or even redifine what learning looks like?

Here are some useful starting points to understand and begin using the SAMR Model 

BLOGS

• Edudemic
• Edutopia
• ICTatCC
• IWBNet supporting digital classrooms
• Fabulous Education Technology Blogs Worth Following
• Scoop it Educational Blogs 
  
• Cybrary Man
• and more 

Twitter
Here is a starting place about who to follow. All tweet regularly about ICT, digital technology in education, creativity and 21st century learning.
In no particular order...

• ictjs (us!)
• TED_ED (Educational talks on TED)
  
• globalearner (Alan November)
  
• SirKenRobinson
• ICTmagic
• Edudemic
  
• EduTweetOz
  
• EduTECH_AU
  
• 50 Education Leaders Worth Following On Twitter
• ipads4educatio1
  
• danhaesler
  
• TeachThought
  
• Steve_Collis
  
• ewanmcintosh
  
• classroom20
  
• Stephen_H
  
• EducationApps_
  
• achurches
  
• ipads4learning
  

When I visit a digital age classroom where students are actively using technology tools for inquiry and creating new products to show their learning, I see a similarity to an ecosystem. The students and teacher interact within the classroom environment in an organic way to construct learning experiences. What are the components of this digital age learning ecosystem?..

A Sense of Community
Teachers intentionally nurture a community in the digital age learning ecosystem. They know the interests, strengths, and challenges of their students, and they are eager to learn alongside them. Rather than viewing themselves as content experts with the primary purpose of directing instruction, teachers in the digital age learning
ecosystem relish the roles of learner and explorer. Digital citizenship is ingrained throughout the practices of the classroom. Because students have typically developed their own norms and practices for how they should co-exist with technology, teachers in the digital age learning ecosystem must encourage appropriate netiquette and the responsible use of technology tools and resources.

 Essential Questions
Teachers should design lessons or  units of study within the digital age learning ecosystem by posing essential,  open-ended questions.

read article by Tim Clark ... 
in Digital Age Learning posted on July 6, 2014

In the words of Kyle Pace....
We need to stop putting the pressure on ourselves to be as good as so-and-so; or that I should using this tech tool or that tech tool. This is an internal struggle that you won’t win. What matters is that you are taking the necessary steps to move forward in your practice. You’re becoming better! That’s what the focus needs to be. Not on the speed it’s happening (or isn’t) or if you’re using the same tools/devices as your neighbor in the classroom next door. It’s better to move forward slowly than not move forward at all!

I hope that the resources within this website can help teachers to find ways to find tech tools that help them in their quest to move forward in their practice. Being a teacher in the 21st Century is, and will continue to be, a challenge!