An article by Nora Carr of eSchoolNews.com identified five tips for communicating using digital technology in the upcoming new year. These tips reflect the digital society in which we live, and the desire we have to stay in constant communication with one another. In my Multimedia Technology classroom, I rely on the use of technology in all forms, including mobile devices, social media, YouTube, etc., to instruct and follow current trends. However, I focus on teaching my students how to use this technology both responsibly and productively.

Personalized learning has become a popular catch phrase in the world of education over the past few years, even presenting itself as one of the hot topics at the ISTE 2012 conference. The basic premise involves customizing learning environments to meet the learning needs of individual students in the classroom. However, whether you are an advocate of personalized learning or not, the emergence of new technologies make this type of learning more accessible and feasible in today’s school districts.

The prospect of leveraging technology for student use can be somewhat daunting for administrators and school district officials, simply because of the seemingly endless options available. School districts want to provide students with access to the latest technology in order to enhance their learning experiences, but also have a responsibility to stay within budget. It is vital for them to invest in educational technologies that will prove to be cost effective for each specific district and still help students become 21st century learners. EmergingEdTech conducted a recent survey of teachers, administrators, technology specialists and others to determine which educational technologies have the most impact on student learning.