An Interview with Portal Front about Educational Technology

I recently had the opportunity to talk with the folks at PortalFront Hosting about educational technology.  The Q&A can be found at http://www.portalfronthosting.com/blog/andy-petroski-educates-us-on-educating-with-new-innovative-technologies.

How would you answer these questions?

What are some of your favorite tools that you have used in the past 5 years in the field of education?

Are there certain ways that technology is changing the way we teach and learn that you could explain to us? Why are these new ways beneficial?

Do you feel like there are certain technological tools out there right now that are changing the face of how we do business, for instance Microsoft Sharepoint, Cloud Intranets or Extranets, what are some of your favorites and why?

When you are working in corporate consulting what are some of the common areas you see that need work to bring companies into 2012, how do you fix them?

If you could offer educators advice on upping their use of technology in the classroom, what would it be?

Where do you see educational and business technologies headed in the next few years?

Digital Citizenship Curriculum/Videos from YouTube

I've been working with the PA Hybrid Learning Initiative over the past couple of months to design and deliver training for teachers who are implementing hybrid learning in their classrooms this fall.  It's a great opportunity for students and teachers, but there will be adjustments that need to be made.  I've shared the following resource with the hybrid learning IU trainers and teachers as a resource they might be able to use in the collaborative station.  But, it's a good resource for any teacher who's asking students to research on the web, synthesize that information and create a new product.

YouTube has created a curriculum for secondary students (approximately ages 13-17) that teachers can use to help educate students on digital citizenship topics.  Lesson plans, presentation slides and videos are available on the Google in Education > Teachers page.  You can also subscribe to the YouTube channel for the initiative.

The videos have been available for a couple of years, but I think the curriculum is new.  Has anyone used the videos with students before?  If so, have you found the videos to be helpful with developing students' digital literacy skills?