Whenever I travel for business, I take my tablet along. It connects me to work email, it plays my favorite music and it allows me to catch up on Red Sox games during baseball season. It is also a filled with pre-K apps for my son to learn his numbers and letters in preparation for kindergarten.

This use of the tablet for engaging young minds is probably no surprise to most parents, and it is no secret that tablets are changing the way our children are learning both in and out of the classroom. More and more schools are interested in ramping up the role of technology in the classroom, and with this in mind, we put together a webinar for K-12 educators on the very topic of tablets in K-12 education.

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Tags: Case Study, classroom, deploy, education, K-12, network, networking, school, Tablets, technology, utica, wireless

By Jason Kohn, Contributing Columnist

As I’ve been reading about technology in education, one of the most interesting trends that keeps popping up is gaming. As a casual gamer myself, I’ve heard the arguments about how gaming improves hand-eye coordination and problem solving and all the rest. (In fact I tried many of them with my mom when I was 12 years old)

But the arguments for gaming in education today are far more advanced and compelling than I’ve realized. A lot of very smart people are working on this subject, and a lot of innovative educators are putting it into practice.

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Tags: classroom, education, gaming, internet, learning, research, technology

Today’s students are wired -- which is now an old school way of saying connected!

In fact today they are wireless! They have grown up with technology. They have integrated it into their lives. They socialize through technology. Technology, supported by robust and secure networks, gives them instant access to information at home and on the go.

But, what about their classroom experience?

Some forward thinking educators have realized that technology is a key ingredient in driving student engagement and learning outcomes. These educators are embracing new learning programs that feature netbooks or a tablet. In the hands of students, these Internet-based devices can help to increase collaboration and engagement, creating a technology-rich learning environment that feel familiar to students.

Watch this recorded webinar to learn about Lake Tahoe USD’s netbook program.

This is the story of Lake Tahoe Unified School District‘s launch of a netbook program. Read More »

Tags: classroom, education, learn, learning, netbook, tablet, teach, wireless

This article has been written by Jan Zanetis, Education Advocate for Cisco in Australia.  The original article was published in the December/January edition of Educational Leadership (EL). Visit EL to read the full version.

The Virtues of Video

Video-on-demand tutorials. International student collaborations. Virtual field trips to Australia. Schools can use interactive video to enrich students’ learning.

What if your struggling students could view demonstrations of difficult math concepts as often as necessary? Picture your students asking questions of an expert diver as she explores Australia’s Great Barrier Reef. Or imagine a motivated student in a remote location attending an advanced placement physics class without leaving home.

Providing such enriching learning activities, even with limited funds, is no fantasy; it’s possible through live, interactive video.

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Tags: Cisco, classroom, collaboration, communication, education, higher education, jan zanetis, K-12, learning, student, teachers, technology, video, visual

At a conference on developing sustainable, connected and scalable cities, Cisco hosted an international roundtable using Cisco TelePresence, a high definition, life-sized video meeting solution, with education thought leaders from Amsterdam, Brisbane, Hong Kong, London and Lisbon.

Some participants joined via a Dialogue Cafe.  Under the auspices of the United Nations, the Dialogue Cafe Association is building a network of publically available, video-enabled spaces that make it easier for innovators, students, public leaders and businesses to connect and collaborate across geographical, cultural and sometimes political divides.

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Tags: classroom, collaboration, communication, connection, education, global innovation in education, higher education, K-12, student, teachers, technology, university, VET, video