The Office of Learning Technologies is gauging interest in a summer e-book reading group. We have compiled a list of 5 books, all available for Kindle, Nook, and iPhone/iPod Touch/iPad. Please review the list of books below then visit this survey. On this survey you can indicate your interest in participating in the reading group and rank the book options. We’ll use the feedback from this survey to determine if there is enough interest to pursue the reading group and, if there is, we will select a book based on the survey results. All reading group participants will be responsible for acquiring their own copy of the book. If we pursue the reading group, we will have a book discussion or some type of online event regarding the selected book at the beginning of the 2011-12 school year. Information about the reading group will be posted to this blog and to the Ed Tech Connect Learning Connection Community. The survey will be available until Friday, May 13th.
Born Digital: Understanding the First Generation of Digital Natives by John Palfrey and Urs Gasser
From Publishers Weekly
In this critical but optimistic overview, academics Palfrey (of Harvard's Berkman Center for Internet & Society) and Gasser (of the Swiss U. of St. Gallen) share their concern about the legal and social ramifications of the Internet with regard to the generation of "Digital Natives" born after 1980. In a wide-ranging examination of "the future opportunities and challenges associated with the Internet as a social space," Palfrey and Gasser find most young people fail to recognize the vulnerability of their information-that internet posts are never really private-and suggest tactful parental and school oversight. (Read more)
Rewired: Understanding the iGeneration and the Way They Learn by Larry D. Rosen
Amazon.com Product Description
Look around at today’s youth and you can see how technology has changed their lives. They lie on their beds and study while listening to mp3 players, texting and chatting online with friends, and reading and posting Facebook messages. How does the new, charged-up, multitasking generation respond to traditional textbooks and lectures? Are we effectively reaching today’s technologically advanced youth? Rewired is the first book to help educators and parents teach to this new generation’s radically different learning styles and needs. (Read more)
21st Century Skills: Learning for Life in Our Times by Bernie Trilling and Charles Fadel
Amazon.com Product Description
The new building blocks for learning in a complex world
This important resource introduces a framework for 21st Century learning that maps out the skills needed to survive and thrive in a complex and connected world. 21st Century content includes the basic core subjects of reading, writing, and arithmetic-but also emphasizes global awareness, financial/economic literacy, and health issues. The skills fall into three categories: learning and innovations skills; digital literacy skills; and life and career skills. This book is filled with vignettes, international examples, and classroom samples that help illustrate the framework and provide an exciting view of what twenty-first century teaching and learning can achieve. (Read more)
Education Nation: Six Leading Edges of Innovation in our Schools by Milton Chen
Amazon.com Product Description
An educational innovator who worked at Sesame Workshop and The George Lucas Educational Foundation offers a new vision for learning
As a result of constant innovation, learning is no longer limited by traditional confines and we're moving beyond students tied to their chairs, desks, and textbooks-and teachers locked away in classrooms. In Education Nation author Milton Chen draws from extensive experience in media-from his work on Sesame Street in its nascent years to his role as executive director of the George Lucas Educational Foundation-to support a vision for a new world of learning. This book, in six chapters, explores the "edges" in education--the places where K-12 learning has already seen revolutionary changes through innovative reform and the use of technology. (Read more)
The World Is Open: How Web Technology Is Revolutionizing Education by Curtis J. Bonk
Amazon.com Product Description
Discover the dramatic changes that are affecting all learners
Web-based technology has opened up education around the world to the point where anyone can learn anything from anyone else at any time. To help educators and others understand what's possible, Curt Bonk employs his groundbreaking "WE-ALL-LEARN" model to outline ten key technology and learning trends, demonstrating how technology has transformed educational opportunities for learners of every age in every corner of the globe. The book is filled with inspiring stories of ordinary learners as well as interviews with technology and education leaders that reveal the power of this new way of learning. (Read more) 
