In 1968, futurist Stewart Brand launched his innovative book called the "Whole Earth Catalog". It was another book of his first published in 1987 that ignited my passion for technology. It was"The Media Lab - Inventing the Future at MIT" which revealed some of the very creative and insightful work being done at MIT's Media Lab led by it's visionary director Nicholas Negroponte.

I am revisiting the book using an electronic version freely downloaded from openlibrary.org and the software from Adobe named "Digital Editions". This is where the converging of communication technologies was for me articulated. Guess that is still being played out. Is it dated or largely relevant? You be the judge.

Vito Technologies, a small (30 people) company, scores big with its Star Walk App for the iPad. This App has won awards and is even featured by Apple ads. Highly interactive, it uses the location services in the iPad to customize the experience and totally immerses you in the star gazing experience.

Mr. Sal Khan has done something amazing and prolific. He has almost single handedly developed Khan Academy. A compendium of online videos providing education in what was initially (if my recollection is correct) algebra to include now calculus, physics and much more. Bill Gates acknowledges Sal in the above video and has provided support through the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. The Khan Academy is a not-for-profit 501(c)(3) with the mission of providing a world class education to anyone, anywhere.

Approximately 400 educational institutions distribute content publicly on the iTunes store. At iTunes U, there are virtual tours, lectures, course material and more. You don't need to be on an Apple to enjoy and get enrichment from the media.

Dennis Peterson was named 2008 School Superintendent of the Year in Minnesota by his peers (www.mnasa.org). We spoke with him in an interview on "Technology in the Classroom".

Technology in education has risks and it is apparent that innovation occurs in many forms. In Japan, mobile phones and an electronic bulletin board, facilitated students posting questions and answers while an exam was in progress. For more details, click here.

Technology is key to maximizing educational opportunities.  It has been a part of my daily experience for the past 5 years as a developer, teacher and advocate.  Below are a small sampling of ideas that can have a big impact on our educational process.

Moodle is an Open Source Course Management System (CMS), also known as a Learning Management System (LMS) or a Virtual Learning Environment (VLE). It has become very popular among educators around the world as a tool for creating online dynamic web sites for their students. With a stated number of 50,010 registered sites as of early 2011, its momentum and adoption are impressive. click here for more stats. Is open source a problem? I think not.