There are more educators using blogs, wikis, and Read/Write Web tools than ever, but the real shift isn’t just about publishing student work—it’s about networks, connection, and ongoing learning beyond individual projects and classrooms.

Yesterday at NECC was one of those yin/yang experiences, with one of our worst conference moments ever, which, as these things go, preceded probably the best conference feel good ever. The contrast between a disappointing Web 2.0 panel and the vibrant, collaborative energy of the Blogger Cafe captured both the problem and the promise of how these tools can truly transform learning.

Andrew Keen at the Britannica blog writes something so diametrically opposed to our own take on things that it’s startling and, frankly, amazing on some level (as well as ironic). We do agree with one thing: this is a critically serious debate about Web 2.0, education, and the future of our information economy.

Reflecting on our daughter’s fascination with doll web sites, we think about “social networking with training wheels,” the commercial aspects of kids’ virtual worlds, and how much time children should spend navigating online spaces alongside their offline play.

From the “Sometimes This All Scares Us” Department comes this item about parents Google-testing baby names to make sure their child wouldn’t be born unsearchable. Our kids are going to be so, so unclickable…

Chris points to pictures of Nigerian students at the first school to receive laptops in the One Laptop Per Child program, sparking thoughts about global access, inequity in US schools, and what it will take for society to prioritize meaningful opportunities for all children.

The front page of today’s New York Times features a story about the attempts of Tim O’Reilly and Jimmy Wales to create a set…

Ok, so check it out, dawg… here’s an example of what you can do with the new “My Maps” feature from Google. Go on…go look.

Karl’s “Did You Know?” video has gone viral with over two million views, sparking powerful reactions in schools and helping set the stage for a much bigger conversation about education and learning.

We’re blog stuck, wrestling with whether “school” itself limits how we think about learning, especially as education increasingly moves beyond physical classrooms.