To get a glimpse into what the next 12 months will hold for everything from professional development to digital learning, and from communication to virtual reality, 15 ed tech luminaries looked back on 2016 edtech trends to help predict what’s in store for 2017. They can be something everybody uses; that’s how 2012 became the year of the MOOC, and why virtual reality will no doubt be widely cited as the trend of 2016. MOOCs continued to increase in number and attendance. MORE

TeachDoNow is a free, collaborative learning experience offered by KQED this summer in partnership with Educator Innovator and the National Writing Project. This online opportunity is open to anyone interested in learning how to use Twitter and other media sharing applications to promote social and civic discourse with students and will take place this summer from July 7 – August 17. MOOC Ends August 17. By Matt Williams, Educational Technologist, KQED. MORE

When I started Gaggle back in 1999, we were free email for students. Today, Gaggle provides our Safe Classroom Learning Management System and Safety Management products for Google Apps for Education or Office 365 to millions of students who are creating, collaborating and sharing in a safe environment. Lesson learned #1: Eyeballs are not a business model. Lesson learned #2: Show up prepared, or you are doomed to fail. More lessons learned. MORE

My fellow students and I watched avidly - I can't recall what the topic was, but I do remember the thrill of the experience - it was fresh and new to be able to watch television in a formal education setting. Later I witnessed the use of video as a feedback method for student teachers on practice. We recorded micro-teaches - usually a 10 minute lesson - and then played back the footage to the students so they could see and hear themselves and learn from the experience. MORE

The demand for innovative digital learning technology has never been higher. Esme Learning Solutions is banking on artificial intelligence (AI), collaborative learning experiences and relationships with some of the biggest universities in the world to set them apart from the crowd. MORE

When I started Gaggle back in 1999, we were free email for students. Today, Gaggle provides our Safe Classroom Learning Management System and Safety Management products for Google Apps for Education or Office 365 to millions of students who are creating, collaborating and sharing in a safe environment. Lesson learned #1: Eyeballs are not a business model. Lesson learned #2: Show up prepared, or you are doomed to fail. More lessons learned. MORE

This collaborative effort helps to paint a picture of where things stand now and where they might be going. Redesigning Learning Spaces: Panelists identified changing learning spaces as a trend that educators and district leaders have embraced for quite some time and which is likely to continue. Rethinking How Schools Work: Another trend educators have long talked about is the need to make learning more interdisciplinary, interactive and student-driven. MORE