FLAG - gifted learning at the Intermediate School (or Junior High) level (New Zealand) - clicking on the link will take you to a google document which you are welcome to download for your own use. FLAG is a two-year programme for gifted Year 7 and 8 students that provides a solid foundation for in-depth critical and creative learning. As well as providing a framework for planning based on the Autonomous Learner Model, I have also included principles, guidelines and strategies that support gifted learning within a modern learning environment (MLE). 

The image below is from Kathy Schrock's Bloomin' Apps page

The slideshare embedded below was developed by Jackie Gerstein to show the difference between Education 1.0, Education 2.0 and Education 3.0

The July 2013 issue of Tall Poppies has a focus on Technology in Gifted Education. Click here to access my article: Sturgess, A. (2013). Effective differentiation: How blended e-learning supports differentiation for gifted learners. In Tall Poppies: Magazine of the New Zealand Association for Gifted Children. Vol 38, No. 2, July 2013.


photo credit: giulia.forsythe. creativecommons.org/licenses

From: User Generated Education
Jackie Gerstein, Ed.D.
"Resilience research clearly reveals the following key points:

• All individuals have the power to transform and change
  
• Teachers and schools have the power to transform lives 
  
• It’s how teachers do what they do that counts
  
• Teachers’ beliefs in innate capacity start the change process."
  

FROM: Educators Technology - a favourite of mine - a wonderful source of ideas and information related to e-learning. Every now and then I come across a post worth holding onto and sharing - this is one of them.
1- Thomas Suarez : A 12-year-old app developer
Thomas Suarez's interest in technology and programming led him to learn Python, Java, and C “just to get the basics down.” He built an app and then coaxed his parents into paying the $99 fee to get his app, "Earth Fortune," in the app store. Thomas also started an app club at school to help other kids build and share their creations, and is now starting his own company, CarrotCorp.

2-  Teen cancer survivor creates video and a social network for kids
Five years ago, 12-year-old Steven Gonzalez, Jr. found himself lonely and afraid while battling a rare form of cancer that gave him only a two percent chance of survival. Today, he is a survivor of the deadly disease and credits video games as what helped him get through the hardest part of his life.  He’s created a video game to provide that form of relief to others who are now going through similar pain and seclusion.

3- Adora Svitak : What adults can learn from kids
Child prodigy Adora Svitak says the world needs "childish" thinking: bold ideas, wild creativity and especially optimism. Kids' big dreams deserve high expectations, she says, starting with grownups' willingness to learn from children as much as to teach.

4- Birke Baer: What's wrong with our food system
11-year-old Birke Baehr presents his take on a major source of our food -- far-away and less-than-picturesque industrial farms. Keeping farms out of sight promotes a rosy, unreal picture of big-box agriculture, he argues, as he outlines the case to green and localize food production.

Amazing people are providing amazing resources that will save already hard-working teachers a lot of time. In keeping with the focus of this website, here's another site that provides a wonderful array of e-learning tools and sites for you to add to your repertoire. The common sense media site has become one of my favourite 'go to' places.

The resources are listed according to US Grade levels so do keep in mind that, for gifted kids, the right Grade level is the one appropriate to their level of ability and interest, with consideration for the appropriateness of content and any age restrictions that might be in place.

Take care and have a wonderful Christmas/holiday season (depending on your place in the world) with your family and friends.
Anne

Check out this Harvard University site that, amongst other great websites, links to Joseph Renzulli's pick of the best resources available for gifted learners to use independently - http://www.gifted.uconn.edu/sem/enrichment/typeii_enrichment.cfm

The Best-of-the-Best Resource Database is a compilation of resources from teacher suggestions, the National Research Center's gifted library, and careful selection of the newest and best materials for high potential students from well-known publishers. 
*  computer-searchable list
*  authentic tools for independent students use
*  based on "user validity;"
*  no-cost database
*  time-saving

Welcome to elearning4gifted. I’m enthusiastic about using the best tools and strategies in my teaching and am drawn to students who are not easily catered for in a regular classroom environment.

Carrying out an inquiry into how e-learning could support differentiation for gifted learners was a natural outcome of this combination of interests. Not long into this inquiry I become aware of the avalanche of possibilities for differentiation offered by the wealth of resources, apps, sites, blogs, and programs that have been, and continue to be, produced. The question quickly became not “Can we differentiate using e-learning tools?” but rather “Are there tools that lend themselves more to supporting gifted learners than others?” and, yes, there are and they continue to be produced and improved.

The ideas and tools presented here can only ever represent the very tip of the tools iceberg - what I consider to be the best option today is likely to have been surpassed in its usefulness tomorrow.  I should warn you that I’m not an ‘early up-taker’ unless the evidence of value for time and effort is immediately apparent – I regard myself as a 'discerning up-taker' and am more likely to be the one saying to the enthusiasts “But what USE is it? How will it help improve outcomes for students?”  Whether or not e-learning tools enhance learning opportunities for students is entirely dependent on good teaching practice and preparation, a willingness to adopt and adapt others' ideas and, most importantly, on how well teachers know the strengths, needs and interests of their students.

This website is a way of sharing my learning with you and I hope that you, in turn, will share your knowledge and skills with me and others who visit this site. Please make use of the Blog to add your favourite links, tweeters, tools, apps & e-learning ideas for teaching gifted students. The world of education is full of people who share their wisdom, creativity and 'intellectual property' in the hope that it will be used to serve learners - thank you for being one of them.