The biggest educational shift I observed in 2011 was a move toward more collaborative learning processes. Many of my top 10 favorite new ed tech tools for 2012 help to facilitate collaborative learning, while others speak to larger technological trends.

Pinterest
Although not as new as most of the other tools in this list, the visual social networking site Pinterest is experiencing a surge in popularity right now and I think it’s going to be pretty big in 2012. Pinterest works well for organizing and sharing information that lends itself to visual representation. For example, since I’m house hunting right now, I’ve been using Pinterest to organize the properties I’m interested in exploring further. Recipes, crafts, decorating ideas and fashion trends are all popular topics for Pinterest boards, but the tool could easily to used to by students in educational settings. For example, try sending a science class on a virtual scavenger hunt for pictures of several types of trees and have them create Pinterest boards showing pictures of the leaves, bark and habitat of each plant species. How much more engaging would that be than having kids fill out worksheets?

Facebook Timeline
If your Facebook profile hasn’t already converted to the new Timeline layout be ready, because it’s going to make the switch soon. I’m including it on the list because Facebook has indicated that Facebook pages will be reconceptualized in the near future and if Facebook Timeline is successful as a profile design it is likely to be the basis for Facebook pages as well. Facebook is already a popular learning tool and as Facebook pages become easier to organize and privacy settings more manageable I think we’ll see increased use of the program in classrooms.

Educreations
With both a web-based interface and an iPad app, Educreations facilitates the process of creating virtual lessons. Much like the dizzying array of lessons produced by Sal Khan of the Khan Academy, this start up lets any teacher create and share lessons for students. Although there are other apps and web programs that enable teachers to create virtual lessons, Educreations stands out both for its ease of use and extensive features. This free software is a great place to share lessons on your subject area and to send students who want to learn about subjects that fall outside a teacher’s expertise.

Wunderkit
Wunderlist is an established productivity application that is easy to use and has broad functionality. Wunderlist enables users to collect tasks in a single location and organize items into various lists that can be shared with others to facilitate collaboration on projects. Any day now, 6Wonderkinder will launch Wunderkit, a virtual workspace that will help users create, organize and accomplish goals. I’m already a fan of Wunderlist thanks to the ease of use and versatility of the program and I’m hoping Wunderkit will fill my need for a simple to use (and easy to teach) collaborative space.

Fantastical
Available for Mac users, Fantastical is the ultimate calendar program. I started using it because I wanted to color code my appointments and time sensitize tasks, but I keep using it because it works with iCal, BusyCal, Entourage and Outlook. My contacts, both professionally and in academia, all seem to use different calendar programs. With Fantastical I can import event invites and meeting notes from several types of calendar programs, which makes it ideal for dealing with the many different audiences – educators, administrators, parents, students – I connect with every day.

Google Currents
Available for both Android and Apple devices, Google Currents launched earlier this month without much fanfare. The magazine content delivery app features content from more than 150 publishing partners and offers full-length articles from more than 180 editions including CNET, AllThingsD, Forbes, Saveur, PBS, Huffington Post, Fast Company and more. Users can subscribe to magazines for free, making it a lifesaver for teachers looking to help students stay on top of current events.

Android Tablets
The increase in tablets running Android operating systems is thanks largely to the glut of Kindle Fires that consumers gobbled up this holiday season. Selling at a pace of well over 1 million a week during December, the Amazon Kindle is a content delivery device that some have heralded as the future of 1:1 education. Although I’m hesitant to predict that the Kindle Fire will radically change education, I do think that the popularity of this device will lead to more development of educational Android apps that are optimized for tablets.

iPad 3
While we’re on the subject of tablets, I’d be remiss not to mention the rumored launch of an iPad 3 coming up later this winter. One of the many iPad 3 speculations is that Apple will release both a high-end version of the popular tablet and a mid-range version. Considering the current popularity of the iPad in education, that mid-range version could be a game changer for cash-strapped schools looking to implement 1:1 programs.

Cloud Computing
Okay, so cloud computing isn’t exactly new; but with the rise in popularity of tablets and mobile devices the days of device-based storage are numbered. With increasing dependence on cloud computing programs, districts are going to be under enormous pressure to upgrade broadband access and implement high-speed WiFi service on school campuses.

3D Learning
I’ve been interested in the potential of 3D projection technology in education since I spent some time at the Texas Instruments booth at ISTE 2011 last summer. They were showing a 3D projection of a human body that clearly illustrated the position of various organs. That experience made me realize that I’ve only ever seen two dimensional representations of human bodies and I had no idea where the liver and heart are in relation to the stomach. It’s such an odd lapse in my education – I see representations of 3D objects as flat illustrations. It’s going to take some time but I think 3D projectors are going to make their way into educational institutions in the next decade.

Those are my top new tools for education in 2012; what are yours?

Katie Stansberry authors the blog Teaching with Tech. She is the former community manager of ISTE Connects.