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"BANNING Facebook at school? Ha! When Thom McKay realized that his son had figured out how to get on the social networking site even though his New Jersey middle school had blocked it, he asked the boy in astonishment how he had done it. "Pretty easy, Dad," his son retorted. "Don't be an idiot. We know more about computers than the teachers do." "

"Published on 13 Mar 2015 Have you heard fellow educators rave about the connections they've made on Twitter, but you don't feel that connected? Or do you have an account, but aren't really sure how to make those connections to like-minded people? Are you overwhelmed by how "busy" Twitter feels? This video tutorial is for you! "

"The Google Chromecast is one of the hot tickets in the tech world right now, and while it has somewhat limited functionality compared to something like an Apple TV, there's a lot to be said for it. It's only $35 for starters, and has cross-platform functionality - though Google's idea of cross-platform is still limited to ChromeOS and the Chrome browser, iOS and Android. That's great news for us however, as with Netflix and YouTube initially - and likely Google Play Music when it finally makes the jump to iOS - supported already, we can get in on the action. So, if you're tempted, keep on scrolling for everything you need to know!"

"Before the advent of Twitter, most educators I know had limited opportunities to collaborate with colleagues outside their building. Some subscribed to listservs or participated in online forums, but these outlets lacked critical mass; teachers also networked at in-person conferences and training sessions, but these isolated events didn't provide ongoing support. Enter Twitter. I've heard many educators say that Twitter is the most effective way to collaborate and that they've learned more with Twitter than they have from years of formal professional development. Here are some of the specific ways educators are using Twitter to collaborate:"

The world of education is often defined by the "haves" and "have nots." It is this separation that ultimately drives decisions when it comes to educational technology. Why should students in less affluent districts not be afforded the same opportunities as those with large budgets to utilize technology to create, collaborate, connect, communicate and develop essential media literacies? A BYOT initiative makes sense, as we can leverage a variety of devices that many students already possess. It is how we utilize these student-owned devices in schools that is the key to a successful BYOT initiative.

Today, we're excited to introduce the latest version of Edmodo. We listened to your feedback and added new features that will make it simpler to connect with resources, and get insight into how students feel about assignments, classroom discussions and shared content. We also made the features you love even more powerful. We will be rolling out the latest version to all of our users over the next few weeks. Here's a peek at what's new:

Professional development days a.k.a. in-service days a.k.a. team-building days ... quite frankly, they suck for me; they are boring and a major waste of my time -- equally for those who are told to lead them and for the teachers who are required to sit and listen. I am not sure if those in command of designing and facilitating them care to do it, or are actually that far removed from the profession that they have no idea what is relevant. Maybe the leaders of professional development need professional development on how to do professional development.

Smartphones and tablet computers are radically transforming how we access our shared knowledge sources by keeping us constantly connected to near-infinite volumes of raw data and information. We enjoy unprecedented instant access to expertise, from informal cooking lessons on YouTube to online university courses. Every day people around the globe are absorbed in exciting new forms of learning, and yet traditional schools and university systems are still struggling to leverage the many opportunities for innovation in this area.

"Have you heard the phrase "That's true because I saw it on TV" at some point? It was often the truth in the old days when people only had the TV or newspaper to relate to. What you saw or read was the truth, although it obviously wasn't always so. Today, thanks to the Internet, we consider ourselves much more enlightened. We can discuss and examine the source in a way that was not possible in the past. But are we really aware of all information flowing up over the net? What is really true and what's not? When someone presents a bit of loose facts on Twitter, I usually respond with something like "64% of the facts on the Internet is 48% incorrect according to 52% of respondents", completely made up numbers out of my head, but it makes people think a little extra. It is somewhat disturbing at times when the bandwagon takes of and speeds up, without people being critical. People stand up for situations that may never have happened, and spin on it which ultimately results in that it will be trated as facts, or a faktoid."

"Published on Jul 2, 2012 Ever get tired of surfing from website to website? Once you understand what an RSS feed is and how to use a RSS reader, you'll be able to sit back and have the web's updated content come right to you."

"There are certain advantages to using Google Drive for your research work. It's free and available from everywhere of course. Everyone with a Google account has it by default. Tied to your Google account, it gives you a range of collaboration options. It only gets better from here as you can use the Research tool to power all your probes and quests."

"Animoto is an excellent tool for creating audio slideshows. But there are some limitations to it that some teachers don't like. Most notable of those limitations is the time limit (30 seconds unless you get an Animoto for Education account), lack of space for text, and that students have to remember a username and password to use it. The YouTube slideshow tool provides a tool for creating audio slideshows without those three limitations of Animoto."

"In a world ruled by content curation, every educator should be passing along social media strategies to students. The "That's a parent's job" mantra is not a sufficient excuse for ignoring your responsibility here. We're in this together. Students must be taught early and often how to create, locate, maintain and share content. And they need to understand the ramifications of everything they do on social media."

"By far the most prevalent issue I see in schools struggling with their technology integration and implementation is the lack of a collective vision for how digital learning tools will be used to enhance learning. Schools often purchase software, computer devices, and technology-based learning systems because they are effective marketing tools for recruitment, or because they want to keep pace with the digital investments of rival institutions, or simply because they fear appearing outdated. None of these have to do with learning, of course, and inevitably are insufficient to smooth over the challenges that arise as digital tools enter classroom spaces."

""Curation" may be one of the big buzzwords of 2011. As the amount of information accumulates thanks to the Web, it becomes increasingly important that we use tools to help us find information that's relevant and useful. The role of the curator has always been to help pull together and oversee collections of materials. But just as Web 2.0 has expanded the traditional role of publisher to almost anyone, the role of curator now too is changing. Anyone can "curate" online material, pulling together their own collections."

"Tomorrow morning, I'll make a presentation at 7:30 in the morning to get our district technology camp started. My topic is "Building your Professional Learning Network," and will focus on how professionals can use social media to enhance their skills. As I prepared, I thought a lot about my audience, some dedicated educators from our schools who are facing the constant challenge of doing more with less. My job is to convince those gathered that it is worth their valuable time to create their own digital footprint. After some reflection, here's my 6 point argument:"

A short succinct article that makes a lot of sense.

"If you do a Google search about how much information Google really controls, there's a little bit of hyperbole (from users) out there. There's a litany of searches like 'Google wants to own your mind', 'Google wants to control you'. There's also a 'Google wants to teach computers regret' which is just creepy, really. Those living in fear of a barcode on their psyche have been prolific with their concerns, no doubt about it. But they're not totally barking up the wrong tree. Just ask Google. Its own mission statement says this: "Google's mission is to organize the world's information and make it universally accessible and useful." Luckily, its motto is 'don't be evil'. Right guys?"

Check out the G-Male movie, very funny and thought provoking all at the same time.

"I recently worked on a book with Bill Ferriter and Jason Ramsden entitled Essentials for Principals: Communicating & Connecting With Social Media. As I was working on the professional development section I delved into the topic of Personal Learning Networks (PLN's). Now I fully realize that the majority of educators immersed in social media understand the importance of a PLN and how to establish one. Well, this post is not for you, but instead for a teacher or administrator that you work with that needs either a a little push to set one up or further explanation on it's value."

Still more ideas on the importance of networking and how to develop one.

"Popular efforts to improve education are focusing on the wrong problem. Millions of dollars and hours of innovation are being spent on improving how we deliver content in an era when content matters less and how we interact with it matters more."

Instructions on how to setup an Unblock Us account on your computer