"Are you having trouble listening with understanding and empathy (one of the Habits of Mind) when you are not face to face with the other person-on facebook, Google+, twitter, or other social networks? As an educator, staying in touch with your professional learning network digitally is a boon to the quantity of communication, but without the proper habits, you may not be reaping the quality you might."

"Grade Essays Faster - "Impossible!" you say? Look, we can't grade the essays for you, but we can reduce the repetitive, inefficient manual labor involved - and in doing so we open up a new world of invaluable student data. Welcome to the future."

"Last year we introduced Hangouts On Air to a limited number of broadcasters, enabling them to go live with friends and fans, for all the world to see. Since then, this small community has grown the feature in lots of creative ways. And they've made one thing crystal clear: when groups of passionate individuals can broadcast live, together, the results are truly remarkable:"

"One of the biggest business battles of our time is between Microsoft and Google. The two have very different business models. Microsoft believes that if they build it, we will come-and buy their product. Google's approach is different: if they build it, we will integrate it into our lives. We use Microsoft products on their terms, but we use Google products-from iGoogle to GoogleDocs-on our terms, to construct whatever we want."

"News, insights and big moments with fascinating videos - The Documentary Network"

"A free new social networking platform aims to encourage elementary school children to read more books. BiblioNasium is a pilot virtual reading village for children aged 6-12 and their friends, parents, and teachers. The site enables young readers to catalogue, share, and exchange their book recommendations. It also offers reading-level-appropriate book recommendations using the Lexile Framework for Reading."

"A technological revolution is happening in the world of education; it is changing schools for the better. But, it will never change the definition of and need for great teaching. That is what attendees of The Atlantic's second annual Technologies in Education forum learned and discussed Tuesday."

"There's been a lot of excitement around TED's foray into education, bringing its inspirational video model to the classroom. TED-Ed launched the YouTube Channel with produced and animated videos about two months ago and now includes a free service that lets teachers upload any YouTube video to its polished platform. Teachers can also make any of the videos - TED or any other - more relevant to their classes by adding customized questions and quizzes."

"ASCD, the global leader in developing and delivering innovative programs, products, and services that empower educators to support the success of each learner, has compiled a summer reading list for administrators, teacher leaders, and classroom educators interested in low-cost, high-impact professional development. All of the titles below-along with more than 300 other ASCD books-are available in print and various e-book formats in the ASCD Store."

"This conversation is starting to get old. It is 2011, not 1875. It's time we collectively got our heads out of our filters and prepare students properly for the world they will graduate into, not the world we grew up in. Everyone needs to be vocal, everyone needs to be an advocate for students in the 21st Century. I've written about this before, but the message is still not getting through. The red tape and fears are mounting and students are suffering in the wake of ill-informed adults. The Internet filters, in their current state, have got to go. Protecting students is one thing; a blanket denial of modern learning is another."

"All great teachers do great work. And not only that, but they also do different work. Great teachers are always looking to improve practice, steal ideas and try new things -- all in order to meet the needs of their students. PBL teachers are no exception. Any teacher who is truly doing PBL would also agree that it's different. There is something about being a PBL teacher that requires different work, and work that is especially capitalized when implementing a PBL project. Because I work with so many PBL teachers, I feel there are some things that PBL teachers should specifically be proud of. I present them in these six affirmations. "

"Choices. Kids need access to choices in instruction so that when the moment arises they can make discerning decisions about what they will do. I just watched that happen. At a conference with adults where kids were invited."

"A while back, I was asked, "What engages students?" Sure, I could respond, sharing anecdotes about what I believed to be engaging, but I thought it would be so much better to lob that question to my own eighth graders. The responses I received from all 220 of them seemed to fall under 10 categories, representing reoccurring themes that appeared again and again. So, from the mouths of babes, here are my students' answers to the question: "What engages students?" "

"For nearly 20 years, high school chemistry teacher Jonathan Bergmann would teach a lesson in class, help students after school and give them standard homework assignments. He was good enough to win a teacher award. But seven years ago, he and Aaron Sams, another teacher at Woodland Park High School in Colorado, decided to do something different."

"Students who learn financial literacy skills gain knowledge that will yield returns well into their future."

"A recent New Yorker article entitled "Groupthink" takes a fascinating look at the concept of brainstorming. According to author Jonah Lehrer, brainstorming was introduced in the late 1940s as a creativity-inducing practice by advertising guru Alex Osborn in his book Your Creative Power. The book was a surprise bestseller, and Osborn's ideas about brainstorming, according to Lehrer, became "the most widely used creativity technique in the world." Whether in business, politics, entertainment, or education, group-thinking was and still is regarded as the ultimate path to ingenuity and productivity."

"Do you remember where you were Jan. 19, 2012? You might want to go back and check your calendar and add a star. It was a big day for those of us deploying mobile devices in our classrooms and school sites. On Jan. 19, Apple announced partnerships with most of the textbook industry, making digital textbooks available on iPads through the iBookstore. While digital textbooks made the news, what really piqued our attention was the second part of the announcement--the release of iBooks Author, a free piece of software that would allow anyone with an Apple computer running OSX Lion (10.7) to easily create and publish digital, interactive books. "

"Almost 4 years ago, I wrote a post on Langwitches titled Teaching Hyperlinked Writing and Reading. 4 years later, many (most?) teachers have not heard, let alone are teaching and coaching their students in the use of hyperlinked writing. The word "hyperlinked" is still being underlined in red as I am typing the word, indicating that it must be somehow misspelled or that the word does not exist."

"Just a few years ago, the idea of using a mobile phone as a legitimate learning tool in school seemed far-fetched, if not downright blasphemous. Kids were either prohibited from bringing their phones to school, or at the very least told to shut it off during school hours. But these days, it's not unusual to hear a teacher say, "Class, turn on your cell. It's time to work.""

"Teachers who are interested in shifting their classrooms often don't know where to start. It can be overwhelming, frightening, and even discouraging, especially when no one else around you seems to think the system is broken. The question I've been asked often throughout the past year is "Where should a teacher begin?" I've reflected on this a fair amount, and I think small strategic steps are the key."