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"I recently participated in a SimpleK12 webinar "Stories on the Go: Digital Storytelling with Mobile Devices" with presenter Shelly Terrell. The audience for this presentation was elementary school teachers and people like me who have discovered SimpleK12 as a valuable resource. The presentation was very basic but did introduce me to a wonderful new app. I had heard of it, but this time I gave it a test drive. "

"Originally released in early 2012, Apple's education-themed ebook creation tool took bold steps as the first WYSIWYG program to export an ebook just as its author envisioned it. As I noted in my review of that software, however, the first version of iBooks Author was very much a 1.0 product, with strange omissions and odd workflows for users who didn't want to build textbooks. Ten months later, an updated version-iBooks Author 2.0 (Mac App Store)-brings simplified tools, new templates, portrait-only options, and a better publishing workflow to the table. Naturally, I couldn't resist taking the updated program for a spin."

"Fourth and fifth grade students at Independence Elementary School in Yukon Public Schools are sharing their learning as well as excitement for library books this year in a unique, highly digital way that is not only fun, but also meets Oklahoma's new Common Core State Standards for literacy. Students are recording short, oral book reviews and posting them online using the free iPad app and webservice AudioBoo. Then students are using QR codes in the library to access and listen to each other's book reports."

"So how can teachers prepare for this surge of computer science in the classroom and integrate it into their curriculum in a meaningful way? It starts with understanding that technology is a tool-a means to accomplishing an end, but not an end itself. It's important to not just leverage technology for technology's sake. There needs to be a purpose behind it. For example, besides simply having iPads in the classroom, schools need to have goals in place for using them. Perhaps the goal is enabling kids to create with the iPads-like build their own apps-versus simply reviewing materials on the device. Through our work helping students, teachers and parents around the world embrace technology in the classroom and at home, I've learned some best practices for maximizing the opportunities that technology education offers:"

"Serious About a New Language? Begin With Lesson 1"

"The Palm Beach County school system has a full review of their deployment process along with photos and commentary. Their incredible wiki features tons of great resources (the best iPad apps for particular grades, how much iPad labs actually cost, etc.) so be sure to check it out. Below is their must-have guide for installing, setting up, and syncing iPads in the classroom:"

"During our Hour of Code celebration, my ninth and tenth grade students reviewed all of the resources available and selected the apps that they liked for teaching younger students how to code. Many of the students selected Tynker as their preferred tool. Two student mentors shared their experience teaching:"

"n Mrs. Chellani's continual efforts to create an engaging learning experience for her students, she has found utilizing QR codes to facilitate collaboration to be highly beneficial. In order to review material discussed in an assigned video and in class in her Pre-Calculus and Calculus courses, she created QR codes with relevant questions on the material and its' applications. Students were placed in groups of four to five; and, using a QR reader app on their phone, they were able to view the question. Once the students worked on the problem together, they would confirm the result with Mrs. Chellani. When the solution was correct, they would be given the next QR code (i.e. question). The level of engagement increased dramatically with the use of QR codes and simply allowing students to utilize their cell phones in the learning process! "

"When connected to the HDMI adapter, the iPad 2 will display a duplicate version of the contents of its screen on an external monitor. Want to demo an education app via a projector or HDTV for a classroom full of kids? The iPad 2 makes it possible." " An Improvement All Around"

"iPad Live covers everything iPad including news, how-tos, and app and game reviews. Presented by TiPb.com and hosted by Rene Ritchie, Chad Garrett, Georgia, and a rotating panel of writers and guests."