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"The new school term is well under way and the early efficiencies are slipping and bad habits are slipping in. Homework is already being completed late and stuffed into heavy schoolbags before the kids stagger off again. In my own case, I seem to spend way too much time each day trying to persuade my son to take a day's worth of kit to school, rather than a week's. The problem is that the sanctions that come with forgetting sports kit or books is worse, in a child's mind, than the possibility, long hence, of back pain. But there's things that parents and teachers could do, which help take those damaging decisions out of the childrens' hands:"

"In the UK this week, half-term is nearly over and the kids are going back to school - and carting my daughter's schoolbag and gym bag in for her this morning reminded me of the warnings that a growing numbers of children are developing irreversible back deformities because of the weight of the bags they carry to school."

"If you've ever made a video in iMovie, a song in Garageband, a book in Book Creator, (or made anything really) on an iPad, than you know the pain of getting that product off of the iPad. That's why I've made this video (below) to teach you how to pull files off of the iPad, and how to put it back on to the iPad, i"

"In the past, coding was a pretty niche affair, those of us with our Acorns, Spectrums and Commodore 64s experimenting with lines and lines of code. I remember as an 8 year old, spending ages typing out lines of code on my beige Acorn Electron to draw….a line on the screen. To add insult to injury there was no way to save it unless I wanted to erase my tape of "Ice Ice Baby" and replace it with my code. Needless to say because we were put into the deep end in those days, like millions of others I was put off a bit by coding and just played computer games instead. Fast forward to the iPad era and coding is coming back in a big way. Some very talented developers with a love for coding have produced some spectacular apps, turning the iPad into a coding studio in your hand. There are some great iPad apps which take the pain out of coding for the layman and can teach your children (and you) some excellent skills."

"By definition, you are reading this on an electronic device. More than likely a tablet or a phone. And if that's the case, then it's more than likely that you're hunched over a little, head forward. Did you just sit up straighter? Thought so… The noises from medical researchers are increasingly shrill on the damage done to us by technology  and the back pain it causes - slumped postures, 'text neck' caused by leaning over our devices is causing wear and tear from the extra pressure the unnatural postures put on our spines. The warnings are, more and more, that this is reaching 'epidemic' proportions, with 'significant' numbers looking like they will need corrective surgery. So are you going to give up your mobile and tablet? No, of course not, that would just be silly, wouldn't it? So instead, try some corrective actions:"

"If you suffer from back pain and shoulder strain at work, chances are it has something to do with the way you're sitting. Chiropractor and wellness expert Dr. Kyra Gerber shows us the common posture mistakes we make at our desk and how we can fix them."

"Please, No More Professional Development! By Peter DeWitt on April 17, 2015 8:10 AM Today's guest blog is written by Kristine Fox (Ed.D), Senior Field Specialist/Research Associate at Quaglia Institute for Student Aspirations (QISA). She is a former teacher and administrator who has passion for teacher learning and student voice. Kris works directly with teachers and leaders across the country to help all learners reach their fullest potential. Peter DeWitt recently outlined why "faculty meetings are a waste of time." Furthering on his idea, most professional development opportunities don't offer optimal learning experiences and the rare teacher is sitting in her classroom thinking "I can't wait until my district's next PD day." When I inform a fellow educator that I am a PD provider, I can read her thoughts - boring, painful, waste of time, useless, irrelevant - one would think my job is equal to going to the dentist (sorry to my dentist friends). According to the Quaglia Institute and Teacher Voice and Aspirations International Center's National Teacher Voice Report only 54% percent of teachers agree "Meaningful staff development exists in my school." I can't imagine any other profession being satisfied with that number when it comes to employee learning and growth. What sense does it make for the science teacher to spend a day learning about upcoming English assessments? Or, for the veteran teacher to learn for the hundredth time how to use conceptual conflict as a hook. Why does education insist everyone attend the same type of training regardless of specialization, experience, or need? As a nod to the upcoming political campaigns and the inevitable introduction of plans with lots of points, here is my 5 Point Plan for revamping professional development. 5 Point Plan Point I - Change the Term: Semantics Matter We cannot reclaim the term Professional Development for teachers. It has a long, baggage-laden history of conformity that does not