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"I used to believe that informational texts were boring. I avoided having students read articles in social studies, because I thought students would hate informational texts. I'm not sure why I believed this, because I loved reading non-fiction books and articles. Still, I thought I was an outlier and that my students would be better off with a combination of hands-on learning and fictional narratives. I don't believe this anymore. Now I believe that informational texts can be inherently engaging, because we are naturally inclined to seek out information. I guess, on some level, I believe every person is a geek about something. So, with that in mind, here are seven ways to keep informational texts engaging for students:"

"Regardless of whether you think every infant needs an iPad, I think we can all agree that technology has changed education for the better. Today's learners now enjoy easier, more efficient access to information; opportunities for extended and mobile learning; the ability to give and receive immediate feedback; and greater motivation to learn and engage. We now have programs and platforms that can transform learners into globally active citizens, opening up countless avenues for communication and impact. Thousands of educational apps have been designed to enhance interest and participation. Course management systems and learning analytics have streamlined the education process and allowed for quality online delivery. But if we had to pick the top ten, most influential ways technology has transformed education, what would the list look like? The following things have been identified by educational researchers and teachers alike as the most powerful uses of technology for learning. Take a look. 1. Critical Thinking In Meaningful Learning With Technology, David H. Jonassen and his co-authors argue that students do not learn from teachers or from technologies. Rather, students learn from thinking-thinking about what they are doing or what they did, thinking about what they believe, thinking about what others have done and believe, thinking about the thinking processes they use-just thinking and reasoning. Thinking mediates learning. Learning results from thinking. So what kinds of thinking are fostered when learning with technologies? Analogical If you distill cognitive psychology into a single principle, it would be to use analogies to convey and understand new ideas. That is, understanding a new idea is best accomplished by comparing and contrasting it to an idea that is already understood. In an analogy, the properties or attributes of one idea (the analogue) are mapped or transferred to another (the source or target). Single analogies are also known as sy

"Gone are the days when kids would get in trouble for passing notes in class. Today's youngsters are much more sophisticated, technologically speaking, than those who grew up in the days of flip phones and CD players - let alone those whose only access to a phone growing up was a spin-dial one. This means there's a lot more texting, tweeting, and Facebooking on smartphones in your average high school or college classroom than ever before. Does this also mean that kids today are way more distracted by the bombardment of information reaching them via their tablets and iPhones? A new study out of the National Communication Association wanted to find out whether increased smartphone and social media use in class impacted student learning - and what they found was that it had both negative and positive effects. In the study, researchers analyzed kids who were using phones in class to respond to text messages - both relevant and irrelevant to the class material. They measured the type of messages and the frequency of them, and found that students who were texting about the material actually scored higher on multiple choice tests about the subject than those who were texting about non-class related things."

"As avid lovers of literature, teachers often find themselves wanting to impart every bit of knowledge about a well-loved text to their students. And this is not just an ELA issue-other disciplines also often focus on the content of a text. However, teaching reading skills in English classes and across the disciplines is an almost guaranteed way to help students retain content. Unfortunately, the tendency to focus on the content is a real enemy to the ultimate goal of building reading skills. ADVERTISEMENT Without a repertoire of reading strategies that can be applied to any text, students are being shortchanged in their education. In order to teach students to read effectively, teachers must be sure that they are not simply suppliers of information on a particular text but also instructors of techniques to build reading skills. Here are some ideas on how to incorporate reading skills lessons into a curriculum."

"Students need to have a balance of literature and informational text.  If you're looking for sites that include nonfiction passages or high-interest articles here are a few worth exploring:"

"The site will then generate a page of information links about your search topic. It collects information from multiple media and different sources from books, blogs , text images to video and even Twitter references."

The site will then generate a page of information links about your search topic. It collects information from multiple media and different sources from books, blogs , text images to video and even Twitter references.

"Do your students have access to quality, digital texts? Students with digital devices in their hands should know where to go to access digital texts. There are many websites and apps where students can go to find high-interest, leveled content to read. I love tools that let students skim and search for short passages of informational text or dive into an interactive storybook.  When it comes to making your classroom library more tech-friendly you can add some of these favorite independent reading apps and websites to your student's devices. At the bottom of this post I have a special bookmarking tip to turn websites into app icons.  This list of independent reading websites and mobile apps includes a range of favorites. You might choose a particular resource connected to your current unit of study, or introduce a few over the course of the year. "

"Before we dig in, let's start with a quick multiple-choice quiz: Font : Text :: A. Hat : Head B. Coffee : Tea C. Voice : Speech The answer is C. The font you choose to display text is every bit as important as the voice you use to speak if you want a reader to not only understand what they are reading, but also remember it as well. The primary purpose of type is not really to be readable, but to convey information that is to be remembered. Surprisingly, readability might not always lead to the best information retention. "

"Today, students have more homework than the generations of students before them. They also have plenty of distractions in and out of the classroom like social media, social media marketers, online gaming and online streaming. With countless distractions and piling assignments, holding students' attention in the classroom can be challenging. Helping them to absorb and retain new information requires more and more creative approaches. Research shows that presenting information visually makes a huge difference. Visual content gets processed faster and remembered for longer periods of time (as opposed to plain text). That's why using visuals in the classroom is a great approach to helping your students learn effectively, and even enjoy what they're learning. So it's time to step away from traditional teaching materials, and embrace an arsenal of visual content. Equipped with the right online design tool, you can create engaging visuals easily and without any design experience at all. We'll cover 10 different kinds of visuals that can help you engage your students in the classroom: Process infographics Informational infographics List infographics Comparison infographics Research reports Lesson plans Mind maps Progress reports Charts and graphs Posters"

"In today's world, literacy goes beyond just the basic ability to comprehend text. Today's students will also need to master a new skill-digital literacy. Cornell University defines digital literacy as "the ability to find, evaluate, utilize, share, and create content using information technologies and the Internet." Digital literacy, by this definition, encompasses a wide range of skills, all of which are necessary to succeed in an increasingly digital world. As print mediums begin to die out, the ability to comprehend information found online becomes more and more important. Students who lack digital literacy skills may soon find themselves at just as much of a disadvantage as those who cannot read or write. Because digital literacy is so important, educators are increasingly required to teach students digital literacy in the classroom. In many ways, this is similar to what educators have always done in teaching students to read and write. In other ways, however, digital literacy is a brand new skill. Most students already use digital technology, such as tablets, smartphones, and computers, at home. Many students already know how to navigate the web, share images on social media, and do a Google search to find information. However, true digital literacy goes beyond these basic skills."

"Available as a web-based tool or an iPad application, Padlet allows teachers and students to create virtual bulletin boards where collaboration, reflection, publishing and sharing of information can occur. As a synchronous learning environment, Padlet supports interaction, sharing, and collaboration in real-time or as an asynchronous learning environment allowing students to learn at their own pace and time. When using Padlet, users can display information in a wide variety of file types, including: links to Google Docs, display images of student work, text, audio reflections, and videos from the camera roll or YouTube. Padlet's formats  allow for a more customized experience for users. A mind-mapping format called Canvas provides the opportunity to move sticky notes to facilitate the creation of mind maps. Users  create visual connections among concepts, facts, and thoughts while providing a way to organize and synthesize information. Recently, I've begun to use Canvas as my "go to" mind-mapping tool. The Canvas format enables teachers and students to work collaboratively across devices and settings while helping learners to see relationships between concepts.  Canvas gives students a way to visually represent their thinking while providing teachers insight into a student's understanding of a specific concept or idea."

"There are lots of great apps for gathering information about current events and finding stories that are of high interest to your students.  NPR has an easy to navigate website and high quality iPad app that makes it easy to find articles and interviews.  In addition to accessing print content that you might find in other newspapers"

"There are a lot of labels that describe the ethos and characteristics of certain times in history. The Dark Ages. The Renaissance. The Age of Enlightenment. Most recently, we've browsed, texted, and Google'd our way through the Information Age. What comes next, and when does it start? Further, what causes the movement from one epoch to another, and how does that change once technology is not just a catalyst, but the foundation for social interactions?"

The Coconino County Health Department is introducing a new sexual health education text messaging program for local teens called SexFYI. The program provides teens a confidential way to get automated, scientifically accurate answers to commonly asked sexual health questions. SexFYI also provides local teens with information on where they can acquire more information and sexual health medical help.

"In part one of this series, I shared how I use freely available video in my reading and literacy methods course to help my preservice teachers understand close reading instruction at a level that could not be attained through reading and discussion alone. In part two, I shared my curated collection of videos for general Common Core info, as well as videos to teach the close reading, text complexity and informational texts standards. "

"I've shared some ways that word clouds can be used in the classroom, and here's another activity that works for all ages and subject areas. Find a website that you are planning on sharing with students. This could be an informational text on a science topic or simply a current events article. Copy and paste the website URL into the online tool Tagxedo. This website will create a word cloud using text from that website."

"One of the essential features of Google Image, but overlooked by most students, is to search for images using images instead of text. This is especially important when searching for information around a certain image. For instance, in a field trip with class to the local zoo, students came a cross a little bug that they did not know. To learn more about this bug they can use their smart phones to take a picture of it and upload it to Google Image. If the first page of search results did not turn out accurate results they can add some text to the image ( like for example its colour, how many legs it has...etc)."

"In the Social Studies and English Language Arts classroom students can benefit from visuals and interactive text to help making meaning of the past.  The Berlin Wall HD is a free iPad app that presents informational text, primary source documents and interactive maps on the screen.  Students can tap, zoom and explore this period in history."

"Students of all ages are required to read text for a variety of purposes. With a large emphasis placed on teaching skills that help children tackle nonfiction, it's important to think about the different ways that students are gathering facts and details as they take in information. Teachers need to think beyond traditional text and make sure that their students have the necessary skills for processing, evaluating, and comprehending multimedia."