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"At DonorsChoose.org we have noticed a recent trend in technology-based project requests. Teachers recognize that we live in an age of information and are excited to bring items such as iPads, laptops, iPods, and Kindles into their classrooms. Eric Crouch of Columbus, GA created a video about how he uses iPads to engage his first grade students. Take a peek into Mr. Crouch's classroom as he discusses the benefits of learning through iPads."

"This past year, fourth and fifth grade students at Independence Elementary School in Yukon, Oklahoma, have had the opportunity to participate in an after-school Scratch Club led by STEM teacher Chris Simon. Scratch is a free program from the MIT Media Lab, which permits learners of any age to create games, tell stories, make animations, and much more. In its new 2.0 version, Scratch is entirely web-based, so it can even run on a Chromebook! Yesterday was the final day of "Scratch Club" for students at Independence Elementary this year, and several students shared the reasons why they enjoy Scratch and have loved the Scratch Club. In this five minute video compilation of their ideas, pay attention to how several students mention the importance of "agency" and choice. Many report how they love the opportunity to be self-directed in their learning and to have opportunities to use their imaginations to create. Also notice the way one student references the "hard fun" of programming, which is something Gary Stager talks about often in the context of students learning to code. "

"If orange is the new black, podcasting is the new oral report. And now that teachers have easy access to tools like Garage Band and iPods that make recording a breeze, podcasting is quickly becoming the latest creative mode of learning and presenting in schools. Here are ten ideas to try in your classroom today."

"Patrick Larkin, Assistant Superintendent for Learning, Burlington Public School District, Burlington, Ma, recalls a question someone posed to him: "Is the tablet an education solution, or an education problem?" His answer, and common sense approach to changing the school and learning environment is a professional development lesson for all. Enjoy my interview with Patrick Larkin, and learn why he's become one of the most respected tablet education voices today-and for the future."

"inClass is a fantastic free iPad app that students can use to take and keep track of the notes they record in all of their courses. inClass allows students to organize notebooks for each of their courses. Within each notebook students can include typed notes, audio notes, video notes, and pictures. The ability to store those four types of notes makes inClass a great app for students to use in a science lab where they might want to have a little video clip of an experiment along with their own typed notes about the lab experiment."

"It is easy to see that part of this problem is that the more time in school, the more disconnected it gets from how we learn"