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"It's a sheet music reader for the iPad. The app is free and comes with a few classic song sheets (Amazing Grace, Take Me Out to the Ball game, etc.) but every other song you'll have to buy in their small but growing collection. Sadly, you can't upload any sheets on your own, you'll have to rely on their store. What's great is that the app has a built in metronome (audible or visual) so you can keep your tempo right and see where you are in the piece. Also great: automatic page turning as the app will flip the page once you reach the end of the previous one."

Gaggle accounts can be integrated with Google Apps. The same great monitoring and filtering capabilities found in Gaggle can be applied to your Gmail accounts.

"It's not uncommon for people to want to play a musical instrument, but not want to actually learn how to play one. While the apps in this AppGuide will not get you playing at Carnegie Hall, they will suffice for making music that you can call your own."

"This is a beautiful lesson designed and presented by Rob Miller on Scrib. What I really like about this series of activities is that it allows the students or in Rob's case his teachers to articulate their own learning. It is never about a single app. It is the combination of apps that allow the learners to meet the learning outcomes. It is a great example of building a meaningful lesson around a concept and then providing the students with the tools to create content."

"Amazon today updated its Kindle app for iOS, adding a slew of new features for all users and students specifically. You can download the new version now directly from Apple's App Store."

"This week's pick is Animoto Video Maker, a great little app for turning your iPad and iOS photos into polished and pro looking videos in just a few minutes. Animoto is easy to use so you can produce a short video to share with family and friends very quickly. I've used it often to send a video link to family members who couldn't make it to an event within minutes of the event ending."

"A few days ago I shared here PBS Kids Video app that provides a wide variety of educational videos for kids. Today I am adding another wonderful iPad app in this direction. Brainfeed is one of the top ranked apps in the iTunes store. Designed to inform, entertain and inspire, Brainfeed provides children 7+, tweens, teens and even inquisitive adults with a safe corner of the web to explore a universe of educational videos. Each video in Brainfeed  is handpicked by a team of enthusiastic educators from around the globe who are tasked with finding short (under 10 minutes) and documentary style videos that meet the following criteria:Curriculum-based, entertaining & engaging, visually stimulating, high quality content, age-appropriate , and child-friendly."

"For the last 18 months Google has allowed you to upload your own PDFs and EPUB files to your personal Google Books account. Unfortunately, you could only access those uploaded files through a web browser or on the Google Books Android app. That has changed with the latest update to Google Play Books for iPad. The latest update to Google Play Books for iPad enables you to read your uploaded files through the app."

"Digital books are transforming the way students of all ages learn today. The interactive elements of digital books enhance the learning experience, making it far more informative and interesting than before. Many teachers today are embracing this new media and producing some high quality student-made eBooks in their classrooms. One of the most fascinating ways to create an eBook is using a mobile device, particularly, an iPad. StoryKit, Book Writer, and Book Creator are 3 apps my students have used to create some highly interactive, professionally looking eBooks. All three apps are excellent examples of tools that allow students to unleash their creativity and tell their own stories."

"Parental Controls, also known as Restrictions, allow you to set what your children can and can't access on an iPhone, iPod touch, or iPad. With Parental Controls, you can lock out Safari, Camera, FaceTime, Siri, AirDrop, CarPlay, the iTunes, iBooks, Podcasts, or App Stores (including in-app purchases), as well as content by age rating, and the ability to make changes to accounts and other app settings. In other words, they're a way to block your child's access to anything and everything you deem inappropriate for them based on their age and sensitivity, and your own best judgement. And they're part of what make Apple devices an ideal computing platform for kids!"

"In the year that I taught language arts before moving into the social studies department one of the challenges that my students faced in writing short stories was coming up with ideas to get started. I held a lot of brainstorming sessions with those students. Today, there are lots of apps that can help students generate creative story ideas. Here are five worth taking a look at."

"I think Book Creator is now one of my favourite creation apps!  Several of my Health Without Borders project groups are using Book Creator to develop their final product to teach elementary kids health concepts. They were pretty excited to get to use the new drawing option, as many found it difficult to find free for re-use images in Creative Commons or Wikimedia Commons  that were appropriate for their topic and target age group. They found the app very easy to work with and really had no questions for me at all.  They loved that they could AirDrop the book between group members so different people could contribute easily.  The voiceover option is also simple to use and works well with just the microphone on the iPad.  I was so impressed with their final product!"

"One of the great things about the iPad in a classroom is that it enables students to pinch and zoom to see artworks in more detail than they would find in most text books. The following five apps allow students to do that and more."

"Last night two champions were crowned at Scripps National Spelling Bee. While using the following iPad apps may not turn students into national champion spellers, they can certainly help your students develop their spelling skills."

"The [Home screen](/home screen) - known behind the scenes as SpringBoard - is the central hub of iPhone and iPad activity. It's not a destination. You're not meant to linger there and stare. It's a transport, a gateway. It's what gets you to your apps and your content. From the Home screen you can tap app and game icons, music and video players, web browsers and online stores. You can also access Spotlight to quickly search for apps, content, and more, and invoke Multitasking, Notification Center, Control Center, Siri, and more."

"Pic Collage is a simple and free app for both phone and tablet that can turn photos and images into real works of art. With pre-made collage templates and backgrounds, the app is unique in how easy it is for students to manipulate their photos into beautiful layouts and patterns. The app also features built-in effects and stickers that give students the ability to truly personalize their work, providing endless classroom uses, applications and fun."

" "Even young kids have gotten very adept at Minecraft, so it can be quite intimidating for teachers," said Jason Schmidt, an instructional technologist for Bennington Public Schools who will teach the four-week MinecraftEdu MOOC, in a prepared statement. "If I can help get teachers over that hump, imagine how delighted students will be to have a learning environment tailored to their interests for a change." The other, Minecraft for Educators, "is a course for teachers who are wishing to gamify their learning experiences and deliver a unique pedagogy that will engage, enthuse and keep learners coming back for more," according to information released by the company. Both MOOCs are available through the Canvas Network. Minecraft for Educators will start January 26, 2015 and run through March 9. The company has also released a Minecraft app to allow students to submit assignments to the Canvas learning management system from within the game. Using the app, students can tag what they've made in the game for their teachers to visit, upload books they've written in game directly to the speed grader or use the game's circuitry tool to complete assignments that will be automatically graded. A video demonstration of the app is available at YouTube. Other MOOCs for teachers in the suite include: Digital Literacies 1; Digital Literacies 2; Five Habits of Highly Effective Teachers; Teachers without Borders: Educating Girls; and Tinker, Make and Learn. Among the other MOOC offerings in the new suite is a course designed specifically for parents, Parenting in the Digital Age, which aims to help them address issues such as cyberbullying, digital citizenship, exposure to inappropriate content, media literacy and screentime. Taught by Andrew Swickheimer, director of technology at Noblesville Schools, the self-paced course opens September 22. "Parental involvement in K-12 education has one of the biggest impacts on a child's commitment to learning," said Jared Stein, vice pres