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"This is the 5 post in a series of articles geared towards helping teachers and educators better leverage the power of Google services in education. I know there are several tutorials out there but these ones I have for you are different . Different because they are created by a fellow teacher like you who knows your needs and therefore tries to attend to these needs. These guides are also illustrated by screenshots and explanatory text and in some cases video clips. Today's tutorial is on the use of Google forms. By the end of this guide you will be able to : "

"Yesterday, I co-presented a workshop with a well respected colleague of mine on special education iPad apps that can be used for reading and writing. It was a one-day workshop that was well attended by local educators who were looking to further integrate the iPad into special education classrooms to help further Language Arts goals for their students."

"As the end of the school year draws to a close, administrators start pulling together their PD plans for the summer in preparation for the next year. Meanwhile, teachers sit anxiously by with the dread that can only come with the anticipation of the dreaded PD days that their contract says they must attend. It's not that teachers don't want to grow and improve their craft. They do, and they find it refreshingly professionalizing when they get to. It's just that this ain't their first rodeo. They've been made to sit through pointless professional development in the past and they lament that they're thinking "how long will this last and what will I have to turn in…and when is lunch?" as they trudge toward the library down the hallway that so obviously lacks the normal student energy they've used as fuel for the past 9 months. But it doesn't have to be like that. In fact, if we do things well, teachers are likely to come away from their professional development energized and excited."

"There's plenty of excitement surrounding virtual reality's applications in education. Teachers and administrators attending the ISTE 2016 Conference and Expo, for instance, flocked to the Samsung Gear VR and Google Expeditions displays to try their hand at the companies' respective VR teaching tools. Despite the interest, VR hasn't yet found a home in most schools. According to statistics cited in a recent Samsung infographic, only 2 percent of teachers use VR content in their classrooms. The data comes from a 2016 survey of more than 1,000 K-12 teachers. Survey results also indicate that educators would like to use VR to complement coursework in a variety of subjects, particularly science, history and social studies. Eight-three percent of teachers believe the technology could help improve student outcomes in those and other areas."

"One of my favorite innovations in recent years is the idea of TED Talks. Whether you attend a session in person or watch online, you can learn and gain inspiration and see and hear people tell their stories and share their expertise firsthand. It's accessible, substantive information on virtually every topic imaginable. If reading the news first thing in the morning is bringing you down, why not save that task for a bit later in the day? Instead, take in one of these great TED talks with your breakfast. Since they're under 20 minutes, it's the perfect amount of time to spend with your breakfast and coffee--and you'll start the day informed, motivated, and ready to go do great things."

"Higher education issues have been one of the hot topics of the current presidential race, with candidates touching on reducing student loan debt and improving college access. However, what has rarely come up is whether or not college is even the best option for each and every student. The general message in popular culture and political debates is that attending and graduating from a traditional four-year college is the only way to find a fruitful job after high school. However, there are a number of alternatives for students who don't necessarily want to take out loans or the academic focus of a traditional university experience, and these alternatives can still lead to fulfilling careers. Called career technical, professional, and trade or vocational training, these programs are typically offered at high schools, two-year colleges, and through other outlets."

"It may be best known for the BB-8, but Sphero's robotic toys have uses well beyond Star Wars. Aspect Hunter School in Sydney, Australia is a school for children on the autism spectrum. The school is attended by 130 kids, beginning at age four, as well as around 30 Spheros."

"My children started attending Dayton Grade School this past week and to my surprise my son's class provides an iPad for every student. Even today with the proliferation of mobile technology, classrooms across the US run the full spectrum when it comes to technology."

"Thanks to all who attended my presentation at the ESD on January 11th. Please don't hesitate to contact me if you have any questions about managing an iPad roll out in your district. You can find links to various resources below."

"In the spirit of my last post, I would like to share another science apptivity for the iPad. I wish I could take credit for this one but Bryan P Doyle is the author of the resource. I had the pleasure of attending his session at the Area 7 Conference this summer."

A funny blogger who exposes poor writing ability while attending to proper writing conventions.

"There are times when taking a note in a written format is not a practical option. You might for instance be attending a lecture or a conference or you might simply prefer to listen to your recorded notes instead of reading them, in these cases apps such as the ones below are what you will use for audio note taking. While keeping the basic note taking features, all of these apps are fantastic for recording notes and adding audio to your notes. I invite you to check out the selection I have below and share with us what you thin about it."

"Learn to more effectively use iPads to improve instruction and productivity! This course is a blended learning program where participants learn through video tutorials, webinars, readings, and projects. Those enrolled will attend one face-to-face session and submit artifacts of their learning to a digital portfolio blog. The skills taught in this series have been designed to support the ISTE National Educational Technology Standards for Teachers (NETS-T). "

"The Inspire project: an intervention programme of activities for disengaged young people has seen attendance increase by 30% at Josie Maitland's school. "

"For those of you who haven't heard of it, TED is an incredible free service that filled to the brim with informative videos from special TED conferences - sometimes motivational, sometimes de-motivational, and often about science or psychology. The TED conferences are all over the place, and if you aren't able to attend, TED makes them available for free on the Web and in a great free universal app for iPhone and iPad. When I have fifteen minutes and I want to watch something, I often watch TED videos, and very usually fill my rare days off with them. The app is a great way to experience these videos, but is it perfect? Read on to find out how TED's service could get even better after its recent update to iOS 7."

"The last session I am attending is "Redefining the Writing Process" with Beth Holland and Samantha Morra. Beth highlights the idea we all have about writing - that it's about paper and keyboarding. Beth wrote a great article about this at Edudemic, "5 Myths About Writing with Mobile Devices.""

"Getting students to "mastery" implies that they have mastered a concept, have learned everything there is to know about it, and are ready to move on. This definition of mastery doesn't sit well with me. I've studied topics for years and never "mastered" them. In fact, I earned my master's degree in education more than a decade ago, but I learn how to be a better teacher every day. Each interaction with a student, every conference I attend, and daily conversations with colleagues continually expand my understanding. I can always learn more and explore a topic further."

"This is a video project that I created for my Mobile Technologies class (ETEC 565M) in the UBC Master of Educational Technology program. My personal journey with this social media has opened up and transformed my educational world. Because of Twitter, I have enjoyed several professional experiences over the past six months like connecting with colleagues at edcamps, traveling to California to attend conference and collaborate with other educators, and establishing online communities and conversations through hashtags like #bcedchat. I am passionate about the use of this tool, among many, to help educators connect and transform their own professional learning experience. Check out my video below to find out more!"

"For years, it has been no secret that many students who start post-secondary education programs drop out early. To address this issue, many schools and institutions decide to redesign their courses with the hope that students might gain a greater feeling of success, continue with their chosen program and graduate. When considering courses for redesign, many questions are asked but the most important is this: "What data should be considered to ensure our course redesign efforts are successful?" Data metrics like grades, attendance or participation rates are obvious considerations. These can be reliable metrics in driving decision-making. However, I recommend also considering student feedback, faculty load, student experience, and assessment performance as additional data points which can better inform decisions that directly impact the course redesign process."

"ducators have lots of ideas about how to improve education, to better reach learners and to give students the skills they'll need in college and beyond the classroom. But often those conversations remain between adults. The real test of any idea is in the classroom, though students are rarely asked about what they think about their education. A panel of seven students attending schools that are part of the "deeper learning" movement gave their perspective on what it means for them to learn and how educators can work to create a school culture that fosters creativity, collaboration, trust, the ability to fail, and perhaps most importantly, one in which students want to participate."