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"When used effectively, iPads can develop thinkers and problem solvers. They can be used to transform learning inside and outside of the classroom, and offer limitless opportunities. Many educators are effectively integrating technology in the classroom using iPads to achieve the 4C's, or "super skills," that digital learners need to compete in our global society. But in order to do that, the focus has to shift from apps to content: that's when true redefinition takes place. When my district rolled out our iPad initiative in 2012, teachers thought they needed specific apps for every content area. Eventually, we ended up with literally thousands of apps in our portal. This was extremely overwhelming, difficult to manage, and eventually, a turn-off for teachers. Are you ready to adjust your teaching for this new learning revolution? Let me take you inside the idea of SAMR with a helpful metaphor: Starbucks. The simplest way I know to describe the levels in the SAMR model is using a visual created by Tim Holt, who uses Starbucks as a unique way of looking at the model."

"hether you're a StumbleUpon aficionado or have yet to get to grips with this awesome content discovery site, keep reading, because it has the potential to be of real benefit in your classroom. Whilst StumbleUpon isn't the content discovery powerhouse it was back in January 2011, it's far from had its day. It's a powerful, user-friendly, educational tool that can help you become inspired, plan lessons, and connect with your students in a way that's significant to them."

"We've discussed the merits and utility of video games in the classroom before, so we won't beleaguer the point. If you're interested in the possibility of video games for learning-that is, teaching and learning with video games to master both academic and non-academic content-than the following collection may be of interest to you. We've discussed before the logistics of how to teach with video games (especially for non-mobile games). What exactly this looks like on a daily basis in your classroom depends on the reality of your classroom: Available technology, WiFi access and bandwidth, grade level, content area, your comfort level with games, and so on. But if this an area you're interested in learning more about, we thought a collection of the best video games for learning-that is, those we'd want our own children playing for their varied utility in teaching and/or learning-might be useful. Criteria"

"As the self-publishing industry grows larger, Apple's iBooks Author (free) exists as a unique tool for publishing e-books than can reach a large audience of iPad, iPhone and Mac users. The iBooks format is also useful for showcasing and distributing content independent of the iBooks Store. Apple first released iBooks Author back in 2012, and it was and still is largely geared to the textbook and education community. iBooks has introduced many ways to present and display content, with an audience of over 800 million iPad users across the world. It's been reported that since mid-September 2014, over one million customers visit the iBooks store every week, which makes for a huge potential market for authors and publishers."

"Lists are one of the most valuable tools Twitter has to offer. Ideal for cutting the clutter in the newsfeed and finding great content to share, for organizing your prospects and customers so you can easily engage, and for getting new ideas for creating your own content. Bottom line, you definitely want to take advantage of Twitter lists. But what if you don't know how to make a list on Twitter? Where do you get started? Check out this step-by-step guide on how to make a list on Twitter (and how to save time by subscribing to other people's lists)."

"Project-based learning is not some new-fangled teaching method just coming into vogue. In fact, use of the PBL approach can be tracked back to the big thinkers, including Confucius, Aristotle and Socrates. Its longevity is due to one of the key outcomes it provides: keeping students happily engaged in rigorous learning. Of course, the ancient philosophers didn't foresee PBL's connection to ed tech, but they did seem to comprehend the benefits students derive from the approach, including a deep understanding of content, the ability to transfer knowledge to new contexts, improved ability to collaborate and better content retention, to name a few. "

"YouTube is absolutely one of the best sources of educational videos out there. It hosts tons of video content some of which is tailored specifically for the educational community. There is now a growing number of YouTube channels created by teachers and educators where you can find teaching materials to use in your class. over the last few years, we have reviewed a number of these channels and today we spent sometime going through our archive and decided to feature some of these resources into the chart below.  Whether you are looking for specific subject-based content or general knowledge videos, the collections below have you covered. Enjoy"

"My iPad Pro arrived this past week to my excitement. I have used it for just a few days now at this point. There are absolutely no regrets about this large purchase (I joked that it did cost exactly half of what I paid for my first car!). I am thoroughly impressed by this device. The larger size of this iPad gives it a new device feeling, as opposed to just a refreshed model of the same dimensions. For a size reference, here is the iPad Pro side by side with the iPad 4: And here it is next to the iPad Mini:   I hope to do a series of posts outlining my use of the iPad Pro. This first post will just outline some initial thoughts on the device, and who I think it is best suited for. Readers of this blog will know that I'm a huge supporter of using iPads for content creation as opposed to just content consumption. The iPad Pro, along with the new features of iOS 9, bring with it many more possibilities of doing so."

"Education technology devices have become symbolic of the efforts to transform US education through blended and personalized learning--and desktops, laptops, and tablets are quickly becoming ubiquitous in education. Devices are crucial as a conduit for content; however, they do not directly improve learning outcomes. These tangible examples are, with the exception of few dazzling products, nearly indistinguishable. When we are shown images of technology enhancing education, it is rarely a picture of particular software or data systems--it is a student with a device. Devices are crucial as a conduit for content; however, they do not directly improve learning outcomes."

"Research shows that one of the best ways to engage students in content learning is to incorporate the arts. Because of students' openness to the arts, their motivation remains high, their attention spans tend to be longer, and their learning increases -- yet teachers sometimes struggle with how to incorporate the arts while maintaining academic integrity. No matter what type of the arts you desire to bring into the classroom -- music, visual art, creative writing, dance, etc. -- here are five guidelines to help prevent arts integration in the content classroom from simply becoming arts-and-crafts time."

"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"

"micro:mag is a new magazine put together by members of the micro:bit community. From the micro:mag site: A dedicated magazine for the micro:bit is finally here. A team of community members got together to help bring you micro:mag. micro:mag is a magazine made by the community, for the community. All content in our magazine is 100% community written. micro:mag is a chance to get your project showcased to the wider community. If you'd like your project to be featured, please get in touch. The first issue was recently released and includes micro:bit related news, stories and projects. If you're interested in micro:bit, have a micro:bit project you'd like to show off, or would like to contribute content, check out micro:mag for more information!"

"Jacqueline Prester was a self-proclaimed hustler in middle school. Mowing lawns, babysitting-she took the initiative to earn her own money. But she was also a responsible moneymaker, using the envelope system to budget every cent before she knew it was an actual budgeting strategy. Back then, her friends rolled their eyes when she tried to share her financial savvy. Fast forward two decades and Prester is a popular business and technology teacher at Mansfield High School in Massachusetts, working to give students real-life financial skills. Only this time her audience is keen to learn. (Her Personal Finance classes always reach their 28 student capacity.) Students are learning about personal finance, but not just because that's the name of the class. They're making it personal. Prester's passion is infectious, and the content she chooses-like Pathway To Financial Success created by Discovery Education and Discover-immerses students in authentic lessons with videos, interactive modules and real-world connections. Pathway To Financial Success Video: Being Financially Responsible EdSurge caught up with Prester to find out how she packs her classes with willing learners and to uncover her secret to finding compelling financial literacy content. She also shared how and why she helped pass a new Massachusetts bill focused on financial literacy."

More interactive and dynamic content to use as mentor texts for students wishing to create content in new ways

"Many schools are moving to project-based learning as a way to help students make meaning about content in deeper and more lasting ways than a lecture can provide. While those goals are clear to educators, and inspiring examples of schools successfully implementing the pedagogy exist, it can still be a challenging shift for many teachers. It is difficult to design projects that both help students learn required content and that genuinely interest them. Some educators are finding that connecting projects to a global community is a powerful way to make a project feel meaningful to students."

"My students come from a small, rural community and lack a broad understanding of the larger world around them. This inspired me to seek out a game, or online environment, that could provide more expansive experiences for them-a place that would allow them to explore, on their own or with others, and where I could embed history content for them to discover. On Twitter I came across an exploratory discussion of Minecraft's potential for school use. I dove in and began a journey that ultimately changed my perception of teaching and how I interact with my students. Minecraft is easy to use and implement in a classroom. It promotes student independence and creativity, but it is also an immensely collaborative tool that I have witnessed being integrated across all grade levels and content areas. Students can apply their understanding in truly unique and often unanticipated ways. Previously, my kids struggled with writing. Today, they are more creative and confident writers. Instead of getting 125 essays written in the exact same style with the same details, I now get unique historical narratives, rich with sensory experiences and observations made with their own eyes."

"Anxious, overconfident, curious, indifferent, angry, amused, lonely, hopeful, embarrassed, empowered, afraid, excited, diminished-teachers have seen all these emotions emerge from students as they engage with classroom content. Emotional responses to lessons often go through students' minds before they even begin to think about the material: This stuff is stupid/awesome/beyond me. I'm not comfortable with this. Finally, something I'm good at. Maybe somebody will notice I can't read. Let's see her find a mistake in that one-it's perfect. Does the teacher know I didn't study this last night? Some of us deny this reality and claim we aren't trained to guide children's emotional health. We think our purpose is to teach content and skills only, not to deal with the touchy-feely stuff. This attitude turns a blind eye to the developmental nature of the students we serve, and it runs afoul of how minds learn. Unless we're the most severe of sociopaths, we all have emotional responses that affect what we do. Adding to the messiness, our individual perspectives and experiences may put us out of sync with others' emotional states, even as the institutional nature of schools demands emotional synchronicity. The resulting miscommunication, blame, anxiety, and frustration are not the best ingredients for a good day at school. Teachers who deny the emotional elements of teaching and learning can become exhausted from ceaseless confrontations with students' emotional states, often blaming their personal stress and students' failure to learn on students' lack of motivation or maturity. They grow disconnected from students, creating an almost adversarial relationship with them: I need to get them to shape up. It's them or me. These students are hopeless; why should I bother? It's the parents who created this situation. This attitude can bleed into daily interactions with students and colleagues. It doesn't have to be this way. We can develop constructive responses to our own

"Companies are starting to flock to Snapchat. McDonald's and Taco Bell are using it to get Snapchatters interested in their products. The NBA and MLS are giving behind-the-scenes footage from their sports worlds. CNN is reporting news content, and The Food Network is providing an extension to its programming. They're providing content that's interesting. They're surprising their audience. And they're having some fun along the way. If companies can do it, teachers and schools can, too … and we can learn some lessons about how to engage students by watching how they engage their customers."

"As Human Brain Love Visuals So Its A Great Idea To Add Visuals In Your Content To Increase Your Learners. Visuals Also Help Your Learners To Understand Easily."

"YouTube remains one of the best resources for educational video content to use with students in class. Over the past few years we reviewed and shared several YouTube channels that offer educational content for teachers and students and today we are re-featuring this list of the most popular YouTube channels for math teachers. "