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"Nobody said that raising an adolescent was easy, and schooling one is even more of a challenge! Parents are taking on a lot of school responsibility, and let's face it -- things are different than they used to be. How are parents supposed to know how to handle the homework load without some guidance? Take studying, for example. If you are a parent of a struggling or resistant learner, you've probably heard more than one person suggest, "She just needs to study more." Most kids think this means filling in a study guide or rereading a chapter. But many don't learn by writing or reading. Their strengths lie in the visual, kinesthetic, musical, or social realm. How, then, are we to help our children develop their studying skills? The task does not have to be daunting. In fact, it can actually be simple and effective!"

"Barbara Oakley's professional biography does not suggest that she was once a struggling math and science student: She is an engineering professor, author of A Mind For Numbers: How to Excel at Math and Science and Mindshift: Break Through Obstacles to Learning and Discover Your Hidden Potential (which is not affiliated with this MindShift). Oakley co-created Coursera's most popular course, "Learning How to Learn," with Terrence Sejnowski, which has enrolled nearly 2 million students.  But Oakley is a self-described "former math flunky" who "retooled" her brain - and who has since made it her life's work to help others learn how to learn by explaining some key principles from modern neuroscience. "

" definitely don't claim to be a tech pro-if something breaks, I immediately call tech support to get it fixed. But I do believe in coding and making it part of a child's curriculum. In recent years I've been working with a lot of new teachers who are unsure about how to integrate technology in their classrooms. I've been a classroom teacher, and I get it: Sometimes it's hard to make the connection. "Why is this important? Don't I have enough to do already?" However, once you realize how much technology can aid your other curricula, you see that it's worth the time and energy. Coding definitely teaches students tech skills, but that's only the beginning. Take a look at these 10 other benefits you'll see when you teach kids how to code."

"Your time is limited, and perhaps so are some of your skills. As a teacher, it's important that you improve your abilities regularly, whether you're learning how to better manage your workload or discovering how to use technology in your classroom. It may seem impossible to find a time for this professional development, which is a stress in-and-of itself. However, you don't need much extra time to develop your skills-just one hour a week. Here's how."

"Here is another awesome back-to-school  resource. This is basically a graphic from ASCD featuring seven reminders on how to drive motivation. These reminders are quotes from popular thinkers which provide some smart tips on how to ignite learners motivation. Below is a round-up of these 7 reminders and you can download this free poster from this link. "

"What does "effective online research" even mean? Type in a search term and get going, right? While on one hand, it literally is that easy, if you want to find good quality, highly relevant materials, you need to move far beyond a quick Google search and visiting your old pal Wikipedia. We have some great, easy tips for how to make the most of online research coming your way. How do you make the most of online research"

"Starting school can be exciting for young kids. It can also be scary. That's true whether this is their first time going to school or they're starting a new grade. And the change in routine can be especially tough for kids with learning and attention issues. How can you help your young child feel less anxious about going to school? Here, four experts weigh in on why young kids may feel anxious about school, and how to help."

"How do we raise emotionally aware and well-adjusted kids? With lots of talking and sharing, of course. For some kids, digital media can also help by packaging powerful messages inside enticing apps. In one, kids explore how we are the same and how we are different from one another. In another, they interact with silly characters to learn their emotional responses. And in a third, virtual friends share stories to get 'tweens thinking about how to best handle emotionally charged situations. Here's a closer look at these three masterful apps. Wee You-Things"

"It's always revealing to watch learners research. When trying to understand complex questions often as part of multi-step projects, they often simply "Google it." Why do people migrate? Google it. Where does inspiration come from? Google it. How do different cultures view humanity differently? Google it. Literally Google it. Type those questions word-for-word into the Google search box and hope for answers. Educators cringe, but to the students it makes sense. And if you think about it, this is actually helpful-a rare opportunity for transparency into the mind of a student. When your formative years are spent working your fingers through apps and iPads, smartphones and YouTube, the digital world and its habits can bend and shape not just how you access information, but how you conceptualize it entirely. And among the most powerful forces here is the Google.com search engine."

"Everyone has a pet theory on how to improve public education: better professional development for teachers, more money, better curriculum, testing for accountability, teacher incentives, technology, streamlined bureaucracy. Policymakers have been trying these solutions for years with mixed results. But those who study the brain have their own ideas for improving how kids learn: focus on teaching kids how to learn."

"Digital citizenship has stepped into the forefront of a modern-day education. Experts indicate that as schools roll out tech, they also need to be rolling out digital citizenship education. Tech giant Google heeded that call and partnered with experts to launch Be Internet Awesome, an interactive campaign that educates students on how best to act on the internet. One part of this Google campaign is Interland, a game that has students travel an imaginary world where they need to fight hackers, phishers, oversharers and bullies with digital citizenship skills. While game-based learning can be effective, educators also need to be armed with skills to teach their students to be citizens of the web. This month, Google extended its Be Internet Awesome program to include a free online training course to help educators establish foundational skills needed to teach their students to have a safe and positive experience online."

"In an effort to prepare the next generation for the future, school and public librarians, as well as teachers and educators at community-run and for-profit camps, have answered the call to teach kids code. But many now recognize it's not enough for students simply to know how to write code. The capacity to build a product or solve a problem requires an entirely different literacy. With this in mind, the focus of coding education is shifting from teaching the specific skill of coding to teaching computational thinking-or the ability to follow a step-by-step process to solve a problem. Technology education programs from CSforAll to Code.org to the International Society for Technology in Education (ISTE), as well as employers such as Google, all embrace this new context and focus. The future workforce will require a solid grounding in the discipline of thinking computationally, says Chris Stephenson, Google's head of computer science education strategy. She compares this moment to the epistemological shift that happened before the Enlightenment, when scribes guarded reading as a skill only for the chosen few."

"In 2006 there was a term that started to grow in the United States-- STEM education (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math). The basis of the STEM movement was the growing concern that our students were not prepared for the high-tech jobs of the future. Just a year later a well-know researcher, Georgette Yakman, announced the need to include the arts in STEM programs; thus STEM became STEAM. Georgette took the inclusion of the arts and expanded on how it relates to the other STEM subjects. Her well-know quote is "Science and technology, interpreted through engineering and the arts, all based in elements of mathematics." This is a rich beginning to our dive into the 21st century job market... but! We have lost sight of one very important aspect of our education and all jobs, be they high-tech, low-tech, or no-tech. What about the importance of reading? Without the ability to read and write, there is not a job to be found for which STEM or STEAM education is going to be enough preparation. ELA, or English Language Arts, is a critical component of the core standards. There are also standards that help reference reading and writing for science and the technical subjects. The notion seems to be that reading is still a critical element in any student's success. Why not give it its proper place... STEM to STEAM to STREAM, standing for Science, Technology, Reading, Engineering, Arts and Math. "

"As educators across the country continue to examine the best ways of teaching and learning, a new lexicon is beginning to emerge that describes one particular approach - deeper learning. The phrase implies a rich learning experience for students that allows them to really dig into a subject and understand it in a way that requires more than just memorizing facts. The elements that make up this approach are not necessarily new - great teachers have been employing these tactics for years. But now there's a movement to codify the different pieces that define the deeper learning approach, and to spread the knowledge from teacher to teacher, school to school in the form of a Deeper Learning MOOC (massive open online course), organized by a group of schools, non-profits, and sponsored by the Hewlett Foundation. So what defines deeper learning? This group has identified six competencies: mastering content, critical thinking, effective written and oral communication, collaboration, learning how to learn, and developing academic mindsets."

"At Google we believe in the power of education and the promise of technology to improve the lives of students and educators -- leading the way for a new generation of learning in the classroom and beyond. But no matter what subject you teach, it is important for your students to know how to think critically and evaluate online sources, understand how to protect themselves from online threats from bullies to scammers, and to think before they share and be good digital citizens. Google has partnered with child safety experts at iKeepSafe, and also worked with educators themselves to develop lessons that will work in the classroom, are appropriate for kids, and incorporate some of the best advice and tips that Google's security team has to offer."

"I always have teachers wanting to know how they can better utilize the iPad in their classrooms. I know that it's very easy when first receiving an iPad to take a worksheet that you have done for several years, and convert it to glass. But glass can be boring too, so I created this Breakfast Club session to give my teachers some ideas on ways to better utilize this powerful tool in their classrooms. So the "activities" that I started coming up with started turning into all sorts of ideas and app suggestions.  I shared all of the ideas with the teachers that attended, but found myself particularly enjoying the conversations that we were having about some of the activities that are taking place in the classrooms at Aurora Public Schools. Our teachers are doing great things with the iPads in their classrooms and it was great to have teachers share and learn from each other!  Here are some of the activities, ideas and apps that we talked about on how to better utilize the iPad in the classroom."

"To survive in today's world, it's imperative for students to become innovators able to think both critically and creatively. Because of this, many schools are looking to STEAM education. If you're unfamiliar, STEAM stands for Science, Technology, Engineering, the Arts, and Math. STEAM education aims to help students see and use connections between all of these disciplines to become well-rounded. However, STEAM didn't always exist. In fact, the arts were never part of the original equation. Read on to see how STEM morphed into STEAM and how to bring these important ideas into your classroom."

"Students hoping to progress to playing an instrument first must conquer what some consider to be the most difficult challenge: learning how to read music. Utilizing these apps can help teachers find new ways to engage their students, test their knowledge, and ensure their skill development."

"If you use your iPhone as your go-to camera, you've undoubtedly come across photos that you want to print out and frame. The number one question I get from family and friends is how to make sure it'll fit into a given frame, whether it be 4x6, square, and so on. As it happens, you can size photos accordingly right inside the Photos app so they're frame ready, no computer needed. Here's how:"

"I recently found an article on the I Can Teach My Child blog about how to read with your young children. As a speech-language pathologist, I really appreciated some of her tips. I am sharing them with you, along with my thoughts and suggestions on how to use the same tips with some great app books."