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"Chromebooks are making gigantic inroads in the education sector. Several school districts here in Canada and the States are adopting them as teaching tools within classrooms. Their growing popularity among the education community is attributable not only to their reasonably cheap price but also to a host of excellent features that you can not find in other devices. Chromebooks are easier to handle, faster and more secure. They are also " instantly personalizable by each student or teacher, and easy to manage, making them an ideal solution for bringing the power of the web to your classrooms". "

"It seems tablets are in more classrooms, in more districts, each day. But as experience shows, simply purchasing and distributing tablets doesn't mean students will be more engaged with their learning, and it doesn't guarantee teachers will embrace tech-enabled instruction. Implementing tablets and leveraging the tools to support teaching and learning goals might be easier with the right approach, according to Doug Fisher, professor of educational leadership at San Diego State University and teacher leader at Health Sciences High; Nancy Frey, professor of educational leadership at San Diego State University and teacher leader at Health Sciences High; and Alex Gonzales, technology leader at Health Sciences High. These three educators have devised a model they call the gradual release of responsibility (GRR) model, which imparts both instructional strategies and technology tips for educators planning for, deploying, and integrating tablets into classrooms."

"Move over, Facebook! If you teach middle or high schoolers, you know that Instagram is one of the most popular social media channels for teens and tweens today. And while it may not seem like it at first, there are many applications for Instagram in the classroom."

"There is never a better time than "NOW" to start working on one's own professional development as a teacher. However, often unless by chance you find yourself in the perfect school with perfect colleagues - it is hard to get started and you'll find yourself in a rut teaching the same thing in the same way (or different things in the same way), over and over."

"Whether you are looking for a toy that provides educational value, a gift that gives a little bit more or a digital companion that can teach logic and programming, these robots for kids are some of the most cutting edge gadgets around. With companion smartphone apps, voice control, advanced mechatronics and even xylophones, these amazing pieces of electronic kit will keep your kids entertained, engaged and educated for years to come."

"I teach fifth, sixth, seventh, and eighth grade Resource Room in a small public school. We are well endowed and all students grades 6 - 8 have their own iPads. I wanted to share some of the apps we use regularly in school. Please keep in mind, this is not a complete list, just what seems to be used over and over again. Also, make note that I am a special education teacher and some of these apps may be intended for younger students. Remember that not all kids are on page 39, let alone the same book - "

"According to Martinez and Stager, the Maker Movement, a technological and creative learning revolution underway around the globe, has exciting and vast implications for the world of education. New tools and technology, such as 3D printing, robotics, microprocessors, wearable computing, e-textiles, 'smart' materials, and programming languages are being invented at an unprecedented pace. The Maker Movement creates affordable versions of these inventions, while sharing tools and ideas online to create an innovative, collaborative community of global problem seekers and solvers. The Maker Movement in education is built upon the foundation of constructionism, which is the philosophy of hands-on learning through building things. The key message from spending hours in this book was that the Maker Movement overlaps with the natural inclinations of children and the power of learning by doing. By embracing the lessons of the Maker Movement, educators can revamp the best student-centered teaching practices to engage learners of all ages."

"Are you looking for the most impactful, the most inspiring, the most beneficial books that will help you succeed in the classroom? Perhaps you need ways to improve the way in which you motivate students. Perhaps you want to build a better classroom culture. Need new ways to teach reading and writing across the curriculum? Or, you might be curious about trends like Genius Hour and project-based learning. Boy, do I have a list for you."

"I taught high school math for 14 years. My last years I went paperless. There are many digital tools that support teaching math and Google Docs is one of them. If your school has Google Apps for Education (GAfE) here are 5 ways to have students use Google Docs in math:"

"As tablets move from novelty items to staples in the classroom, teachers are finding new ways to make them more than just another screen for students to look at. One way to make the devices more interactive and collaborative is to extend their reach by connecting them with external sensors or robots. According to Sam Patterson, a technology integration specialist at Gideon Hausner Jewish Day School, a K-8 school in Palo Alto, CA, "What we are seeing is technology becoming more and more transparent." Years ago, if you had a computer for every student in the class it would look like a computer lab. And then each student had a laptop, and it was a classroom full of screens, he noted. "Now students have the ability to connect to other things in the room, so that when we are collecting data we can do it directly and do observations," he said. "It is amazing that in a seventh-grade science class, you can import data and it is in a spreadsheet already. You can start to work with that data without having to teach the students how to build a spreadsheet.""

"The Maker Movement is a technological and creative revolution underway around the world. Fortunately for educators, the Maker Movement overlaps with the natural inclinations of children and the power of learning by doing. Embracing the lessons of the Maker Movement holds the keys to reanimating the best, but oft-forgotten learner-centered teaching practices. New tools and technology, such as 3D printing, robotics, microprocessors, wearable computing, e-textiles, "smart" materials, and new programming languages are being invented at an unprecedented pace. The Maker Movement creates affordable - even free - versions of these inventions, and shares tools and ideas online, creating a vibrant, collaborative community of global problem-solvers. "

"Our first entry from our Diverse Teacher Voices program comes from Sharon Davison, a Kindergarten teacher from Vermont who responded to the "Dear First Year Me" prompt. For Sharon, there is some increased significance-or rather, there's significance for each one of us as readers. Sharon has taught for 32 years-and here she is, from 1983 to today, still tweeting, still blogging, still connecting, still serving. Beautiful! Her class twitter account can be found here. Give her a visit. Dear First Year Me, So you have decided to share your energy, strength, perseverance and courage to become a teacher! Congratulations!  You can do it because you care about making a difference.  Just remember to….."

"Pre-assessment is a powerful instructional tool. Conducted prior to new learning experiences, the process empowers students as much as it empowers teachers. I became acquainted with pre-assessment during the early years as a classroom teacher. This was when differentiated instruction felt new to everyone. In those days, we used pre-tests, anticipation guides, and student work samples from previously taught units to identify what kids knew, what they were already able to do, and where we should invest our greatest energies. Our pre-assessment practices have evolved quite a bit since then. Many teachers have come to understand that assessment in any context rarely requires testing, and data isn't just a simple set of numbers, and defining strengths and needs serves learners in more ways than we previously understood. Sure, we still pre-assess to compact the lessons we teach, but engaging learners in this sort of reflective work helps them carve productive pathways through student-directed learning experiences as well. Consider some of these approaches as you design learning experiences for your students or prepare to engage them in self-directed projects:"

"In Manitoba there are traditionally five provincially mandated PD days per year. This year the topics for the first four of my school's PD days were 'Cultural Proficiency' (a division sponsored event), an 'EdCamp' (facilitated by division coordinators), a day where teachers work with other teachers from around the province in their teaching area, and a school-based session on 'Deeper Learning and Critical Thinking' with support from a division coordinator. Our final day will be on the topic of 'Positive Behaviour Interventions and Supports'. We will join one of our feeder elementary schools, and the day will be facilitated by divisional educational support services staff. Although these sessions have all been of great value, and have resulted in many thoughtful conversations, the days are somewhat disjointed. The topics for each day are chosen by divisional administration or school-based administrators, without the input of the teachers that will 'benefit' from the PD sessions. To make these PD days more valuable, teachers need to keep the conversations going on these important topics for deep learning to occur, or this 'one size fits all' model needs to be abandoned for a more teacher directed PD model. If teachers are in charge of the topic of their personal PD, they will be more likely to own this time and use the division sponsored PD days as a catalyst to deeper learning and connections to other professionals within their own building and beyond. Teachers need going beyond the four or five division sponsored PD days to ensure personal and professional growth."

"It's no secret. We're not all brought up to be dual-lingual in England. Learning a language is not as integral to us as it may be in many other countries. Of course, English is an additional language for some and many schools do incredible work to help EAL pupils. However, grasping another language is simply not a necessity for many children. With that over riding fact ringing in their ears, some pupils do not place importance on indulging this area of the curriculum. This is coupled with the fact that most teachers have limited linguistic skills. The lack of enthusiasm from the children, mixed with a teacher's own knowledge gaps can make MFL become MF-hell to teach."

"Kyle Schwartz teaches third grade at Doull Elementary in Colorado. By now, you've likely heard of her-or at least one of her ideas, #Iwishmyteacherknew. Every now and then, there's an "Education" story that the masses take notice of-standardized testing, Michelle Rhee, Waiting for Superman, the flipped classroom, the iPad failure in LA, the testing scandal in LA, among others. The most recent to crossover is the hashtag #Iwishmyteacherknew, which is what it sounds like it might be-an asynchronous conversation (or rather, series of statements) illuminating the realities that many students face every day. On one hand, there's an inherent kind of other disconnect at work here that makes the whole thing a huge act of spectacle, while inviting frank discussions about privacy. We'll talk more about that in a follow-up later this week. To provide context to that kind of analysis, first the tweets themselves."

"One of the most intimidating aspects of infusing technology into curriculum is that educators often believe that they will have to master and then teach their students to use new technology tools before assigning a project. These concerns are understandable as our time for professional development is finite and school curricula are already packed. However, consider the impact if, rather than focusing on new tools, we explored the skills students need to learn and then incorporated the most effective digital resources to accomplish those objectives."

"It's inevitable that the kids of Generation Z will be the most naturally tech-literate generation yet, but that won't happen through osmosis. They'll still need tools to get them there. Kids older than 10 or so are covered: In the past few years, smart companies like littleBits and Kano have helped pave the way toward make learning about circuitry and motherboards as fun as playing with Legos. But those products are still a bit sophisticated. Think of them like the grammar and syntax of computer science: great educational tools, so long as you can already grasp a few basic building blocks. To get those building blocks-let's call it the alphabet-younger kids can now turn to Hackaball, a ball that's also a computer, that gets programmed via an iPad app."