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"Many teachers and schools have already 'gone Google' so what better way to figure out how to actually get started with the powerful tools than from an effective checklist that lets you quickly discover and check off new ways to use Google Apps For Education in your classroom, school, or district. We're working on building a powerful interactive guide to Google education tools as well as many other useful products so check back soon for the launch of Genius Guides. In the meantime, use this below visual as a means to start experimenting and implementing Google-built education apps in ways you may not have considered before reading this post on Daily Genius."

"Today I am sharing with you a resourceful page that contains some interesting visual guides on teaching with iPad. This page is created by iPad 4 Schools and features various posters on educational iPad apps, tips, and tutorials on how to make the best of iPad in your instruction. I have shared some of these posters in this blog in the past but when I checked back today I found that iPad Wells have added many new beautiful visuals. All of these posters are available in PDF format which you can download and print to use with students in class. I invite you to check the collection there and share with us what you think of it. "

If you're setting up a worksheet only for yourself, you can simply leave an empty cell for this purpose. To check it, just type in an x or any other character. Then use a formula with the =isblank() function to make the contents of that cell affect the rest of the spreadsheet. But you might want something more mouse-friendly--especially if you're designing a spreadsheet for other people. I've tested the technique below on Excel 2007, 2010, and 2013. I'm not sure about earlier versions. You can insert checkboxes on Excel's Developer tab. Unfortunately, that tab is hidden by default. To make it visible in Excel 2010 or 2013, click the File tab and select Options. ClickCustomize Ribbon. You'll see two lists. Make sure that the one on the right is titled Main Tabs. Check Developer.

Have you been spending too much of your time on social media recently? Is that making much of your internet usage wasteful? Social media can be so addictive, so much that we spend hours on it without really noticing. While social media does contribute in healthy discussions and is also our primary source of news and ideas at times, it's equally likely to encourage us to refrain from learning something useful in our lives. It's very important to keep our social media usage in check if we want to enrich ourselves with great learning experiences and upgrade our lives. Here are 25 great websites which you should check if you want to escape from the vicious trap of social media and live a life full of knowledge, joy, and inspiration.

"Chrome web store is teeming with all kinds of educational apps and education. You can easily search for and access apps you want to use in your instruction by simply refining your search query using criterion such as category, types, ratings and many more. You can also check this page for a quick list of some of the best educational Chrome apps to start with. We are also sharing with you this collection which comprises some of the most popular Chrome apps created and provided by Google. Check them out below."

" There are a lot of terrific web tools and mobile apps available right now. You know that. But how do you sort out which ones are actually worth downloading or even looking at? The Daily Genius editors have cobbled together a relatively refined list of the 5 best free apps that we plan to start using in the new year. The apps are for iOS, Android, OSX, Windows, Linux, web browsers like Chrome and Firefox, and more. So be sure to check out each one and see if it might be something that saves you time, money, or a headache. Check out f.lux for avoiding an eye strain-related headache, by the way. It's a personal favorite used on all computers in the house."

"Ask our team, "What's new?" and you'll hear about how we're learning on the go with podcasts. Ask our teacher bloggers about new practices they're trying in their classrooms and you'll hear how their encouraging reflective learning with podcasts. At the start of a new school year, we think they are a great way to continue learning and stay engaged. So grab your headphones or sync the bluetooth, and get ready to listen and learn-here is our list of favorite podcasts you should check out to support your learning."

As a school librarian, I try to offer spaces where students can create, make, and innovate. Trying to offer a makerspace to 100% of the student population can quickly become limiting due to space. Offering a mobile classroom makerspace solves this problem. A mobile classroom makerspace library program allows classroom teachers to check out 6 to 8 makerspace activities with the needed supplies packed together in one cart. Teachers can check-out a cart for their classroom for a week. During that week teachers can unpack the activities, and create a pop-up makerspace in their classroom when it fits into their schedule.      Last year I tried this at Ed White E-STEM with kindergarten and first grade classes. The teachers and students loved the mobile classroom makerspace carts so much we added a cart for 2nd grade this school year. The 2nd grade teachers want to take it a step farther. They want the library to supply a book with each activity, so they can use the cart as part of a Literacy Station. The students will explore, make, read, and then write about their experience.   The second year of this program has been a learning experience. This year we were able to fine tune the offerings in each cart by teachers expressing what worked, and what didn't work last year. We used teacher input as one measure to create this year's inventory list for the mobile classroom makerspace carts. 5 things to think about when creating a mobile classroom makerspace."

"Something that bothers me so much is when I read articles that talk about how libraries are becoming makerspaces.  Our makerspace is one component of the participatory culture that runs through our space.  Anyone who knows my story knows that my point of entry into the Maker Movement was through literacy, so for me, literacy and making have always gone hand in hand.   When I began as the Library Media Specialist at New Milford High School, I walked into a library that was similar to many school libraries in older schools.  It was very traditional looking, with tall stacks and lots and lots of books that students simply did not check out, nor have an interest in.  The collection was out of date and had not been weeded in decades.  One of the tasks for me was to weed the books.  During that weeding process, I decided that traditional nonfiction that made it through the weeding process would be sent to classrooms to build up their classroom research libraries.  I decided to keep any memoirs or narrative nonfiction that we had in our collection, since those were the kinds of books I discovered so many of our students did enjoy reading and would check out.  Amongst the vast fiction collection, we did find a few gems, but mostly we either discarded books that were no longer relevant to our students, gave them to classrooms who wanted them, or to individual students who showed an interest.  In the end, I was able to preserve just a few shelves of books.  As a result, I was tasked with rebuilding our collection."

"Top 10 sites to help students check their facts"

"Check123 is the web's first Video Encyclopedia. Come and learn about arts, history, science, space, animals and more in 1, 2, or 3 minute Videos!!"

""Many board members noticed that you were on your phone a lot," he said. "If you can hold out on texting friends or checking your Twitter feed until the breaks, that would be great." Mission failed. Now I did feel like an idiot. But I was also quite angry. The thing is, I hadn't checked my Twitter feed for over two hours. I'd been taking notes. I walked down the hall and began to think. I realized that my friends and I are glued to our phones all day long. That's just the way we are. Phones are crucial to our identities and lifestyle. Telling people in my generation to put our phones away is not a solution. Just ask our teachers how that has worked for them. Even so, the workplace is not ready for how often we are going to pull out our phones. Rather than fight it, I think the other generations are going to have to learn to let go and adapt to us. The reality is that social media breaks take less than 15 seconds and can be re-energizing. That's less time than the widely accepted practice of taking breaks for coffee or snacks. That said, there is no denying that we will need to be mentored so we know when even a 15-second break is unacceptable. The good news is that teachers have been trying to coach us about this for years. We can learn and we can adapt, if the other generations adapt, too."

"With so many Raspberry Pi projects to choose from, it can be tricky to find the one you really want to build. Our advice is to find a way to marry the Pi with something you really love. One great example is TV and movie robots - iconic characters from popular sci-fi that can be rebuild at home with a Raspberry Pi built in. Once constructed, your robot might be able to utter commands when a condition is met (perhaps a sensor detects motion). Or it might move around, learning about its surroundings, or reading information to you from Wikipedia. Whatever you have in mind, it should be relatively straightforward to plan and execute. It may take some time, however. Here are five example projects that show how you can combine a Raspberry Pi 2 or later with your favorite fictional robot. 5 Things Only a Raspberry Pi 2 Can Do 5 Things Only a Raspberry Pi 2 Can Do The latest edition of the pint-sized computer is awesome. So awesome, in fact, that there's 5 things you can only do on a Raspberry Pi 2. READ MORE 1. R2-D2 We've all wanted our very own astromech droid, haven't we? Sure, no one on earth is (currently) operating a light speed drive, but Star Wars droid R2-D2 has far greater abilities than onboard spacecraft maintenance. For instance, he can hold torches, carry a tray of drinks, and launch lightsabers across pits in the desert. Okay, it's unlikely you'll manage to get your own R2-D2 robot to do that… but don't let that put you off. Check out this little guy, controlled by a Raspberry Pi. While this project was based on an existing R2-D2 toy, that shouldn't limit your ambition. You'll find plenty of R2-D2 builds on YouTube. There's a massive R2-D2 building community online. Finding one that has a drive unit should be ideal for integrating a Raspberry Pi (and perhaps an Arduino, which you can use the two together) and developing a more realistic R2-D2 experience. Arduino vs Raspberry Pi: Which Is The Mini Computer For You? Arduino vs Rasp

"One of the most powerful moments in my teaching journey was the summer I immersed myself in feedback and checking for understanding. It forced me to ask myself what and if my students were actually learning."

"With the wide variety of resources available for teachers, there's no reason we shouldn't be promoting the importance of behaving safely and responsibly in the digital world. Speaking of resources, check out the nifty infographic shown below, one that can be used to address various aspects of digital citizenship."