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"Educators never get a break. Oftentimes they see their students in their community, grade papers and plan lessons, and become emotionally invested in the lives of each of their students - all outside of classroom hours. Children of teachers can sometimes feel they rank below their parents' other "kids" at times. To avoid burnout and keep yourself happy at work and at home, remind yourself that teachers can have a work-life balance and follow these tips for creating it."

"If you have only one iPad, use Apple's VGA adapter ($29) to connect your iPad to a smartboard. No smartboard? Grab an LCD projector, VGA adapter, and speakers, if you wish, for your iPad, then check out the simple how-to video below. If you have just one smartphone, pop your phone under a document camera. You can also use an adapter to project the smartphone; however, not all apps will function properly. (Unless a class is using Apple's presentation software, Keynote, I use a document camera to display my smartphone.) Use your single iPad or smartphone to blast content onto the big screen and let kids work together for an engaging mini-lesson. Then have students use the single device when working in small groups, as a reward, or during center time."

"LEGO Bricks are toys. They're items that students willingly seek out to play with and get excited to receive as gifts under the Christmas tree. That's one of the things that make them so useful to teachers. Lessons taught using LEGO Bricks don't feel like dull schoolwork. On the contrary, students might feel like they're getting away with something. They actually get to play with LEGO Bricks in class? The idea that students can learn something valuable from play isn't new, or even controversial. A sizeable body of research has been conducted to back up what many teachers already knew to be true.  Fun and learning don't have to be mutually exclusive, and it really works better for everyone involved when they're not. As such, making LEGO Bricks part of your lesson plan can help you teach concepts that students might otherwise find tedious, in a way that doesn't feel like work to them. Many educators have already been putting this idea to the test with success. Here are a few ideas to get you started."

"According to Google Trends (see photo), a new term came into existence and quickly became synonymous with progressive education and a resurgence of STEAM education in America. That term is maker education, or makered for short, and can be seen in the graph as "born" according to google searches, around September of 2004. Although the exact number of makered programs is not currently known, schools that employ a progressive pedagogy (insert the word innovative for those working in the 21st century) or schools that make claims regarding the importance of differentiation, constructivism or experiential learning have built or are building makered programs. At first these programs seemed to be dependent on having state of the art Maker Spaces or FabLabs and high-tech tools, as most were found in well-funded private schools. That picture has changed rapidly in the past ten years since the makered movement has gained popularity, however. More and more public/charter schools and nonprofit programs are building programs for the average American child, that rival many private school programs. In fact, programs with limited budgets and space have reminded us that scarcity or "disability," are invaluable teachers in any good maker culture, as they breed creativity and self-reliance. Many of the makered programs serving lower income communities have access to mentors who never stopped working with their hands, even when it fell out of status in a consumer driven America in the 1980's (Curtis 2002). While lower income mentors may not know Python or what an Arduino is, they are skilled carpenters, mechanics, seamstresses, cooks and know what it means to be resourceful. "

"I once sat on an interview committee in which the candidate proudly proclaimed that to integrate technology her students would use word processors and publish their work in a monthly book. My toes instantly curled. It wasn't so much that she had used the words "word processor" but rather that she thought tech integration meant to have students type on a computer and then publish their work, that that would make them ready for this century of jobs. So a couple of things come to mind whenever we discuss tech integration in schools."

"It wasn't too long ago that photo editing was the business of dedicated professionals and cashed up amateurs. It would take hours of work and a studio of expensive equipment to turn flat photos into creative and beautiful works of art. Now, all we need is the phone in our pocket! Moldiv Collage Photo Editor is one of the most popular free photo editing apps, and with its amazingly simple interface comes a powerful and fun tool that both teachers and students can use to create collages, patterns and unique designs."

"LEGO Bricks are toys. They're items that students willingly seek out to play with and get excited to receive as gifts under the Christmas tree. That's one of the things that make them so useful to teachers. Lessons taught using LEGO Bricks don't feel like dull schoolwork. On the contrary, students might feel like they're getting away with something. They actually get to play with LEGO Bricks in class? The idea that students can learn something valuable from play isn't new, or even controversial. A sizeable body of research has been conducted to back up what many teachers already knew to be true.  Fun and learning don't have to be mutually exclusive, and it really works better for everyone involved when they're not. As such, making LEGO Bricks part of your lesson plan can help you teach concepts that students might otherwise find tedious, in a way that doesn't feel like work to them. Many educators have already been putting this idea to the test with success. Here are a few ideas to get you started."

"As with my daughter's classroom, iPads are being used by students in the classroom for learning purposes. Educators find ways that technology can aid learning."

"It's all about perspective.  Too often when we hear the word "data" we assume that the person speaking is talking solely about summative test results and the plethora of possibilities for learning we can take away from those numbers.  But this is NOT the only kind of data that exists, it is just the kind that gets the brunt of our ire and frustration as it is a solitary indicator of teaching and learning. And that's what I struggle with. Test data is one single area for determining what kids know and can do and there are often many challenges with these standardized tests that skew the data on top of that. However, most classroom teachers and leaders are gathering data like masterful musicians in their classrooms every day and just don't realize that is what they are doing."

"Interactive and collaborative - Whiteboards are a great way for teachers to explain concepts to their students. With the ability of some iPad apps to record, you ensure that students who did not develop understanding of the concept the first time have the opportunity to watch and listen again and again. Working in small groups or brainstorming as a class, collaborative whiteboards are a great way to share ideas. Work in the same room, on the same network or even from different parts of the country. No matter what you are working on these interactive whiteboards are a great way to document or record your thinking process. "

Earlier this year a group of teachers I work with explored the 'Eight Cultural Forces' identified by Ron Ritchhart of Harvard's Project Zero. In doing so we decided to focus on our use of the term learning instead of the word work. Our goal was to bring our language choices into the spotlight and explore how a more deliberate focus on learning might alter the culture of our classrooms. Two terms later this focus persists and it is worth reflecting on the effect that this has had.

"Collaborative learning is one of the important aspects of the 21st education. The read/write web ( As the author Will Richardson names it ) is all about tapping into the collective wisdom of the mob. Students create and join cliques online and they get to share and learn from each other. The collaborative culture that the web fosters should definitely be mirrored within the four walls of our classrooms. We need to provide students with the right environment where they can work in teams and peer help each other. Mia from anethicalisland has this wonderful visual featuring 27 tips for teachers to boost team work in class. Have a look and share with your colleagues."

"When Apple announced Airdrop this past June, I knew it would be a great feature for teachers with iPads. A common complaint about iPads in the classroom was that it wasn't necessarily easy to transfer student work in the Camera Roll to the teacher. With no USB connection and no SD card slot, how was a teacher supposed to collect student work? Email would work for small files, but videos were much too large to send. Dropbox could be a solution, but that would require students to set up their own accounts, problematic if they are under a certain age. Enter AirDrop, a seamless and very quick way to transfer files via Bluetooth and Wi-Fi connections between "nearby" devices. "

"On a recent flight to Buffalo, on a recommendation from Amy Burvall (@amyburvall) I started reading Austin Kleon's Show Your Work I don't remember the tweet exactly, but I recall that Amy shared something along the lines of..."This is the best book about education that isn't about education." I didn't have much choice but to read. Halfway into the book I stopped reading, popped open my iPad and had to start writing this post. Grab of copy of Show Your Work and you will quickly understand wh"

"Perhaps it's my bias as a classroom teacher that has me pushing back a bit, for I firmly believe that while extra-curricular activities can be one way of educating our children in more complete ways, they had better not be the main way in which we do so. This is important for two reasons. The first is that many children are unable to participate in outside activities. They may have to work or support their families. They may not have the resources or parental support needed to stay after school. If extra-curriculars are our main vehicle, the students who would most benefit from a whole child approach will be least likely to get it. Second, I worry about a subtle message that may be sent when the most engaging, supportive, and interesting work happens outside of the regular curriculum. Some students might come to believe that academic work is something to slog through-to endure. The fun learning happens in the band room, on the baseball field, on the ropes course, or in the afterschool art class."

"Educators have learned much about the benefits of using projects for learning, and collaboration is easily recognized as an important skill for students to build. There are very few arguments against having students work together in class and on assignments. However, the challenge facing many educators is not in wanting their students to work together, but in figuring out how to group students together in the most effective ways. We do not want to create groups that hinder the progress of any of our students! This simple guide can help you the next time you are creating groups for an assignment or task in your classroom!"