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"I love using current events with students as a high interest informational text.  There are tons of video and print news stories that can be accessed from terrific websites and iPad apps.  Here are a few of my favorites, add your picks in the comments section below!"

"If you're look for a way to support your students as writers or simply would like an extra tool to check your own work, you'll want to check out Grammarly.  It is an automated grammar checker web application that is already used by over four million people around the world.  Grammarly helps users detect grammar errors in their writing, detect plagiarism, and use better vocabulary words."

"Last year I shared a fantastic free app DIY Sun Science that gives students access to lots of content to explore.  The Lawrence Hall of Science has a new app for iPads called DIY Human Body that includes informational text, activities and videos."

"Read alouds are such an important part of an elementary classroom's literacy block. If you're looking for a new way to share stories with your students, or simply want a resource to share with parents, you have to check out Storyline Online. Presented by the Screen Actors Guild Foundation, this site has videos of well-known actors reading your favorite picture books aloud."

"Here's a list of 14 Math Edugames!  Whether you use these for enrichment, intervention, in stations, or simply recommend a favorite to families, you're sure to find something to meet the needs of your students."

"If you're familiar with multi-level books, you'll want to check out Books That Grow. Books That Grow is a free digital reading platform with a library of books that range from myths and folktales, to primary source documents and informational texts. Whether you want to teach the Greek myth "Arachne" or Martin Luther King Jr.'s "Letter From a Birmingham Jail," Books That Grow has you covered."

"The new update to Book Writer includes a presentation feature that gives students a chance to show off what they've made.  Their new app Book Writer One is free to download and designed for education institutions.  The kid-friendly interface lets young students tell their own stories, document a field trip, or explain what they've learned.  Teachers can also use this app to make picture books to share with their students."

"Collecting data on student progress is an important part of making decisions about intervention and how to best support the children in our classrooms.  Running Record Calculator is an app for iOS devices that helps teachers who are administering this type of assessment.  It records students as they read a passage and gives you a quick way to keep track of self-corrections and errors.  After the recording finishes you can enter the word count from the passage to calculate words per minute."

"The American Red Cross has a handful of apps on weather safety for iPad users looking to plan and prepare for natural disasters.  They also have a great iPad app to help students of any age stay safe.  With First Aid children can learn about different ways to act in situations that require first aid.  There are photographs, informational text, and diagrams to help students understand the best steps to take in an emergency.  First Aid includes extra features including the ability to switch from English to Spanish and a quiz to check for understanding."

"Seedling Comic Studio is an iPad app for making comic books.  By combining photographs with backgrounds and stickers, students can tell their own stories.  Graphic novels and comic books are fantastic ways to get students excited about reading.  If you're looking to keep students interested in the writing process, a comic book can be a great final project for a narrative, opinion, or informational piece of writing."

"How can you place learning goals front and center in a tech-rich classroom? Let the phrase "tasks before apps" be your reminder to focus on technology's purpose for learning, even when bright and shiny digital tools grab your attention. As a teacher in a one-to-one iPad classroom, I strove to make the most of the tablets in my students' hands. From screencasting and moviemaking to reading activities and skill practice, these devices elevated and energized my students' learning experiences. Digital platforms can give children access to learning experiences that meet their individual needs, such as when a student uses the free Microsoft Learning Tool Immersive Reader to hear a passage read aloud. Digital tools can open up the world to students, such as virtual-reality videos from the New York Times that showcase a place they may never have the chance to visit. In my current role as a professional development facilitator, I spend time in other teachers' classrooms in schools across the country. The phrase "tasks before apps" was born out of my coaching conversations and presentations to educators. It is a reminder that, even as we consider how technology helps students do new and amazing things with their learning, we must always place learning goals at the forefront. Here are four strategies to make the most of technology and embrace a "tasks before apps" mindset this school year."

"Getting started with Spark is easy for users of all ages. This is one reason that I love sharing with teachers and students. When I lead a professional development session or visit a classroom, everyone can jump in and create a dynamic, visually stunning artifacts of their learning. So if Spark is entirely new to you, it won't take long for you to dive into this user-friendly tool with your students! You can turn students into movie-makers, website creators, and graphic designers with the Spark tools. From book trailers in the English Language Arts classroom to lab reports in the science classroom, the possibilities are endless!"

"Formative assessment can take place before, during and after a lesson to give you valuable information for instructional decisions. A quick baseline quiz can help you identify what students already know about a topic before you start teaching a lesson. A backchannel can be used during a lesson to collect student questions and help you identify misconceptions. An exit slip after a lesson provides information you can use to decide the direction for tomorrow's lesson."

"You might watch Netflix, HBO Go, or Hulu Plus for personal use on your iPad, but while these may not always be appropriate for students, there are many free iPad apps for streaming video that will work great in your classroom. The days of running to the VCR to record a clip from a television program are long gone. If you want to hook students with a film clip, to connect your classwork to reality television, or to inspire children's interest in a topic through educational programming, there are many apps that can be used to stream content on your iPad."