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"Today, the iPad and Android apps for Google Slides and Google Documents received an update that you're sure to like. The iOS and Android apps for Docs and Slides now let you insert images directly from your device's camera roll. You can insert images even when your device is not online. You can crop images in your documents and slides too. To crop an image simply double-tap on it to crop it and or apply a mask to "

"Even though it's October it still feels very much like the beginning of the year. One of the first thoughts that many teachers have about their students is "they look so little!" It's true. Those tall confident students that left us have gone on to be "little" to next year's teacher and we have our own new crop of "little" people to educate. This becomes even more pronounced in a technology classroom. Everything takes longer, typing, starting, opening, finding, searching. Whatever it is they need time to figure it out. Patience is key. So what can we do?"

"Math gets all the love-at least that appears to be the case in the edtech world. But applications of automated essay scoring have been growing steadily for 15 years. The shift to digital instructional materials, preparations for state online assessment, and a new crop of writing apps is adding new energy to digital ELA."

"BOSTON - On the cramped urban campus of Boston Latin School, high-school students grow an acre's worth of vegetables in an old shipping container that's been transformed into a computer-controlled hydroponic farm. Using a wall-mounted keyboard or a mobile app, the student farmers can monitor their crops, tweak the climate, make it rain and schedule every ultraviolet sunrise. In a few decades, nine billion people will crowd our planet, and the challenge of sustainably feeding everybody has sparked a boom in high-tech farming that is now budding up in schools. These farms offer hands-on learning about everything from plant physiology to computer science, along with insights into the complexities and controversies of sustainability. The school farms are also incubators, joining a larger online community of farm hackers."

"Looking for direction in the ever-expanding world of education technology? You don't have to look hard to find education bloggers. But who are the true trend setters? EdTech is proud to spotlight some of the education industry's most influential thought-leaders in our latest crop of the top K-12 IT bloggers. These 50 blogs include veterans from years past, fresh picks from our editorial staff and nominations from our readers. This year, we've tried something new - dividing each blog into one of four categories to focus on where the bloggers' expertise lies."

"Video lessons have become the newest trend in education. From Khan Academy to iTunes University, more and more teachers are capturing instruction on video to "flip the classroom." Screencasting apps are cropping up right and left, allowing anyone to author their own digital content and become video instructors"

"I want to highlight the 31 books to receive a perfect 5-Star review on our site. With over 400 reviews, that means these apps are the cream of the crop, representing fewer than 10% of all the titles we've seen. We have awarded all of these developers our "Digital Storytime Star" for overall merit."

"Gold mining has been an integral part of world conquest from the time of the explorers. Gold and silver drove the explorers and Conquistadores to decimate world populations and colonize foreign lands, bringing home vast amounts of wealth to nations during what became known as the Age of Imperialism. Europeans colonized all parts of the globe in search of gold, silver, and cash crops. Although the colonization of America started as a result of turbulence in Europe and the search for religious freedom, it wasn't long before people struck out in search of riches here, too. The fever started with the California Gold Rush at the end of the 1840's. Ten years later, gold was discovered in Colorado, and silver at Pike's Peak and Nevada. Now, everyone wants a piece of Alaska."

"With the popularity of flipped classrooms showing no sign of waning, a new crop of web tools for teachers are emerging to help support instruction. In this post, I take a look at three ways that teachers can add questions to a YouTube video for their students to answer when watching a video at home or on their own."

"Questioning is a fundamental element of pedagogy, one you could read endlessly around, but the reality is using questioning to challenge and engage all learners is demanding and potentially problematic to get right. Recently I've been working with a team of teachers, shaping our CPD model in preparation for the new academic year. Engaging in dialogue around teaching and learning with colleagues is always a pleasure and extremely informative, and one aspect continually crops up; deep, challenging and engaging questioning. Firstly, I think it's crucial to outline what we are trying to achieve when we think about the purpose of questioning, for me it includes the following: Allowing students to develop a fuller understanding of a concept because they have tried to explain it themselves To easily recall existing knowledge To be able to link the ideas in the lesson with existing knowledge To tackle problems at a deep level and be able to extend their thinking To engage easily with a task because they are clear about what is expected To develop independence in the way they learn and think"

"So, then, what does it really take to be a modern teacher? This term has been cropping up since the general consensus seems to be that the term '21st century teacher' is outdated and a bit awkward. Some make the same argument for the 'modern teacher' mind you but that's about semantics. You want to know what it takes to be a progressive and always-learning teacher who knows how to get students to think, contemplate, and explore. Well, here goes!"