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"You can't watch a video like you read a book; the modalities couldn't be much different. On the surface level a video uses light, color, sound, and moving images, with the potential for adding text and shape and color and light filters as overlays to communicate ideas, while the most basic text structures use alphanumeric symbols, paragraph and sentence structure, and an assortment of text features (e.g., white space, headings and subheadings, fonts, etc.) to convey their message. There is much, much more to it than this. Videos are meant to be consumed in short bursts, while literature, for example, is meant to be "sat with." Videos are (often manic) sprints, while texts are (often meandering) walks. Because of this very different tone and purpose as a matter of design, it's unfair to criticize videos as "less rigorous" than texts, just as it would be misleading to say that video is universally "more engaging" than text (something I may or may not have said in the past). It's more complex than that."

"Looking for the next great book to sink your teeth into? Look no further. As summer rolls on, you may find yourself with free time to catch up on reading. We have good news for you virtual bookworms - you can get in a good read without spending a dime."

Online classes may be a relatively young instructional practice for K-12 schools, but experts already generally agree on one point: Research shows that virtual schooling can be as good as, or better than, classes taught in person in brick-and-mortar schools.

"One of the most underused features of the iPad is the ability to both read and annotate e-books and PDF documents. This is a really useful tool for teachers and students who are using their iPad for research. These three apps allow you to use your iPad to highlight digital documents and hopefully save some unnecessary storage and printing."

"Play is abundant in the lives of those considered to be creative. It facilitates social bonding, boosts productivity and enhances your mood. As positive psychologist Christopher E. Peterson put it, play is "…a robust predictor of how satisfied we are with our lives." "We should consider every day lost on which we have not danced at least once." - Friedrich Nietzsche  I have two left feet, so I'm glad Nietzsche wrote metaphorically. With this quote, I think he was saying something true and profound about the importance of play-that it's an essential part of living a good and balanced life. What I hope to convey are some philosophical, scientific, and personal reasons for why we should all get serious about messing around. I hope that by reading this, you'll feel compelled to actually pencil in some time for more frivolity."

"One of the things I like the most about iPad is its ability to support all the major e-reader platforms. Its interactivity and audio capabilities have even added a new dimension to read alouds and bedtime stories, making it an ideal device for digital storytelling. And since Educational Technology and Mobile Learning has already featured a List of The Best Digital Storytelling Tools ( web and desktop version ) then we deem it equally important to provide another list of such tools but this time for the iPad."

"It might be true that some parents prefer to give their kids print books - even if they choose e-books for themselves - but when it's holiday travel time, it might be nice to keep stories on a single device. Apart from traveling lighter, these apps and games can keep kids engaged by allowing them to create stories, too."

"You've seen them appear in some of our earlier posts on freebies. But today we decided to put all the eBooks together (and many more!) in a single, mega post for you. These will keep you busy for a really long time. Go ahead, download them! Print them if you want to, or save them on your smartphone to read them on the go. "

"What it is: Book Writer is a great app for the iPad (and iPhone or iPod Touch). This app makes it a snap for kids to create books that can be read directly in iBooks. With Book Writer, students can create their own ebooks with photos, video, audio and links. Images and video can be annotated over in the book. Finished books can be shared using iTunes and E-mail. One of the best features of Book Writer is the huge number of applications that books can be shared through including: iBooks, Nook, Instashare, Bump, Evernote, Dropbox, and Send Anywhere. This makes Book Writer wonderfully flexible no matter what apps your school uses regularly."

"Your iPhone and iPad allow you to carry around a bookshelf full of your favorite novels, textbooks, and periodicals to read whenever you'd like. Before you can snuggle up with a digital copy of Sherlock Holmes, however, you'll need to first download an e-reader application."

Dr Kwabena Duffuor, Minister of Finance and Economic Planning, has asked the Public Procurement Authority (PPA) to design and pursue innovative strategies that would aid the state to derive value for money in its procurement processes. He said to achieve significant headway by way of socio-economic development, conscious efforts must be made to improve public procurement.Dr Duffuor made the call in an address read for him at the fifth public forum, organized by the PPA in Kumasi, on Thursday.

Dr Kwabena Duffuor, Minister of Finance and Economic Planning, has asked the Public Procurement Authority (PPA) to design and pursue innovative strategies that would aid the state to derive value for money in its procurement processes. He said to achieve significant headway by way of socio-economic development, conscious efforts must be made to improve public procurement.Dr Duffuor made the call in an address read for him at the fifth public forum, organized by the PPA in Kumasi, on Thursday.

"Innovation… Versatility… Performance… What teacher doesn't want to provide the best technology has to offer for students? But with a plethora of choices, sometimes it's overwhelming trying to determine what device best suits the needs of all learners. So, what should educators choose-the power of a laptop or the compact, lightweight portability of a tablet? Well, it's no longer necessary to settle for one option when the best of both worlds are at your fingertips. Yep, it's true. With the latest and greatest technologies currently available on the market, students now have access to the functionality of a laptop while also having the capability of completing captivating assignments and/or creating meaningful content via a tablet. And better yet: The instruction and learning goals can dictate the type of device being used as opposed to the reverse, which typically occurs in classrooms today. Sounds intriguing, doesn't it? In case you haven't figured it out by now, I'm referring to a super cool technology known as the 2-in-1. Whether your students need to generate a document or spreadsheet, transfer files, read an e-book, capture photos or create media, this hybrid does it all with just one simple twist, click or flip. Not only is this option flexible and convenient, but cost-effective as well because schools no longer need to provide students with more than one device to achieve desired outcomes. It's really all that-and much more!"

"A few days ago we shared with you a new Google feature that allows you to easily fact check online content. Today, we are sharing with you 10 good tips that will enable you to critically assess the veracity and credibility of online content (e.g. news stories).  These are guidelines Facebook Help Centre provided for it users to help them spot fake news. However, these tips can also apply to any other type of content. Students can use them to evaluate digital content and enhance their critical reading comprehension.  We have embedded these tips into the visual below so you can print and share with your students in class. You can also download a PDF copy from this page. Enjoy."

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."