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"June is a busy month for many educators. Conferences. End of the year professional learning. Curriculum alignment. Standards training. In my case, June is full of mobile devices training. Over the next six weeks or so, I get the chance to spend time with a variety of folks around the country, working with schools that have latched onto the idea of tablets, clouding computing, and educational apps. But in the rush to get the latest shiny tools, I think it's easy sometimes to forget that the end in mind is teaching and learning, not the gadgets. So today a few things to remember when using apps in the classroom:"

"As teachers and educators, we are constantly required to review, evaluate and renew our teaching strategies to align them with  the cultural, technological and pedagogical ethos of the era we are living in. In today's era, the digital component is at the foreground which obviously calls for a new mindset, a novel conceptual framework that views technology not as an end itself but solely a mean to an educational end. It is a truism that digitally has opened a new horizon of unprecedented learning opportunities and experiences  but we can only tap into its full educational potential when we equip ourselves with the proper mindset: a growth and open mindset that as much as it adapts it also disrupts the century-old orthodoxies underlying teaching and learning practice. Teaching is a dynamic concept which is constantly evolving and expanding and that is why teachers and educators are forever learners. Engaging in such a life-long learning journey entails that teachers develop a set of robust thinking habits that allow them to fit in the rapidly evolving educational landscape.These habits are, according to Reid Wilson, what make the profile of a modern educator. Below is an awesome visual created by Wilson featuring some of the characteristics of a modern teacher which I want to bring to your attention. Have a look and share with us what you think of it. Enjoy"

The West Bengal government awarded a Rs.103 crore contract to Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) for designing and implementing ICT solutions for the rural employment guarantee scheme in the state. The state government's panchayat and rural development department Friday signed an agreement with the IT major for the purpose. TCS will design, development, implement and maintain the end-to-end ICT solution for MNREGS, the flagship social development programme of the central government for providing 100 days work to the rural households, for five years in the state.

The final round of government funding is currently being distributed to schools all around Australia. So far over 967,000 computers have been bought, infrastructure built and (most) teachers up-skilled to benefit from the acquisition. But as the funds come to an end, many school principals are wondering if the process has been beneficial, and how can they continue to support and progress the Digital Education Revolution?

Teaching is undoubtedly a busy profession and one where the end of the to do list seems to be forever located in a galaxy far far away. There is always more to be done and as each item on the list is ticked off, three, four or more seem to have appeared. If we ever do get close to the end, we find ourselves reflecting on what we have achieved and the many ways in which it might be improved. 

"Obviously a lot can change in 15 years. We all know this, but these images put that reality into perspective for me. It makes me wonder about things. It make me ask myself, "If that's what was on the movie of the summer, what was in our classrooms? How much has changed with technology? What about in our classrooms?" Why innovate? Here's my worry: Schools that don't innovate are going to look like this, and it likely won't take 15 years to happen. In all likelihood, it's probably happening more places than we'd like to admit right now. If we don't change, we're going to end up looking like that picture appears to us now-irrelevant, a relic of the past. For some (maybe even many) what we were doing now will be nearly unrecognizable in the not so distant future. In hindsight, some of what we understood as best practice not too long ago seems that way. We can't control the fact that our schools will continue to grow, but if we don't start getting some movement now and gaining momentum today, we're going to end up so big and so settled in that our own inertia will keep us from moving forward. With each day that passes without innovation, we only make it harder to make change happen in the future."

To ensure reflective practice is more than an activity added to our schedule, we need to take a reflective stance. Too often, reflection becomes the thing we do at the end of a task or the end of the day. We look back and contemplate what was, and with that in mind, we look forward to what we might do differently next time. It is in this way a very reactionary process. By all means, this form of reflection has its place, and it can be a powerful strategy to deploy as we seek to learn from experience. If we value reflective practice, we will be sure to set aside time for this form of reflection on a routine basis. By engaging in reflection habitually, we ensure that it is a routine part of our day. But adopting a reflective stance can make this more powerful.

Virtual History Roma presents a fantastic voyage to Ancient Rome, the capital of the largest empire in the ancient world, which has been reconstructed in virtual form and which you can explore in a "full-immersion" panoramic experience. This app allows you to fully appreciate the building construction, scale and atmosphere that was Ancient Rome. At the higher end of the app market at $10.99 AU it is a bit expensive but it certain has the capacity to entice students into the ancient world. At the end of the post find good ideas for student action

This community is devoted to providing an opportunity for those who care about education to share their voices and ideas with others. It's a place for thoughtful discussion on an incredibly important topic. Right now we're in pre-launch phase in order to answer the "Carol Broos" questions! The official launch will be at the end of January

Phones and computers contain dangerous metals like lead, cadmium and mercury, which can contaminate the air and water when those products are dumped. It's called electronic waste, or e-waste, and the world produces a lot of it: 20 to 50 million tons a year, according to the UN - enough to load a train that would stretch around the world. The U.S. is by far the world's top producer of e-waste, but much of it ends up elsewhere - specifically, in developing nations like China, India and Nigeria, to which rich countries have been shipping garbage for years.

Activities for the end of the school year

"From the beginning of the year until the end, these fun activities will get your students excited about learning. You should definitely go out and get some popsicle sticks for this."

"Tim, a Director of Instructional Technology from El Paso, Texas, gives a strong account of how iPad can be used as a tool for creation. He clearly details some of the concrete ways that the often-defended tablet can be used to produce videos, music, drawings, and works of art that move well beyond consumption. Kim, on the other hand, offers a unique perspective as an educator who has recently transitioned from supporting an iPad environment to using a Chromebook as his primary device. In his post, 3 Reasons Why Chromebook Beats iPad in 1:1 Programs, Kim gives the following three reasons for the superiority of the Chromebook: Chromebooks are for creating, and iPads are for consuming The App vs the Web The Google Ecosystem for Collaboration The most viable of these three reasons from Kim is the final one, the collaborative tools that are inherent in the Google ecosystem can be accessed seamlessly on a Chromebook. While iOS device access to Google tools continues to become less and less of an issue, schools that want to focus primarily on Google tools should look no further than Chromebooks. However, I would like to challenge Kim's first two points. As he notes in his discussion around his first point, the consumption versus creation debate with iPads and Chromebooks has been made countless times by those on both sides of this discussion."

So you've come to the end of your auto lease and you've decided that you want to keep the car . If you want a good deal, you need to put in some research, just like buying a used car .

"So you want to do some doodling and sketching on your iPad. Well, we have some great apps to help you do that. We have meticulously selected some of the best iPad apps you can use to create diagrams, doodles, idea maps, sketches, and many more. It is all up to your creative powers. You can think about different ways to use these apps and we are pretty sure the end product will definitely look unique and special. You can also share this list with your students and let them try some of them in their projects. They will find them very useful. "

"productions and readings of classic and contemporary plays. Unfortunately, funds are often limited and not only can you not take them to see high-end shows, you also often struggle to find a suitable performance space and quality works for them to perform. The 7 best apps for high school theatre teachers provide you a way to bring new dramatic experiences into the classroom for your students. Through the apps students will learn to express their creativity and also learn from some of the best in the world of theater."

"There's no disputing the fact that iPhones and iPads are very sought after devices, but the price of owning these gadgets can be very costly, especially when Apple charges over $600-$700 for 32GB and 64GB models. So many customers end up getting a 16GB iPad, but what do you do you when start running out of iPad memory space? Or another important question is, do you even need more than 16GB, especially in the era of cloud storage and syncing?"