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"With the amount of content that is shared on the Internet every minute, it's no surprise that many people feel overwhelmed by the quantity of information out there. This is why content curation is becoming an essential digital literacy skill for teachers and students. The act of curation requires critical and creative thinking, as decisions are made around what to keep, what to discard and how to connect and present ideas. Social bookmarking tools allow collaboration across the world to share and build collections. Thankfully, there are plenty of tools available to help us. In this article, I'll explain firstly the different ways in which I curate, and then describe some of the different tools I use for curation."

"Pic Collage is a simple and free app for both phone and tablet that can turn photos and images into real works of art. With pre-made collage templates and backgrounds, the app is unique in how easy it is for students to manipulate their photos into beautiful layouts and patterns. The app also features built-in effects and stickers that give students the ability to truly personalize their work, providing endless classroom uses, applications and fun."

"Since its publication in 1956, Bloom's Taxonomy has been a foundation of most modern education systems. While the overarching principles have remained the same, changes in understanding, experience and technology have seen the Taxonomy take on a number of different forms, for a number of different purposes and applications. The below overview shows the progression of Bloom's Taxonomy, how each thinking skill applies in practice, and examples of activities using digital tools."

"The classroom is changing. Well, the students in our classrooms are changing. Our students are connected. This is not about particular devices or apps. Their connectedness is their ability to share and collaborate with anyone at anytime for a given purpose, whether it be to find information or to collaborate on a project. Our students are doing this without adults. As responsive educators, we need to understand this shift. We are asking our connected students to drop their devices at the door, walk into the classrooms we grew up in, and thrive in an ever-changing, connected world. Is this what is best for our students?"

"Created by Microsoft's Research group, TouchDevelop is a touch-friendly app creation environment that allows students to build apps using their phone, tablet or desktop machine. The environment has been designed with a detailed focus on providing a safe and enjoyable space for students to learn coding basics, progress their skills and publish their very own apps to run on iOS, Android, Windows, Mac and Linux."

"It's a beautiful thing when students can use digital tools to build real world creations. While 3D printing is still a little on the expensive side, the Foldify app does an amazing job allowing students to create their own three dimensional paper masterpieces. Using the app, students can choose different paper templates, paint them digitally, model them in 3D, then print for assembly in the real world. It really is a delightfully fun, creative and rewarding experience."

"Up late marking? Up early preparing for the day ahead? Did you know that after an average of four hours of sleep a night for four or five days, you will develop the same level of cognitive impairment as if you had been awake for 24 hours. This is the same level of impairment as having a blood alcohol level high enough to be considered legally drunk. Not only does this greatly lengthen reaction time, impede judgment, and interfere with problem solving, I think you will all agree, that it is no state to be teaching or learning in. So how important is sleep? Well, in his fascinating TED talk circadian neuroscientist Russell Foster discusses exactly why we need to sleep and talks about some of the concerning effects sleep deprivation can have."

"Nobody likes hearing their own voice played back. Now there is a science to why this is, but it really is no excuse for avoiding the time saving, class improving and future embracing process that is screencasting. And with amazingly simple, adaptable and free tools such as Screencast-O-Matic the excuses are even more thin on the ground. Just a matter of clicking a link and hitting record, it's easy to see why Screencast-O-Matic is the number one pick for screencasting educators everywhere."

"While NASA is well known for its cutting edge space exploration and technology, the organization actually does an amazing job sharing their inspiring advances with educators and students through a huge number of STEM focused mobile apps and websites. Their flagship app, the 'NASA App' continues to be one of the most popular government apps and while it has been around for a few years now, it continues to grow in popularity with an ever expanding media catalogue and regular feature updates."

"Museums and galleries may be our first port of call when visiting a new city or planning a class field trip, but they are often overlooked when it comes to their digital offerings. What tends to happen when searching for digital resources is that we focus on digital search techniques, meaning we easily miss some of the best resources created by real world institutions. These days many great galleries, museums, memorials and world famous locations want to share their mystery and wonder beyond their physical walls, and with that comes a world of free teaching resources. For students, this connection between the real word and their study not only helps cement knowledge, it can also help foster the lifelong learning we all hope to encourage in our students"

"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."

"There's nothing quite as satisfying as the soft, smooth roll of pen on paper. That ability to scribble, strike, crumple and tear. But what about the downsides of this ancient medium? Endless printing cycles. Lack of searchability. A desk stacked to the roof with essays and sheets to mark. It's these frustrations and a determination to streamline the classroom that have led many educators to trade in their pen for a stylus, and begin embracing the the brave new world of digital annotation."

"Making can take a number of fascinating and educationally valuable forms. From arts and crafts to coding and design, just about any interest can be used to spark a passion in creation and making. One form of making that has become increasingly simple, cheap and more and more popular in schools is that of 3D modelling. SketchUp is the most popular 3D modelling tool available, and with a featureful and free version (SketchUp Make) available to educators, it's most certainly a great place for any class to start reimagining the world in 3D."

"Our brains absorb information in many, many different ways, where each of our senses offer a different interface to process information. In classrooms, this may be through text, video, interaction or any number of different mediums, but one channel that is often disregarded is audio. AudioBoom (formerly audioBoo) is a super simple tool that puts the focus back on the sense of sound by allowing students and teachers to record, playback, share and search audio online, providing a unique and in many cases more appropriate medium for learning."

"Over the years, YouTube has slowly evolved from being a classroom novelty to becoming a classroom staple for many educators. Whether you are looking to YouTube for quick and easy explanations, engaging animations or just relevant class material, there is no better place to start than YouTube's official 'Education' channel."