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"The breakthrough happened after the student took the Bartle's Gamer Profile Quiz and we found out that he was a "killer." Off-the-charts killer, but achievement meant nothing to this student. Just like grades. No, we haven't identified the next school shooter, and I sure wish that Bartle hadn't named one of the four gamer profiles "killer" -- but nonetheless, this student identified with this profile. Jane McGonigal mentioned it in her Gaming Can Make a Better World TED Talk when she discussed an epic meaning. My so-called "killer" student (and we really should rename this when applying it to education!) simply saw things as a battle between good and evil and wanted to fight on the side of good in an epic quest to make the world a better place. Points don't matter in gameplay, and grades don't matter, either. But when we tweaked the kinds of work he was doing in our Gamifi-ED project to focus on "world-changing games," he was suddenly engaged. Now his face lights up when he sees me. He's one of the first kids to class. He's an engaged gamer and, finally, an engaged student. "

"It's easy to forget that we have access to a virtually limitless resource of information, i.e. the Internet. For a lot of us, this is even true at our fingertips, thanks to the ubiquity of smartphones and an ever-increasing push for online greatness by tech engineers all over the world. As a result, there are countless websites out there that are geared to make you smarter and more brilliant for either a low or no cost. Here are just 25 killer websites that may just make you more clever than ever before."

"Why Morning Routines Are Creativity Killers"

"When it comes to online learning, there's a new old kid in town. iTunes U is getting a killer feature that has been sorely lacking: social. Like relatively new start-ups Codecademy and Udacity, most iTunes U will finally let you learn alongside others, ask questions, and work on things in a more collaborative environment."

"Teachers may offer up a killer classroom library and carve out class time for silent reading, but these two things do not guarantee prolific reading, or even moderate reading from your students. One of my goals when I was teaching high school was this: to have students fall in love with reading while they were in my classroom (or at least like it a little more). So how do you motivate secondary students in a deeper, lifelong reader way? It's not just about helping a student find that right book, as teachers often see as the ultimate mission, but it's about giving reasons for reading -- and really good ones. Because let's face it, there's plenty of stuff we all have to read that we may not be crazy about, but we know it's good for us. The following motivators are inspired by educator Kelly Gallagher's book, Reading Reasons: Motivational Mini-Lessons for Middle and High School."

"At WWDC, Apple introduced Swift Playgrounds as a "revolutionary new app for iPad that makes learning Swift interactive and fun." A closer examination shows the new app is a powerful authoring tool any developer can use to teach critically important software coding skills. "

"So your district or school is planning or in the process of implementing some sort of 1:1 device initiative. Seeing as these are all the rage, seems like it's a given that your deployment will be a smashing success, right? Here's the truth…. …it will fail. It may not be monumental failure, but parts of your deployment will not work. Whether it be the MDM that manages them or the rising stack of parent concerns, you will be faced with a choice as a district: retreat or carry on. In the wake of the LAUSD story and the recent Ft. Bend ISD news here in Texas about 're-evaluating' their deployments, I thought it'd be a good time to reflect on why some deployments work and some don't work. I'll let you know that our deployment was far from flawless, as I've listed here, but we had tools in place to overcome issues before they became an "Implementation Killer"."

"One of the killer additions to the Mail app in iOS 7 are Smart Mailboxes, which help organize all sent messages, messages with attachments, and more. The VIP mailbox is displayed by default, but you'll want to tap on the Edit button on the top-right corner of the Mail app to reveal the other Smart Mailboxes."

"Now it's the phone's turn. The smartphone began with a promise of productivity. Its first "killer app," in the parlance of those developing for it, was email. Smartphones let us send messages without launching a computer; that's what made them smart. Web browsing followed, but the device was still seen as a surrogate for the computer at your desk-something to keep you productive while out in the world. Today, though, the phone has become something else. The smartphone, like the PC and the Internet before it, has turned into a unique outlet for our creative impulses, and it will affect our creative lives even more fundamentally."

"Living a life of perpetual travel is pretty exciting - new destinations, new cultures and new incredible people to meet and hang out with! However, working on the road can get pretty hectic at times. As a digital nomad I have found myself in rather awkward situations a lot - from missed deadlines due to incorrect time zone conversion to a nearly missed plane when I forgot to print out my booking and confused the time (I did catch that plane though!). Being your own boss is equally awesome and hellish. Juggling numerous tasks at once and getting things done super-fast with a terrible wi-fi connection requirea killer organizational skills and zen-like concentration. Try using the next 20 websites and apps to make your life as a digital nomad easier, less stressful and even more exciting!"

www.Sea-Seek.com which is an on-line nautical guide which provides information and photos about coastal navigation and ports. Just scroll down and look on the lower right for "Virtual Dive". You can choose to be a submarine or a killer whale.