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"Here are 10 QR readers for your iPad - all bar one for Free. QR Code scanners can be lots of fun in the classroom. We have used them to generate discussion around types of data, presented classroom information as well as presenting clues to treasure hunts. The treasure hunt idea is always a popular way to finish a unit of work. We normally use QR codes to give hints to the next clue or to the location of the clues. The students have to use the information from the unit of work to solve the clues along the way. Lots of fun, lots of laughs and lots of learning. "

"As one of the commenters exclaims on David Neat's blog of modeling tips: "I feel like I've just discovered the Holy Grail of modeling sites!" David's simple, plain WordPress blog betrays the amount and quality of the content found there. David writes about and teaches model-making and this site gathers the materials from his books, courses, and lectures. More on Modeling Tabletop Gaming -- Modeling Tips and Tricks Top Ten Tips: Designing Models For 3D Printing How to Design and 3D Print Your Own Custom Gaming Miniatures There is a ton of material here, on everything from technical drawing to materials and supplies for modeling, modeling techniques (from the most general to the very specific), and lots more. David even has a Lexicon section with terms used in model-making. Most of what's covered concerns architectural models and models used in set decorating, but the techniques can be applied to any type of building and terrain modeling. I look at a lot of hobby modeling sites and rarely have I seen one with this much depth, rigor, and high-value content. I will definitely be spending a lot of time here in the future."

"AudioTool lets you create music by mixing a lot of different instruments in any way you want. Instruments and variations available include drums, guitars, synths, perc, bass, house, vocals, dub and lots of other effects. You also have on your hands some advanced tools like splitter, merger, minimizer, kobolt and audiotrack. Just drag and drop the equipment you want to use and connect them in any way you want. You can start from scratch or tweak music already created by other users."

"RSS may not be the most popular way to get updates from your favorite sites anymore, but a lot of people, including myself, still use it regularly to quickly peruse and read a lot of information. The iPad is a great platform for catching up on your online reading, but there are lots of apps out there that do the same job - so how do you know which one is the best? I saved you the time of looking through them all by trying them out myself. Here's what I found."

"Teaching kids to code offers a lot of challenges that you don't run into when instructing adults. Kids don't have a ton of real world experience, so a lot of analogies fly over their heads. Abstract thinking can take a lot more effort, so you need to keep things more concrete. Many kids have extremely short attention spans, especially in groups. And if there isn't a cool payoff almost immediately, they are going to get bored and zone out. All the lecturing in the world won't get the lesson into their heads at that point. When teaching children programming, the goal is to empower them to understand the everyday systems they already use, and to know they have the skill to pick this kind of stuff up, both now and later in life. Not everyone wants to do software development for a living, no matter how smart of a career choice it is, but programming is creeping more and more into other fields every day."

"Computational thinking is the set of skills you need to be able to get computers to do useful things. It includes logical thinking, planning ahead, working with data, being able to give precise instructions and make predictions. There are lots of activities that can help young children aged 4-7 to develop these skills. Computational thinking skills can be developed through coding but there are lots of other activities that help too. A lot of them are screenless which helps to develop modern skills while also developing other important skills including motor skills and communication. Some of the ideas here are classic kids games and activities that you might have tried anyway, they just happen to be great for computational thinking skills."

"As you may remember from your own (in)glorious youth, most university students are required to take a statistics course even if they hate math and aren't in a particularly numbers-heavy major. Ellen Peters, a professor of psychology at Ohio State University, heard this was driving a lot undergrads on her campus crazy. "A lot of the students are really threatened by it. They're kind of afraid of it, they dread taking it," she says. "If they do dread it, they can end up in a cycle of failure." Curious to see if she could make a positive change among math-phobic Buckeyes, Peters created an intervention that tested whether or not value affirmation could improve student's comfort and ability with numbers, otherwise known as numerical literacy or numeracy. The results, which were published Wednesday in the journal PLOS ONE, indicate that confidence and core values have a lot to do with learning the numbers."

"Google is a whole lot more than searching and gmail. It has a detailed list of resources perfect for any teacher, student, or administrator looking to enhance their education experience. From grants to videos to lesson plan search, there's a lot to see here. This course will cover how to find all the nooks and crannies of information on Google In Education. Take This Course Students "

"One question I seem to get a lot about the iPad is what apps do I recommend that are free. I am hearing from a lot of teachers that they have no way to add paid apps and thus are stuck trying to find free apps. My experience is that many free apps stink. They have many adds, require in app purchases to be useful, or are just junk. I tend to stay away from most free apps. So what are you to do if the district controls adding paid apps? My suggestion is to build relationships with the decision makers. Don't just ask for a bunch of apps, instead provide documentation and purpose for a few apps you would like to have. I know this process takes time and effort but if you can show the purpose and learning you have a much better chance. If you need lesson ideas I suggest checking out my Pinterest page, and three of my favorite Pinterest pages: iPadsammy, TechChef4u, and Sue Gorman. Look for apps and lesson ideas there and modify them to fit your standards and kids. If I was starting from scratch this is the $10 iPad app setup I would push for in my kindergarten classroom. (I will be posting a $20 setup later)"

"A good friend of mine has just become an Assistant Principal (Vice Principal), which was probably one of the best jobs that I have ever had. Often you get to help guide the direction of the school but you still have many opportunities to be in the classroom and connect with kids, more so than a principal. That being said, I believe that a principal can still connect with kids in many ways, but in my experience, they have a lot more meetings and have to be out of school a lot more."

"If you've looked into 3D printing, you know there are a lot of options - some good and some not so much. Since the technology is just beginning to enter classrooms and is new for most schools, choosing a good partner and printer is important when diving head first into this new world. There are plenty of schools which have experienced problems from purchasing machines that are no longer serviced or weren't made well, and avoiding these missteps can save everybody a lot of time, money and headache."

"here are lots of ways to incorporate video into the classroom. From capturing students' attention as you kick off a lesson, to providing context for a new learning experience, teachers use videos in lots of different ways. Whether you are looking for a clip to send home to students via Google Classroom or want to connect a video link for a QR code scavenger hunt, educational 360 videos are worth exploring. 360 video gives students the power to explore a space from every angle. YouTube hosts a range of 360 video content and one of my favorites is from the BBC. On the BBC's YouTube channel you'll find different types of video options for a virtual visit to places around the world. As you search through their content you'll see that they've tagged their videos as 360 to make it especially easy to find."

"Most kids really appreciate today's technology. Want to know what the latest must-have phone is? What about the newest game or app? Often, you need look no further than the students in your classes. Many of them are passionate about using the coolest gadgets and tools. That's why teaching with cutting-edge technology can be a great way to connect with your students. The right app can make even the most boring or time-consuming subject seem interesting and understandable. Financial concepts like budgeting, buying a house, or running a business may not be the most exciting subjects for students, but it's important to teach kids financial literacy starting at a young age. ZipBooks is free accounting software that can help familiarize them with concepts around running a business. The interface is easy to grasp so students can jump right into the app with little instruction. It's not overwhelming like a lot of accounting software. Every element is labeled clearly, and there are in-app tips to help newcomers get started. There are lots of ways you could use ZipBooks in the classroom and we have outlined a couple ideas to get you started."

"What are great tools for a makerspace? What materials should I get? Show this list of awesome stuff to your students and makerspace steering committee and see what your makers are interested in before making purchases. (Read more about starting a school makerspace from scratch) Curious about how to get funding? Read my makerspace buy-in post here (coming in May 2016). *What if I can't get it all? Decide how you want to run your space. Do you wanna have workshops or challenges? A challenge lasts a lot longer, so you could buy 10 sets of Makey Makeys and run a challenge for a few months. Or get 10 Spheros and do a different Sphero challenge each month. Just keep stretching your ideas and see where your imagination can take you, but don't get bogged down ordering a lot of stuff you do not know how to use.  Buy a set of something and see where it takes you! Also, don't wait until you know how to use it before using it with students! Learn ALONGSIDE your makers!"

"With iOS 6 -- out today! -- Apple added a lot of useful features to the iPhone, iPod touch, and iPad. From Passbook, to the new Maps app, to capturing panoramas in the revamped Camera app. Apple has brought a lot of fit and finish to iOS 6, and we'll show you how to get the most out of these new features."

"The BBC's Skillswise website offers lots of good activities for learning and practicing skills in language arts and mathematics. A section of the site that could be useful in a lot of classrooms is the speaking and listening section. The speaking and listening section contains subsections offering lessons and activities to develop a specific skill. Those skills are listening for specifics, communication skills, formal and informal speaking, and giving presentations. Each section has a short introductory video followed by a set of quizzes and interactive games in which students test their skills."

"The answer to the question of how much can you eat of different foods before you hit 200 calories varies, depending what you're consuming. Two hundred calories is a whole lot of apples, but less than half of a Big Mac. It's a plate full of broccoli, but more like a spoonful of peanut butter. But it's a lot easier to understand what that really means when you actually see the food in front of you in this video from ASAP Science."

"I've heard a lot about Mystery Skype calls over the past few years. If you're not familiar with this term, the basic idea is that two classrooms chat via Skype and try to guess where the other class is from by answering questions with only yes or no answers. I've always thought this would be lots of fun, but it has always seemed out of the reach of my six year olds, many of whom are still struggling to realize that they live in both a city AND a province. Answering questions about our location would be out of the question. "

"How would you feel if someone described you as being colorless? Yeah, it's not exactly a compliment. Being called colorless is basically an unsubtle way of being told you are dull, uninteresting or boring. And just as some people are 'colorless', so is a lot of the content we deliver to our kids. But luckily it is a lot easier to inject a bit of color into a curriculum than it is into a personality. In a recently published slideshare titled 'Colour in Mathematics' Math teacher and blogger, Colleen Young, shows how she uses color to add clarity and engagement to her lessons:"

"Blended learning can tick a lot of boxes for a lot of different teachers who teach in potentially quite different scenarios. From 1:1 classrooms and schools with plenty of iPads to BYOD classes filled with different types (and amounts) of technology, blended learning can help nearly every teacher make learning more personalized and more interesting for their students. Implementing a blended learning program in your classroom can be a great way to put the technology tools you have - whatever they may be - to use. The handy infographic below takes a look at 10 blended learning trends that are showing up in today's classrooms. Keep reading to learn more"