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"Learning technologies change student-resource interactions not only by the amount of resources that are now available to students, but also by the quality of the resources. Instead of students being limited to the textbook they receive from their school, that may or may not be outdated, they now have access to resources from literally around the world. Websites like Project Gutenberg and the National Archives give students access to millions of resources, in various forms of media, on just about any topic they could imagine. With that being said, quantity does not necessarily mean quality. For every respectable source of information online, there's an endless amount of second rate information. Teaching students how to find valid and reliable sources of information is paramount to education in the digital age. However, I don't believe it stops there."

"Last January marked the launch of Code.org, a nonprofit that promotes computer-science education. Code.org launched Hour Of Code, a nationwide campaign that urged Americans to learn how to program. President Obama even recorded a video in support of the campaign. Nearly 15 million people responded to the call."

"The Los Angeles Unified School District, the second largest public school district in the USA, has approved a plan that will provide every K-12 student and teacher in Los Angeles with an iPad by Fall 2014. With over 650,000 students and almost 26,000 teachers, this initiative represents a huge and risky $500 million investment. With all that technology flooding into the public school system, to what degree will LAUSD's ambitious new plan change the quality of education offered to public school students in the city of Los Angeles?"

"Later this week after eating the Thanksgiving turkey many Americans will sit down to nap in front of watch football games. Your students could be some of millions watching those games. Before Thanksgiving arrives take a look at Science of NFL Football from NBC Learn. The Science of NFL Football is a series of ten videos from NBC Learn explaining and demonstrating math and science concepts as they relate to football."

"Thanks to code.org's "Hour of Code," millions of students will get their first taste of computer programming this week, Dec. 9-13, designated as Computer Science Education Week. If schools do decide to go beyond the one hour and take the next step to add coding as a part of school curriculum, what will this look like? Getting kids excited about coding is the easy part. What about the stuff that administrators and educators must worry about - funding, teacher development, curriculum, connection to standards? And, where do you fit this "coding class" in a school day?"

"Yes, National Computer Science Week is over and more than 10 million students participated in the Hour of Code and the feedback from all over the country is pretty incredible. Chicago Public Schools announced they are adding Computer Science into the core curriculum for all students. Schools and districts that have been promoting coding for years, like Los Altos School District, are getting great press about what they accomplish with students. New apps, programs and teacher training resources are popping up all over. 2014 definitely feels like it is going to be the year of the student coder!"

"If you've read my previous post about how we've been using Instagram in kindergarten, you'd know that we've been avid Instagrammers for the last couple of months. #mathphotoaday and #eduphotoaday have provided the basis for many terrific mini-lessons, and captioning photographs has provided authentic early writing practice. I've been amazed at how successfully my students have used Instagram and supporting apps such as Pic Collage, InstaCollage, and Color Splash. Last week, we were viewing our Instagram pictures on our SMART Board, and the kids were commenting on how beautiful a lot of them were. One little boy put up his hand and said, "Mrs. Caldwell, our Instagram pictures are so beautiful. I think that we should print them out and sell them and make money for our new playground." And just like that, a new project was born! Why does this always happen at the end of the school year when we have a million and one other things to do? But their enthusiasm was contagious and I agreed that it was a fantastic idea! And when a 6 year-old shows entrepreneurial spirit like that, who am I to stand in his way?"

"The Digital Public Library of America (DPLA) is an all-digital library that aggregates metadata - or information describing an item - and thumbnails for more than 7 million photographs, manuscripts, books, sounds, moving images, and more from libraries, archives, and museums around the ​united ​states.The Digital Public Library of America brings together the riches of America's libraries, archives, and museums, and makes them freely available to the world."

"A showcase of some of the 6 million books already created on Book Creator for iPad and Book Creator for Android."

"There are about a million different ways to use all the great Google tools available for free in your classroom. Whether you're bringing your classroom into the 21st century by making it paperless or AppSmashing, even the simplest of Google tools offers you a wide array of ways to use it. The Google suite of tools can be useful when you're working with your students but also in more of a behind the scenes sort of way. We've put together a short list of some of our favorite ways these tools support teachers. "

"As the new school year ramps up, teachers and parents need to be reminded of a well-kept secret: Across all grade levels and academic subjects, girls earn higher grades than boys. Not just in the United States, but across the globe, in countries as far afield as Norway and Hong Kong. This finding is reflected in a recent study by psychology professors Daniel and Susan Voyer at the University of New Brunswick. The Voyers based their results on a meta-analysis of 369 studies involving the academic grades of over one million boys and girls from 30 different nations. The findings are unquestionably robust: Girls earn higher grades in every subject, including the science-related fields where boys are thought to surpass them."

"There are already a lot of apps in Apple's App Store for iPad and iPhone (over 1.5 million), and more are added each day. In fact, this month an average of 1,400 apps have been submitted to the App Store. Despite the outrageous number of apps, only a small percentage end up piquing my interest. The apps I get most excited about are ones that are open-ended. I like to make things, and I love it when an app empowers students (and teachers) to create digital productions. Shadow Puppet Edu, Adobe Voice, and TeleStory are three apps that facilitate creativity. They provide students a way to retell stories, explain concepts, or persuade an audience."

"Research by the Penn Graduate School of Education (from the University of Pennsylvania), looking at 1 million students on 16 courses run through Coursera, showed that only half of those enrolled look at a single lecture and an average of 4% completed the course. Let's assume that there's nothing wrong with the product, and nothing wrong with the theory that easier access to education is No Bad Thing. It's something else. It's a commitment thing. It's too much to ask, too big a shift in 'consumer' behaviour, from directed learning to self-directed. So perhaps we should get used to this new style of learning in easier ways. Self-direction without the pressures. Accessing some of the finest academic minds, but because you want to, not because it's a compulsory step in your education paperchase. And if its education for its own sake, then look at these as a starting point. Six of the best/most intriguing free online courses focusing on science, from some of the best boffins around. Dip in, get used to the idea, and follow the video trails they offer til you find what you're intrigued and interested in. So dive in, make yourself clever…"

"Code and programming may not be the most important topics on the planet but it is an area of study that sufferers two major problems. one: an industry with millions of unfilled job positions and two: a world where not enough teachers feel confident to run programming projects. The iPad can offer a solution in these situations."

"It's one of the most versatile devices in the history of… well… devices. The tablet has changed the landscape of classrooms around the world, from flipped learning to augmented reality. A much needed balance between function and affordability, tablets of all shapes and sizes are being embraced by teachers in millions of different ways. In the below infographic from Early Childhood Education Degrees present an overview of how this shift is taking place."

"In 1970, 20 million Americans took to the streets to spread the message of environmental awareness, and in the process created the first ever Earth Day. To honor what has become a global observance, a new Google Doodle has been created for Earth Day 2015."

"The impulse to create is one of the most basic human drives. As far back as the Stone Age, we were using materials in our environment to fashion tools for solving the problems we encountered. And in the millions of years since then, we have never stopped creating. In fact, the rise of civilization is largely defined by the progress of technology of one kind or another. Today, the availability of affordable constructive technology and the ability to share online has fueled the latest evolutionary spurt in this facet of human development. New tools that enable hands-on learning - 3D printers, robotics, microprocessors, wearable computers, e-textiles, "smart" materials and new programming languages - are giving individuals the power to invent. We're not just talking about adults. Children of all ages can use these tools to move from passive receivers of knowledge to real-world makers. This has the potential to completely revolutionize education as we know it. And the movement has already begu"

"The Foos is part of a trend toward increasing emphasis on code as a fundamental literacy. You may have heard about the Hour of Code nonprofit initiative, which claims tens of millions of student participants; or New York City Mayor Bill DeBlasio's recent announcement that he intends to require teaching of computer science in all grades for all students. "A computer science education is literacy for the 21st century," the mayor said at the announcement. Educators, researchers and entrepreneurs like Hosford are taking that analogy very seriously. They're arguing that the basic skills of coding, such as sequencing, pattern recognition and if/then conditional logic, should be introduced alongside or even before traditional reading, writing and math."