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"Visualize this: A calculus teacher downloads an open-source digital calculus textbook. She deletes a chapter that isn't relevant to her class and replaces it with one from another open digital textbook that she's used in the past. She reads through the book, embeds several YouTube videos where relevant and an occasional humorous photo to keep students' interest, adds links to related websites and study aides, and uses a special app to create quizzes within the text that test the students' knowledge of the course material."

""Hey Siri!" My husband continues to roll his eyes every time he hears me call my girl. However, I have to be honest...I haven't always used Siri. This is more of a recent habit that I have fallen into, quickly. Every day it seems like I learn something new about what Siri can do. She is one smart cookie! Have you ever thought about using Siri in the classroom? I use her occasionally on my iPhone; however, why couldn't we use her on our classroom iPads or iPods?"

"Driving past the local "cash-strapped" high school's humongous color jumbotron the other day (the one in violation of zoning laws and with a larger carbon footprint than Toledo), I was reminded that I haven't written about one of my favorite subjects in a while - summer reading. The jumbotron's ominous message warned students not to forget their summer reading "assignment." Let me first state on-the-record that I am for reading. I'm a big fan of it and suggest that others try it occasionally. What I am against is hypocrisy and coercive teaching practices."

"Every year I try to have various community building activities for the kids to do on those first few days of school. And while I detest ice breakers, in 5th grade, we do like the occasional get to know me activity. Though the years I have used various scavenger hunts, time capsules, and bingo games to get to know them a bit better, to get them to know each other, and also for me to keep until the end of the year. Then when summer beckons and we cannot believe that the year is over, I pull out the forgotten letters, the time capsules, the about me's, and we reminisce and we laugh and we shake our heads at the answers we gave so long ago. "

"When I talk to people about mind mapping, I usually find myself facing one of two reactions: The person I'm speaking with either LOVES mind maps, or pretty much has no idea what they are or what they could be used for. We've discussed mind maps occasionally in the past, but I recently stumbled on this great graphic from Daniel Tay(who creates a bunch of different mind maps on different topics)."

"It's a pretty hot topic of debate… Is the Internet making us smarter or dumber? Or is it just making us more volatile to the occasional 'YouTube comment' outburst. I guess it would be difficult to comment on YouTube without the Internet… So maybe it is to blame! Well, according to this infographic from WhoIsHostingThis? the Internet is not to blame. In fact according to the stats below the Internet is actually making our kids smarter."

"One of my ongoing missions, despite all of the lovely hardware keyboards available, is to find a way to write comfortably for longer periods of time on the iPad. I'm actually surprised there aren't more articles out there that acknowledge that the iPad isn't really a very ergonomic setup for touch typing. I can't be the only one suffering from occasional pins and needles, or soreness from typing for too long at the tablet."

"Showing science videos and the occasional Hollywood film in the classroom is an innovative way to demonstrate science concepts and expose common misconceptions while providing a thought provoking change of pace for students. Below is a catalog of science movie worksheets and video guides. Site has many video worksheets and movie guides that go along with popular science movies on DVD/VHS. The collection was generously contributed by other teachers."

"John F. Kennedy is often reported to have said "The only reason to give a speech is to change the world." Over the years this has been paraphrased by many speaking and training professionals. Not surprisingly, people occasionally mock this kind of statement as being just so much hubris or pomposity. "Surely," they proclaim, "not every presentation or speech is important enough to even make the slightest difference." However, when we say "change the world," we do not mean necessarily to change the world in a monumental, earth-altering, life-changing way. The operative word in that phrase is change. Affecting a change is a necessary condition of an effective speech. "A presentation that doesn't seek to make change is a waste of time and energy," says business guru Seth Godin. "

"This week's question is: What are your suggestions for effective classroom management strategies? At various times, I would imagine that classroom management is a challenge to many of us who teach -- it certainly is to me!  New years, new classes, new students (who all come from different backgrounds and previous school experiences) all can contribute to an occasional or often challenging environment.  How can we respond in effective and positive - not punitive - ways?"

"The idea of dissection in the classroom is nothing new. Science teachers have been delighting (and occasionally sickening) students for decades by giving them hands-on experience with organisms and tools. What is new, however, is the movement to create un-making spaces in the classroom. Giving kids access to old, broken-down electronics and a safe place to take them apart as they seek to answer why and how things work is an effective and environmentally-friendly teaching technique."

"As I attempt to catch up on mass amounts of unread email, I enjoy browsing the various resources that come through my inbox.  Because of the volume of email I receive, I find myself either deleting the conversation or clicking to see the site for a few seconds.  If the site has a video, I'll usually play it for a few seconds, unless it captures my attention.  Then I'll view the entire video and spend a bit of time exploring the site.  If the site's interface is clunky, I'll navigate away and continue with my email.  However, when the site is user-friendly AND the resource seems valuable, I find myself compelled to share.  Typically, I'll Tweet it out possibly post on Facebook.  Occasionally I'll also Pin it on Pinterest, if it's a resource I can see myself also using down the road.  On very rare occasions I find myself compelled to actually open up a new tab and begin blogging about the resource.  This is one of those very rare times.  "

"Why use video games in the classroom as teaching tools? Let's be clear-we've come a long way from Asteroids and Space Invaders. The modern capabilities and designs of computer games provide endless opportunities for meaningful learning experiences. Used appropriately and effectively, technology can make a difference in students' lives and affect their attitude toward school in a positive way. So ditch the old stereotypes and misconceptions you may have about the ill effects of video games and reframe your perception in the light of using them to enhance learning. Gamification of classrooms isn't a new idea. The components of the gaming world lend themselves well to self-directed learning, because gaming taps into the variables which inherently motivate the desire for progress. In fact, using a set of constructs called game mechanics one could conceivably create situations that enhance learning by incorporating the kinds of motivating strategies found in today's best video games. Whether you choose to "gamify" your physical classroom all the way or only use video games as an occasional learning enhancement, making learning fun will positively reinforce students' experiences of school. Here are some suggestions on how to successfully use video games in the classroom."

"You thought that by now your kid would just be popping out toys, books, and maybe the occasional missing LEGO piece from a personal 3D printer. Patience. While these devices not as ubiquitous as your old HP Deskjet, they are finding their way to a makerspace, public library, and science center near you. And, because of that fact, Sarah O'Rourke, the product marketing manager at Autodesk, is trying to take your kid's interests and figure out how to make cool stuff they'll love IRL (like a Pokemon Go aimer). Here are few ways she gets her young design students to transition from fabricating in Play-Doh to constructing in plastic."

"I am a big fan of music in the history classroom and I have created a number of Spotify Playlists for this purpose. Often this is merely to help create a calm and purposeful working atmosphere, when a bit of Chopin or Debussy sets the tone perfectly. Occasionally it's even possible to have calming instrumental music directly related to the topic in question: for example, Elgar's Cello Concerto in E Minor, which was inspired by the composer watching British troop ships heading off to France in 1914. However, some songs are better used to stoke up some energy during lessons, whilst the very best of all are historical sources in themselves, combining musical feeling with powerful lyrical content. What follows is a list of songs I regularly use in class, organised in broadly chronological order in terms of the topics they relate to, with a brief explanation of how you could make use of them with your own students. What follows is a list of 25 principal songs, but with links to others on similar themes or by similar artists, bringing the total up to over 50. If you have any other suggestions, please contact me (@russeltarr / @activehistory on Twitter) and I'd be delighted to add them to the list (as long as it isn't "We didn't start the fire" by Billy Joel. Which I admit is superb, but we all know this one, surely?)."

"Education researchers often worry that their work never catches the attention of policymakers and educators in the field. In 2012, however, research has been in the spotlight-and occasionally on the hot seat-as practitioners grapple with justifications for the Common Core State Standards, changing views on how children learn, and ways teachers can build responsive, boredom-free classrooms."

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