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"If you're a teacher, or teaching assistant there are plenty of great blogs out there to help you with everything from coming up with teaching plans, to implementing technology in the classroom. Where to start though? The internet is crowded with blogs. We decided to go through some of them for you, so that you can find the blog(s) covering the topics you're looking for and be sure it's quality content. Generally, there are four key qualities of a good teaching & learning blog: Activity (25%). Information should be updated regularly Originality (25%). It should add value with content that's different from all the other blogs out there Helpfulness (25%). A good teaching & Learning blog should teach you a new skill, direct you to a useful resource, or at least get you to think in a new way about something Authority (25%). The author/authors have the authority and credentials to blog about the topic of teaching & learning Each category was assigned an equal weight in our evaluation. They were averaged together to determine the final score in order to come up with our list of the top 68."

" lot of words have been added to the dictionary over the past few decades thanks to social media, but few have become so widely used and accepted as "hashtag." For a long time, the hashtag symbol (#) was known simply as the "pound" symbol. Now, I could swear that the only time I hear it referred to as a pound symbol is when I enter my PIN number to pay my cell phone bill. Manage and plan your social media content with the help of this free calendar template. While hashtags were originally made famous by Twitter, they're now used on many major social networks, including Facebook and Instagram. Let's explore what a hashtag is, why they're so great, and how they work on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram."

"Toy take apart and hacking is a high engagement activity that works for kids of all ages, including adults who haven't lost their sense of kid, and both genders. I have done it multiple times during my summer maker camp for elementary level kids, my gifted students, and at conferences as part of teacher professional development. Here is a description of this activity from the tinkering studio at the Exploratorium: Do you ever wonder what's inside your toys? You'll make some exciting and surprising discoveries about their inner parts when you don some safety goggles and get started dissecting your old stuffed animal, remote controlled car, or singing Santa. Use screwdrivers, seam rippers, scissors, and saws to remove your toy's insides. Check out the mechanisms, circuit boards, computer chips, lights, and wires you find inside. Once you've fully dissected your toy, you can use the toy's parts, your tools, and your imagination to create a new original plaything.  (https://tinkering.exploratorium.edu/toy-take-apart)"

" This blog entry aims to answer most of those familiar questions and point any beginners to additional 'how to' resources that may help you to find out more when you are ready. Remember it is still relatively early days for introducing mobile technologies into the classroom to support learning, evidence suggests that this process is transforming the way students learn and even the currently available Apps are changing on a daily basis because many of them were not originally intended for education. "

Geoboard app - http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/geoboard-by-math-learning/id519896952?mt=8

"With the integration of 20 iPads coming to our math class in October, this probably should have been my first "Tuesday's Technology Integration Tools" post. This addition to my classroom set of teaching tools is one of many reason why I started blogging, in July. I wanted to reflect on how to effectively implement the iPad as a tool for students to produce and create original content. Since then, it has provided a platform for others to comment and provide me with ideas and feedback on best teaching practices."

"I am sure you've heard your friends talk about Pinterest. It has become extremely popular in the past year. My wife was the one who originally told me about it back in 2010. It has definitely hit the Internet by storm."

"This holiday season I have been as busy as one of Santa's elves getting all the book apps with Christmas themes reviewed in time. In fact, I wish I had a few elves myself with so many great new titles being released. Our original top 25 has quickly become a top 50 …"

"I've started a list of educational iPad game apps for parents. I've got a special affinity for these games as I originally started my career in technology as a first generation educational software designer. The list contains casual, fun games to use at home. They don't necessarily help you master long division or prepare for an upcoming geography test. The accent is primarily on having fun. If your child isn't going to enjoy playing then the app won't make the list. The second important criterion is that time spent playing is productive and that something of value is learned while playing the game."

"Bloom's Taxonomy is one of the central themes here in Educational Technology and Mobile Learning. I have been sharing a plethora of resources on it for the last couple of years and. just like you, I have learned a great deal from all of these resources. There are now several variations of the original Bloom's Taxonomy but the core learning concept is always present."

"People say the craziest things to teachers about their profession. Like what? Like how easy their jobs are, and how anybody can do it. Here is a list of some of the common idiocies along with some useful comebacks, compiled and written by Cindy Long and originally published in NEA Today, a publication of the National Education Association, the country's largest teachers union."

"STEMbite is a YouTube Channel developed by Andrew Vanden Heuvel, one of the original Google Glass Explorers. On this channel, you can find over 60 informative and entertaining brief clips sharing how math and science relate to our everyday life. Though the segments are brief in nature, you will find they are extremeley helpful. My favorite part about each of Andrew's videos is that he makes science and math seem easy and fun. Before you know it, the video is over and you're craving for another bite size video. "

"Google Drive-formerly Google Docs-has come quite a way in nearly a decade of existence. Originally launched as Writely, a startup's clever collaborative word processor, Google quickly acquired the app, changed the name to Google Docs, and released it as a new way to help people work together more efficiently using little more than a browser. "

"As schools change leadership must as well. With society becoming more and more reliant on technology it is incumbent upon leaders to harness the power of digital technologies in order to create school cultures that are transparent, relevant, meaningful, engaging, and inspiring. In order to set the stage for increasing achievement and to establish a greater sense of community pride for the work being done in our schools, we must begin to change the way we lead. To do this, leaders must understand the origins of fear and misconceptions that often surround the use of technology such as social media and mobile devices."

"The Elements in Action takes a visual look at the periodic table, bringing the metals and gasses to life with engaging videos. It's an interesting look at the elements from BAFTA award winner Max Whitby and Theodore Gray, author of the popular book and app The Elements. The content is top-notch, taken from footage originally available only at museums."

"A few months ago, I posted an article by Shelly Blake-Plock called 21 Things in Education That Will be Obsolete in 2020, which lists some of the ways in which the face of schools will change in less than a decade. In this op-ed, which originally appeared in the Baltimore Sun, he describes what exactly needs to be done to get to there. "

"To be subtle. To be true. To be original. To be on. * To sing without moving your lips. * To explore the conventions of a thousand genres and befriend a thousand tribes. * To set your love free. * To tweet and be RTed. * To convince someone to give you money. * To get better at doing hard things. "

"In this presentation, Brad Ovenell-Carter shows you the work he and his students have done on what they call the "field school model," an innovative instructional methodology distinguished by the way it asks students-not teachers-to curate and catalogue the content they themselves gather, effectively creating their own textbooks as they study. The model capitalizes on mobile and web technologies and borrows design-thinking strategies to get students to identify and collaboratively resolve original, real world problems. "

"Web connected classrooms provide opportunities for students and teachers to read original material, discuss current events, and analyze multiple perspectives in search of truth. There are numerous ways in which readers can access news. Here are five free apps that can bring a steady stream of news, and information to the connected learner."