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"As both hardware and software design improve, the possibility of mobile learning is increasingly accessible. Video is undoubtedly at the core of a modern mobile learning experience. (As opposed to, say, an early 20th century "mobile" experience that was likely hands-on, place-based, and experiential.) To actually be useful beyond the cool-video-as-a-writing-prompt-every-once-in-a-while stage is going to require smarter tools. Teachers need to be able to capture, upload, download, edit, slow down, speed up, annotate, curate, share, and otherwise "own" video content so that is fully merges with everything else. With that in mind, below are 25 of the best resources for teaching with YouTube. Some are web-based, some are apps, and others are guides or tips. Let us know in the comments what your favorites are that we might've missed!"

"Here are thirty free writing ideas that connect to the holidays or to winter. I want to mention ahead of time that teachers need to be careful with the Establishment Clause. Some of these mention specific holidays and I think it's critical that teachers respect the diversity of beliefs found among students. They are meant to be ideas and not prompts; meaning they are optional visual writing ideas that kids can choose if they want to use them. "

"In 2004, Danielle Sullivan was working as a legislative aid when she had an Aha moment. In the years that she'd worked in Washington, nothing had changed in education. Sullivan decided to trade her desk on the Hill for one in a classroom. That year, she joined the DC Teaching Fellows and started teaching special education in DC's Logan Circle. Four years later, she had moved back to New York to teach in Ithaca, and found herself in the same boat as so many other teachers-burnt out, miserable, and struggling to reclaim her passion for education. Looking for a change, Sullivan signed up for a four-week National Writing Project seminar and found inspiration. "Being in a room, writing, with other teachers blew my mind," she remembers, "and put me on a trajectory for personal happiness." The experience of collaborating with teachers prompted Sullivan to start Extraordinary Teachers, her organization dedicated to empowering teachers to reignite their passion and take back their classrooms. "

"This morning I visited TED-Ed's Lesson catalog and saw a new lesson about the pancreas. Seeing that video prompted me to look for other TED-Ed videos about the human body. I came up with four more and put them into a little playlist on YouTube. The five videos cover the pancreas, kidneys, lungs, heart, and liver. The playlist is embedded below."

"This year at ISTE in Atlanta, I shared with teachers one easy way to add QR codes to three-dimensional shapes.   The app Foldify lets users create a template for a variety of three-dimensional shapes.  Instead of drawing a picture or adding family photos, I used a QR code generator on my iPad, saved the pictures to the Camera Roll, and placed them on my Folidify creation.  They are easy to assemble after your print them out and great for having students roll a dice for a mystery writing prompt or math problem."

"New York City's public school district is gearing up to scrap a controversial policy forbidding its 1.1 million students from having cellphones on campus. The thing is, plenty of students are already ignoring the ban. It turns out some of the poorest kids in the city are the ones who will notice the change most. The decision to lift the ban was prompted by safety concerns. Mobile phones aren't just for snapchatting but a way for kids to let parents know where they are. And with teen cellphone ownership rates so high, an ongoing ban increasingly seemed impractical-if not impossible. Civil rights activists call the move inevitable and long overdue."

"An Ottawa school was in lockdown earlier this week because of a gun reference posted on the social messaging service Yik Yak. And Charlottetown police said this week that some local students aren't attending school because they can't take reading the comments on Yik Yak. Yik Yak is the latest anonymous messaging app to cause trouble among teens Be anonymous, share online with these social networking apps The app has been linked to threats, pranks and cyberbullying at schools across North America, prompting many to block it. But is that a good idea? Here's what you need to know about Yik Yak."

"Reading through the solution to Dr. Russell's search challenge, which is a very advanced one that I wouldn't expect most high school students to employ, got me thinking about a search strategy and tools that I haven't employed before. That prompted me into thinking about creating a list of accessible search tools and strategies that middle school and high school students often overlook. Here's my short list of tools and strategies that are often overlooked."

"I'm a fan of the writing workshop. That means I also write with my students, and I allow plenty of time for students to conference with me and with each other. I also provide models of what good writing looks like -- and lots of them. Here's what the classroom writing process looks like: Brainstorming (Think About It) Drafting (Getting It Down) Revising (Making It Better) Editing (Making It Right) Publishing (Sharing It!) At the beginning of the writing process, I have had students write silently. For it to be successful, in my experience, students need plenty of topics handy (self-generated, or a list of topics, questions, and prompts provided). Silent writing is a wonderful, focused activity for the brainstorming and drafting stage of the writing process. I also think it's important that the teacher write during this time, as well (model, model, model). However, when it comes to revising, and later, editing, I think peer interaction is necessary. Students need to, for example, "rehearse" words, phrases, introductions, and thesis statements with each other during the revision stage."

"Yesterday I mentioned a useful tip for using physical keyboards with iPads in my guide to unlocking the full potential of the iPad Pro. The tip actually works with all iOS 9 iPads connected to external keyboards over Bluetooth, Lightning, or the Smart Connector: hold Command (⌘) to see a list of supported keyboard shortcuts for the Home screen or app you're in. This works in most of Apple's built-in apps and plenty of popular third-party apps as well, but it can be monotonous prompting that sheet in each app to get a sense of what keyboard shortcuts work. Instead, I've compiled a cheat sheet of which keyboard shortcuts work in all the system apps and several popular third-party apps. Whether you're using Apple's Smart Keyboard for the iPad Pro, Magic Keyboard, Logitech's excellent K811, or any other physical keyboard, these will make you more efficient when working on your iPad."

"Once students learn how to sound out words, reading is easy. They can speak the words they see. But whether they understand them is a different question entirely. Reading comprehension is complicated. Teachers, though, can help students learn concrete skills to become better readers. One way is by teaching them how to think as they read. Marianne Stewart teaches eighth grade English at Lexington Junior High near Anaheim, California. She recently asked her students to gather in groups to discuss books where characters face difficulties. Students could choose from 11 different books but in each group one student took on the role of "discussion director," whose task was to create questions for the group to discuss together. Stewart created prompts to help them come up with questions that require deep reading."

"You can create a safe space for your students to engage in conversation about digital topics with though-provoking images and a variety of activities. Students of all ages can use the image/discussion cards I've created in a variety of ways. Asking students to group images and assign groups a label will force them to engage in discussion and analysis of the artwork in front of them. The questions on the back of the image cards can make great journal prompts, debate topics, and launches for research and inquiry projects."

"The mot recent Facebook hoax making its rounds has prompted me to remind everyone about the importance of using strong and varied passwords (don't use the same password for Facebook as you do for your bank account). Creating a strong password is a just the first step in protecting your email and social media accounts from hackers. To really protect your account there are some additional steps you should take like using two-factor authentication. In their most recent video Common Craft explains how to protect your online accounts. Click here to watch the video or you can view it as embedded below. "

"For better or worse, computing is pervasive, changing how and where people work, collaborate, communicate, shop, eat, travel, learn and quite simply, live. From the arts to sciences and politics, no field has been untouched. The last decade has also seen the rise of disciplines generically described as "computational X," where "X" stands for any one of a large range of fields from physics to journalism. Here's what Google autocomplete shows when you type "computational." (You can try it for yourself!) But the big question is: Does current K-12 education equip every student with the requisite skills to become innovators and problem-solvers, or even informed citizens, to succeed in this world with pervasive computing? Since the turn of this century, the "4C's of 21st century" skills-critical thinking, creativity, collaboration and communication-have seen growing recognition as essential ingredients of school curricula. This shift has prompted an uptake in pedagogies and frameworks such as project-based learning, inquiry learning, and deeper learning across all levels of K-12 that emphasize higher order thinking over rote learning. I argue that we need computational thinking (CT) to be another core skill-or the "5th C" of 21st century skills-that is taught to all students."

"You saw the pictures in science class-a profile view of the human brain, sectioned by function. The piece at the very front, right behind where a forehead would be if the brain were actually in someone's head, is the pre-frontal cortex. It handles problem-solving, goal-setting, and task execution. And it works with the limbic system, which is connected and sits closer to the center of the brain. The limbic system processes emotions and triggers emotional responses, in part because of its storage of long-term memory. When a person lives in poverty, a growing body of research suggests the limbic system is constantly sending fear and stress messages to the prefrontal cortex, which overloads its ability to solve problems, set goals, and complete tasks in the most efficient ways. This happens to everyone at some point, regardless of social class. The overload can be prompted by any number of things, including an overly stressful day at work or a family emergency. People in poverty, however, have the added burden of ever-present stress. They are constantly struggling to make ends meet and often bracing themselves against class bias that adds extra strain or even trauma to their daily lives."

"Towards the end of last school year, one of my students came up with one of my favorite design challenges:  Make a creature that does something.  That's it.  This prompt wins for simplicity and the designs that people come up with for it are always amazing. "

"School days might seem as if they move at a glacial pace after winter break. The spring and summer breaks seem too far away, and whether students are learning in-person or online, they could use a bit of fun. Teachers can use TED-Ed Lessons to liven up long days and highlight students' different personal interests. The TED-Ed platform is especially cool because educators can build lessons around any TED-Ed Original, TED Talk, or YouTube video. Once you find the video you want to use, you can use the TED-Ed Lessons editor to add questions, discussion prompts, and additional resources. Use these TED-Ed Lessons for brain breaks, to introduce new lessons, or to inject some fun and engaging conversation into your class. "

Perhaps the disruption of a global pandemic will prompt a rethinking of how education might be framed to best serve the needs of those who rely on it most? Perhaps now is the time to rethink the curriculum?

"Photos and illustrations from The New York Times to inspire your spooky stories, poems and memoirs."