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"There are few things more valuable to small business owners than time. Research shows small business owners consider time to be a more valuable asset than computers, mobile phones and the company's office or storefront. In addition, one-quarter of small business owners would pay $500 for one extra hour in their day."

"I love learning new things and SnapGuide is a fantastic free app that you must explore! Pinterest is a great place for gathering new ideas, and SnapGuide takes this concept to a whole new level. SnapGuide is full of how-to guides that show step-by-step instructions on how to complete a variety of tasks. You and your students can even create your own how-to guides using this free service!"

"One of the best general iOS features is wifi syncing, which, just as the name implies, allows you to sync content, data, pictures, music, whatever, to and from an iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch and a computer running iTunes, without ever connecting the device with a USB cable. Of course, this feature is only useful when it's working, and a wide variety of users are encountering an issue where wi-fi syncing just stops working. Either the device refuses to show up iTunes, or it disappears immediately when attempting to sync content to it. The solution below will resolve either of those problems and is quite simple."

"The past couple weeks my 7th grade daughter has been working on a National History Day project for her social studies class. Today she proudly showed me the display board which her group created about our president."

"One of the things that really excites me about the iPad is the ability of the students to show their learning. I am not talking about the end product here, I am talking about the act of learning that can be shown by students recording their processes."

""If you're doing all that, who's doing your job?" "People only present because they think it looks good on their resume." "She's obviously all about herself, I mean, look at what she does." IMG_5438These three statements literally were shared with me this year, along with a couple others. Some to me, some with me…all about me. It's hard to hear statements like this and NOT feel as if they are attacking you personally, even though I doubt that was the intention. (er…I hope.) Last Monday at #ISTE13 I was able to go to George Couros's sesson on "Leading Innovative Change". I'm not sure what I thought this was going to be about, but I knew I wanted to see the Couros show, :) His intent was to share how his school division created a powerful vision for innovation and share the steps to guarantee success. What I heard was a defense for all that I believe in and have tried to convey as a teacher, as a technology facilitator, and as an assistant principal. What I heard was the reason I blog, tweet, and share."

"I definitely think like a kid when it comes to technology- it has to be fun or I don't really want anything to do with it. Maybe that's why I LOOOVE Augmented Reality (AR) and the Aurasma app. Similar to the way a mobile device scans a QR code and links to a website, AR lets you see something not there in reality except when viewed through the mobile device. The best way to show you how it works is through the video of my students using it in class:"

"Apple TV (US$99) is a box you attach to the projector / TV that picks up the screen of any iPad and displays it without the need for wires! The teacher can walk around their room and display anything that's on their iPad screen on the Projector/TV. This means the teacher can display from anywhere and even use the iPads camera to show student work 'live' without gathering students around one point in the room"

"The infographic above shows caffeine concentration: it reflects the amount of caffeine per ounce - you can use these numbers to determine how much caffeine you're consuming. Simply multiply the milligrams per ounce (in the graphic) by the ounces in a beverage."

"Before Danielle Thomson was our TED Prize researcher, she wrote trivia for Who Wants to Be a Millionaire? and spent years finding difficult-to-source info for The Late Show with David Letterman. And she has quickly established herself as our staff secret weapon. When one of us can't get our hands on a piece of information that we need, we turn to Danielle and - voila! - there it is. We asked Danielle to share some of her best research tips to help you in those "why can't I find this?" moments. Here's what she had to say:"

For Halloween 2016, I did a version of Halloween Wars (a Food Network show) with my two classes of gifted elementary learners. I am sharing this lesson through my blog post as it reinforces how I approach lesson planning and teaching. Background Information Principles that drive my instructional approach. regardless of theme, include: Instructional challenges are hands-on and naturally engaging for learners. There is a game-like atmosphere. There are elements of play, leveling up, and a sense of mastery or achievement during the instructional activities. The challenges are designed to be novel and create excitement and joy for learners. There is a healthy competition where the kids have to compete against one another. Learners don't need to be graded about their performances as built-in consequences are natural. There is a natural building of social emotional skills - tolerance for frustration, expression of needs, working as a team. Lessons are interdisciplinary (like life) where multiple, cross-curricular content areas are integrated into the instructional activities."

"Earlier this year, at the Whitney Museum of American Art, in New York, visitors paraded through the fifth floor to see a retrospective dedicated to the abstract expressionist Frank Stella. Although many of the works on display were four or five decades old, in some ways the show felt tailor-made for the Instagram age: a riot of vibrant colors and textures, 20-foot-long reliefs, and sculptures as jagged and dynamic as 3-D graffiti. Visitors one busy Saturday afternoon stopped in front of artworks, lined up shots on their phones, snapped a few photos, and then moved on to the next piece. Some paused briefly to consider a particular painting; more stared down at their screens, furiously filtering. Few noticed an elderly gentleman sitting on a bench in one of the smaller rooms, watching the crowd engage with his work. The only visitor in the gallery not clutching a phone was Stella himself. Museum directors are grappling with how technology has changed the ways people engage with exhibits. But instead of fighting it, some institutions are using technology to convince the public that, far from becoming obsolete, museums are more vital than ever before. Here's what those efforts look like."

"Stanford Graduate School of Business Marketing Professor Jennifer Aaker shows the value of harnessing empathy to design products, and improve the performance of employees."

"A great way to encourage girls' interest in STEM (science, technology, engineering, and math) fields is by sharing stories starring girls and women who love science and technology! Seeing female faces as scientists, whether in the lab or out in the field, is a powerful message to girls that these subjects are open to all. And, while introducing them to real-life women in STEM through biographies is important, fictional stories showing science-loving girls and women are another excellent way to entice girls with the unlimited possibilities before them. With that in mind, we're showcasing our favorite fictional books for both children and teens starring Mighty Girls who love science, engineering, and math. With options ranging from the fun and fanciful to the more contemplative, you're sure to discover a title to excite every budding scientist or engineer, girls and boys alike - after all, both need to learn that science is for everyone!"

"We parents know that science is everywhere and why it's so important. So we always love tracking down some of the best science apps for kids each year, to show kids how fun science can be, and how it's a part of pretty much everything they already do and see. The focus on STEM in the past few years has given rise to incredible products and apps for kids to explore science from a very young age. But it's likely that our pick's for this year's best science apps for kids will answer many of them, and provoke many more, too. We're betting a lot of parents will also learn a thing or two."

"From the programmers behind Pokemon Go to the creators of chatbots, the impact of computer science (CS) is ubiquitous in our daily lives. This is because computer science education provides a way of thinking that focuses on problem solving, teamwork and a powerful way to express yourself - important skills for any career. And with a projected 1 million jobs going unfulfilled in computing-related roles by 2020, we need computer scientists from all backgrounds to bring their unique perspectives to solve real-world problems. That's why today, we're excited to announce Careers with Code in the US, a free high school "CS + X" career magazine that shows how to combine your passions, your "X", with computer science. We partnered with STEM specialist publishers Refraction Media to create a CS career magazine that illuminates the range of computer science careers and highlights the impact they have across industries. Readers can get to know people who use CS in their daily work in sometimes unexpected ways, such as Jonathan Graham. "

"Educators often talk about 21st-century skills and the benefits of incorporating communication, creativity, collaboration, problem-solving, and critical thinking into lessons. These are skills students rarely learn straight out of a textbook. The best way to teach them, we've found, is by making these skills a relevant part of their active lives. If that sounds daunting, rest assured, it doesn't always have to be. One way we have taught these skills is through project-based learning (PBL), where students apply what they've learned during a hands-on project that is relevant to the real world - and their lives."

"Made with Code and Starbucks are showing young women the creative ways code comes to life."

"As any parent or teacher knows, tests can create crippling anxiety in students-and anxious kids can perform below their true abilities. But new research in cognitive science and psychology is giving us a clearer understanding of the link between stress and performance, and allowing experts to develop specific strategies for helping kids manage their fears. These potential solutions are reasonably simple, inexpensive and, as recent studies show, effective. Some work for a broad range of students, while others target specific groups. Yet they're unfamiliar to many teachers and parents, who remain unaware that test anxiety can be so easily relieved. Here, three such approaches:"