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"Over the past few months Gmail has witnessed the addition of a lot of interesting features and functionalities that enhanced its overall performance. Gmail also provides several hidden gems to users who are willing to dig a bit deeper and take their email experience to the next level. To help you make the best of Gmail, we have gone through Gmail help documentation and handpicked these wonderful tips for you. These are simple hacks that you can use on your Gmail to increase your productivity and be a Gmail savvy teacher."

"By developing a positive learning community within a classroom, a teacher can take the initial steps necessary to begin integrating technology tools and resources. With consistent perseverance and practice, soon these teachers can find new ways to transform learning experiences while dispelling the myth of distraction while learning with technology."

"Teachers want their students to learn, but they also want them to be interested in learning and excited about learning, which will ameliorate both the experience and the process. If you've ever tried getting students excited about subject material that is less than exciting, you know this isn't always easy. There are a lot of different factors that come together to make a student successful - and the combination varies from student to student. Some rely on natural ability, some rely on the success of their peers to motivate them, others need a huge teacher-parent-peer support system to make any academic success happen. That said, nearly every student can be successful - at least to some degree- if they're engaged."

If you can't watch the video on Facebook you can see it on YouTube - "If you've ever seen the movie The King's Speech, you remember the incredible feeling at the end when the King finally overcame the debilitating speech impediment he suffered from since he was a boy. Musharaf Asghar is no King, he is just a young man who has suffered his entire life, like the king, with a terrible stutter. In this heartwarming video, Mushy's teacher uses the same method as in the movie - using music to overcome anxiety - to help Mushy speak. For this man, even getting a few words out felt impossible, but once he started getting the hang of it, there was no stopping him."

"This is the second article I posted here on SAMR iPad apps in less than two weeks. Why? I love SAMR and I find it a very good pedagogical framework that teachers can draw on to not only integrate technology into their instruction but also assess the efficiency of this technology. And since iPad is a leitmotif in  today's learning, its alignment with SAMR model will definitely assist teachers in making the most of the educational potential of this versatile device. To this end , I am sharing with you this wonderful illustrative chart I stumbled upon on Apps in Education."

"Mobile devices as teaching tools are becoming a more and more common part of the American education experience in classrooms, from preschool through graduate school. A recent Pew Research Center survey found that 58% of U.S. teachers own smartphones - 10 percentage points higher than the national average for adults. Those teachers are building that tech-savviness into their lesson plans, too, by embracing bring-your-own-device policies and leading the push for an iPad for every student. In 2013, an estimated 25% of U.S. schools had BYOD policies in place and it's reasonable to assume those numbers have risen in the past two years. What do these mobile devices really add, though? Is there more to this tech trend than just grabbing the attention of students? Is mobile technology boosting classroom instruction, or is it all just a flashy way to accomplish the same things as analog instruction?"

""You've got to know the rules to break them." Says McQueen. In my role, this means two things: It means that you are never asking teachers to do anything other than teach in the ways that they know work and inspire their students. You are simply giving them additional options. It means that you need to train up teachers to be confident with technology - if they know what they can do, then there is a choice of they do with that knowledge"

""Be sure to cite your sources." "Give credit where credit is due." "Don't plagiarize." It's possible all teachers have said these things to students. But what do those directives mean to students who, in all reality, haven't had to do much citing?  What does it even mean to cite your sources?  The first step in the process is for students to understand the purpose and importance of citations. We found this great resource outlining that information from The Write Direction. One of the co-authors of this piece, Jessica Steege, is a middle school writing teacher. In her first year of teaching she did her best to explain the importance of citing her work. But somewhere along the way, the message got lost. When a student turned in a research project citing just one source-www.google.com - she felt defeated and wondered where she'd gone wrong. She realized that teaching citations from a "handbook," especially one that would quickly become outdated, wasn't the best way to teach her tech savvy students. So she turned to electronic resources. The Internet offers an abundance of online citation tools, from the extremely easy to use, to ones that require more research on the part of the user. We'd suggest teaching students about a few tools and let them decide which one to use to help them successfully cite their research."

"A couple of nights ago my friend Joe, a middle school social studies teacher, sent me a Facebook message about creating multimedia collages. My suggestion to Joe was to use PicMonkey and Thinglink. In the video below I demonstrate how to do that."

"After its launch the iPad quickly became the darling of the K-12 education community. Schools and teachers quickly saw the opportunities that it afforded students and jumped to get them into their hands. Fast forward a few years and it seems that a lot of schools have relegated the iPad to a supporting role or ditched them entirely. As mentioned elsewhere this is primarily due to a lack of clear vision, a misunderstanding of what the iPad is and an imiginative, uninspiring curriculum. While the iPad may no longer be the technology de jour in certain circles it is impossible to ignore what a compelling device the iPad is. So, why is the iPad still the best choice for schools, teachers and students."

"Do you use Twitter in your classroom as part of your lesson plans? If not, don't worry-you're not alone. Although 80% of K-12 teachers do have Twitter accounts for personal or professional use, most of them don't integrate tweets into classroom lessons. And at first glance, it might be difficult to understand why you would, especially when Twitter is best known for getting updates on the oft mundane activities friends, family and celebrity crushes. But with 288 million active users worldwide, educational experts, like those at the National Education Association, say that Twitter can be a welcome tool for teachers who want to increase information, communication, and collaboration, both inside and outside the classroom. "

"Over the last few years I've seen more schools opening up access to YouTube, at least to teachers, than I had in the past. YouTube for Schools has partially contributed to that trend. Tools like ViewPure and Watchkin have made using YouTube videos in schools a little less scary too. All that said, there are still lots of schools that block access to YouTube. That's why a few years ago I started to maintain a list of alternatives to YouTube."

"Everyone has a pet theory on how to improve public education: better professional development for teachers, more money, better curriculum, testing for accountability, teacher incentives, technology, streamlined bureaucracy. Policymakers have been trying these solutions for years with mixed results. But those who study the brain have their own ideas for improving how kids learn: focus on teaching kids how to learn."

"Teachers might see the Internet as the enemy of old-fashioned books, but the two entities can actually compliment each other nicely. Websites devoted to reading and literacy help children connect with other readers, delve deeper into what they are reading, and discover new books of interest. And they provide teachers with ideas for the classroom. Your students could start an online book group, write reviews on a website, or use Internet tools to research a favorite author. We've gathered ten of the best free, reading-related websites to inspire you and your young readers."

"So, you want to increase motivation for reading and writing, improve confidence levels and/or encourage ICT literacy? Well, regardless of the rationale, blogging is a very powerful learning tool that can assist teachers with these goals. Still not convinced that blogging is a meaningful activity? Then check out the nifty sketch note shown below, one that illustrates ten additional reasons you should get your blog on with your students."

"Since last year, I've been diving into the world of Making. It has been exciting and it has also been a large amount of extra work, but it matters. I just wanted to share a few stories as to why it matters so much. Quick Background: My librarian and I have worked together to create an open Makerspace for students to use in the library. It is available to students to use before school, during lunch, during study halls, and after school whenever the library is open. The idea is to give students access to tools on their own to see what they will create. It is meant to be student driven with some nudging from teachers to encourage students to explore different things. We have a 3D printer, Makey Makey kits, Chromebooks, and are stocking the space with more goodies based on student requests. To use the space, the students have to attend and orientation that covers the different tools available and the use of the space."

"Remembrance Day commemorates the sacrifices of people in all armed conflicts.  In order to assist our fellow educators, here are a few Remembrance Day teaching resources that have been shared inside Cube for Teachers."

"Here are ideas of apps and websites that teachers in my PLN used successfully in the past during Hour of Code:"

"The one thing that every teacher wants more of, besides salary, is time. I can't give you more time in the day. What I can do is point you to some tools and techniques for completing routine tasks more efficiently."