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"The summer is quickly winding down & a number of teachers will be returning to their classroom with new mobile devices (iPads). Throughout the summer I have been conducting workshops on iPad integration with EdTechTeacher and I thought it might be helpful to pull together a back to school list of apps structured around specific classroom goals. While many schools may already have an Apple VPP program already in place, I know a number of teachers will also be purchasing the apps themselves. Therefore, I will do my best to include both a pay & free app for each objective."

"School supplies are no longer restricted to pens, folders and anything else you can find in a stationary store. In fact, many of the best learning tools around can comfortably fit into your pocket There are mobile applications for smartphones and tablets that can do everything from teaching your young child how to hold a pencil to keeping your older kids on top of deadlines and extracurricular activities. Here are five back to school apps you should download right away."

"Think back 20 years. Pay phones still worked, and only doctors carried pagers. Laptops weighed as much as bowling balls, and few of us had Internet access. In fact, much of what we now consider commonplace -- Google, email, WiFi, texting -- was not even possible. If that was 20 years ago, where are we going in the next 20? We are all going mobile! Tablets, smartphones, Chromebooks -- and yet, these devices only serve as the most recent iteration of mobile technology in the classroom. Remember Netbooks? How about those old-school Macbooks that looked like toilet seat covers? What if we go back further? What about chalk and slate?"

"Thought I would review this basic tip today since I helped two people at work with it on the same day. "I'm out of iCloud storage space! I haven't backed up my phone since October!" I find a lot of colleagues are beginning to own multiple Apple devices, usually an iPhone and an iPad. With (only) 5GB to share between all devices, it's important to know which files should be backed up and which don't necessarily need backup."

"A few days back, we looked at five great ways to incorporate word cloud generators into your classroom. There are obviously many more uses out there for them - but that is a discussion for another post. We've mentioned most of these before - in a post from way back when - so I won't go into too much detail about each individual one, but we've added a few notable ones to the list. (Of note, the list is in no particular order)."

"With most teachers out of school for the summer by now, summer learning loss probably isn't top priority. After all, the kids are back in their parents' hands for at least a couple of months, right? If the students aren't in your classroom, there isn't a whole lot you can do beyond a summer reading list (that the parents may or may not encourage their students to complete, anyway). What you do have to worry about is the amount of catching up you need to do once you have students back in your classroom in the fall. The handy infographic below takes a look at some interesting statistics on summer learning loss, aka the 'summer slide'. It also offers some really simple ways to keep kids' brains churning along during their summer break. You can even offer these as simple recommendations to parents, to show them that summer learning doesn't necessarily mean their kids need to sit down and read all of Dostoevsky's works before the evenings get chilly!"

"I've been a fan of Glogster since its beginning back in 2007.  A couple of weeks back the Glogster app launched. Built specifically for iPad and for Glogster EDU users, the interface is easy and elegant and allows for simple placement and linking of media objects on an intuitive drag-and-drop Glog canvas. Especially nice is the app's handy interaction with your camera (to shoot images and video), your camera roll (for easy import), and your microphone.  You can record your own audio and video, import content from your libraries, or from YouTube, Google Images, Google Video, Khan Academy and Wikipedia."

"The flipped classroom model is here to stay. This model, although not a golden bullet, puts the student firmly into the educational process. Think back over the last few years that you have been teaching or learning about teaching. What did you do when you came across a new idea? Did you investigate on your own? Did you seek others who had experiences they could share? This is what the flipped classroom is all about: Putting students in charge of their learning process and allowing them to wrestle with ideas and topics before coming back to class with their own specific questions and seek guidance from the teacher. Often (but not always) there is some sort of online activity outside of the school day that students are responsible for. This could be a video lesson, a video about a lab set up, a discussion board inside of a learning management system (LMS), or any other vehicle that communicates the topic of the lesson outside of the normal class time instruction. "

"When I first started my makerspace at Stewart Middle Magnet School back in January of 2014, I was figuring everything out as I went along.  The term was still brand new, I couldn't find any maker sessions at conferences, and there were only a handful of other school libraries sharing about their makerspaces.  Armed with a couple of books on the growing Maker Education Movement and a dream to create an engaging environment in my library,  I gathered some supplies, put them out there, and waited to see what would happen.  My ideas and philosophy were constantly growing and evolving as we tried new activities and formats at my school.  Some experiments worked; some failed miserably.  But I learned from each and every one as our makerspace grew into an integral part of our library culture.  Looking back on the last year and a half, I've realized that there's several essential lessons I've learned in getting our makerspace going. Hopefully they can help save you some stress (and reassure you that everything will be awesome)."

"You know, my brand is sometimes a lot to live up to. I'm not always daring. I won't buy a 3D printer until I know I can get projects kiddos create cranked out in a timely fashion or that we can reliably afford the materials and upkeep supplies. You don't ALWAYS have to be daring in BIG ways, but you can dare everyday something. Dare to keep smiling to that kid who never smiles back. It's easy to smile to the kiddos you adore & have a connection with. But try to smile consistently, to that kiddos who is all prickles and burs. You will be surprised at the results. It took me 8 months once to get a reluctant grin back. When thinking about the next school year -I'd like to suggest we keep in mind that we should be ready to try new things without letting fear stop us. To go beyond our comfort zone. Even if you choose only one thing that makes you squirmy inside, that's good for your practice and our profession. This way, we can truly say to our kiddos that we are pushing ourselves to fail/win and try again just like we ask them to do every day!"

"he two categories to be discussed in this post include Games and Back Channels. Both allow for a wonderful formative experience. There are a number of resources that can be found on the internet in these two areas. The Back channel in the classroom is powerful and your LMS (Learning Management System) may serve this quite well. You also may get some added privacy which is important. While I believe kids can create games as a awesome formative experience, I will save that for a later post. In this article I wish to focus on how educational games provide a wonderful learning experience perhaps going well beyond content. As in all online tools be sure to check your district AUP along with the terms and conditions of the website you are using. Enjoy the resources and please let me know what I should add for a future post!"

"It's that time again! We're heading back into our classrooms to start another year of learning and growth. I don't know about you, but I love the freedom that summer gives me. I know our students do too. So as we head back into schedules, and structure, here are 5 ways you can boost thinking and productivity with a little movement in your classroom. Movement allows our brains a break from the intense thinking and focus required in schools. It's a chance to reboot, and even burn off a little of that extra fidgety energy. It can be a real struggle for many students to sit and focus. Give them a chance to be successful by adding some purposeful movement to the day."

"five free platforms that can be used hosting a back-channel chat." in classrooms or a school situation

"For some students the summer holidays are almost over and if you are looking for some great apps to ease up your way back to school here are some great science apps! Apps for Science can help students learn in a different way. The iOS technology is bringing new tools for students that can really help and support learning. Thanks to a group of students from Best College online, Fun Educational apps is happy to share their findings on some of "40 Most Awesome iPad Apps for Science Students.""

"It's no secret that Apple products go hand-in-hand with education. In fact, for many Generation Xers, an Apple was the first computer ever seen in their classroom (shout out to the IIe!). With regular discounts for teachers and students, Apple products are the perfect back to school gift. And once you get back to school, time to hit the books and keep up that GPA. And here's some apps to help you do just that."

This is a standard Back cover for iPhone. It protects your valuable phone from dust, fingerprints, scratches and bumps. It is stylish and unique. Perfectly suitable for Apple iPhone.

"If I had written this article two years ago, it would have been very different. Back then, I would have made (or felt like I had to make) a compelling case for why we should even consider the idea of incorporating video games into classroom instruction. Back then, I would have expected most readers to incredulously click to the next article. But today, Game-Based Learning (GBL) and Gamification are gaining some real traction in the teaching community. At the recent OETC conference, the organizers dedicated an entire wing of the convention center to the subject, and educators weren't shy about their interest. When I presented on the subject at Common Ground 14, I had the dreaded "last-presentation-of-the-day" spot, but I was very pleased at the turnout and interest."

"I recently had a pleasant back and forth with Michael Petrilli of the Fordham Institute on what ails the high school. He was reviewing the recent disconcerting NAEP results that once again show high school achievement is resistant to reform. On this he and I agree. But then he proposed some diagnoses, the latter of which I think is totally off base (an E D Hirsch diagnosis). I strongly agree with his conclusion: it's high time we better understood the problem of the high school. (Hard to believe that after 30 years of reform that started with me working with Ted Sizer in the Coalition of Essential Schools, we still lack clear answers.) After going back and forth collegially, we agreed to do some walk-throughs together next school year."