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"With the growing popularity of internet access to mobile devices like the iPad, iPhone and iPod Touch, monitoring internet activity isn't so easy as plopping the computer in the living room and keeping a watchful constant eye over young shoulders. Now, the internet is mobile. It's small enough to fit in a pocket and that makes parental monitoring an even bigger challenge. "Fortunately, the tech world has heard the rally cries of concerned parents and a number of kid-safe browsers are available to allow your child internet access in a safe manner. By no means is everything on the internet dirty, filthy, vulgar or dangerous. Much of the content on the web is educational, informative, fun and smart. With these kid safe browsers, you'll be able to help keep your kids on the right side of the cyber tracks."

How teachers can flip their classroom, and have kids make the videos to teacher other kids, in this case, math. If you are thinking of trying "flipping," you must watch this creative set of examples (in several languages) of kids solving problems.

"Bottom line is that that kids don't hate just about every thing that they say they hate. Often, they love those things. But it has to be done well, with some level choice, autonomy, relevance and purpose." Another take on creativity and how to get kids inspired in school -- or in spite of school.

"A few years ago, all I had to do to keep my kids safe online was set up the family computer in a well-trafficked room and walk by every so often. Now, my daughters are 12 and 14, and each has her own iPhone. Their online lives are lived in WhatsApp, Facebook comments, texts, and occasional emails. They regularly interact with kids I've never met. While they're (probably) smart enough not to reveal information to strangers they've never met, my daughters are at risk for cyberbullying (both being bullied and being bullies), overexposure on social networks, and even sexual solicitation. " Some good cyber rules to keep kids from destroying their own lives.

"Geeky teachers have brought Minecraft to subjects ranging from history to biology to probability. The game is being rolled out to every secondary school in Northern Ireland this month. If you're a parent, you've noticed Minecraft offerings spawning in your local summer camp listings. The Chicago Architecture Foundation offers a Minecraft camp for budding builders. Ninety-two libraries participated in the International Games Day Minecraft Hunger Games tournament, andcrowned a 13-year-old girl as its champion. And, I've helped launch Connected Camps' Summer of Minecraft, a new in-game online camp. "Progressive educators have been advocating for games-based learning ever since Carmen Sandiego, Oregon Trail, and Reader Rabbit opened up a new market for consumer children's software in the '80s. SimCity demonstrated how a building and tinkering game could be embraced by parents, kids, and educators. And, Scratch shows how kid-centered learning communities can thrive online. "Minecraft is part of this lineage of learning games, but it fundamentally rewrites the playbook." This blog talks about why Minecraft is so popular with kids and with educators alike, referring back to Papert's experiments with "turtles." My 9-yr-old granddaughter is totally absorbed by the game and the games within the game she can play. She's even venturing into the "survival" mode where exploration includes fighting zombies. What's not to like?

"Many parents can probably relate. With technology, we feel like we are in the dark and sometimes choose to turn a blind eye to the interactions of our kids online. But just like driving a car or eating a healthy diet, we need to be there to coach and guide our kids through this world. "Here are six tips for fostering those good habits with your kids."

Pretty cool for kids. The site is kid-save and pulls up images, including videos and games when words are input. A Google site.

"Computer programming can help kids develop vital problem-solving and critical-thinking skills. Not sure where to begin? This list offers ways to jump-start a coding adventure. It also encourages kids to become creators and not simply consumers of technology. Teaching everything from simple commands to complex programs, our favorite coding apps and websites come in a range of formats designed for different ages and abilities. For even more popular picks to spark your kid's interest in coding, be sure to check out our favorite tools that cover STEM topics and our Learning with Technology topic center." Lots of choices for very young learners.

"Tynker is a new computing platform designed specifically to teach children computational learning and programming skills in a fun and imaginative way. Tynker is inspired by Scratch from MIT. It is a completely browser-based implementation written using Open Web standards such as Javascript, HTML5, CSS3 and does not use Flash. "Tynker's language extensions, built-in physics engine, character editors and other tools make it fun and easy for kids to unleash their creativity. Schools love Tynker because it offers them an easy to use cloud-hosted system for delivering a customized Computer Science course across multiple grades with a ready to use curriculum, classroom management and more. Tynker is the platform of choice at many leading schools - see what educators are saying." This looks like an interesting, creative way to unleash students' curiosity. I'm assuming it's for younger kids, but older students may enjoy it too.

""Always on" access has created an abundance of learning potentials that scarcely existed even a decade ago. "No, this is not the picture most of us painted for ourselves when we went into education. Most of us went into teaching understanding that school was pretty much the only education game in town, the place where kids came to get information, where, at the end of the day, we were responsible for disseminating the knowledge, we assessed whether our students got it, and we stamped it "an education." For that vast majority of kids (and for us, too) who attended a brick-and-mortar school, that's been the unbending, monolithic vision of schooling for 150 years. "So what do we do when that vision begins, finally, to be undermined?" Technology is changing what it means to be educated. Thoughtful article.

We're still working on how to use virtual realities for educational purposes. This article proposes some sites for both younger kids and early teens.

"Web-based games can prove to be a treasure trove of learning opportunities, and there are a variety of content-areas, age ranges, and skill levels to choose from. The true pay dirt for browser-based learning games can be found on large online digital game hubs. Here are 10 game hubs players that teachers can use to as one tool in their arsenal." By R. Schaaf. Includes PBS Kids and BBC Schools: Games. Mostly explores K-6, but some sites have activities for older kids too.

"In this talk, the presenters, Ozge Karaoglu and Shelly Terrell, will explore the various possibilities of Web 2.0 tools, such as Voicethread, Glogster, Voki, and digital storytelling tools, to engage young language learners. Educators will learn how to effectively collaborate on international classroom projects as the presenters demonstrate the ways their Turkey and Germany lower primary classes connected." Be sure to also check out the site with kids resources: Technology for Kids Website:

Teach your kids some code. But it would help to have a project in mind before starting so that it can be used for some practical purpose before they get bored. Different levels/ages of kids can use different code lessons. K-12/adult

It's all about an authentic learning experience! The 12-13-yr-old kids in this blog discussion really learned a lot more than about the nature of complex carbs in this exchange of views. Should kids be involved in authentic debate -- well, sure!

"Mathtrain.TV is a free, educational "kids teaching kids" project from Mr. Marcos & his Students at Lincoln Middle School in Santa Monica, CA." Thousands of videos created by high school students to teach each other. RSS subscription to keep up with updates. This is so far a 7-year project. It would be a good project display point for students as well as a learning tool.

Not well organized, but packed with fun-learning sites that kids can use on their own, or that teachers might want to incorporate into class projects. Not just for summer!

"I love genius hour, I love Innovation Day, I love the idea of learning and creating something. But I felt we were starting to focus too much on the creation part rather than just the learning part. That too much time was spent creating the imagery of their learning rather than the learning itself. So instead I asked the kids to do what we have called project time, 30 minutes once a week where they just get to learn. Sure, they can create, sure they can make things, but they can also use the entire time to just read, study, ask questions, whatever they want to do. I decided on a big category to help them focus their curiosity, geography, and with held breath I sat back. "The last two weeks have been incredible. Students have read library books on countries, they have studied maps, they have created impromptu map quizzes, and yes, they have even created presentations. The learning that has happened has been tangible as kids ask questions about the broader world, about their place in it. When I asked them what they thought, the response was overwhelming; "We love it, Mrs. Ripp. Please don't change it. What will we focus on next?" (History for those who wonder)." T/h P. Ripp

CodeWizardsHQ is the leading online coding school for kids and teens ages 8-18. We deliver the most fun and effective live, online coding classes which are designed to give our students the programming knowledge, skills, and confidence to thrive in a digital world.

This blog has a series of lessons using different media to help kids experiment with painting. Have students write about their work and the process afterwards. Appropriate for K-5, but lessons are adaptable to adults, who also have fun making art.