When Sugata Mitra installed a computer in a slum wall in India, he had no idea it would later win him $US1 million to build a school on the internet that could spur an education revolution. Dr Mitra, 61, was last week awarded the top TED Prize to pursue the promise of building virtual schools on the internet, where young minds can learn, unfettered by adult teachers.

One of my favorite ways to use the commenting feature in Google Documents is to host online discussions around a shared article. Doing this isn't a radical departure from having a classroom discussion about an article that you've printed and distributed to your students, but there are some advantages to hosting your discussion in Google Documents. The first advantage is that your students can participate in the discussion from anywhere at any time they are connected to the Internet.

The easiest-to-use, best-selling handwriting app for iPad, Penultimate gives you the experience of writing with pen and paper, with the power, flexibility and availability of Evernote. Take notes, keep sketches, or share your next breakthrough idea -- in the office, on the go, or at home on the sofa.

Social networks are captivating - there's no doubt. The minds behind building the popular social media platforms of today knew exactly what they were doing and they saw it before any of us ever did. But an unforeseen (or potentially foreseen, but ignored) consequence is addiction. Social networks have been so good at "helping" us, but now they're hindering us.

Gmail has changed so much in the past two years that referring to it simply as an "email client" doesn't do it justice. This manual is not for new Gmail users, but for those of you who already use Gmail as an email client and want to take advantage of its many features. Those of you who are new should probably read The Ultimate Guide to Gmail first, which will give you an introduction to the service and how to use its most important features.

Storytelling apps are one of the most powerful aspects of the iPad. They allows for collaboration and creativity that I couldn't really achieve before using the iPad. Here are some of my favorite Storytelling Apps.

The Evernote Web Clipper allows you to save anything you see on the web quickly and easily straight into your Evernote account. You can clip a full page, single article or just the URL and save it to a designated Notebook and add tags. Your web clips then become searchable within your Evernote account. Doing this allows me to have all of my information at the tip of my fingers, right when I need it and across my multiple devices.

We've written many times about the virtues of Evernote as a note taking, research and organisational tool. But Evernote also has a number of features that makes it ideal for use before, during and after excursions. Here's how it could be used:

"One of the core principles of good iPad usage that my EdTechTeacher colleagues have developed is the idea that educators should focus on creation apps rather than content apps. Most apps that are designed to teach specific content are terrible, so educators shouldn't think of iPads as repositories of apps but rather as portable media creation devices. Thus, educators don't need to review and master the hundreds of education apps that come out every year; rather, they should consider how a small suite of apps related to annotation, curation, and image, audio, and video production could support diverse student performances of understanding. "

"QR codes are a great and easy way to share digital materials and resources within your classroom. I use it in 2 different ways."

Pretend that you're an editor at a major newspaper. A reporter has just handed you a story that contains the following statements. Unfortunately, this reporter has a reputation for embellishing stories with wild claims that are completely untrue. Using common sense and whatever you happen to know about the subjects, you've got to decide which statements are true and which are false before the paper goes out to print. Saying 'I don't know' isn't an option.

In a world of information overload, it is vital for students to be able to find information on the Web, as well as to determine its validity and appropriateness. Our information literacy materials demystify the process Web so you can impart the vital skills students need to be safe, successful 21st century learners.

The following list represents some apps that may be of interest to secondary teachers. This list is based on personal use of the apps and from recommendations from other educators