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From an industry point of view but... Letting your employees use their personal mobile devices for work makes them leap for joy - they literally love their iPads, iPhones, Droids, BlackBerrys, Galaxies and other devices of choice. Research shows it also makes them more productive and increases their engagement with the workplace, including after hours.     On the other hand, the Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) phenomenon opens doors to all sorts of tricky issues so it's important to plan ahead.

Remember test your backups

Is it possible to be both a wired and unwired educator at the same time? Sounds like someone trying to explain Schrödinger's cat (the cat is both alive and dead at the same time, Google it).  I'm talking about being "an untethered teacher."  Sometimes, we end up tethered to the technology in our classroom.  To me, this is most evident with the interactive white board at the front of my classroom (I've intentionally omitted any particular brand name devices). Fortunately, I've been using AppleTV to untether myself from the front of the room.

"More than six in ten (62 percent) online citizens around the world use the internet for social networking"

"Yet ANOTHER way to avoid the Moodle scroll of death"

The two congressional representatives have unveiled a draft bill of rights for the Internet. Reps Darryl Issa and Ron Wyden unveiled their proposal at Personal Democracy Forum, and invite the Internet to edit and refine the list on Keep the Web Open.

"Google is making image search more convenient for those who are seeking pictures to use in their publications - it is letting you sort images by licensing rights under 'Search Tools.'"

"The Google Drive team said today that it is rolling out an activity stream to help you monitor changes to your files and folders. A new ⓘ button that appears at the top right corner of the screen gives you access to the stream, which notes actions taken on files and folders in your Drive, and who took them. Edits, comments, new files, changed file names and more will all now appear inside the stream."

meme search trends

"Artists are constantly looking for new ways to express themselves. Instead of simply sticking to painting a portrait with a brush or molding some clay into the chiseled body of a god, creatives today are exploring the world with new eyes. Their work offers incredible, new perspectives that will make you question what you're looking at. For a dose of creative inspiration, check out the work of these artists who think outside of the box"

"Twitter Co-Founder Evan Williams has an ambitious new plan: to shift our daily reading habits away from consuming incremental news bites and towards engaging with enlightened ideas curated by an intelligent algorithm. Ordinarily, such a goal would seem utopian, were it not for the fact that Williams is among a handful of Internet pioneers who have disrupted the media industry multiple times.

Teach #cs4hs computational thinking with #scratch. Scroll down to see the sorting algorithm dancers.

Thanks for sharing this Tony. Looks very interesting - Python reminds me of Microworlds. Might look into running a lunchtime programming club for grades 5-6. Although still trying to get a Minecraft Club started! - unfortunately my school techs don't know Minecraft and although it has been on their 'to do' list from last year limited time makes it really hard for them to get it up. :-( Cheers - Chris Trimnell

"Whether you realize it or not, dozens - if not hundreds - of apps and services have access to your social accounts and can see everything you're doing online. Tweets, Likes, your location, are all there for the taking. What's worse, there's a pretty good chance you unwittingly gave them permission."

"Found this fantastic infographic touting the success of infographics. Reading it ( or more correctly, viewing it) immediately focused my thoughts on the use of visual texts in classrooms today. Click on the screenshot above to view the animated, interactive info graphic that presents  13 reasons why we should use infographics ( or visual texts in general). Unlike other infographics I link to on Mr G Online, I'm not going to discuss the specific points presented - that would be contradictory to the message of the infographic. I'll let you get your own meaning from it. However, I am going to reflect on how it made me consider the use of visual texts in education."

Thanks for the mention

"It's Google's world, we're just teaching in it. Now, we can use it a little more easily. With classes, homework, and projects-not to mention your social life-time is truly at a premium for all teachers, so why not take advantage of the wide world that Google has to offer? From super-effective search tricks to Google tools specifically for education to tricks and tips for using Gmail, Google Docs, and Google Calendar, these tricks will surely save you some precious time."

"Nope, it's not a Facebook "phone," but it's probably the closest you're gonna get to one right now. Skype has just unleashed the no-longer-in-beta version of its 5.0 Windows software, and not only has it drastically tided up the interface, but just like the rumor said, it's taken advantage of Facebook Connect in a big way."

An animated version of a Sir Ken Robinson speech - fantastic!