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"This is an amazing Windows, Mac and Raspberry Pi download which combines coding and composing music. Within a few minutes everyone can begin to make something tuneful and after a few lessons your students may even come up with a symphony or two."

"A useful 3D chart creator from Microsoft. This Windows app allows you to create scatter plots, bar charts, line graphs and geospatial data maps."

"A superb 3D coding platform for building the skills to build simple code and to understand the basics of algorithms. You can also create your own game levels and share them using a QR code."

"Free, open source version of Minecraft. Enable 'Creative Mode' to let your pupils to build as their imagination and creativity allows. Download for Windows, Mac or Android devices. The game is supported by a community and a huge set of mods to modify the game for individual needs."

A nice iOS/Android/Windows app for creating stop-motion animation. The basics are free allowing you to record and add sound to your animation and to export it in many formats and places. In-app purchases available to allow you to do more if required.

A breathtaking array of 'learn to code' Apple, Android and Windows phone apps. Learn C++, Python C#, HTML, SQL, JavaScript, Java, CSS, php and Swift via the site or apps. These are 'must try' tools for anyone starting out with coding. The site even has a 'Code Playground' to experiment with your code.

A superb Windows app which turns your touchscreen PC into a powerful note and sketch pad with a huge range of tools.

"Ainsworth, Prain and Tyler  (2011) in a paper in Science argue that  drawing  can play a number of  important roles in learning:, namely: Drawing to enhance engagement - surveys have shown than when students draw to explain they are more motivated to learn compared to traditional teaching of science. Drawing to learn to represent in science - the process of producing visual representations  helps learners understand how scientific representations work. Drawing to reason in science - student learn to reason like scientists as they select specific features to focus on in their drawings, aligning it with observation, measurement and/or emerging ideas Drawing as a learning strategy - if learners read a text and then draw it, the process of making their understanding visible and explicit helps them to overcome limitations in presented material, organise and integrate their knowledge and ultimately can be transformative. Drawing to communicate - discussing their drawings with their students provides teachers with windows into students' thinking as well being a way that the peers can share knowledge, discovery and understanding."

useful Windows app for creating Prezi-like presentations. You can create your presentations offline and they are based of HTML5, meaning that the files can be viewed in most modern browsers, even mobiles and tablets.

An amazing maths Apple, Windows Phone and (soon) Android app which works out equations by taking a photo of them.

Download last pass to add a full level of encryption to your password remembering.

I agree 100% that LastPass is useful. I've been using LastPass for a year or so on Chrome for Windows and Mac OSX, an Android phone, and an iPad. I even signed up for the paid service after a while. If you share online accounts with someone else like a colleague or significant-other, if one of you subscribes to the paid service, the paid membert can share a "folder" with a free member so you both always have the most up-to-date account and password info. That's been working great between my wife and I for family online accounts. I've read/heard from security researchers (such as Steve Gibson) that Lastpass.com uses and encourages good security practices and encryption but make sure you use a really good master password or all that protection is not very useful.

One Note is free in the windows App Store as well.

One of my students, Z, brought this application desktop customizer to me for his geniushour project. A very cool way to customize a Windows Computer XP-8. Interesting.

Microsoft has announced an initiative as part of the ConnectED movement in the US. Here are the details: "Windows 8.1 Pro Operating System: One of the most powerful and flexible operating systems for education, it provides the ability for students and teachers to use education apps and Microsoft Office, search for information across their device and the web, and is optimized for touch, education apps, research, productivity and digital inking, critical keys to better learning outcomes. Office 365 Education Communication and Collaboration Tool: Email, sites, online and offline document editing and storage, IM, and web conferencing capabilities for all you students for free. Plus 5 copies of Office for free for more than 12 million students at qualified institutions. Partners in Learning Network Teacher Training and Resources: Partners in Learning provides educators with a network of nearly 1 million educators from 136 countries. It offers them a forum where they can share ideas, find free lesson plans to inspire classroom learning and develop professionally. Bing for Schools Ad-free search: An ad-free digital literacy platform aimed at helping students learn important digital skills based on access to a connected computing device, daily common-core aligned lesson plans, and a safe, private environment where search history will not be mined for data. Student training and resources: Microsoft IT Academy: For roughly 2,000 high-needs schools, Microsoft is providing academic institutions and their educators, students, and staff with digital curriculum and certification for fundamental technology skills. Affordable Broadband from EveryoneOn: A critical component to connected learning, Microsoft's non-profit partner EveryoneOn is offering home Internet service for as low $10 to the 36 million Americans living in low-income communities."

I've been asked to talk about how Tablets Can make you a more effective teacher on May 7 - it is free so you can register. They have other sessions (one with Jon Bergman in June on Blended Learning) and a Special needs session April 9 - if you're into Windows 8 (like me) you can hit the best Windows 8 apps on Feb 11. As with anything - it is how you use the tablet or device that makes you better.

Windows 9 is coming in 2015. Many think Windows 8 was a trainwreck. I think one thing all companies should realize is that as the market matures, the older people who have been using Windows (or any other program for a long period of time) not only want to know HOW to do things the new way but WHY they should. I know many who would be happy to pay for and keep a Windows XP interface for a long time. I understand why the surface style was needed for surface devices but many would be happy with an older system using a traditional Windows view.