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They may look like jumbled and messy flowcharts for the insane, but mind maps are actually extremely useful and perfect tools for brainstorming. You essentially take a flow of ideas and translate them into interconnected webs designed to help clarify your thinking (or mind, as it were). I love mind maps and am always impressed at the amount of care that goes into the creation of one. They truly resemble the crazy way our brains work as we link together somewhat illogical thoughts to form a cohesive idea. In other words, these following mind maps are actually how are brains all work whether you like it or not. There are thousands of mind maps out there and even some snazzy tools to help you make your own. The following maps are some of my favorites and hopefully won't scare you too much. Hopefully they'll inspire and educate!

"Enquiring Minds explores how students' ideas, interests and experiences can inform the content, processes and outcomes of teaching and learning in schools. At a time of curriculum reform in primary and secondary schools, Enquiring Minds provides guidance and research to help support schools through the process of change. "

Mural.ly is a new tool (still in beta, launched last week) that is a cross between Prezi and mind maps. It's easy to use and share what you create (perfect for most students, teachers, and parents) but the real beauty of mural.ly is in its lack of structure.

Popplet is one of my favorite web 2.0 tools , it is dedicated to having a creative work space for hundreds of ideas, combining sticky notes , a breeze mind map , presenter and a multimedia tool, all in just one platform that can present visual ideas in a multiple work spaces. It is an easy tool that even a kid can use it! . popplet is similar to various tools like stickynote and mind maps ones

"Why use Google Draw rather than other mind mapping tools? Google Draw is collaborative and is in my Google Drive with the rest of my files, thus easy to find. Teachers can also insert comments on a Google Draw as you can in other Google Docs, so it makes for a nice tool for being able to give feedback."

"Memofon converts text into mind maps"

A brilliant list of ipad apps by tasks. you start with the objective in mind and then pick 1 of the apps. Free and paid for apps are listed in this handy collection

This guide examines the use of Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) models in schools. It looks at the potential opportunities and benefits, as well as the considerations, risks and implications that arise when schools allow students and staff to use personally owned devicesin the classroom and school environments. Strategies,tips and techniques are included to address the considerations and manage the risks. The guide is NOT a step-by-step manual for implementing  models that enable students to use personally owned devices in school. While teachers, parents, community members and other stakeholders may find the guide informative, it is written with school and school authority administrators and leadership teams in mind. It is meant to inform their decision making and strategic planning should they decide to support a BYOD model in their schools.

Unlock creativity with our free Mind Maps. Easy to use maps allow you the freedom to express ideas intuitively and quickly. Learning becomes fun and engaging with Flashcards. Study information & quickly test your knowledge in a fun way. Increase your motivation with ExamTime. Set goals and review progress with your study timeline.

"The list of mind blowing videos covering the topic of 21st century education and learning is growing bigger and bigger. There are actually some clips that I think every teacher should watch if not twice then at least once. These videos are not only an inestimable source of inspiration but are also a good resource packed full of great ideas on where education is right now. I know not all of you have the chance to get your hands over these videos because of your busy teaching schedules but as an educational blogger I do come across several of these videos and whenever time permits I curate lists to share with you. "

LinkedIn Groups are communities of like-minded professionals who share a common experience, passion, interest, affiliation, or goal. Groups provide members with a private and focused space to discuss relevant topics, share news stories, network, and collaborate with others. Start a conversation with LinkedIn Groups today at http://www.linkedin.com/groupsDirectory

"Produced in collaboration with Facebook. Social media is fast becoming as ubiquitous as the air we breathe. In recent months, many schools and districts around the country have taken steps to create social media policies and guidelines for their students and staff. In my work with several districts to draft these documents, I have seen many approaches that work well, and some that don't. That said, there is no silver bullet for administrators; every school, district, and state has a different set of circumstances. With that in mind, here are some steps that will help you determine the best approach for your own community."

YouTube can be a great technological resource for teachers to use in the classroom. But with so many videos and channels, how can educators find quality content without watching hours of video? Here are ten great channels that are certain to provide educational content worthy to spark student's minds.

Lucid Chart is an online platform for creating powerful diagrams and flowcharts that can be used for creating presentations and for visual communication with your audience. It has a free and a number of paid packages that provide rich features for creating mockups, wireframes, importing MS Visio files, mind mapping, etc. Lucid Chart also provides online collaboration options so that you can conveniently interact with others users when creating your diagrams. Moreover, you can later use these diagrams and charts in PowerPoint .PPT files to enhance the presentations.

"I naively assumed that Twitter was a place for people to narcissistically blab their every move, and after reading "Why Educators Should Join Twitter," my mind was changed and I joined. My life is changed! I finally feel like I have others whose lives revolve around education the way mine does". Jaime Mendelis, Binghamton, NY

One appplication that comes to mind is to let the students create walkabouts for the school for prospective students or create a audio recordal of outings to historic places.

Internet safety and education is always at the forefront of my mind when I work with technology in the classroom.  It is therefore important for me to have my parents have an understanding and some control over their child's work and image as it relates to usage and access.  Today, with the help of my amazing PLN (personal learning network) I wrote the letter and consent form I will be giving to all of my families.  Since I know many others are also in the process of creating something similar, I thought I should share what I have.