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Chris Williams, the Mathematics Co-ordinator at Spring Cottage Primary School in Hull, England, has a list of ten interactive iPad apps that helped him teach math to his students. Red Bull Kart Fighter, a track racing game, helped teach students how to calculate averages. 

Educators at Ringwood North Primary School in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, created the Epic Citadel Challenge to foster storytelling, creative collaboration and individual initiative.

For example, AutoRap will take your words and turn them into a rap and Strip Designer enables the creation of comic strips.

These tools can help them work around their challenges while playing to their strengths.

There are AT tools to help students who struggle with listening, math, executive functioning, reading and writing. The variety of available AT tools has grown rapidly in recent years. Despite the word “technology,” not all AT tools are high-tech. AT ranges from simple adaptive tools (like highlighters and organizers) to high-tech tools (like text-to-speech software).

IDEA also says the school district is responsible for choosing and purchasing the technology. The school must train its staff and your child to use it.

Time4Learning helps your child succeed at school by: Providing highly motivating daily lessons Teaching a full elementary reading and math curriculum, not just spots of information Establishing good study habits by teaching a pattern of first lessons, then playtime Providing elementary games online to reinforce educational activities Closing the information loop by providing reports on student progress Deploying multiple teaching styles to address the different learning styles of different students and providing multimodal learning for the best understanding and retention. A balance of progress and reinforcement, making sure children master elementary fundamentals before moving them on to more advanced reading and math concepts Time4Learning gives your children the help they need to succeed at school. Our elementary teaching tools can be used as a supplement to school work, as core curriculum for homeschool elementary, or as an enhancement to elementary homeschool programs.

1. Get Some Training. You don't have to become a computer expert, but you need to have some basic understanding of how computers operate and what to do when they do not operate properly. You should also become familiar with a web browser such as Firefox or Internet Explorer and websites that provide tech-integration resources and tutorials. Your school or college likely has an instructional technology specialist to help you in this regard. 2. Don't Re-invent the Wheel. There are plenty of credible and experienced educational technology organizations, administrators and teachers out there who can lead you to quality materials, lesson plans and activities for use in your classroom. You don't have to spend hours using search engines to locate appropriate sites and materials. Some of the best educational Web sites for integrating technology in the classroom are: Center for History and New Media Classroom 2.0Edutopia Discovery Education: Kathy Schrock "Guide for Educators"PBS Teachers: Media InfusionThinkfinity 3. Establish a Partnership with Your Students. Many of your students will be excited about computer use, but you and they may be apprehensive about how technology will change your learning environment. Tell your students that computer use in your classroom is new and exciting for you as well, and that you are all part of an experiment whose ultimate success will largely depend on your combined efforts and cooperation. Stress how special this educational opportunity is and how much you need their input. Remember, it's about the students, not you. Your students will probably appreciate you asking for their help, and it may spur them to take ownership of the program. It also may soften some frustrations when technical problems occur. 4. Have a Plan B Ready. You are going to run into some technical difficulties in class and how you handle them will go a long way in determining how successful and enjoyable your technology experience is. You can minimize unwanted surprises by getting some training from an instructional technology specialist and by minimizing your reliance on live web connections. However, you will invariably run into technical problems during class that you are not able to solve immediately. In such instances, if you appear overly perturbed and frustrated you will send a signal to your students that they too can moan about technical problems and perhaps use them as excuses to forego completing computer-based work. Even worse, you may inadvertently cause them to question the ultimate merit of computer-based learning. Instead, try to make a smooth transition to a backup lesson plan, thereby sending a signal that technical glitches are just part of your educational adventure.

As tablets have become more prevalent, a new debate has formed over whether K-12 school districts should switch from print textbooks to digital textbooks on tablets.

Proponents of tablets say that they are supported by most teachers and students, are much lighter than print textbooks, and improve standardized test scores. They say tablets can hold hundreds of textbooks, save the environment by lowering the amount of printing, increase student interactivity and creativity, and that digital textbooks are cheaper than print textbooks.

As tablets have become more prevalent, a new debate has formed over whether K-12 school districts should switch from print textbooks to digital textbooks on tablets and e-readers.

As a member of a large online community of educators through Twitter and other social media outlets, I know how much of an impact the Internet has had on educators and their classrooms across the world. I was not surprised to read that 92% of teachers "say the Internet has a 'major impact' on their ability to access content, resources and materials for their teaching." As an urban educator, I was also not surprised to read that only 21% of teachers in high-income schools said that lack of access to digital technologies is an issue for their students, while 56% of teachers in low-income schools reported this an issue for their students. Cash-strapped school districts and districts with a large number of high-needs students do not have the resources to provide schools with digital technologies, such as classroom projectors, that many more affluent schools would consider commonplace.

Technology use allows many more students to be actively thinking about information, making choices, and executing skills than is typical in teacher-led lessons.

The student is actively making choices about how to generate, obtain, manipulate, or display information.

The teacher's role changes as well. The teacher is no longer the center of attention as the dispenser of information, but rather plays the role of facilitator, setting project goals and providing guidelines and resources, moving from student to student or group to group, providing suggestions and support for student activity.

Why use interpreters? Interpreters can enhance communication between school staff and school community members. Schools have a responsibility to use interpreters as indicated by the ESL/ESD Progress Map 2009, Curriculum Framework 1998, the Anti-Racism Policy 1998 and the State Government Language Services Policy. Interpreters can assist in the collection of relevant student background information from parents/caregivers so that school communities can provide appropriate educational programs.

The findings of our study show that an ILS—if used appropriately—has real potential for improving student achievement. This conclusion is further supported by studies we conducted for several school districts. (Each of these studies has been funded by the school district, not the ILS vendor.) We have held focus group interviews with more than 100 teachers and principals, made more than 100 structured classroom observations to chronicle ILS use and integration with classroom curriculums, received surveys from nearly 300 ILS teachers and administrators, and obtained achievement and attitude data from nearly 5,000 students. While there is variability in all of these data, the following conclusion seems warranted: If implemented properly, ILSs do produce positive results. Indeed, they have the potential to transform the classroom into a better environment for learning.

The findings of our study show that an ILS—if used appropriately—has real potential for improving student achievement. This conclusion is further supported by studies we conducted for several school districts. (Each of these studies has been funded by the school district, not the ILS vendor.) We have held focus group interviews with more than 100 teachers and principals, made more than 100 structured classroom observations to chronicle ILS use and integration with classroom curriculums, received surveys from nearly 300 ILS teachers and administrators, and obtained achievement and attitude data from nearly 5,000 students. While there is variability in all of these data, the following conclusion seems warranted: If implemented properly, ILSs do produce positive results. Indeed, they have the potential to transform the classroom into a better environment for learning.

If your child receives special education services, he must have an Individualized Education Program (IEP). That’s the law.

It spells out your child’s learning needs, the services the school will provide and how progress will be measured.

The IEP is meant to address each child’s unique learning issues and include specific educational goals. It is a legally binding document. The school must provide everything it promises in the IEP.

Despite the challenges, incorporating technology into education still has proven benefits, especially when it comes to personalized learning. From math games that adjust the level of difficulty as players progress to electronic books that talk and respond to the tap of a finger, products that personalize the learning experience for students often benefit their understanding. An interactive game is more engaging than a book, so technology often promotes more practice and review in areas requiring memorization, such as spelling, math and geography. This frees up time in the classroom so educators can focus on skills like problem solving, character development and critical thinking.

Successful technology integration is achieved when the use of technology is: Routine and transparent Accessible and readily available for the task at hand Supporting the curricular goals, and helping the students to effectively reach their goals

This archive compiles many of the features we have done on the subject of using technology in the classroom. Many of these articles have been updated many times or even rewritten as technology changes. That said, due to the ever-changing nature of technology, there will be articles on this list that are a little past their prime period of usefullness.

their ideas become posts to classroom blogs