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As protesters took to the streets yesterday to protest the inequality of wealth, two computer scientists in Portland, Oregon are protesting the inequality of resources in schools.

t Celly, a text-messaging service that teachers and students can use to make classwork more fun and engaging

Celly is part of a larger national trend in schools known as “Bring Your Own Technology (BYOT),” in which students are allowed to bring their mobile devices to class. Advocates argue that if young people are already glued to them, then teachers and principals should come up with educational uses for them

With more than 100,000 downloads and over 20,000 active customers, YogiPlay was developed to address the growing frustration by parents who are struggling to find the right, high-quality learning apps for their kids.

Every app in the YogiPlay network is carefully evaluated for age-appropriateness, educational value and, most importantly, fun.

Harmful Effects of Cell Phones on Kids

All of that seems to be changing, if a new company called DIY has anything to say about it. Knowing that kids are some of the most curious and creative creatures on the face of the Earth, the company wants to build tools and communities for that process to flourish with a little help from technology.

ext blast through Remind101, asking them a challenge question that’s related to the day’s lesson. “First person to tell me the units on K for a second order reaction gets chocolate,” he types and sends off. His students know he does this regularly, so they’re constantly anticipating the question during the day, in and out of class.

fun ways to stay motivated in our day,

hum gets louder when kids are excited or working together, then quieter again when they’re working out problems on their individual little whiteboards

“The advantages of digital media now greatly outweigh the disadvantages and require that schools update their thinking and policies to provide guidance on the use of these tools to improve student learning and achievement,” the paper says.

“Digital responsibility is big.” Rankin said. “We’re teaching students how to operate in this new world. We wanted to change the wording in our guidelines because we don’t want students to accept them; we want students to be responsible for them.”

“The depth of thought and level of discourse gets much deeper when you add an online environment,” Wells said. The teacher can present information in class, and then the students are free to explore it online – they can look at other students’ work, or check out videos on YouTube. Time constraints are no longer a factor, the process becomes more individualized, and school becomes more relevant, Wells said.

10 Ways to Optimize Your iPad for Kids With Special Needs

Introducing School-Wide Digital Citizenship Practices with iPads 8Share An elementary school in our district recently got 30 iPads and asked for some advice implementing them with students and teachers. In addition to suggesting some starter apps, I recommended that we have conversations with kids around the appropriate use of these devices. While almost every child has used an iPad, iPod Touch, or iPhone, the exciting learning opportunities these mobile, Internet-connected, media creation devices create also open the door to new challenges. Cyberbullying or inappropriate web publishing happens more through the camera than regular computer use does; the mobility of the device combined with the reality that multiple users are using the device with no personalized, password-protected, network-tracked accounts makes it more challenging to keep track of who is doing what with the device or that the device itself is safe. R

Some of the best experiences we give our students happen during field trips; the zoo, a museum, nature walk, etc. Mobile devices can enhance this experience by allowing for the documentation, review and reworking of the experience long after the field trip is over.

experts say the future of education may revolve around these hand-held instruments.

Using the tools students are most comfortable with keeps them interested in class, he said.

“At least at the high school level, we need to allow them to use the technology they have,” he said. “If you don’t, it’s almost like tying their hands.”

software designed to mimic traditional painting

Whether they use video or artwork, they still manipulate the medium and create something that’s a story.

It doesn’t matter the age; these kids are so technology adept that all you have to do is show them the basics and they just take off," she said. "I think [technology] can replace some of the traditional forms of art instruction, but I think there’s a need for the tactile feel of clay and paint, and getting dirty–it’s a real need. Until some of the software has a more haptic feel to it, that need is going to continue to be there–and I can take clay and teach something that I can’t teach with a computer program.

We talk about games a lot here on iPad.Appstorm, and why not? They’re the first thing most people download when they get an iPad. So, if you’re going to waste hours playing games on your iPad why not challenge your brain instead of numbing it? That’s why I’ve put together a list of eighteen games that will work out that often overlooked muscle, your brain. So, get ready to think hard about which of these you’d most enjoy! Here they are in no particular order.

Using Socrative, an app that shows real-time poll results for both multiple-choice and short-answer quizzes, he challenges his students at the end of class to answer specific questions in order to get a broad look at whether they understood the concepts discussed that day.

The key ingredient in effective lessons isn't alignment, it's pizzazz: excitement, engagement, challenge.

using classroom management methods to get students to attend to boring lessons is shoveling against the tide.

One method of getting kids to engage reading in different ways is through a tablet-based literature circle.

Don’t understand a word in the text? A single tap on the screen pulls up a dictionary that gives the definition, and another tap returns the reader to the page on which the word appears. If a student is reading about the Great Depression but ha

s no understanding of what that is, the tablet can help.