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iPads have exploded throughout schools and classrooms. Their flexibility, versatility, and mobility make them a phenomenal learning tool. As teachers seek ways to integrate these devices, we recommend focusing on specific learning goals that promote critical-thinking, creativity, collaboration, and the creation of student-centric learning environments. Below, you will find a list of objectives, each one connecting to recommended apps and tools.

For the innovation economy, dispositions come into play: readiness to collaborate, attention to multiple perspectives, initiative, persistence, and curiosity. While the content of any learning experience is important, the particular content is irrelevant. What really matters is how students react to it, shape it, or apply it. The purpose of learning in this century is not simply to recite inert knowledge, but, rather, to transform it.1 It is time to change the subject.

This is a common concern of teachers who are new to Project Based Learning. Things can appear to be going smoothly; students have been engaged by the project, they've been learning content and skills, they've been busy and meeting deadlines… but their thinking is not as in-depth and their final products not as polished as they should be. If this is your experience, it's time to ask yourself some questions:

A project is meaningful if it fulfills two criteria. First, students must perceive it as personally meaningful, as a task that matters and that they want to do well. Second, a meaningful project fulfills an educational purpose. Well-designed and well-implemented Project Based Learning (PBL) is meaningful in both ways.

I've been reading a little about Bob Sprankle. If you don't already know of him he is a really involved technology learning leader. He has podcasts, blogs, and is a contributor on many resources. I'm sure Collette knows a lot about him. If you have time check him out. I believe he is ill right now and recently had surgery. Wish him the best.

This article lists ten top sites for digital collboration in project based learning. From management tools to social gathering sites, this article lists quite a few sites I've never heard of!

Twitter is the most powerful tool in helping me to take control and responsibility of my own learning.

An inexpensive site for added reading/language skills support. Kids play computer games while learning sight words, spelling, and reading. (Classroom use is $80 year with 30 users. Small school $500, large $1,000. )

Wow! A searchable database of 109 (so far) of library/research related lesson plans. Searchable by grade level. Still accepting lesson plans, which are vetted and connected to Common Core standards before being added.

I found this article interesting. I've seen a lot of articles suggesting the use of different tools, but nothing about how these tools should actually be used. I found this informative.

This article explains how the new software and technology that has been incorporated into the Tahoma School District has provided significant opportunity for students in the special education program. The article outlines several specific software programs and apps that students use to overcome print disabilities, speech impairment, and a number of other physical and academic disabilities.

DyKnow is a company that offers products for managing and enhancing technology in computer-based classrooms. They recently posted an article on their blog that links to the top read articles they've published over the last year. Many of these articles touch on challenges in technology based education, digital citizenship, and helpful tips for an edtech classroom.

This resource discusses collaboration between facilitators and teachers for integrating technology into the classroom. This seems like it would be useful for implementing collaborative technology tools on a large scale.

Social Bookmarking

Thinkbinder is an only group study collaboration tool. I think this would be a great way for students to find information from and for each other, ask similar questions, and be engaged in each others learning. This would be a great tool to use in the classroom and have as an optional tool or even an assignment that teaches collaboration.

here's a cool article with a bunch of ways to use pinterest in the classroom

A free website and great for extra reading support and assessments. Anyone can look up a book, see the author and reading level of the book, and then take a quiz on it.

MobyMax another reasonable site for students and teacher use, in addition to parents. There are many uses, such as; students can play games or do worksheets. Teachers can collaborate with students, teachers, and parents using emails. Teachers can even monitor student's usage on the computer, including homework. In addition, parents and teachers can monitor individual results of assessments. (Can be free, but limited use. Yearly prices: $79 for one teacher with unlimited amount of students, or $499 per whole school)

A great place to find many different webinars, collaborate in forums, and share resources, to mention a few items.