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"Gone are the days when you can dump out a backpack or flip through a folder to see your kids' work. The answers to "What did you do today?" are locked inside a password-protected device. Often kids have the upper hand in understanding how the device works -- and those 10-inch screens make it difficult to look over kids' shoulders. That's why the Common Sense Media Education team created the 1-to-1 Essentials Program. It's a first-of-its-kind, comprehensive, and free offering that covers everything that administrators, teachers, and parents need to know to maximize the benefits of schools' technology programs. "

Essential readings from #beyondlaptops conference at Yokohama International School. Some really good articles here

"Here are a few essential elements that help make the teaching in small groups effective for these students:1)  Use short text;  2) Keep meaning-making at the forefront; 3) Plan in ways that help you tailor the lesson to the specific needs of the group; 4) Allow talk time as you encourage students to negotiate the meaning of the text beyond the literal level and actually teach talking behaviors to maximize comprehension"

10 Essential Books for Thought-Provoking Summer Reading (these look great!)

"What are we afraid of? Would we rather be alone or better? Now that's a pair of essential questions."

"Whether you're new to technology, just getting started with a social network, or looking for some useful tips then these courses are for you. They're part of a new idea that I've been working on with a few friends. We're calling it Modern Lessons and it's essentially a 'Khan Academy for real-world skills' where a small handful of people build free online courses designed to help you learn some important things."

For those who aren't familiar with Pinterest, it is essentially a virtual pin board, where users can pin any visual or audio link from the internet; so anything from photographs and product images to video clips and articles can be captured in one place. It's been around since 2008, but has really taken the social media world by storm over the past 12 months.

"Do NOT allow the iPads to live in mobile carts - when I see an iPad in a cart, I see money being burned. The carts should be where the iPads sleep when school is closed. This is where they re-charge. But there should be a school-wide routine that as soon as kids enter a room with an iPad cart, they each walk up to the cart and get their assigned iPad. They should keep that iPad on their desk until the end of the day and return it to the cart as they walk out of the classroom. iPads should be as essential to a student desk as pencils were 20 years ago. Teachers (and kids) will be much more likely to pick up and use the devices if they're right there, as opposed to having to plan to take them out and use them for "tech time" and then put them away. Think about how you use mobile tech in your everyday life - you pull your phone out of your pocket to look up information when it's relevant, rather than waiting until your "computer time" later in the week. Students should be able to do the same."

"If, like many others, you are concerned social media is making people and cultures shallow, I propose we teach more people how to swim and together explore the deeper end of the pool," Rheingold said Thursday.

Finding a good search engine that you can rely on to use with your students is an essential task of any teacher today. While Google, Bing and Yahoo dominate adult search engine choices, they are not always the best pick for students. The sites in this top ten list are either specifically geared toward K-12 students, or have great educational applications for the classroom. Some you will know of, but some will likely be new. So, take a browse through some of the best search engines for students and see which one will best fit the needs of your class.

Google Image Search is one of the most helpful tools you can use for inspiration because you are, essentially, drawing upon the collective visual creativity of the world

Interesting article on the dark side of Wikipedia. Not an entirely balanced article, but certainly pointing out why critical evaluation of information found in Wikipedia is essential.

Search tips for google

"Digital pedagogy calls for screwing around more than it does systematic study, and in fact screwing around is the more difficult scholarly work. Digital pedagogy is less about knowing and more a rampant process of unlearning, play, and rediscovery. We are not born digital pedagogues, nor do we have to be formally schooled in the ways of digital pedagogy. There's lots to read on the subject, but we can't just read our way into it; there is no essential canon. In fact, expert digital pedagogues learn best by forgetting - through continuous encounters with what is novel, tentative, unmastered, and unresolved."

"The Information Fluency Continuum provides a framework for the instructional aspects of a library program. The framework is based on three standards that form the basis for the skills and strategies that are essential for students to become independent readers and learners."

essential productivity skills: Creating labels in GmailCreating e-mail lists in ContactsInstall Google Notifier to set up web Gmail as your default email client (this has saved me hours of work)Creating collections in Google Docs and organizing your filesMaking a copy of a document & saving for yourself (to edit)Sharing a collection with a group (made in your Contacts list) or a colleagueMake a Google Doc public, for linking on your class blogCheck the revision history in a Google DocCreating events in Google Calendar and setting automatic reminders via e-mailCreating repeating events in Google CalendarImporting the school's calendar into your own Google CalendarCreating a Google Reader account and subscribing to feedsCreate a bundle of feeds in Reader for each class you teachAdding feeds to folders in ReaderRecording screencasts in QuickTime

Using Blooms Taxonomy in education is a highly effective way to scaffold learning for the students. With the recent popularity and pervasive nature of iOS devices in school districts it is essential for educators to understand how to implement Blooms in the classroom using the apps that are available.  While this list is by no means fully comprehensive, it will assist educators in getting started when implementing iOS devices in the classroom. This site will change almost daily as it will be updated with new and exciting apps! 

Awesome set of pictures which could be used in a classroom as essential agreements. Simple, effective, great design.