Hope everyone is having an excellent Father's Day! Today we begin our rounding up with a new article from Education Week entitled, "Virtual Learning for Little Ones Raises Developmental Questions." The post poses some very important questions about the amount of time young students spend in front of computers/tablets and how that affects their development.  The post is worth considering, especially for K-3 educators. Next up, Edudemic has a post on "100+ Students to Hold Forum on Solving Global Challenge."  This September, the Rhodes Youth Forum will "gather together more than 100 young people who are prone towards responsibility and constructive behavior." The goal is to have a series of debates and discussions in an attempt to begin a dialogue on today's most pressing tech-based issues.  You can follow on Twitter at @YouthTime. And Edudemic also has a nice collection of videos in their post,"5 Ways to Teach Physics Using Household Items."  Learn all about the physics of the kitchen, the living room, the play room, the bathroom, and the basement in this series of videos. Emerging Ed Tech has a new review of a recent panel discussion on the flipped classroom model which was organized by McGraw-Hill.  The panel discusses the benefits of the flipped classroom model, what issues using this model can address, what instructors need to know to get started flipping their classes, and more.  Check out the article for a summary or you can  watch the full hangout below: Free Technology for Teachers has a lot of great resources up from this weekend.  First, they review "WatchDoc - A Chrome Extension for Monitoring Google Docs Changes." If you use Google Docs in your classroom, especially for collaborating on documents, WatchDoc is an awesome tool. The app displays small pop-up notifications in your browser when someone edits one of your shared Google Docs.  It's incredibly handy. Free Tech for Teachers also covers: WeTransfer - An easy way to transfer files without the sender or recipient needing an account. My Study Life - An online student planner that helps students organize their homework and tasks. The Spectator - The UK Publication is now offering 180 years of archives of their magazine. Mapping Dinosaurs - The Natural History Museum has a new searchable dinosaur database. Educational Technology starts off the weekend with a review of Doodle Cast, a program to "Create Awesome Video Stories on the iPad."  The app lets students draw out their own stories/presentations and record their voice to narrate the story as well.  Once they finish, they can upload their videos to YouTube or just save them to the iPad camera roll. Educational Technology also has a "Must See Graphic History of Classroom Technology."  The post is essentially a picture-based timeline covering classroom technology from 160 A.D. all the way up to the present.  It's a quick-read and an interesting post, and something I think students would enjoy looking through and discussing as well.   And the site ends with a brief discussion discussion of a new poster from Common Sense Media which covers the basics on "Being A Good Digital Citizen."  This poster would be an excellent resource not just for computer classrooms, but for all teachers to have posted: In case you missed anything this week from Getting Smart, they have their weekly collection of articles posted: "EdTech 10 - Dads, Dollars & Digital Learning." And Getting Smart also has a new infographic on The Rise of MOOCs (Massive Open Online Courses).  It's pretty amazing to see the exponential growth MOOCs have experience in the past 3 years.  But, let's not forget, MOOCs have a "darkside" as well and there are many arguments against their growing dominance. Teach Amazing has their new installment of Web 2.0 advice in "Web 2.0 in the Classroom - Part 8."  In Part 8, blogger Mark Brumley discusses the importance of understanding website requirements, limitations for free accounts, unprotected content, social media properties, and advertisements.  Brumley's whole Web 2.0 series is excellent for any educators who are new to tech, and you can check out part 1 here. Brumley also covers the Google alternative, Hakia, a search-engine that digs a little deeper than Google by using semantic searches (instead of just using keywords, like Google does.)  Brumley recommends the engine for doing research and for providing students with an alternative to Google. Finally Ed Reach has a new podcast up, "EdGamer 103: GLS 2013 Recap."  The Ed Reach team just got back from the Games & Learning Society Conference in Wisconsin and they have a lot to share about the gamification of education and game-based learning in general.  The whole podcast is about 40-minutes long and covers the team's thoughts and reflections on the event. The Lightning Round... Edudemic discusses 22 Effective Ways to Use Twitter in the Classroom Free Tech for Teachers covers 25,000 Images of Art That You Can Re-use for Free The Ed Tech Review has a new infographic on How Blended Learning Can Improve Teaching The ETR also has an infographic covering Social Media Tips for Students and Job Seekers And Educational Technology has a list of 5 Things To Try When Your iPad Acts Up And that's all for the Round Up today!  I want to wish all the Dads out there a very special Father's Day (especially Ron & Norm!)  And I want to welcome all the new subscribers and give a big thanks to everyone for reading the Round Up!  The site has been up for just over a month now, and so far it's been going great!  Remember, you can also follow us on Facebook and Twitter, or fill out the Subscribe box on the right side to have the Round Up emailed to you every evening!  Thanks again! We'll end today with an excellent video on Connected Learning and a new infographic that discusses The Risks of Posting in Social Networks.   Courtesy of: Educational Technology

Welcome back!  Today we begin at Mind/Shift with a new article which asks, "Can Digital Games Boost Students' Test Scores?"  The article is response to a new SRI study that was released today and which suggests that games actually do help improve test scores, specifically in STEM subjects.  The post goes on to summarize the SRI study and discuss the latest research and interviews on game-based learning. Next up, Edudemic writes about "How to Get Your Lessons to 'Go Viral' with Students."  The post explores the characteristics that help videos go viral, and discusses how those traits can be incorporated into lesson-making.  It's a quick, but enjoyable read, and the ideas are worth considering to help increase student engagement and enjoyment. Edudemic also covers: 10 Little-Known Twitter Tools for Connected Educators 5 Reasons to you use YouTube in the Classroom (There are some great ideas in this post) Educational Technology has two posts up today.  The first takes a humorous look at "10 Twitter Mistakes you Should Avoid." which summarizes a new "infocomic" from DashBurst.  And their second post from today discusses the Basics of Creative Commons and provides this nice graphic which would be nice for classroom use: What is Creative Commons? infographic by adityadipankar. Teach Thought has an excellent article by Dawn Casey-Rowe entitled, "Moving From Connected Schools to Technology-Committed Schools."  In the post, Casey-Rowe uses her own experiences in Rhode Island to illustrate how schools and districts can support technology and create an environment that doesn't just have technology, but is committed to creating a "truly digitized" atmosphere. Teach Thought goes on to outline "15 Mistakes You're Probably Making with Technology In Learning."  It's a great list and each point is worth considering before implementing new tech into the classroom.  I've embedded their basic image below, but the post goes into more detail.   Finally, Teach Thought discusses a chart which covers "Alternatives to Homework."  As they say, "nothing ground-breaking, but food for thought" and I'm inclined to agree, but it's still worth a look: And Ed Reach continues to pump out the podcasts, with three new topics posted today: Using iTunes U for Professional Development Teaching with Google Glass Lowering High School Dropout Rates Well, that's all folk!  Thanks for tuning in and we'll be back tomorrow!  To close today, here's a new infographic from the Ed Tech Review covering "A Must-Have Guide to Gaming in the Classroom." Courtesy of: The Ed Tech Review

The Roundup is going live a little early today!  For those of you who don't know, I teach computer science in Colombia, South America.  But, I'm a Kansan at heart, and I'm heading back home for the next 6 weeks!  So, I've got a plane (or many) to catch over the next two days, and some settling in to do.  Because of all that, the Roundup is going to be on a little break, but just until Sunday!  And then we'll be back with our regular postings!  But don't stop reading just yet, we've got a regular roundup ready for today!  Edutopia opens with a post discussing social media and elementary students entitled, "Teaching Toddlers to Tweet? Introducing Social Media to Elementary Students." The article argues that it can be beneficial and necessary to teach elementary students (even as early as first grade) how to properly use social media.  The post also gives some advice on the best ways to start exploring social media with youngsters.   Free Technology for Teachers has a new guide on"Creating Multimedia Presentations & Quizzes in Edmodo."  The post discusses using Soo Meta (which I recently reviewed) in conjunction with Edmodo to create flipped lessons and quizzes that students could learn from outside of the class.  Plus, students can use Soo Meta themselves to create their own lessons and show off what they've learned! Educational Technology has a new write-up on "The 7 Important Literacies of the 21st Century."  The article discusses what they believe to be the new, key literacies of the 21st century.  The post cover information literacy, I.T. literacy, digital literacy, media literacy, visual literacy, cultural literacy, and critical literacy.  They definitely pose some interesting ideas that are worth considering as we continue to incorporate more and more technology. Wesley Fryer over at theSpeed of Creativity has a new write-up/media collection on "Learning about Visual Notetaking from Giulia Forsythe."  The post includes a Slideshare presentation from Forsythe as well as a video of her presentation (which I've embedded below - it's just over an hour long).  In the presentation, Forsythe discusses visual notetaking and how it can be beneficial to learners.  Fryer's post goes on to cover a huge collection of resources on visual notetaking. Teach Thought has an excellent new post on "25 Ways to Promote Passion-Based Learning in Your Classroom."  Looking for ideas to help get students inspired and passionate about your subject-area?  Then this is an awesome place to start, and their list provides a ton of great ideas. Teach Thought also has a new collection of 24 Essential iPad Learning Apps from EdShelf. And that just about does it for the Roundup today!  We'll end with a double whammy:  First, check out this enjoyable guide from Ed Tech, "15 Tips to Spend a Perfect Summer for Teachers."  And next, I've embedded Dr. Jackie Gerstein's new eBook on Education 3.0 below.  It's a collection of 3 of her latest blog posts, all of which are worth reading and considering (click on the book for full-screen mode).   So, as I said earlier, I'm off to Kansas for the rest of the summer, but the Roundup will be back on Sunday!  I hope everyone's summer is off to an excellent start and I'll see you in a few days! -Mike

And we're back!  I hope everyone is in the middle of an excellent weekend!  Sorry for the delay in posts, I've been in the process of moving back to the states for the summer and the transition took a few days.  But, the Roundup is back, and here to stay for the rest of the summer!  Today's post won't cover everything from the past 5 days, instead it will be more like a highlight real of the best edtech news.  So, welcome back and I hope you enjoy! Up first, Emerging Ed Tech has an excellent analysis of a recent Gallup poll over 21st century skills.  The article, entitled "Study Shows 21st Century Skill Development Clearly Linked to Career Success" discusses the huge gap between what skills our students need to be successful in the modern workforce, and what skills they actually possess.  The article also offers some tangible ideas to improve learning in these areas. iLearn Technology has a new post discussing how "Math Class Needs a Makeover: videos, inquiry, math stories and more." The article has a host of excellent resources and tools for the middle and high school math classroom.  The article starts with a Ted Talk from Dan Meyer, and excellent math educator, and goes on to discuss integration ideas and strategies.   Mind/Shift has a new article entitled, "Is It Worthy? How to Judge the Value of a Tech Product."  The post raises some incredibly important questions  about the implementation of new tech in schools and how many times, there is little or no vetting of new technology.  Schools often lack a set of criteria for adopting new technology and instead go with recommendations from "experts" rather than evaluating the tech themselves.  The article goes on to provide a guide for schools on analyzing new technology. As many of you probably know, today is first day of the ISTE (International Society for Tech in Education) summer conference in San Antonio.  While the conference has many benefits (networking, exchange of ideas, discovering new tech tools, etc. ) Audrey Watters at Hack Education also raises some thought-provoking and valid concerns about the downsides of the conference and the "rampant tech consumerism and solutionism."  Her new post, "On (Not) Missing ISTE 2013" is a great read and absolutely worth your time. Edudemic has a few great posts from the break, and to start, they cover "5 Online Discussion Tips for Students."  This is a solid guide for students and would be beneficial even at the elementary level.  It could be used in a computers class or as a guide to help teachers in other subjects introduce online discussions into their curriculum.  Next up, Edudemic discusses "5 Subjects Not Taught in School (But They Should Be)."  The article recommends subjects like film making, job searching, money management, social skills, and pratical mechanics be taught in schools, and I would be inclined to agree.  One step that teachers could take if they are passionate about these areas is to start up after school clubs.Finally, Edudemic has as a write-up on "Global SchoolNet's Free Directory of Innovative Projects."  This is a great collection of engaging, collaborative projects that students at all levels and subjects could work on within their school and with peers across the world. For those teachers in schools which are aligned with the Common Core Standards, Getting Smart has a new post on "Free Apps to Capture, Create and Connect to the Common Core."  The article covers an awesome collection of apps that can help teachers inspire student learning while aligning their work to the CCS.  And Getting Smart also has their weekly roundup posted with highlights from the week.   Finally, Ed Reach has a ton of new podcasts up from the past few days, but two of my favorites were:Who Are Lesson Plans Really For?Bringing Passion Back to Learning The Lightning Round... Edudemic shows us The Beginner's Visual Guide to Online LearningThe Ed Tech Review has a new infographic on the Stages of Tech Development for KidsEducational Technology covers The 5 Important Elements of the 21st Century ClassroomAnd they also have a repost of a great infographic from last month - Myths about Education Finally, if you're looking for some great new tech tools this summer, may I recommend this 60in60 Prezi by Brandom Lutz which covers an awesome collection of web apps that are great in the classroom.  That's all for today, enjoy the rest of your weekend and see you tomorrow!

Welcome back!  The big news today is coming out of the ISTE conference in San Antonio which is in the middle of its second day.  Last night, Jane McGonigal gave her opening keynote on Gamification and game-based learning and EdTech Magazine has an excellent summary/reflection of the speech, "5 Takeaways from Jane McGonigal's Opening Keynote."  We'll have more on ISTE in the next few days, but if you're on twitter you can get live updates here (#iste13). Edudemic has several new posts for today, the first of which discusses "How To Address Negative Student Behavior in 1:1 Classrooms."  As the article says, "Let's be honest: using technology in the classroom can be harder than teaching the 'old way.'"  Technology can be a huge management problem especially when every student has access to a device.  This article addresses the 6 major issues that teachers will face in a 1:1 class and offers advice on how best to tackle these problems. Edudemic also has a post explaining "How Competency-Based Learning Actually Works."  For those not familiar, Competency-Based Learning (CBL) is "designed to provide students with a personalized online education that they can compete at their own pace and that takes advantage of competence learned through experience."  For more info, check out the article (it's primarily directed towards higher ed.) Finally, Edudemic writes about "3 Student Tech Trends Teachers Should Know About."  The article covers the "uncoolness" of Facebook, the importance of Apps over hardware, and the desire to share everything through sites like Twitter, Tumblr, and Instagram.  If you're new to the tech/social media game, this is a great post to start getting your feet wet. T.H.E. Journal has a new article analyzing the results of a recent education report,"Creativity Hindered in the Classroom by Testing, Mandates, Lack of Resources."  The study surveyed 4,000 K-12 and higher ed teachers and parents in the US, Germany, Australia, and the UK.  The report goes on to discuss the major barriers that teachers and parents believe stand in the way of creativity in US schools. Adam Renfro at Getting Smart has an excellent new article up entitled, "Where Are We on the Whole Cheating Thing?"  The article discusses the mixed messages that today's youth receives about content ownership, plagiarism and cheating (mash-ups, remixes, etc.)  The post goes on to cover plagiarism prevention, the effects of cheating on learning, and a whole lot more.  It's a great read and worth checking out. Finally, Marina Gorbis at Co.Exist has a wonderful post that I've been wanting to get to for a few days entitled, "The Future of Education Eliminates the Classroom, Because the World is Your Class."  The article discusses the idea of Socialstructured Learning - "an aggregation of microlearning experiences driven not by grades but by social rewards."  It's an incredibly thought-provoking article and enjoyable read. And that's it for the Roundup today!  We'll have more on ISTE as it rolls in, and for those educators at the conference, enjoy a keynote for me! We'll end today with an infographic from Edudemic on 27 Simple Ways to Get Students Excited About Innovation.  And remember, if you're enjoying the Roundup you can always subscribe to receive the daily report by email (subscribe box is on the right) or connect via Facebook and Twitter.  Thanks for reading and see you tomorrow! Courtesy of: Edudemic

Today the Roundup begins again at EdTech Magazine with some more from ISTE.  Their new post, "ISTE 2013: A Common Roadmap for Districts Readying for Online Testing" is all about helping districts prepare for common core assessments in response to CDW-G's recent Common Core Tech Report.  The article goes on to discuss the benefits of Common Core, the challenges, and more from their presentation at ISTE yesterday. David Warlick at 2¢ Worth has an excellent new post entitled, "Is School 2.0 the Wrong Conversation?"  The article discusses the possibility that we, as educators, are spending too much time focused on the idea of what the school/classroom of the future should look like, when instead we should be more focused on the students of the future and how to best meet their learning needs. Free Technology for Teachers has two new resources up from today.  The first, "Math Chimp Presents Freddy's Fractions - A Fractions Game for Kids" is a free site full of math games and videos for elementary and middle school students.  The second, "Free Tiiu Pix - Hundreds of Free Pictures for Students" offers hundreds of free, high-quality pictures that students can use in presentations and projects. Educational Technology has a new post covering "Four Presentations Every Teacher Should See."  The article is a collection of four Prezi presentations on creating e-portfolios, cyberbullying, the basics of social media, and the destruction of non-linear learning. Finally, Wesley Fryer at the Speed of Creativity has just released his new eBook, "Mapping Media to the Common Core."  It's only $4.99 and if your school is one of the hundreds that are aligning to the Common Core Standards, it's worth checking out.  The book is meant to "serve as a menu, handbook, and map for teacher-leaders and learners in the 21st century." And there you have it!  Pretty short Roundup today, but we'll have a full report on all the ISTE news and reviews at the end of the week as well, so get ready for that!  We'll end today with a visual guide from Edudemic over "What to Know About the Risks of Social Media."  Have a great night and see you tomorrow!  (you can click the image for full-size)

Welcome back!  Today, the Roundup begins at Getting Smart with a great collection of news from ISTE.  Their post, "ISTE's Top Ten Conversation" discusses everything new from ISTE.  They cover Microsoft's surface, Google Glass, Gamification and game-based learning, Augmented Reality, Ignite Talks, Virtual Schools and Online Classes, and the closing keynote from EduClipper founder, Adam Bellow.  If you weren't able to attend ISTE, this post is a great way to get caught up on the action.Tom Vander Ark at Getting Smart also has an excellent article up from today entitled, "What is the Most Promising EdTech for Emerging Economies?"  the post discusses the growing connection between the US, India, emerging EdTech companies, and charitable organizations like Acumen, a global nonprofit organization.  It's a great read about the direction educational technology is heading in countries like India EdTech Magazine has a new post on Abode Certifications entitled, "One Way to Fast-Track Students' College and Career Readiness."  If you're not familiar, certifications are basically validations that students can earn once they master specific skills like Flash or Photoshop.  The article discusses the benefits of these certifications in preparing students for college.  EdTech magazine also has a new video up from ISTE on "Leading the Way with Social Media" that's worth watching as well. If you've got 5th - 8th grade students who are hungering for some STEM action this summer, you should probably check out Edudemic's write-up on "Discovery's Free STEM Summer Camp."  It's entirely online and could also be used for after-school programs are ad-ons to science class.  This is an awesome resource for parents and middle school science teachers and definitely worth checking out.Also, if you've ever wondered what all this "Apple Distinguished Educator" business is all about, Edudemic has a write-up explaining the program, the process, and the requirements.  If you're a big fan of apple in the classroom, this is definitely up your alley.  Finally, Edudemic ends with a discussion of "How Students Are Using the Internet for Studying."  The post is basically a short reflection of this infographic: If you've never used Twitter, it can actually be a pretty wonderful resource in education.  If you want to give it some thought this summer, Educational Technology has a really nice guide - Twitter for Educators.  Today, they also posted a nice graphic which breaks down the "Anatomy of a Tweet" for those new to the Twitter streets: The Ed Tech Review has two new posts up from today.  The first, "Using Technology in Elementary Education" discusses an idea that's been on a lot of educator's minds lately - how young is too young for tech integration?  Following that up, ETR also has a post entitled, "Are Educators Using the Best Technology" which, as the title suggests, covers the best ways for teachers to choose and use technology within their classrooms. Swinging back to ISTE for a minute, Wesley Fryer at the Speed of Creativity has just posted a collection of his notes from a presentation on "Social Media in the Classroom: Amplifying our Students."  The post, while not polished, has some excellent resources and ideas on using social media to increase interaction, engagement, and creativity in the classroom. Also on the ISTE front, Ed Surge has a post on "ISTE 2013 Notable PitchFest Ideas."  The post covers PitchFest where "20 companies went head to head to compete for the chance to be picked as one of the final six teams to pitch for a pot of start up gold worth $10,000"  The article covers highlights from the event as well as some companies worth checking out! Finally, Ed Reach has a new post on the company Ed Map entitled, "The End of Textbooks."  Ed Map is a "course materials management company, whose services and tech simplifies the discovery, adoption, management, and delivery of quality educational content."  In addition, Ed Reach has two new podcasts, one on EdCamp and one on Learning RedesignED. And there you have it!  Long one today!  We'll end with a post from Getting Smart on College Readiness.  The post covers a new infographic from Pearson which examines student readiness for college.  Thanks for reading and we'll be back on Sunday with the weekend edition!  

Welcome back!  I hope everyone is enjoying their weekend!  If you haven't heard, the International Society for Technology in Educaiton (ISTE) just wrapped up their annual conference, so to start today, here are some of the latest reports, reflections,  and articles from the conference: News From ISTE 2013 STEM in the 21st Century Classroom A 5-Step Plan for Improving E-Rate Twitter Reactions from ISTE Is Vine the New Instagram? The Latest Trends in Online Learning Leading the Way with Soial Media New Ways to Individualize Instruction Sparks Created at ISTE ISTE's Top Ten Conversations Cybersecurity is Top of Mind for Educators And now to continue with your regularly scheduled Roundup...  We'll start with Jamie Forshey over at EduTech for Teachers who has a new post about how we can"Morph into a 21st Century Teacher."  She discusses how there is more to becoming a 21st century teacher than just apps and technology, like focusing on critical thinking and core competencies.  Forshey makes some great points that I think are sometimes overlooked in our hurry to adopt the latest technology. Next, Dr. Jackie Gerstein at User Generated Education continues on a similar note with a piece on "Resilience: The Other 21st Century Skills."  It's the second part in her series (the first covered Grit) and she discusses characteristics of resiliency, skills that promote resiliency, and much more.  Like her first article on the topic, this post is definitely worth your time.   Edudemic has a few new posts from the weekend, first up is "A Free Tool Designed to Connect All Schools in the U.S."  The article is about the group Connect All Schools which is a collection of organizations who are coming together with the goal of helping students, teachers, and schools build a more common understanding of education within our global society. Edudemic also has a post discussing "5 Ways to Use Online Surveys in the Classroom."  The article discusses how teachers can use online survey tools (such as Survey Monkey) to help prepare curriculum, evaluate learning, receive end of the year feedback, learn about student life outside the classroom, and just for some good old-fashioned fun! Finally, Edudemic writes about "3 Social Networks Teachers Should Try Out."  The post discusses the educational and professional advantages teachers can gain from joining networks like LinkedIn, Google+ and Twitter.  If you haven't checked out these social networks before, they're worth the effort! If you're looking to create a classroom newspaper, a good place to start would be Educational Technology's new post on "2 Classroom Newspaper Templates using Google Docs."  Speaking of Google, if you're a Google Reader user, today is the last day the service will be active, but Ed Tech has you covered with "5 Great Alternatives to Google Reader." Emerging Ed Tech has a new collection of "8 Great Videos About the Flipped Classroom."  Flipped classes (where students learn content outside of the classroom via online instruction and put the material to practice inside the classroom) are becoming more popular every day.  If you're considering flipping (or already have) this collection of videos is a great resource.   Speaking of Flipped Classrooms, Teach Thought has a new post on "3 Common Barriers to Success in a Flipped Classroom Model."  The article discusses how a flipped classroom can quickly be derailed if the material is too easy or too hard, if the students are not motivated, and if the students cannot become deeply engaged with the material.   Teach Thought also has a brief article on "A Visual LIbrary of Apps for Teachers,"  which is mainly a reflection over this collection (click for full-size): The Ed Tech Review has two solid new articles up from the weekend, the first of which discusses the "Power of Social Media in Education."  The post covers a ton of examples of social media being used productively in education; everything from podcasts to Pinterest.  And to follow that up, the ETR writes about "Why Teachers Who Use Technology Will Replace Teachers Who Don't."  The article discusses the huge difference that using technology effectively in the classroom can make.   Kelly Tenkely at iLearn Technology has a new review of "Camp Virtual by Common Sense Media."  Tenkely suggests using using Camp Virtual as a summer educational activity to help kids stay engaged in learning while they're out of school.  Camp Virtual contains tons of apps, games, and websites that are designed to help students have fun while learning online.   Tom Vander Ark at Getting Smart has two new posts up from the weekend, the first is an outstanding guide on "How to Create a Blended High School."  If your district is in the process of becoming blended or if you want to start making the push for blended learning, this is an awesome place to start.  Vander Ark's 10 tips are simple to follow but chock-full of great examples from schools around the country. Vander Ark's second weekend post discusses, "What Will Elementary Look Like" in a few years.  In the article, Vander Ark argues that personalized learning will increase, information will be more easily accessible, and grouping will become more by ability and less by age.  It's a great read and worth thinking about, especially for educators on the elementary side. Finally, Adam Renfro has a new post on "Kodable: The First Step in Coding."  Being a computer science teacher, I'm a huge proponent of requiring at least some coding be taught in all schools and I'm also a big fan of Kodable, which Renfro reviews in this piece.  The iPad app ($2.99) is geared towards K-2 students and teaches the basics of logic, sequencing, looping, conditional statements, and critical thinking.   Finally, James Steyer at Edutopia (and founder of Common Sense Media) has a new post on "Connecting Teachers and Students to the Best Digital Tools."  The article discusses the new CSM tool Graphite which is a "free online resource that combines independent reviews of edtech products with rigorous ratings that have relevance to educators."  In short, it's a great way for teachers to quickly and effectively find new tech tools for their classrooms. The Lightning Round... Lisa Nielsen has a new Infographic on Digital Footprints Edudemic shares their Student's Guide to Proper Social mEdia Etiquette Plus, Edudemic covers 80 Time-Saving Social Media Shortucts And Educational Technology has a guide on Creating Posters on the iPad with Pic Collage And that's the Roundup!  Long one today!  If you missed yesterday's review of Brickflow, the hashtag-based presentation app, it's a pretty enjoyable new tech tool and has some series educational possibility.  That's it for today, we'll end with a new infographic on the Positive Impact of Technology on Education.  And remember, if you're enjoying the Roundup you can always subscribe to receive daily updates or follow us on Facebook and Twitter.  Thanks for reading! Courtesy of: The Ed Tech Review

My how the summer flies!  I can't believe it's already July!  Today's Roundup begins over at The Economist with a new article on educational technology entitled, "Catching on at Last."  The article discusses the rising trend in edtech investments across the US as well as the growing incorporation of technology in America's classrooms.  Plus, the post does a nice job summarizing the ed tech field as a whole.   Next up, Amy Mayer over at FriEdTechnology has a new video covering some great Google Chrome tricks.  If you've never used the web browser Google Chrome, I highly recommend it.  For me, it's faster, easier, and more user friendly than any alternative.  In the video she outlines pinned and moving tabs, multiple users, and improving bookmarks.  Here's her video: Education Week has a new article on the Common Core Standards which discusses the nation-wide roll out of the new standards.  The post discusses several consortiums (SBAC and PARCC) which are developing online tests for the common core and how their pilot programs have gone over in several schools around the country. Along with a new review of MindMup (a great mind mapping tool), Free Tech 4 Teachers has begun its Best of 2013 posts: Wideo.co (create online animations) Blubbr (create video quizzes) WireWax (create interactive videos) Creating Better Presentations Jamie Forshey at EduTech for Teachers has her monthly, "Geeky Girls' Greatest Hits" posted.  As always, she's got everything rounded up in a nice ThingLink image (embedded below) and she covers a great collection of infographics, apps, and programs.  If you're interested in trying out ThingLink, Forshey has some excellent resources available on her site. Finally, Edudemic has a new post on "How The Best Web Tools Fit Into Bloom's Digital Taxonomy."  The post discusses some of the best web tools for addressing the different levels of Blooms, shares a few guides, talks about specific examples, and so on.  Plus, they share this great visual guide as well (click the image for full-size): The Lightning Round... Edudemic has a new infographic on the Detailed History of Social Media They also have a new Must-Have Internet Safety Cheat Sheet Educational Technology covers 3 iPad Apps to Create Animated Videos And if you're not familiar with Google Plus, they also have a new Guide That's it for the Roundup today, in case you haven't had your fill of ISTE news, we'll end with two videos from the conference.  The first is theISTE Closing Keynote by Adam Bellow and the second is the EdReach morning show collection which covers a ton of news from the event.  See you tomorrow!

Welcome back!  Today's Roundup begins at Ed Tech Magazine with a post entitled, "Learning, Reimagined: Inside the New Classrooms Model of Personalized Instruction."  The article talks about "next-generation" classrooms full of blended learning and personalized instruction made possible through the "Teach to One" model designed by the New Classrooms organization.  The model has been deployed in math classes around the country and is looking to expand to other subjects and grade levels. Emerging Ed Tech has an article outlining the basics of the new "Transforming Education Through Technology Bill" which is "poised to help some of the technology challenges being faced by educational institutions."  The article offers a great summary of the components of the bill and ends by suggesting we "Reach our to our congressional representatives today and encourage them to pass HR 521!" Mind/Shift has a new post about an Australian organization called Scientists in Schools entitled, "Bringing Scientists to Schools, and the Thrill of Field Trips to Class."  The organization has "flipped the field trip model, pairing volunteer scientists and mathematicians with classrooms around the country."  The article goes on to discuss support and results the organization has received throughout Australia. Edutopia has a new post on "Programming & Simulation: Real Technical Skills for Today's Student."  The article discusses the "why" and "how to" for using simulation methodologies in high school math and programming courses.  If you're an upper level math or computer teacher there are definitely some great ideas in this post for increasing the problem-solving and critical thinking challenges within your curriculum.   Richard Byrne at Free Technology for Teachers continues his collection of the Best of 2013 So Far with three new posts: 76 Ways to Use Haiku Deck Mind Mapping with Coggle Why Visuals Matter in Storytelling Getting Smart has a new post on the Student Success Academy entitled, "High School Career Counseling Goes Blended."  I posted an editorial about the organization yesterday as well and they're definitely worth looking into.  In the US we have an average of 1 guidance counselor for every 500 students, but the SSA is looking to change that ratio to 1:1 using college "Success Consultants" and online mentoring.   Also from Getting Smart, John Hardison discusses his "5 Splashes of Brilliance from ISTE '13."  The post discusses his five favorite events/moments from ISTE which include Jane McGonigal's opening keynote and the Ignite Sessions designed to spark creativity and enlightenment.  If you're still on a fix for ISTE news, this post is worth reading. If you haven't heard of Vizify, it's a graphical biography that uses your personal data to create an autobiography in seconds.  To me it's half creepy/half awesome, and for some great ideas on how to use it in the classroom and teach students about their digital footprint, Dawn Casey-Rowe has a new post entitled, "How I Used Vizify to Teach Students a Lesson." And if you're looking for some Common Core professional development this summer, Teach Thought also has a post entitled, "A Simple But Powerful Way to Bond Your Common Core Units Together."  The article discusses using overarching questions and big ideas to tie your units together to create a more cohesive curriculum. The Lightning Round... Educational Technology shares 6 Must Have Google Drive Extensions for Teachers And they also discuss 2 Interesting iPad Apps for Creating Digital Portfolios If you've ever wondered How to Join the Google Teacher Academy, Edudemic explains. Edudemic also has a new infographic on the 7 Habits of Effective Connected Educators And Getting Smart reviews 6 New Apps from Edshelf And that's it for the Roundup today!  We'll end with a new infographic from theEd Tech Review on Teaching with Tablets.  Have a great day and see you tomorrow! Courtesy of: The Ed Tech Review

Today's Roundup begins at Edutopia with a post on teens, gaming, social media, and being engaged in the present moment.  The article, entitled "The Digital Lives of Teens: What Time Is It? Now!" discusses how today's technology allows teens to be more focused on the present but also how that's not always good thing.  It's an excellent read to start your day off! Next up, Lisa Nielsen at the Innovative Educator has a new post on "Student Social Media Us. Advice From the Experts."  She's created an infographic compilation of advice from experts on the use of social media for students.  There are some great points about the permanency of online data and the consequences of digital footprints.  It's a great resource to share with students. Education Week has a new post on the technology-related consequences that textbook publishers are now facing, "Free Online Content Forces Publishers to Adjust."   The post talks about how publishing companies are having a difficult time competing with the huge variety of high-quality online content that is now being offered free to schools.  The article goes on to discuss how these companies are attempting to evolve. Richard Byrne at Free Technology for Teachers continues his collection of the Best of 2013 So Far with three new posts:5 Places for Kids to Learn About the News4 Ways to Use Media in Classroom BlogsPicking a Platform for your Classroom BlogMetta.io, formerly Soo Meta (and the Roundup's Review) Tech & Learning has a new post letting us know of a "Free Trial of a New Blended-Learning Online Community."  The post is about Its Learning, a K-12 online learning platform that supports professional development, community invovlement, curriculum management, course management, and reporting.  I haven't checked out the site yet, but if you're interested in a requesting a free trial head on here to their site! Mind/Shift has a new post on "The Challenges and Realities of Inquiry-Based Learning."  Inquiry-Based Learning (having students discover knowledge on their own through research, problem solving, and critical thinking) is an excellent method for teaching students valuable 21st century skills; however, it does not come easily.  This article discusses the challenges that teachers often run into when attempting to use IBL lessons. Finally, Moving at the Speed of Creativity has a new reflection by Curby Alexander on his "Year with an iPad."  This is a great post for any teachers who are attempting to integrate iPads (or tablets) into the classroom.  Alexander discusses the challenges, the successes, and everything in between.  And if your school is heading towards 1:1, or even getting iPad carts, this is a great reflection to check out for ideas on integration. And that's it for the Roundup today!  We'll be off tomorrow for the 4th of July and I hope everyone has a wonderful holiday weekend! So, expect our return on Sunday with the Weekend Roundup.  Until then you can check out some of our new reviews and editorials!  Thanks for reading and see you Sunday!-Mike

And.... we're back!  I hope everyone had an excellent fourth of July weekend!  Today we begin over at Reuters with an interesting/creepy/I'm not exactly sure how to feel about this story entitled, "Biosensors to monitor U.S. students' attentiveness."  The post discusses how the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation is pushing to get biometric bracelets into classrooms to help measure students' engagement.  It's a great article and covers all sides of how this could play out. Ed Tech Magazine has a new article on "Investing in STEM Education Can Bridge the IT Skills Gap."  The author of the post, Gary Beach (the publisher of CIO Magazine), discusses how he believes skills like adaptive thinking, virtual collaboration, and new media literacy are more important than basic math and science literacy, and that focusing on these skills in schools can help begin to close the gap between what employers need and what our students are learning. Electronic Brains has a new post discussing "Professional Development in 21st Century Education."  The article pushes for teachers to become more actively engaged in professional development conferences and workshops, and to get involved with social media groups like Twitter and Google+ in order to learn from other educators. Plus, the post summarizes some great PD sessions from the Connect 2013 conference. Along with sharing a great resource with Free Digital Citizenship Plans, Free Tech continues their best of 2013 lists:Video Timelines with Timelines.tv5 Uses of Augmented Reality in EducaitonVirtually Hike the Grand CanyonTools to Take Video Notes Jamie Forshey over at EduTech for Teachers has her Diigo Weekly Update posted.  She's got three new tools to share with everyone this week:Jigsaw Planet - Create virtual jigsaw puzzlesPhotovisi - Create online photo collagesCite This For Me - Instantly create bibliographies Educational Technology has four new posts from the weekend:An Infographic on Texting and Student Language6 Videos on Plagiarism to Share with Students35 Free PD Courses for TeachersTwo Presentations on Digital Literacy for Teachers The Ed Tech Review has a new article which asks, "How Can Technology Make a Classroom Engaging?"  The post covers specific tools and apps that teachers can easily use in the classroom.  They also cover polls, quizzes, contests, game-based learning, video-based learning, and digital learning.  It's a great summary of the many ways technology can be used to help engage and motive students in the classroom.Also, for those computer science teachers out there, the Ed Tech Review has a post outlining some "Great Online Resources to Learn to Code."  They cover Udacity, Code Academy (my personal favorite), Code Avengers, Code School, and Team Tree House, all of which are worth checking out. Getting Smart has a great post entitled, "Augmented Reality: The Future of EdTech."  If you're not familiar with Augmented Reality, imagine looking at an historic building, or a museum exhibit through your iPad and being presented with tons of information and interactive content about whatever you're looking at.  There are definitely some huge educational possibilities with AR and this article by Drew Minock does an excellent job discussing them and offering examples.And in case you missed any other Getting Smart articles from the week, they've got their weekly roundup posted, "EdTech 10: The Fireworks Aren't Done Yet."  Lisa Nielsen at the Innovative Educator has a new infoflyer up entitled, "Pause Before you Post: Sometimes Forever is Bad!" The flyer encourages students to slow down and think before they post content online.  She has some excellent examples throughout the flyer that will hopefully get students to realize that the internet is permanent!  It's a great resource and one that should definitely be shared with students. Teach Thought has several great articles up from the weekend and one new review as well:The Problem With Testing: A Failure of Imagination6 Steps to Developing your Own 21st Century Ed TechWizIQ - Classroom Response System Edgenuity - the online K-12 curriculum provider - has been in the news a lot lately as well.  First, they've begun offering higher ed courses to support college in addition to K-12 learning.  And they just released a collection of Online Learning Success Stories from Blended Learning Summits.  If your school is considering online classes or blended learning, Edgenuity is definitely a provider worth considering.  You can read more about them in this Ed Surge review. The Lightning Round... Teach Thought shares 41 Apps One 4th Grade Teacher Depends OnEducational Technology covers Everything Teachers Need to Know about BYOT PolicyEdudemic has a new infographic on The Staggering number of Schools that have Gone GoogleThey also cover the 6 American History Apps Perfect for Summer LearningAnd Edudemic has the Scary Facts High School Graduates DON'T KnowFinally, in case you missed the announcement, the 2013 Educator's Voice Awards are up! And that's a wrap!  Thanks for reading and we'll be back tomorrow with the Daily Roundup.  Enjoy the rest of your weekend!

Today we begin at Ed Tech Magazine with their "Spotlight on 5 Must-Read K-12 IT Blogs."  All 5 of these are excellent blogs!My Paperless ClassroomThere Is No BoxCool Cat Teacher BlogMs. Ed TechieSaving Socrates Ed Reach has a great collection of professional development opportunities in their new post, "Summer PD Your Teachers Won't Want to Miss."  They cover 6 upcoming edtech PD events, all of which center around 1:1 iPad implementation.  Topics include Flipboard, Subtext, Mentor Mob, Ask3, Haiku Deck, and of course, Google.   Mind/Shift has a new post sharing "13 Free Web Tools Students and Teachers Should Know About."  There are some tools on the list that we've covered quite a bit at the Roundup (like Thinglink, Easely.ly and Padlet) and there are also some great new tools that are worth checking out (like Ipiccy the free "photoshop" tool and WeVideo the web-based video editing tool).   Yesterday we talked a little about Augmented Reality and after that post, blogger Drew Minock introduced me to this awesome resource on the Meaningful Integration of AR.  It's an excellent collection of tools, resources, ideas, and lesson plans that has been put together for teachers of all subjects and grade-levels.  If you're interested in trying out AR in the classroom, this is the perfect place to start! Next up, David Warlick at 2¢ Worth has just posted his "Final Reflections on ISTE 2013."  It's a great collection of his thoughts, ideas, reactions, and experiences with the new technology and ideas from ISTE.   He also discusses some of the new apps that he's excited about, the role of gamification in education, and a whole lot more! Winifred Kehl at Getting Smart has a new write-up which asks, "Why Aren't There More Virtual Science Museums?"  She discusses the importance of having virtual access to high-quality STEM-related museums.  The problem is, many of the best STEM museums don't have the best virtual experiences.  As she says, "good virtual science museums could offer what physical science museums can't: lots of interactivity, customizability, and personalization."   Free Tech for Teachers has a announcement for the MAKE Magazine Maker Camp starting tomorrow on Google+.  The virtual camp "features new DIY projects that students can do at home or at school, as individuals or in groups."  And they have a fresh project each day.  Free Tech also has a new guide for recent graduates featuring "11 Resume & Interview Tips" Educational Technology has a new post on "How To Handle Students on Facebook."  It's a solid discussion for those teachers who regularly interact with students through Facebook or other forms of social media.  Speaking of, if you're a big Twitter fan, they also just posted the "50 Educators Worth Following." If you're not yet familiar with the Flipped Classroom learning model, then you'll probably want to check out the Ed Tech Review's new post, "How Does Flipping Improve a Classroom."  The article outlines the basic structure of the model and discusses how it can be beneficial in the classroom.  And if you're looking to incorporate more game-based learning in your classroom, the ETR has you covered there as well. Last up, the Wired Educator has a new review, "TouchCast: An Exciting New iPad Tool to Create Wildly Interactive Videos."  You can explore the free app on the TouchCast website, but basically it allows you to create videos that are completely interactive.  The app allows you to move and interact with the content on the screen and you can "create videos that are fully browsable and alive."  There's an example you can check out here. And that's all for the Roundup today!  We'll end with an image from Teach Thought on the 3 Knowledge Domains for the 21st Century Student.  And remember, if you ever want to receive this Roundup as a daily email, just fill out the subsribe box on the right side of the screen.  The Roundup will be gone tomorrow and Wednesday, as I'm off to see my Grandpa for a couple days, but I'll be back for Thursday's post! Thanks for reading!

I'll be out of town today and tomorrow, but back for Thursday's post.  In the meantime, check out some of the new reviews!  See you Thursday!-Mike

The Roundup Returns!  And we'll start today at Mind/Shift with a post entitled, "Confused About Ed Tech Tools?  New Rating Site for Apps and Games."  The articles discusses Graphite, a new tool from Common Sense Media.  We mentioned it last week, but since then, the site is really starting to grow and show its potential.  If you want to know the opinions of other teachers and parents before buying an app, this is a great place to look. Next up, Ed Tech Magazine has a video and discussion on "Building Technology into the Common Core Standards."  The Common Core Standards provide some technology integration ideas, but now, more and more teachers are working to create new lessons and ideas with integrated technology components that align with the standards.  For more on tech and the CCS check out this Teach Thought post and this SlideShare presentation from the Lakeland Central School District. For the ESL/EFL teachers out there (and even for the teachers who have ESL/EFL students in their classroom) Emerging Ed Tech has an excellent new post with "8 Great Online Resources for ESL/EFL teachers."  These online resources can help with everything from lesson planning, to speaking and listening practice.  It's definitely a great collection of tools. 2and2, an Australian company that "creates beautiful digital experiences that educate, entertain, engage, and inspire" has several new posts up that discuss technology and education.  First up, "Technology in Education is Inevitable."  This post is mainly a reflection over a recent study from Speak Up which indicates that "students believe they need access to more technology, and most school's aren't yet accommodating that need."  The post goes on to discuss why this is happening. 2and2 also has a new article entitled, "Games: The Teaching Tool of the Next Generation."  This post argues the benefits of game-based learning and provides some excellent examples (like ABC Zoom, a game for exploring the microscopic world.)  It's a great read and if you have any interest in using games in education it's worth your time! Craig Crittendon (guest poster at the  Innovate Educator) has a new article on BYOD policies, "5 Lessons for Success."  In the post, he outlines five tips to help teachers, administrators, and students meet with success in a 1:1 environment.  The ideas are based on his own experience with implementing 1:1 programs and are worth considering for any school that is heading in that direction.   Richard Byrne at Free Technology for Teachers has several new tech resources up from the past few days: FunBrain - Dozens of Education Games for K-8 Two Cute Explanations of Social media Zoho Survey -  A Survey Tool LPacked with Features Edudemic starts off with a new article on "3 Online Learning Platforms Perfect for Teachers."  The post covers three tools that are all about "increasing skills and learning using the power of the web, and each of the sites either has courses designed for teachers or they have courses designed by teachers."  If you're looking for some online summer professional development this July, this article is a great place to start.  They cover Versal, Coursera, and Udemy. And of course, we couldn't have a Daily Roundup without some talk of flipping classrooms, and Edudemic's post on "4 Things to Consider Before you Flip Your Classroom" has us covered for today.  If you've thought about flipping your classroom (or even if you already have) this is a great post to read. Educational Technology has four new resources to check out: 3 Good iPad Apps for Narrative Writing The Power of Hashtags for Teachers (Great collection) 10 New Web Tools for Teachers 8 Things Kids Should be able to do with Tech The Ed Tech Review has two new posts up, the first of which is an excellent collection of "Educational Websites that Amaze Kids."  If you're looking for new websites for elementary students, head on over!  There has also been a lot of talk lately of using educational metadata to help improve instruction, and if you're a fan of all that number crunching, the ETR has a new infographic on Learning Analytics. Alison Anderson at Getting Smart has compiled a superb list of "10 Tools Every Teacher Should Master this Summer."  A lot of the list comes from new tools out of ISTE and they're all excellent resources.  And Getting Smart also has a write up on "TechGirlz to Host Second Annual Entrepreneur Camp."  TechGirlz in an NPO "dedicated to empowering girls to be future technology leaders."  It's a great organization and they're right in the middle of the second year of their camp. And if you've still got a hankering for ISTE news, Teach Thought has you covered with "10 Things I learned at ISTE"  The post covers some general reflections and thoughts as well as a few specific ideas and tools.  Teach Thought also has an excellent new article on how "Digital Media Can Change the Tone of Learning."  The post covers the huge number of benefits that utilizing digital media can have on classroom instruction. If you want to create a classroom blog (especially with younger students) and you haven't tried out KidBlog yet, I highly recommend it.  I used it this semester for an international blog pals project and it worked wonderfully.  And if you want to find out a little more about the service, Ed Reach has a new interview up with the founder, Matt Hardy. Finally, if you're not familiar with EdSurge, they have a huge collection of excellent guides and tools that are incredibly helpful.  The most recent one I stumbled upon was to help teachers "Try Education Technology Before You Buy."  It's a great collection of resources that teachers can try out for free and decide whether or not they're a good fit for the classroom. What a Roundup!  So that's all for today, we'll end with a new infographic of Flipped Learning Explained Visually just in case you're still curious about this whole flipped learning business.  And we've talked about ThingLink a lot, usually from Jamie Forshey at EduTech for Teachers, but here's an another excellent example of how it can be used from The Speed of Creativity.  The Roundup will be back on Saturday with the weekend edition and until then, you can always follow us on Twitter and Facebook.  Thanks for reading! Courtesy of: Educational Technology

Welcome back!  The weekend edition of the Roundup is coming out a little early this time around because I've got a crazy weekend ahead and wanted to get this posted beforehand!  So today we'll start at Edutopia with a new post entitled,"iPads: From Pedagogical Crutch to Education Innovation."  The article discusses easy ways to start integrating iPads in the classroom (using the iPad as a crutch) before going big time and using the iPad for innovation and deeper learning. Next up, Katrina Schwartz at Mind/Shift has a new article entitled, "Breaking the Mold: School Fosters Design and DIscovery."  The article shares some excellent ideas for the new directions education can take in the future, and poses some answers to the question of "What do we do in a world where learning is no longer directly tied to an institution, and is being placed into the hands of the learner?" Ever since my college years, I've been a big fan of educational theory; however, it's always nice to have some concrete examples of tools or apps that are actually making a notable difference in the classroom.  In the Ed Tech Review's latest article,"How are iPads Used in Schools?  Some Real Life Examples" you get exactly that.  There are some excellent apps covered here and they cover everything from students with disabilities to improving literacy to STEM classes. Richard Byrne at Free Tech for Teachers has three new posts up that are worth a look: Create Picture Stories with Phrase.it What Works and What Doesn't in Net Safety Instruction Two Free Wikispaces Classroom Webinars Kelly Tenkely at iLearn Technology has an excellent new review up on "Adobe Forms Center: Create & Share Interactive Forms."  Adobe Form Central is a "free web application that lets you create PDF's that are actually web forms which can be filled out directly on the PDF."  Check out the full review for more, including Tenkely's ideas for classroom integration. Yesterday, Getting Smart and Digital Learning Now! released a new paper entitled, "Online Learning: Myths, Reality & Promise."  Today, they've got an excellent summary of the paper posted on their site.  The paper addresses three main myths about online learning: Myths about Students, Myths about Online Teaching and Learning; and Myths about Systems and Policies.  For more, you can check out the post. Alison Anderson at Getting Smart also has a new article entitled, "What Blended Learning Looks Like in Kindergarten."  The piece focuses on Woodlawn Elementary in Lawrence, Kansas (Rock Chalk, Jayhawk!) and discusses how teacher Barbie Gossett has integrated blended learning into her Kindergarten classroom. Teach Thought has a new article on how "Writing Can Save 21st Century Learning from Itself."  The post focuses on the Common Core shift in writing and literacy standards (which are no longer exclusive to language arts, but mixed in with other core subjects).  The article goes on to discuss what this looks like in other subject areas and the struggles (and benefits) teachers can face when integrating literacy standards. Finally, Ed Reach has three new podcasts to check out: EdModo - The Educator's Perspective Google Educast: Seeing the Lite ISTE Relived: The Gamers of ISTE The Lightning Round... Educational Technology shares 15 Must Have Apps for your New iPad Ed Tech also provides an Interactive Tour of Google Drive for Teachers Edudemic covers 70 Tools and 4 Reasons to Make Your Own Infographics Teach Thought gives us The 50 Best Smartphone Apps for Teachers Arranged by Category That's it for the early weekend edition!  We'll be back on Monday, but until then, have a wonderful weekend!  We'll end with a new infographic from the Ed Tech Review on the Ed Tech Adoption Rate in   K-12 Teaching.  Thanks for reading! Courtesy of: The Ed Tech Review

Welcome back to the Roundup!  I hope everyone had an excellent weekend!  Today we start with a post from Wesley Fryer at The Speed of Creativity.  In the past month, the Economist has written two articles about education and technology which have been, to say the least, a bit harsh.  Over the weekend Fryer posted hisexcellent response to these articles, outlining the multiple falsehoods and mistakes that the Economist published.  Fryer's post is definitely worth a read. Courtney Buell at EdCetera has a new article entitled, "Fighting Distraction in Online Courses."  While not as popular in K-12 education as in higher ed, online courses are certainly on the rise.  Buell's article discusses some of the new ways that online courses are working to keep students engaged in learning and some of the new tools that are available to help students fight distractions.   If your school is considering a BYOD policy (or has already implemented one) the Ed Tech Review's new article, "BYOD Successful Implementations From Around the World" might be worth a look.  The post discusses six different schools from around the US that have met with success in their BYOD policies.  Plus, for most of the schools, their BYOD policies are public, so you can see the framework they're working with. Free Technology for Teachers has four new posts to check out: 7 Ways to Use Video in Your Classroom Capital Toss - A State & Country Capitals Game Quest for Credit - A Personal Finance Lesson 5 Resources to Help Students Make Healthy Food Choices EduTech for Teachers has a guest post from the weekend entitled, "Transform Learning Potential with ExamTime."  The article discusses the free online learning platform, ExamTime.  According to the site, "we've created ExamTime with the aim to help students improve the way they learn through the use of proven techniques and tools: Mind Maps, Flashcards, Notes, and Quizzes."  You can check out the post for some examples of ExamTime in action! I'm a big fan of Twitter, but it took me a while to see and understand the full educational potential of the site.  At first it seemed like every other social networking site, and that it was just full of people tweeting about what they had for lunch.  But, as I came to find, and as this new post from Edudemic explains, "Twitter can help make you a better teacher." Edudemic also has a new post explaining "How to Teach Music and Art Online."  Many times, it seems that online learning is only focused on the core subject areas.  Or, if it's used for an elective, it's one that can "easily" be taught online (i.e. mostly fact-based, not skill-based).  So, it's nice to see that support is growing for online programs in subjects like art and music.  These can be incredibly beneficial for students who don't have access to these classes, or if their school has cut funding for those programs. Finally, Edudemic discusses"10 Innovative Educational Programs Run by Google."  Some of these programs I was familiar with (like the Doodle for Google award) but it turns out Google actually has quite the collection of educational programs up their sleeve. Educational Technology has three new posts to check out: iPad Basics for Teacher & Students (embedded below) iPad Apps for Autistic Students (embedded below) A Discussion of the MIT App Inventor Tool iPad basics from j_villis   Paul Roen at Getting Smart has a new article on"Carving a Place for Blended Learning in the Era of Teacher Evaluation."  The post discusses how new teacher evaluation systems need to include a space for blended learning.  The role of the educator in a blended learning setting is different than in the traditional setting, and evaluation tools should reflect that. Getting smart also their weekly roundup posted as well, in case you missed anything from last week. Lisa Nielsen at the Innovative Educator has a new post discussing "11 Innovative Strategies for Ensuring Device Equity."  The post outlines some excellent ideas for helping all students have access to technology, even in districts where budgets are an issues.  If you're looking to help increase the available tech resources in your school or district, Nielsen's article is a wonderful place to start. Teach Thought has three new posts up, the first of which discusses, "Why Teachers - Not Schools - Are the Real Institutions."  The articles argues that teachers are more than just instructors, they are also "value-generating institutions. And simply put, [teachers] are directly responsible for a student's partial accumulation of knowledge and skills."  The post goes on to further make the case for teachers as institutions. Terry Heick at Teach Thought also has a new post on "How Overly Academic Learning is Killing Education."  Heick makes the argument that too much focus on achieving proficiency is detrimental to our education systems.   Finally, for those interested in game-based learning, Teach Thought shares, "10+ Game-Based Learning Resources: From Practical Applications to Academic Theory."   Ed Reach has two excellent new podcasts up from the weekend: The Classroom: A Space Redesigned Five Options Upon Reading an Email And finally, we'll head over to EdSurge for the finale of today's Roundup.  First up, a new article by Katrina Stevens entitled, "What Real Collaboration Between Teachers and Techies Looks Like."  The post covers a recent gathering in Chicago between teachers, administrators, and techies, to learn about edtech startups and try out their products as part of the          Ed Tech Collaborative.   And speaking of edtech startups, Ben Stern at EdSurge also has a post on the "Role for Teachers in Every Edtech Startup."  The article discusses how teachers can get involved and help out with edtech startups that they are passionate about. The Lightning Round... Tech & Learning shares iPad Safety Apps Edudemic helps us Turn our iBook into a Video in 3 Easy Steps Getting Smart shares new STEM-related Tech Tools from Edshelf Teach Thought gives us 22 Ways to Use Twitter for Learning Based on Blooms' Taxonomy And that's it for the Roundup today!  Thanks for reading!  We'll close with a new infographic from Zintro, via Edudemic on How to Effectively Use the Top 4 Social Networks.  See you tomorrow! Courtesy of: Edudemic

Welcome back!  Today the Roundup begins at Education Week with a discussion over the current debate in congress on standardized testing, "Adaptive Testing Gains Momentum, Prompts Concerns."  The article discusses the overhaul of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (i.e. NCLB), new proposals that are in the mix, and how adaptive and standardized computer testing fits in the picture. Katrina Schwartz at Mind/Shift has a new post which asks "How Do Tech Tools Affect the Way Students Write"  The article is in response to a Pew Research report that was released yesterday and which shows that technology does in fact have aa effect on how students write.  Of the 2,462 educators interviewed, 50% said digital technologies make it easier to help shape student writing.  For more details and a great summary and analysis of the report, check out Schwartz's article. Amy Mayer at FriEdTechnology has a new lesson up on Gmail entitled, "Smart Gmail Lesson 9: Learn to use Tasks in Gmail and Google Calendar."  If you're a Gmail user and not familiar with how to create tasks, it's a built in feature with Gmail that can be found at the top left (click on the triangle next to "Gmail") It's basically a way to create organized to-do lists, but as Mayer explains, there are some great ways to integrate tasks with your calendar and emails.  Here's the video: Edudemic has a new review of "IWitness: A Free Way to Bring Educational Videos Into Your Classroom."  The relatively new service created by the USC Shoah Foundation brings first-person stories and interviews into the classroom.  The site has access to nearly 1,300 full life histories and testimonies and is an excellent resource for the history classroom. Educational Technology has two new reviews to share.  The first is for "Kidoodle.tv: Educational Video Content for Kids."  It's a Canadian-based video on-demand service for kids under 12 and it's free while it's in beta mode!  And if you've ever wanted to "Visualize your Tweets" check out their new review of Visible Tweets, which lets you do just that! David Mahaley at Emerging Ed Tech (and Franklin Academy Principal) has just posted part 2 of his "Teaching and Learning with the iPad" series.  The first post focused primarily on the administrator's perspective on iPad implementation, but in this new post we see things from the teacher's viewpoint and learn what worked and what areas presented challenges.   And finally, if you're thinking you want to do some serious classroom redesigning for next year, Teach Thought's new post, "How Should Your Classroom Look This Year?"  might be a good place to start.  The post walks you through the steps of designing the perfect classroom space with an eye towards creativity, "the illusion of classroom management,"  and creating a positive atmosphere for your students. The Lightning Round... Educational Technology shares 50 Educational Podcasts for Professional DevelopmentThey also have a new infographic with 20 Presentation Tips for EducatorsEdudemic shares the Ultimate Printable Guide to the Apple iPadAnd Getting Smart discusses the Flipped Class over Twitter with #EdTechChat And that's all for the Roundup today!  Hope everyone is enjoying these dog days of summer and catching a few more days at the pool before heading back to class in a few weeks (is it that soon already?)  Thanks for reading and see you tomorrow!

Today's Roundup begins at Education Dive with the news that Edudemic's founders, Jeff Dunn and Katie Lepi, have launched a new site designed to help teachers (and everyone) become better technology users.  The article, "Edudemic Founders Launch New Online Learning Platform: Modern Lessons," outlines the site's  goals and mentions that the majority of the site content is available free of charge! Ed Surge has a new post detailing "How Teachers, Entrepreneurs Can Create Common Ground."  The post covers Chicago's Education Technology Startup Collaboartive from last week.  The Edtech event was a "collection of roundtables where entrepreneurs could engage in small group discussions with educators."  No giant vendor booths, no flashy presentations, just conversations between teachers and product designers.  Check out the article for more info. Teach Thought starts off with a post outlining "The Defining Characteristic of Early 21st Century Learning."  The article argues that in order to be a successful 21st century educator you really only need to be a master of one skill: being open to possibility.  If you are able to run a "highly curious, question-based, connected and joyful" classroom that is open to possibility, and the rest will fall into place.Teach Thought also has a post on "20 Reflective Questions to Help Students Response to Common Core Texts."  The article discusses the basics of the new common core assessments and reflects on the questions presented in the image below (click for full size): Free Tech for Teachers has four new resources to check out:Use PDF4Kindle to Convert PDFs to Kindle FormatOrganize your Thoughts & Tasks with Thought BoxesCreate 100 Free Animations on ABCya AnimateCreate Flipped Assignments with Knowmia EduTech for Teachers has a new guest post up on "The Benefits of Multimedia Feedback for Students."  The post offers the excellent suggestion of using software like camtasia to record yourself (the teacher) going through a student's assignment, offering "live" feedback, and adding comments to your assessment.  It's an excellent (and speedy, once you get the hang of it) way to improve feedback. I'm a big proponent of offering coding and programming classes in school and learning how to code is a great way to practice problem-solving and critical thinking skills.  To that point, James Walker at Getting Smart has a new post up entitled, "Coding is Not Just for Computer Programmers."  Walker argues that in addition to skills coding can teach a student, the number of job opportunities available to those who know how to code is ever-increasing.  It's a subject should be taught in every school.Alison Anderson at Getting Smart also has a new article on "Transforming Special Educaiton with iPads in LAUSD."  The post focuses on the Los Angeles school district and how their special education program has been using iPads to transform their daily curriculum and intervention strategies.Finally, if you're not familiar with the SAMR (Substitution Augmentation Modification Redefinition) Model it is used to understand how computer technology might affect teaching and learning (here's a good video explanation)  To help make better connections between SAMR and 21st Century Skills, Susan Oxnevad at Getting Smart has a new post, "The SAMR Ladder Through the Lens of 21st Century Skills."  In the article, Oxnevad has an interactive image (via ThingLink) that helps explain the connections between SAMR and the 21st century skills. Finally, Ed Reach has four new podcasts up!Changing the World with Adam BellowThe Microsoft EducastSummer Teaching and LearningProductivity Hack - Tweeting from your Omnibar The Lightning Round... Teach Thought shares 10 Popular Blended Learning Resources Teachers Actually UseEducational Technology has a new Google Plus Cheat Sheet for TeachersEd Tech also has 5 Great iPad Apps to Explore the Human Body in 3DFinally, Educational Technology shares 5 Great Ted Talks for Teachers That's it for the Roundup today!  Thanks for reading!  We'll be back tomorrow and then on a short break until Tuesday.  See you tomorrow!

Welcome back!  I'll be out of town from tomorrow until Monday, so this will be the last Roundup until next Tuesday, and it begins with... Ed Tech Magazine and a new article on distance learning entitled, "When it Comes to Distance Learning, Schools Use What Works."  If your school offers distance learning (for credit recovery, or for electives, or maybe just for classes that aren't available) this article has some great tips for helping to select the best distance learning tech for your needs. Emerging Ed Tech has posted the conclusion to their three-part series on teaching with iPads, and this post focuses on the students' perspective (thefirst post was about administration, the second was about teachers).  The article offers three lessons that were learned throughout the three-year review as well as information on student engagement and success. Alley Watch has a new article about a pretty awesome edtech startup called Degreed.  The service aims to "jailbreak" the degree by scoring and validating your lifelong learning, and not just through universities, but also through sites like Khan academy and other MOOCS.  They want to provide a complete picture of all the learning a person has accomplished through accredited and non-accredited sources.  The founder, David Blake, also has a great Ted Talk about the service. Free Technology for Teachers has two new resources up: 500 Political Cartoons Lesson Plans Coloring Book of the Future uses Augemented Reality            (This app is really, really awesome for kids) Anyone that has tried to introduce new technology in a school knows that there are usually some teachers who are either skeptical of new tech, or just not comfortable with it.  Edudemic's new article, "5 Ways to Support Teachers Skeptical of Technology," offers some tips on the best ways to help those teachers begin to integrate new tech into their classroom. Edudemic also has a new infographic on the "Facts and Figures Behind Education in America."  The infographic covers everything from the current US graduation rate (73.4%) to the total number of students enrolled in elementary and secondary schools (55,394,000) and more!  It's a well designed graphic with some interesting statistics that I think students would enjoy as well. Educational Technology has three new posts to check out: Google Books Provides Thousands of Free Books Storytelling For the Youtube Generation (Prezi below) 5 Powerful Tools to Try On the Kindle Alison Anderson at Getting Smart has a new post on "7 Social Media Tools to Tell your Classroom Story."  In the article, she outlines how to use Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest, Blogs, Podcasts, and Youtube, to connect with your students and share the story of your classroom.  She provides links to excellent guides for each of these social media tools as well as tips and ideas for how to get started. The Podcast machine, Ed Reach, has three new casts up: NCLB Renewal Brings Greater Political Discussion EdCeptional, Take 2 on The Myth of Average Organizing Our Stuff and Workflow The Lightning Round... Lisa Nielsen shares a new Infographic on Cyberbullying Teach Thought has 15 Literacy Apps to Create Books on the iPad Edudemic covers 10 Digital Resources that will Improve your School Library And, they've got 3 Reasons to Use Video in the Classroom Plus, a new infographic on How Students Use Smartphones Finally, edudemic shares an infographic on Why Teachers Quit And that's it for the Roundup today!  As I mentioned at the beginning, I'll be out of town until Monday night so the Roundup will return next Tuesday.  I hope everyone has a wonderful weekend and thanks for reading!  We'll end with a new flowchart to share with students on image use from the web...

And we're back!  Today we'll start at Emerging Ed Tech with a post on the "5 Ed Tech Resources I Used While Working in a Low-Income Class."  The list covers some great tools like Pinterest and Class Dojo that would work well in any setting, not just low-income classrooms.  The post also talks about HayStack Edu, a site for teachers to find resources and jobs. EduTech For Teachers has a new guest post on "Using Technology as an Effective Teaching Tool."  The post discusses the benefits of implementing technology in the classroom.  The article also covers simple steps that can be taken to begin integrating technology into lessons.  If you're looking for some good examples and explanations on how edtech can be useful, this is the post for you! The Ed Tech Review's new post,"BYOD: Useful Policy for Special Education" discusses how laptops and tablets can be effectively utilized in SPED classrooms.  The article outlines six ideas and suggestions for using a BYOD policy and talks about how student involvement and responsibility can improve through the use of technology. Lisa Nielsen at theInnovative Educator has a new guide to help teachers "Stay Connected to Parents with Google Voice."   If you've never used Google Voice, it's a free phone service provided by Google that let's you call, text, and send voice mails.  Nielsen offers some great suggestions on using Google Voice to save time and easily connect with parents. Edudemic has a new post on "How to Keep up with Education Technology News"  (aside from reading the Roundup, of course).  Ed Tech, and tech in general, is a tough field to keep up with.  As I've found while writing for this site, there are tons of new apps, reviews, and articles every single day.  They suggest subscribing to the Education Dive newsletter (it's definitely a great resource) to help stay on top of everything Ed Tech. Edudemic also covers: How to Actually Use Wikipedia in the Classroom 5 Amazing Ways to Collaborate with Another Class (excellent article) Free Tech for Teachers has four new resources to check out: Two Minute Geology Lessons Three Ways to Make Useful QR Codes for Students Instructional Tech Coordinators Need to Understand... Geodia - A Timeline of Mediterranean Archeology Susan Davis at Getting Smart has a new post on "Teaching Reading in the Digital Age."  In the post, she ponders on the idea of, "What does it mean to be a reader today?"  She discusses how tablets and digital books affect reading, the importance of reading for pleasure, and how should teachers teach reading in the digital age.  It's an excellent article, not only for Language Arts teachers, but for all subject areas. Alesha Bishop at Getting Smart also has a review of The Zones of Regulation, a "digital, interactive learning tool designed to help players successfully recognize and regulate their emotions and responses."  The app is an excellent tool to help students work on social and emotional skills and Bishop provides a complete review of the game (including potential drawbacks) for those interested. Finally, Getting Smart covers "3 Tech Tools for the First Day of School."  In the post they discuss The Answer Pad (which we recently reviewed), Educlipper (which we also recently reviewed) and Write About This, which is an app to help elementary students respond to visual writing prompts. Teach Thought has three new posts to check out.  The first covers "Wisr: Quizzes on Twitter by Content Area."  Wisr is a pretty fun (and useful) resources for those who like to tweet and be quizzed. Teach Thought also covers "10 Tips for Better Teaching with Tablets" a great article for anyone with tablets in the classroom.  Plus, they provide a brief look at the new app Brickflow, which we recently reviewed here at the Roundup. The Ed Reach Network has four new podcasts posted: All About Augmented Reality Live from DENSI (Discovery Education) The Makers of ISTE Peer Instruction with Eric Mazur Finally, Justin Reich at Mind/Shift has a new post on "The iPad as a Tool for Creation to Strengthen Learning."  This is Reich's third post in the four part series (part 1 and part 2) and in the article he focuses on using iPads as tools for creation.  He provides examples of how iPads are being used in the "best" classroom but also some great stepping stones to help teachers begin the journey towards creation. The Lightning Round... Edudemic shares 7 Time-Saving iPad Tips for Teachers Educational Technology has Visual Lists of iPad Apps for Teachers & Students They also cover 4 Important Graphics on Blended Learning for Teachers And Getting Smart gives us 40 Sources for Curated Educational Videos And that's all for the Roundup today!  It's good to be back!  Although, at the end of this week the Roundup will be on a week-long break while I move back to South America to start my next year of teaching down there.  Thanks for reading and we'll end with a new infographic from Edudemic on How Teens are Using Social Media.  See you tomorrow! Courtesy of: Edudemic

Today's Roundup begins with Dr. Jackie Gerstein's blog at User Generated Education.  She has a new reflection over her recent maker education workshop, which also discusses the importance of making, tinkering, and self-directed learning.  The article, "STEAM and Maker Education: Inclusive, Engaging, Self-Differentiating" is an excellent read and if you have a chance to lead, attend, or send your kids to a camp like this, it's a pretty wonderful experience. iLean Technology has a new review of Oxford Owl which is a collection of free children's books.  Plus, each book has an accompanying audio track, activities, and questions to see if students understand the story.  For the full review, including ideas for classroom integration, check out the article. Annie Murphy Paul at Mind/Shift has a new post which asks, "Can Playing Video Games Give Girls an Edge in Math?"  In the article, Paul reflects over recent research studies coming to the conclusion that "girls should play more video games." Turns out, gaming can lead to better development of spacial skills which in turn can lead to better development of STEM skills.  FriEdTechnology has a new review of "GeoGuessr: An Addictive Game with Educational Potential."  The game works through Google Maps and the player is given a random location, as much time as they want to look around, and then asked to figure out where they are in the world, based on what they've seen.  It's pretty fun (and addicting) and the article has more info and ideas on how to use the game. Free Tech for Teachers has five new resources up: RADCAB - Website Evaluation Framework for Students How to Create Your Own Custom Search Engine Cooking With Solar Energy - Hands-on Project Adam Savage Shares Lessons from Failure Two Video Guides to Website Evaluation Jessica Slusser at Getting Smart has a new post on "Finding the STEM in Sports with NBC Learn."  For all you sports fans out there, NBC and the US Golf Association have partnered up to create the Science of Golf, a new video series with some wonderful potential for the classroom.  The videos show students "how the principles of science affect everything about the game."  And you can check out the article for a full interview with the team and some integration ideas. Educational Technology has four new resources to check out: What Students Should Know about Copyright Open Educational Resources Explained (below) 3 Good Drawing Apps for Kids Learning Theories for the Digital Age Introduction to open educational resources 2013 from Michael Paskevicius Lisa Nielsen at the Innovative Educator has a new post covering "3 Great Reasons to Use Twitter in Your School."  In the post she discusses how schools can use Twitter to send free text alerts to parents, create an instant news ticket to celebrate success, and host twitter education chats.  She's also created a great Prezi (which includes some further examples and explanations) which is embedded below: Teach Thought has a great new article on how teachers can use Twitter, YouTube, and Google+ for "A New Kind of Professional Development."  The post discusses how teachers can use these tools to instantly connect with other teachers in personal PD sessions.  What I really like about this idea is that it's not just watching videos on a topic (not a one-way street), you can actually communicate and collaborate with other educators, live, and it's pretty awesome. If you're interested,Ed Camp is a great place to start. Teach Thought also has a new post entitled, "What a Digital Native Needs to Know About Playing Outside."  The post is a comical and enjoyable piece that is directed towards kids, letting them know what this whole "playing outside thing" is really all about.  If you're having trouble getting your kids off the couch this summer, send them on over to this article before you kick them out of the house. Finally, Ed Reach has 3 new podcasts posted from today: 5 Project Building Websites Express your Thoughts with Visual Notes FlipBoard and Your iPad 1:1 The Lightning Round... Teach Thought shares 34 Learning Games from EdShelf They also have a new infographic on 3 Steps to Promoting Creativity in Education EdSurge has a collection of Tweets on How to Best Choose EdTech Products Edutopia discusses 18 Apps That Support the Creative Process Edudemic covers 7 Ways to Get more out of Twitter And they have a new infographic on The Biggest Concern For Schools Deploying iPads And that's all we've got for today!  Thanks for reading!  We'll end with a new infographic from Getting Smart on the Use of Social Media in School.  See you tomorrow! Courtesy of: Getting Smart

Hello!  I'll be on a short break for a family reunion and then my move back to Colombia to start the next school year, but I'll be back the first week in August!  In the meantime, if there are any awesome stories I miss, or apps you'd like to see reviewed, send me a message or a tweet!  See you in a week!-Mike

Despite my best efforts to slow down time, summer break is quickly drawing to a close.  And, while summer break is obviously one of the best things humankind has ever come up with, I am excited to get back in the classroom and try out some new ideas and resources. I'll be back to posting the normal Roundup tomorrow, but I wanted to start off this semester by covering some of the apps I'm really excited about, particularly those that can be used in a variety of subjects and grade levels.  So, without any further ado, let's begin! EduClipper - Clip Everything, Share Anything EduClipper, also known as the "pinterest for education," is an absolutely awesome tool for collecting, sharing, and organizing digital information.  It's great for students and teachers and it can be used to create a digital bulletin board of useful links, articles, pages, and you can even upload your own documents to share.  It's incredibly easy to use and to top it all off, it's free!    [ The Complete Roundup Review of EduClipper ] Class Dojo - Digital Classroom Management Class Dojo is a free classroom management app that can be used on the web, iOS, and Android devices. Within the app, you can store all of your student information and with the click of a mouse, you can easily award students negative or positive points for their behavior in class.  The app records and tracks all that behavior data so that you can view, graph, and analyze it whenever you want!        [ The Complete Roundup Review of Class Dojo ] TouchCast - The Web Inside a Video TouchCast is an awesome new iPad app that allows you to create videos with interactive web content inside of the video.  Within the videos you can integrate maps, images, links, polls, questions, and even live Twitter feeds.  Plus, it's free, fun, and incredibly simple to use.  If you've got iPads you can use in your classroom, definitely give it a try!      [ The Complete Roundup Review of TouchCast ] Metta - Flip Web Content into Video Lessons Metta (formerly Soo Meta) is a web-based tool for creating flipped video lessons.  Teachers can use the tool to take images, audio, and video from their computers (or the web) and easily mix it all into a video lesson that can be sent out to students.  You even have the option to create interactive polls and questions that students can answer while they're watching the lesson!         [ The Complete Roundup Review of Metta ] Brickflow - Hashtag Based Slideshows Brickflow is a web-based tool that instantly builds slideshows based on hashtags (#).  You can easily integrate content from YouTube, Instagram, Tumblr, and Twitter to create a slideshow in seconds.  And if you need to, you can also upload your own content as well, so you don't have to be connected to the social media sites.  It's a great, free tool that I think students will enjoy using!       [ The Complete Roundup Review of Brickflow ] Moby Max - Online Math & Language Curriculum The only reason Moby Max isn't at the top of this list is because I don't teach English anymore, so I won't be able to use this app this fall.  But, for the Language and Math instructors out there, you should absolutely check out the site.  Moby Max is a completely free, standards-based, online curriculum that even determines exactly what indicators your students have trouble with.  It's awesome.      [ The Complete Roundup Review of Moby Max ] EduCade - Find, Create, and Share Lesson Plans Despite being a relatively new resource, EduCade has a ton of free, standards-based, lesson plans to try out.  You can easily search by grade-level or subject-area to find any lesson you might need.  All the lessons come with the resources you need, a step-by-step lesson plan, and even reviews from other teachers who have tried it out.       [ The Complete Roundup Review of Educade ] Answer Pad - The Free Student Response System And last, but certainly not least, The Answer Pad a free web, iOS and Android app that is perfect for the BYOD environment.  Remember "clickers," where a question would appear on the board and then the students would press their answer on a remote?  The Answer Pad takes that idea and improves on it a million times over.  If you have a BYOD policy at your school, definitely check it out.[ The Complete Roundup Review of The Answer Pad ]