Join me tonight at 9:00 p.m. EST for a Google Hangout to discuss bring your own device aka BYOD. The topicEquity + Access for AllOur special guests includeTim Clark @TimClark45 or @BYOTNetworkWillyn Webb +Willyn Webb Michael Mills @AquiAmigoConnect with them on Twitter!Guests will discuss the followingWhy ensuring equity and access is importantHow to get startedWhat happens for students who don’t have devicesTips for parent outreachHow you prepare infrastructureHandling repairsAnd more!BackchannelJoin our backchannel conversation on Twitter using the hashtag #BYODEquity. See all the backchannel hashtags on our Tagboard at http://tagboard.com/boydequity.   Join the hangout at this linkhttps://plus.google.com/events/cp40qmnlcq6mm83b6h8o1mbh1ds Read more about the topic here.

Watch Tim Clark (@TimClark45), Willyn Webb (@WillynWebb), Michael Mills (@AquiAmigo) and Lisa Nielsen (@InnovativeEdu) in a one hour video discussing equity and access when it comes to bringing your own device. Take a watch and you'll enjoy a great conversation where these gurus share ideas that have worked and advise what to steer clear of when working toward a successful bring your own device/technology environment. As made apparent in the below thumbnail, the conversation was filled with a few laughs as well.Guests shared plenty of terrific resources which are captured in the Tweets below.I want more »

Across the nation teacher effectiveness is being evaluated according to the four domains of the Charlotte Danielson framework. (You can download the full evaluation instrument here.) This model is valuable because it provides a shared language for effective teaching, however, while many teachers being evaluated are familiar with the evaluation rubric, they may not have seen what this looks like in practice. If you are one of those teachers, that's about to change. I want more »

In case you missed it, a 15-year-old student from Staten Island created a Facebook page called Close NYC Schools During Snow Emergencies expressing discontent over the DOE's decision to keep schools open Thursday. The high school student employed some smart strategies to help his page gain popularity.  Namely sharing his page on the walls of elected officials.  From there the likes started pouring in. The page went viral attracting nearly 30,000 "Likes" in about a day.  Most of those who came to the page initially had no idea it was a high school student named Jeremy Duenas who was the man behind the page's curtain.After a day of a blitz of media attention that included many local news outlets, the page creator had this to say to fans of the page:Thank you everyone for all your outpouring support! From all my family and friends to all of YOU who don't even know me but are praising me anyway. I'm was just a kid from Staten Island and now I feel like I'm more than that.I want more »

As a gift to members, for its ten year anniversary, Facebook is giving us its latest recap app. It's called "A look back" and it provides you with a 60-second overview of your life on Facebook from the beginning. Here's mine:A look back over my six years on Facebook. Click here to watch. I want more »

What are the most successful teachers doing differently? How is that experienced being shared, and how can new teachers best learn from those that have come before them? Teachers are progressively forming broader and richer professional learning networks that extend far beyond their schools boundaries in many cases.  Innovative New York City educator Chris Casal (@mr_casal) and I (@InnovativeEdu) will dig in to how personal learning networks or PLNs are formed and what is exchanged by impactful educators as part of the NYEDTech meetup TONIGHT from 7 - 9 p.m. in Manhattan.If you're in the area, it's not to late to join us. Details at http://www.meetup.com/NYEdTech/events/160696002If you're not in the area, don't despair. You can still follow the conversation on Twitter using the hashtag #EdTechNYC and/or watch the live streamed broadcast below once it begins.I want more »

Last week I shared ways to showcase teacher effectiveness via digital portfolios using a wiki and eduClipper.  This week I bring you another great tool to showcase teacher effectiveness courtesy of  elementary school teacher Rodney Schneider.  The tool is called Padlet.  Padlet is a free tool that gives you a blank wall on which to share files, videos, photos, videos, and more. You can choose the visibility and share with the world, a small group of people or just one or two others.  Rodney created one Padlet for each domain in the Charlotte Danielson framework. (You can download the full evaluation instrument here). Then he created a master Padlet onto which he embedded each of the Padlets allowing one spot to collect all the artifacts and evidence of his effectiveness as a teacher.This is what it looks like.I want more »

I was looking forward to checking out this post from my Twitter feed:Students Talk #Facebook on #Vimeo | @scoopit http://t.co/Ky5mAz9Iu2 #KSFY #SocialMedia #digcit #edchat #edbublogs— ICTPHMS (@ICTPHMS) February 19, 2014I'm thrilled that schools like the Patrick Henry Middle School are willing to put themselves out there and share in the mainstream media that Facebook isn't something to be afraid of, but rather we can teach students to use it safely.Maybe I'm just impatient, but aren't we ready to move past the conversation about the fact that Facebook won't kill you and travel toward this:I want more »

As the author of "Teaching Generation Text: Using Cell Phones for Learning," it’s no surprise, that I disagree with those who "just say no" to cell phones." I think my perspective comes out on top as it becomes evident that those who oppose the use of cell phones for learning have never really tried to strategically integrate them as powerful learning tools.  Listen to host Rae Pica and see what you think as this topic is discussed with with special guests that in addition to me include John Owens, David Thornburg, and Liz Kolb. If you like what you hear consider following your guests on Twitter. @JOwensTeacher @InnovativeEdu @jesslahey @davidthornburg @Liz Kolb @bodymindchild @bamradionetwork

Innovative educators know that as spring is about to be sprung upon us, so are the deadlines for most scholarships and financial aid. Check out this interesting infographic from FluidReview that gives you the skinny with facts and figures about various scholarships they've collected over the years as a result of offering one of the top scholarship management software platforms on the web today.Some interesting facts you'll find include distribution by race and sex, average amount awarded, and perhaps most important, some unusual scholarships that are out there such as tall people, coffee lovers, and skateboarders. Check it out. I want more »