Happy Teacher's Day! Let's start over at Getting Smart with a great post entitled, "Teaching Kids to Code: An Economic & Social Justice Issue."  The article is about the growing need to include computer science as a requirement in a school's curriculum. They also discuss code.org, a great resource for computer teachers.Alarmingly, there are less computer science teachers, classes, and students in the US than 10 years ago.  Yet the job market for coders and computer scientists is growing rapidly.  If your school doesn't require computer science or coding, it would be a worthwhile inclusion.  Some other resources aside from code.org are Code Academy and Khan Academy.Next up, Getting Smart has article on the growing role the city of Baltimore is playing in the Ed Tech field, "Digital Harbor: Baltimore Rising."  Turns out Baltimore's Inner Harbor has become quite a hub for educational technology development.  The harbor hosts numerous Ed Tech start ups, student-centers, and the Emerging Technology Center which is helping to fund 86 separate ET companies. Next up, Teach Thought starts the day off with an article discussing the "10 Pros & Cons of Looping in Education."  Looping, in this case, refers to assigning the same group of students to the same teacher for multiple years.  It's an interesting read and from my personal experience I have found the pros to outweigh the cons. Teach Thought also a a post entitled, "Augmented Reality in Education?  Here are 20 Examples"  If you're not familiar, augmented reality is a "medium through which the known world fuses with current technology to create a uniquely blended interactive experience."  Using AR to augment instruction can be incredibly beneficial.  From interactive field trips to QR code scavenger hunts, this article covers all the possibilities. Infographics!  They're everywhere!  We've had quite a few posted lately and now Emerging Ed Tech has a new post, "5 Great Tools for Creating Your Own Educational Infographics."  Personally, I like   Easel.ly but the article also covers , Visual.ly, Tableau, Infogr.am,  and Piktochart. Google has also been making big news today, they held their annual I/O conference to announce all the new futures that will be coming to chrome, android, maps, and so on.  For a full write-up on the event, check out Gizmodo's Living Blogging for constant updates. And speaking of Google, we'll close out the Round Up today with Educational Technology's post on "6 steps to add voice comments to Google Docs."  The tutorial covers the basics of the new Google Docs feature which allows users to record voice comments on any document that is shared on Google Drive.And if you're feeling a little lackluster this Teacher's Day, Educational Technology also has an excellent collection of videos to inspire creativity!  Hope you enjoy and we'll see you tomorrow.  Round Up out!

Today's Round Up begins at iLearn Technology with a review of a new partnership between Discovery Education and 3M entitled, "The Science of Everyday Life."  The post reviews the new resource in detail, but in short, the site is jammed packed full of videos, virtual labs, lessons, and more, all of which are designed to help students make real-world connections. Free Technology for Teachers is back with three new posts for the day.  First up is a review of the new Google Play for Education, which was revealed yesterday at Google's I/O conference.  GP for Ed will be an "app store designed specifically for teachers and students."  And teachers will be able to buy apps for their classes and push them out to any students that are enrolled.Free Tech also has a review on, "Backpack Practice - Talk Your Way Through Review Guides."  Backpack Practice is a website that gives students a place to practice basic math, science, social studies, and language arts skills.  However, instead of typing or writing their answers, students record their responses and the program keeps track of how each student is doing.  It looks like a great tool for elementary and middle school students and here is a video of the software in action.Next up, FT4T has a guide covering "Four Approaches to Getting Content OFF Elementary Students' iPads - No Email, No Problem."  With many elementary students not having access to email, this is an excellent guide for alternative methods of getting material off iPads.  Definitely worth checking out if your school is using, or considering, iPads at the elementary level. Speaking of iPads, Educational Technology has an "Informative Guide on  he Use of iPads in the Classroom." The post has an embedded presentation which covers ways to integrate iPads into the core subject areas, in addition to helping with student organization and work habits.  They also have an incredibly useful write-up on "Useful End of School Year Worksheets, Printables, and Checklists."  The article contains a giant list of free activities, worksheets, printables, and checklists that will help teachers make it through the final weeks of class! Finally, Edudemic has a few new posts up for today.  First, is an article on "How to Combat Student Plagiarism."  With cases of plagiarism running rampant in many schools, this guide offers some great tips. The post suggests: making research assignments about the process, not the product; requiring students to use online content; and providing students with examples of "real world" plagiarism. Next, Edudemic discusses "How Mind Maps Can Inspire Collaborative Learning."  The article examines the benefits of using mind maps for collaboration and hits on points like easy management of content and flexibility in organizing new ideas.  And if you're interested, Mind Meister and Bubbl.us are both great online mind mapping tools.Edudemic closes with a post that takes an "Interactive Look at the STEM Gender Divide."  It's an excellent read discussing recent trends in gender and STEM education.  You can check out the interactive infographic from the article here. In closing, THE Journal just released their May issue (Technology Horizons in Education).  You can download the journal for free on their website, or right here!And, if you've been enjoying the Round Up these past two weeks, head on over to Ed Tech Magazine and vote for us on the list of Must Read K-12 I.T. blogs!  Your support is definitely appreciated!I hope you all have an excellent weekend and the Round Up will be back on Sunday with the weekend report!  Until then, good luck with finals and all the other end-of-the-year activities!

As the weekend draws to a close, it's time for another weekend Round Up!  We'll start today at GettingSmart with a post about "Making Tech Work for Kids & Teachers."  The article discusses the challenges and benefits that arise from integrating technology into our curricula.   Getting Smart also has a post entitled, "It's Time for the Next Big Advance: Comparable Growth Measures."  The article discusses how "the most important next step in the shift to personal digital learning is the need for comparable growth measures for individual students."   In other words, by using technology we can more accurately begin to measure the growth each student achieves, not just their test and assignment scores.  We can build an accurate understanding of each individual student is learning and growing through a course.  The article discusses some specifics on what this would look like within the classroom. EdCetera has a new post about "The Success of Quest-Based Learning at Boise State University."  The article is about Chris Haskell's teacher training classes in which students embark on "quests" to earn "experience points" towards achieving certain classroom goals and objectives.  The students complete their quests using 3D GameLab; software which creates a virtual environment to learn, research, collaborate and create work.   Over at EdTech Magazine we've got a new post discussing the "5 Must-Have Elements for Every Online Class."  The article offers tips on creating and running a successful online class.  The post covers how teachers can: Get Organized Build a Community Integrate & Collaborate Encourage Self-Assessment Provide Professional Development Free Technology for Teachers has some new resources up from the weekend, starting with a review of "Study Jams - Elementary Math & Science with Music."  Study Jams is designed by Scholastic and uses songs and videos to help students learn math and science content.  Each song also has an associated video or tutorial to help students understand the basics of the concept. Free Tech also has a write-up on the "Saylor Foundation Launches Independent 'Courses' for K-12."  And while these online classes are not complete courses in the traditional sense, they are an excellent resource for independent study or to help students with material outside of class, plus they're aligned with the common core standards.  Currently they have courses in geometry, calculus, algebra, American Lit, and SAT prep. Also, if you're interested in language learning, Free Tech has a review of"10 Good Sites & Apps for Learning a New Language."  These apps would be great for use within a language classroom, or just for personal use for those who are interested in new languages.  The article also covers Duolingo which is one of my personal favorites for language learning. Edudemic has an excellent article on "iPads in the Classroom: The Right Questions you Should Ask."  For any school that is utilizing, or considering, iPads in the classroom, you should check this article out.  It raises some important points for discussion such as the necessity of educators to focus on the "why" and not the "how" of using iPads, in other words making sure that iPads are being used for truly beneficial reasons, not just being used because they're new tech. And on a similar note, they also have a new post on "3 Reasons Apps Put our Kids' Education at Risk."  The post addresses some serious concerns that educators should consider before jumping in the deep-end of iPad integration.  The article discusses how apps can lead to less physical activity, reduced social skills, and the question of "who is going to create future technologies?" Edudemic also has a post on "How Social Media Improved an Entire School District."  The article covers the Eudora School District (just outside my home town in Kansas) and how they began using blogs, YouTube and other social media tools to improve communication and collaboration between teachers and students across the district.  It's a great read and something every district should consider. Finally, Edudemic has a post on "46 Education App Review Sites for Teachers and Students."  It's a list of the best and most popular education app review sites.  You can link to list below: Emerging Ed Tech has a post discussing "Salman Khan's Inspiring One World Schoolhouse."  The post is a review and reflection of Salman Khan's (of the Khan Academy) book.  It's a great post and delves into the benefit of online learning and using technology to provide top-notch, global education to anyone with an internet connection.   Education Week has an article on the "Proper Role of Ed-Tech in Pre-K a Rising Issue."  The post discusses the concern with implementing technology at the preschool level.  Students are using technology more often and at younger ages which can lead to some serious developmental problems.  On the other hand, technology isn't going anywhere and students need to learn how to use it.  The article goes further into depth discussing both sides. Teach Thought has a post on smartphones and BYOD (bring your own device) strategies entitled, "Smartphones in the Classroom: Working Smarter, Not Harder."  The post discusses benefits and strategies for using smartphones within the classroom. The Lightning Round Educational Technology has a post covering 7 Wonderful Google Docs Tutorials for Teachers Ed Tech also has an article on 8 Awesome Educational Infographics for Teachers Plus, they have posts covering Apps for iPad Video Projects and for Creating Documentaries The Ed Tech Review has a great infographic on The Benefits of Going BYOD Teach Thought has a breakdown of the 6 Channels of 21st Century Learning And that about does it for our weekend Round Up!  In closing, below you'll find an excellent infographic from Teach Thought discussing 18 Common Myths of Education and a collection of beneficial apps for the Algebra 1 classroom. I hope everyone had a great weekend and if you're enjoying the Round Up, make sure to follow us on Facebook and/or Twitter!   Courtesy of: Teach Thought

We made it through Monday!  And the Round Up begins over at the Ed Tech Review with a post on the "Impact of Game Based Learning on Education."  The article discusses the benefits of including some form of game-based learning within the classroom: students can learn faster; a variety of learning styles are addressed; data can be captured and analyzed at an incredibly fast rate; and so on.  Definitely an interesting read. Next, Free Technology for Teachers has a great article on "The Top 10+ Sites for a Successful 1:1 Laptop Program: Experiences from the Trenches."  The article reviews 14 different software options that have been found useful for teachers and administrators within 1:1 laptop schools.  All different grade levels and subjects are covered and there are some wonderful resources for any district heading this direction. Free Tech for Teachers also has a two-part series up on "Tips for Leading Google Apps Training"  This article is mainly for technology integration specialists who will be giving PD sessions over Google Apps, so if that's you - check it out!  (Here is the link to Part 2) Tech & Learning has a write-up on "How to Create a Shared iPad Cart model."  The post discusses how my alma mater, Blue Valley High School, successfully implemented a shared iPad cart model.  This is a great alternative to consider if your district size or budget prohibits a 1:1 distribution of iPads.  Or, this shared cart model can function as a stepping stone on the road to complete 1:1 integration. Over at Getting Smart we start with a post entitled, "Mythbusting: Q&A with K12 Leadership."  The GS team sat down the exectives from K-12 online learning and discussed everything from the importance of online learning to the evolving role of the teacher in a digital setting.  It's a good read, especially if your school is considering including online course options. Getting Smart also has a new article and infographic about "Growing Up Google."  The post examines the growing role Google and Google Apps are having on education.  Interesting information to consider especially given Google's latest news about their Google Play for Education app store. Finally, Getting Smart has a post on "Jen Robert's Classroom in the Cloud."  Ms. Robert is a high school English teacher who has done an impressive job incorporating digital learning into her curriculum.  The post also has a short two-minute video explaining her classroom set up.  You can also check out her blog. Finally, Education Week has a article about how "Digital Trends Shifting the Role of Teachers."  The post talks about the kind of changes technology is causing within the classroom and how teachers are dealing with these changes.  The article also discusses BYOD policies, using social networks, and the problems that can arise during technology integration. The Lightning Round... Teach Though has a post covering 5 Less-Known iPad Apps for the Flipped Classroom Educational Technology has a chart comparing Projects with Project-Based Learning Ed Tech also has a great graphic comparing every learning theory EVER. And that's it for the Round Up today!  I'll leave you with the exciting news that you can now subscribe to receive the Daily Round Up through email!  I'm still working out the kinks, but if you want to subscribe...                                            Click Here to Subscribe! And just tell me you want in!  In closing, here's a new infographic that compares digital footprints across generations... Courtesy of: Educational Technology

Today's Round Up begins over at EdCetera.  The summer is almost upon us (woo!) and EdCetera has "A Roadmap to Becoming More Edtech Savvy This Summer."  The post discusses using social media to create a personal learning network, narrowing your focus to specific technology tools, and attending online webinars and workshops.  Plus, you can keep tuning in to the Round Up, we'll be here all summer long! Free Technology for Teachers has a review of "5 Good Lesson Plans for Teaching Copyright."  The post takes a look at the Electronic Frontier Foundation's new lesson plans that outline copyright laws for students.  Each lesson is 60 minutes long and includes assessment and support documents. Standard alignment is also addressed (for the California standards and for ISTE NETS).   Next up, Moving at the Speed of Creativity has a great post on "Using Student Videos on YouTube to Demonstrate Proper School Procedures."  The article talks about Jennie Wilmes, a K-3 librarian in Oklahoma who has students make YouTube videos outlining school procedures.  It's an excellent idea and one that could easily be used in any school. Tech & Learning has a article describing how "Gym Class Can Go High-Tech, Too."  Many times, physical education is over-looked when it comes to tech integration and this post does an awesome job describing how P.E. teachers can flip their classroom and use technology to extend learning and activity beyond the classroom. Edudemic starts the day off with a guide on "25 Things Teachers Should Know About Gamification."  The use of games in education has drastically increased in popularity over the past decade and it's an important strategy teachers should look into.  Games can increase engagement and motivation and be used outside of the classroom as well.Edudemic also has a post about "10 Creative Ways to Use Google Tools to Maximize Learning."  The article covers some best-practice methods for using Google Docs, Forms, Voice Comments, Research Tools, etc. within the classroom.  If you're not familiar with Google's collection of tools, they can be a huge benefit in the classroom.Finally, Edudemic closes with a guide on "How to Cite Social Media Using MLA and APA," which is mainly just this picture from TeachBytes: Next up, Educational Technology has a "Teacher's Guide to Creating Facebook Groups for Students." If you've never considered creating a Facebook group for you class, they can be enormously beneficial.  You can use them to connect to students outside of class, send assignments and messages, and engage in discussions. Ed Tech also has a post on "5 Steps to Create Stunning Slideshows with Audio Using Youtube."  Most people don't know that YouTube has a new set of features which allows for webcam capturing, video editing, and creating photo slideshows.  Using YouTube can be an easy (and free) alternative to creating a presentation through PowerPoint or Prezi.  You can even add effects and transitions! Finally, we'll end the day at Teach Thought with "4 Keys to Designing a Project-Based Learning Classroom" and "11 Steps of Effective Project-Based Learning in a Blended Classroom."  Together, these articles offer some great advice on successfully implementing PBL within the classroom.  Thanks for tuning in today and good luck with the closing weeks of school!  Unless you're out already, in which case I'm more than a little jealous. I usually end with a new infographic from the day, but instead I found a great Pinterest page full of dozens of Ed Tech infographics!  Enjoy and see you tomorrow!

Today we start the round up with Lisa Nielsen and her post, "5 Ways to Increase Chances of a Successful 1:1 Implementation."  There has been a huge 1:1 push in recent years (be it with laptops, ipads, or smartphones) and schools have met with mixed success.  There is an enormous amount of work that goes into the launching a 1:1 program and Ms. Nielsen's post is a great place to start. Much like 1:1 initiatives, creating a "flipped classroom" can also be met with mixed results.  Emerging Ed Tech has a new post which chronicles the failures of an IB Chem Teacher as he struggles to design a flipped classroom.  Fortunately, he gives us a chance to learn from his mistakes and offers some great advice on launching your own flipped classroom. Over at Educational Technology there is a new summary providing "20 Tips to Protect Your Online Identity." This is an excellent list for elementary and junior high students (hopefully high school students are familiar with them!) to help them begin thinking about online safety.  The original article from the UK Guardian can be found here (Ed Tech provides a good summary though). Moving at the Speed of Creativity has a great post entitled, "Why Your School Needs a Scratch Club."  If you're not familiar with Scratch, it's a program from MIT that teaches the basics of computer programming in a fun and easy to understand interface.  Offering clubs, like the kind described in the post, is a great alternative if your school doesn't offer a computer science course. Hybrid Pedagogy has a post from last month (that today's The Wheel directed me to) on "Why Online Programs Fails, and 5 Things We Can Do About It." Online educator or not, this post is incredibly thought-provoking and worth your time.  I'll just stop there and let you go check it out... And, we're back! Free Technology for Teachers starts off covering "Five Ways to Digitally Celebrate Your Students' Year." It's an excellent end of the year post and covers a variety of tools for making class videos, creating collages, designing a collaborate slideshow, creating a classroom portfolio, and bringing in relatives to enjoy the celebration too!Free Tech also offers a way to "Get Creative Commons Savvy With These Activities."  The post talks about using yesterday's EFF plans in conjuction with P2PU's new four module unit on Getting CC Savvy.  These two activities together are in excellent way to help inform students about the rules and regulations of copyright law.And Free Tech ends the day with an introduction to "The Dictionary of Numbers - Putting Numbers in Human Terms."  The Dictionary of Numbers is a Chrome extension that "translates large numbers into terms that are easy to visualize."  With the extension running, you can highlight any number you find on the web and choose to launch the app. Getting Smart starts off with an article on "Building a Digital Depository."  The main idea at the core of the post is the suggestion that the "federal government must re-imagine its role in education" and become more active in helping school districts identify and supply network needs. They offer some valid and interesting points that are worth considering.Getting Smart also has two new posts about the Common Core Standards, "In Support of the Common Core," and "Common Core: A Platform for Equity and Innovation."  Both posts discuss the benefits and potential of the new Common Core Standards (which 45 states have officially adopted).  The first post centers around today's letter from 11 state officials on the need to fully support the CCS, and the second post focuses on the power of the CCS to allow for innovation and exploration in education.  The Lightning Round... Teach Thought shows off 15 Presentation Tools for Teachers from EdshelfConsidering using Minecraft to gamify your classroom?  Check out MineCraft Edu!The Ed Tech Review shares an infographic on "What Parents & Students say about Ed Tech"Educational Technology covers 6 iPad Apps for Tutorials & Screencasts and Handwriting Apps. And we'll end today's Round Up with an infographic on "Learning on the Go" from T.I.E.  Until tomorrow!

It's almost Friday!  And today's Round Up begins with a new post from Lisa Nielsen on "4 Ways to Provoke Change in Our Education System."  The article  discusses the best ways to help inspire diversity, curiosity and creativity within the classroom and she gives great examples, ideas, and resources that teachers can get started with immediately. Over at User Generated Education, Dr. Jackie Gleason has an excellent new post on "The Other 21st Century Skills."  She opens with a quick overview of what some may call "traditional 21st century skills" and then outlines the other attributes that she believes would "best serve learners in this era."  It's a great read! EdCetera has a new post describing "How Hardware is Hurting the E-Textbook Industry."   Their main argument is that the cost of the hardware required to use e-books, and the readability of the digital content are the two major factors hurting the E-Textbook industry.  However, they end the article by discussing how schools are creatively working to deal with the issue of cost. Free Technology for Teachers starts off with "5 Good Resources for Teaching & Learning About Shakespeare."  The post discusses some excellent Shakespeare tech resources like Shakespeare Animated, Crash Course videos on English Lit, Insults by Shakespeare, LiveBinders Resources, and Shakespeare's original pronunciation guides.   Next, Free Tech covers "5 Great Activities from Read Write Think."  If you're not familiar with Read Write Think, they offer some of the best free elementary language arts lessons around.  This post covers a few of their tools, and if you teach elementary LA, it's definitely worth the read. And Free Tech closes with a post reviewing "Harvest of History: Helping Students Understand Farms."  The program is designed to teach elementary students about farms and help show them where their food comes from.   Edudemic begins with a post covering "How To Properly Integrate Education Technology."  I think we've all seen examples of  schools buying new technology, giving it out to teachers and students, and then expecting miraculous results.  However successful tech integration requires much more work, and this article describes the steps to make it happen. Edudemic also has a nice post on how to "Integrate iPads Into Blooms' Digital Taxonomy With This 'Pedagogy Wheel'"  The Pedagogy Wheel was created by Allan Carrington and shows you the best apps for each level of Blooms' Taxonomy.  I've embedded it here for your viewing pleasure (click for full size) We've been talking a lot lately about game-based learning and to follow up on that, the Ed Tech Review has a new post entitled, "Reasons for Slow Adoption of Gamification in Education."  The article outlines what they believe to be the main reason that game-based learning is taking its sweet time making inroads into the classroom.   And on a related note, Getting Smart has a new post about an "Australian Study Points to Benefits of Games-Based Math."  the article reviews the implementation of games fromMangaHigh within middle school classrooms in Australia.  The findings from the study are pretty impressive, specifically that 100% of the teachers involved reported that the using the games improved student learning outcomes. Getting Smart closes with a post on "Buidling STEM Skills by Learning Game Design."  The article talks about using Game Design Tool Kit to teach students the basics of programming and design while they create games.  I'd also recommend checking out GameSalad, it's similar to scratch but more geared towards game/app design and it's also a great free resource to teach students programming. The Lightning Round... Learn Dash has a new infographic on the latest MOOC trends. Educational Technology discusses 8 Digital Ways to Wrap Up the School Year Ed Tech also covers How to Create a Google+ Hangout for Students and Flipped Classrooms Edudemic reviews 36 Entertaining Apsp that are Actually Educational Edudemic also has a great infographic on What Parents Want From Classroom Technoloogy Plus, Edudemic has a video collection of Educational Uses for Google Glass And we'll end today's Round Up with an excellent new infographic on the STEM Skills Gap.  Courtesy of: Edudemic

Happy Friday!  Today's Round Up starts at Teach Thought with a helpful post covering "4 Sources of Low Cost Textbook and Educational Resources."  With ever-tightening education budgets,  this post suggests checking out resources like Bookboon, Flat World Knowledge, OpenStax College, and Boundless.  While the primary focus of these sites if for university students, high school classes could also benefit. Free Technology for Teachers starts off with "Every Stock Photo - A Search Engine for Free Images."  Every Stock Photo is an excellent site for students to find public domain and creative commons licensed pictures.  Setting the advanced Google search settings to find public domain photos can sometimes be tricky for students just learning the web, and this site is a great alternative for finding properly licensed photos.Free Tech also introduces us to "FatURL - Share Bundles of Links"  Need to share a big group of links for a webquest, project, or class activity?  FatURL is the perfect tool to package your links and send them all together in one easy bundle. Getting Smart opens with a post entitled, "Next Gen Science Standards 101."  This post offers the perfect introduction to the NGSS, a set of standards that today's science educators should consider.  The post outlines the basics of the NGSS and provides 5 resources for teachers to check out.And Getting Smart also covers "DragonBox: This is How You Gamify"  DragonBox is an "educational game that secretly teaches kids algebra."  The program runs on mobiles, tablets, and desktops and works to help students discover the rules and principles of algebra while they play.  This is an excellent app and worth checking out for math learning. (along with MangaHigh from yesterday's Round Up.) The Lightning Round... Free Technology for Teachers outlines 5 Good Places for Kids to Learn About the NewsTeach Thought shows us 36 Digital Storytelling SApps from EdshelfFinally, Teach Thought also has a some great posters on Improving Student VocabularyAnd there you have it, short and sweet!  The Round Up will be back on Sunday with the weekend edition and until then, have an excellent weekend!

Our Weekend edition begins at Edudemic with an enjoyable and inspiring post entitled, "Why Right Now is Just the Beginning for Education Technology."  In the post, Dr. Jeff Borden argues that educational technology is only in its infancy and that we have a long way to go - but that's the exciting part!  I agree wholeheartedly with the post and it's worth reading! Next, Edudemic discusses an interesting infographic on "Why and How Teachers are (and aren't) Using Technology."  The infographic focuses on early childhood education and the prevalence of technology in the classroom.  The most optimistic statistic I found in the infographic was that over half of classrooms have students working on technology every single day, and only 8% have children using technology less than once a week (500 teachers and administrators were surveyed). Finally, Edudemic closes with a post on "4 Tools to Help Avoid Summer Learning Loss."  They cover: GobStopper - An e-reading platform that lets you assign and monitor summer reading assignments MeMeTales - A free app that kids can use to read picture books and children's stories. Bookster - A free read along story-telling app that can also record children reading stories. Tales2Go - An audiobook service geared towards kids that streams over 1000 stories.  Next up, TeachThought has a post covering "The Simple Things I Do to Promote Brain-Based Learning in my Classroom."  In the article, Dr. Judy Willis describes how she strives to not only teach students content, but to help them understand how their brains work and how learning occurs.  It's an excellent and thought-provoking post with ideas that are useful in all grades and subject areas. Educational Technology opens the weekend with a post reviewing "5 Web Tools to Create Awesome Digital Newspapers for your Class."  The post covers Issuu, Scribd, Zinepal, Fodey, and Paper.li.  Personally, I'm a big fan of Issuu and if you look under our lesson plans page, you'll see a student guide for uploading content to Issuu.   Educational Tech also has a new guide covering "Everything Teachers Need to Know About Google Spreadsheets."  If you're not familiar, Google Spreadsheets is a component of Google Docs/Drive and can be an excellent (and free) alternative to Excel.  If you've never used the app before, this guide offers lessons on all the basics and is a great place to get started.   Emerging Ed Tech has an awesome write up on "Exciting Developments in Uses of 3D Printing in Education."  We have only just begin to explore the benefits 3D printing can have in education and this article does an excellent job of putting together examples from schools across the country. The Lightning Round... Educational Tech covers Apps for Summer Learning and 30 Ways Teachers can use Pinterest. Edudemic has great new infographics on Blended Learning, ESL Tools, and Blooms Taxonomy. The Ed Tech Review also has a new infographic covering The Dark Side of Moocs. Teach Thought reviews a app for creating video lessons and blogs: Soo Meta And there's the weekend for you!  We'll end today's round up with an interesting infographic that discusses current trends in Gamification...  See you tomorrow! Created by Knewton and Column Five Media

Welcome back!  I'd like to begin our Memorial Day post by sharing my gratefulness for all the courageous men and women who have given their lives in service; and to all those who have served in the armed forces and/or continue to do so, you have my gratitude.  And for those teachers who would like some great resources on teaching about Memorial Day in the classroom, here is a good place to start. And we'll continue today's Round Up with an incredibly interesting dialogue that is evolving between Audrey Watters of Hack Education and Marie Bjerede at Getting Smart over the recent Clayton Christensen Report entitled, "Is K-12 Blended Learning Disruptive?" In short, they are discussing the idea of Disruptive Innovation,  the role of technology in education, the importance of metaphors, and a whole lot more.  If you're feeling philosophical or a tad existential today, I'd recommend heading in this direction. Getting Smart also has a write-up on "Ten Reasons Online Learning Matters."  The article covers some good points and ends with the statement that "Nearly every student will learn online in whatever postsecondary setting they choose... It's time to improve the quality of online learning opportunities."  Getting Smart is working on a paper with iNACOL about the benefits and myths of online learning, so more on this soon! Hybrid Pedagogy has a new article, "Push, Pull, Fork: GitHub for Academics."  GitHub was originally created as an online host for software code, to let developers easily share and exchange ideas.  The idea behind bringing GitHub to education is that educators could begin to do the same: easily share, discuss, and distribute materials and lessons in a centralized online location. Next up, Edudemic has a post and infographic discussing how a "New Study Uncovers What Teens Actually Share on Social Media."  The new study from Pew uncovers a ton of interesting statistics about the digital lives of today's teenagers.  For example, 92% share their real name, 91% post photos of themselves, 71% post their school name and their home town, and 53% post their email addresses.  For me, these stats mean that educators must remain focused on teaching teens about the dangers of openly sharing so much of their lives online. Setting up a classroom blog can be an amazing classroom tool.  Students can engage in online discussions, create multimedia rich reports, and it's much easier to share everyone's work.  If you've ever considered starting a classroom blog, Educational Technology's, "Teacher's Visual Guide to Setting up a Classroom Blog" is a really good place to start (the guide is for Blogger) Teach Thought has a new analysis up, "Examining Blended Learning Models: Student-to-Technology Interaction."  This 6 part series takes a thorough look at all aspects of the blended learning model.  If you're familiar with the basics of blended learning and are ready to dive into the deep end, here's a good place to do it. Free Tech for Teachers opens with "5 Tools Students Can Use to Create Alternative Book Reports."  The article covers Animoto, WeVideo, Pixntell, Narrable, and Wideo.  These are all excellent tools and worth checking out, and personally I would recommend looking at Pixton and Domo Animate as well.   Free Tech also has a post on "Problem Attic Expands Again - more Practice Problems than Ever."  If you've never visited Problem Attic, it's a free service that allows you to create flashcards and practice tests for science, math, social studies, and language arts.  And, they've just expanded to include 4600 new practice questions and 1700 new math challenges!  It's an excellent site for building practice tests and helping students to study outside of class. The Speed of Creativity has a new and disturbing post entitled, "Controversy Surrounds OKCPS Transfer Rejections for ClassenSAS"  In the wake of the horrible tragedy in Oklahoma, the OK City Public School Board has been making some questionable and possibly discriminatory decisions in regards to student transfers.  The entire article is definitely worth reading... The Lightning Round... Teach Thought reviews 9 Learning Tools Every 21st Century Teacher Should be Able to Use Teach Thought also covers 43 Great Free Tools for Teachers from Edshelf Learn Dash outlines 19 Kick-Butt Tools for eLearning Educational Technology discusses 10 Good iPad Apps for Learning English Free Tech  tells us about Make Beliefs Comix offering 300+ Printable Comic Templates And to close out the Round Up today , we'll end with a great Ted Talk that Edudemic just posted about Creating Classrooms in the Clouds (... not the literal ones ... )