Welcome back!  Today we begin with a wonderful post from Dr. Jackie Gerstein at User Generated Education.  The article, "Teaching Ethics in the Age of Technology" discusses how ethical decision making should be on the list of 21st century skills that we teach our students, and on the interaction between technology and ethics.  It's an excellent article and well worth the read! Next up, as part of Getting Smart's "Smart Student Blogging Contest" which invites students to share lessons and learning experiences, a 6th grader named Isabella offers her thoughts on "Tech, Tools and Robotics."  Isabella discusses her experiences in the robotics club and how the lessons she's learned there have helped shape her education.  And, if you haven't check out the "Smart Student" series, it's great. EdTech Magazine has a collection of articles which cover the details of the Consortium for School Networking Conference: How do Big Data & Digital Learning Improve Ed? More information on eRate 2.0 Big Data's Big Impact on K-12 Leveraging Classroom Tech Assessment Readiness Made Easy Over at Edudemic, Katie Lepi has a great new article entitled, "It's Time to Start Teaching About Sustainable Technology."  The post focuses around an infographic which examines how technology is effecting our environment and how our technology recycling habits might need to be changed.  Definitely worth taking a look! Here are a few of the new resources & reviews from FT4T: Word Cloud Tools to Help Students Analyze Writing 7 Student Response Systems for All Devices Building Flipped Lessons with Assessment Tools Speech to Text & Text to Speech in your Browser Most Popular Posts of the Week Next up, iLearn technology has a new review of "Google Story Builder: Create a Video Story Google Style."  Google Story Builder is a new app that lets you build a video story "that looks like it is being typed live between two collaborators in a Google doc."  It's a free, simple tool with a lot of fun classroom potential, so check out the review for more! Here are some of the great, new resources from ET&ML: Facts about How Tech is Transforming Education 2 Web Tools for Classroom Management Resources to Integrate Tech In Your Classroom 5 Tools to Help You Flip your Classroom Finally, edReach has a new collection of podcasts to peruse: EdAdmin: We Need School Leaders who can Code Flipped Learning: The Maker Movement EdAdmin: Practical Ideas for Promoting Creativity EdAdmin: On Formative Assessment EdCeptional: It's Just Tech! And that's all for the Roundup this week, thanks for reading!  We've also added some new reviews, so make sure to check those out as well!  And, to all my follow Jayhawks out there, I'll be mourning with you!  We'll close the Roundup today with a new infographic from Cisco (via Edudemic) on theImportance of Video in the Classroom.  See you next time! Courtesy of: Cisco

Welcome back to the Roundup!  Hopefully your team has made it to tonight's final four, or if not, that you're having a great weekend!  Today we begin at the EdTech Review with their brand new  "EdTech Implementation Guide - Part 1: Creating a Tech Integration Vision."  This is an excellent guide for districts, technology coordinators, or really anyone interested in integrating education technology. Speaking of edtech integration, Jennifer Zaino at EdTech Magazine has an excellent new article which discusses "Why Students and Staff Should Have a Voice in IT Decision-Making."  The post outlines why it is important for all educational stakeholders to have input into the technology purchasing and integration process.  And, from a personal perspective, I couldn't agree more with her advice. Here are a few of the great new resources from FT4T:Exploring History, Art, and World Wonders OnlineFree Google Apps that Bring Out the Best in an iPadVideo Guide to Using the Google Drive iPad AppLittle Bird Tales for Digital Storytelling in ElementaryThe Most Popular Posts of the Week Next up, Mary Jo Madda at EdSurge has a great new piece entitled, "No Silver Bullets: Hybrid High Learns a Tough Edtech Lesson."  The post tells the story of "how a school put teachers in charge of edtech and turned around a failing program."  It's a wonderful article about the challenges, successes, and possibilities for integrating technology and creating hybrid learning environments. Next let's head over to Mind/Shift for a new post by Shawn McCusker which asks, "How Are Students' Roles Changing in the New Economy of Information?"  In the article, McCusker discusses the skills students must possess to successfully navigate the enormous amount of information they are continually presented with.  It's an excellent and thought-provoking read, and definitely worth checking out. Here are a few of the new resources from ET&ML this week:Student Guide to Evaluating Web Content4 Free Educational iPad AppsEd Twitter Chats Teachers Should Know AboutEducational Web Resources for Teachers Next, Benjamin Herold at Education Week has a new article discussing how "Khan Academy, Open Ed. Providers Evolve with Common Core."  For anyone in one of the many, many states adopting the CCSS, and for those interested in blended or flipped learning, this will definitely come as great news.  The online content providers will be (and have already been) aligning their curriculum with the Common Core. Dawn Casey-Rowe at Edudemic has a great new post to help teachers integrate new tech on the cheap, "5 Ways To Do EdTech on a Shoestring Budget."  In the post, Casey-Rowe outlines five easy steps to bring technology into the classroom without spending boatloads of cash.  For anyone with limited resources, or just looking to save, check it out! Finally, here are some of the new podcasts from EdReach:EdGamer: Oculus FaceRiftTwo Guys Show: Aurasma's Head of OperationsaRTs Roundtable: Low Tech to High TechEdAdmin: Learning to Write Great SentencesiDig Video: Game of Thrones with Film Students And that's all for the Roundup this week!  I'll be out of town next week because... we finally made it to spring break!  Woo!  Have a great weekend and the Roundup will return in 2 weeks!  In the meantime, check out some of our new reviews and podcasts!  And if you had a chance to try out Been, and you're liking it, make sure to vote for them in the DEN March-Madness EdTech Championship! Thanks for reading!  -Mike

Welcome back!  After a week off for spring break, it's good to be back blogging! This week's Roundup begins at Edudemic with a new post from Katie Lepi entitled "How is Technology Affecting Kids?"  The post includes an excellent infographic and covers the latest statistics on students and technology use.  Next up, Katrina Schwartz at Mind/Shift asks "Are Existing Tech Tools Effective for Teachers and Students?"  The article centers around a new report released by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation which surveyed 3,100 teachers and 1,250 students about effective digital instruction.  It's an excellent read (as is the entire report) for classroom teachers and administrators alike. Here are a few of the great resources from FT4T this week:Online 3D Models of MoleculesView Geolocated Historical ImageryTyping Speed Monitor Shows Typing Speed on WebSilk Adds Support for Drag and Drop EditingThe Most Popular Posts of the Week Tracy Clark at Getting Smart has some great ideas for digital spring cleaning in her new series "10 Spring Cleaning To Dos for Your Digital Adobe."  Clark walks us through updating passwords, automating digital tasks, cleaning out inboxes, and a whole lot more.  It's easy to forget the importance of keeping our digital lives organized and up to date, and Clark's post is a great and helpful reminder. Over at EdTech Magazine, D. Frank Smith has on new post on "Captivating Students with Perplexing Problems."  The article discusses a recent talk that math teacher Dan Meyer gave at the annual CUE (Computer-Using Educators) conference in March.  Meyer offers some excellent advice on engaging and captivating students, and how to use technology to help in that process. Here are some of the new resources from ET&ML:6 Apps for Better Interaction with Your Students5 Golden Rules for Kids' Online SafetyGreat Research Tools for Teachers & StudentsTools to Protect and Raise Digital Learners If you're not familiar with the recent movement to "flip" teacher professional development, and put more power in the hands of teachers as to what they focus on, it's pretty exciting.  On that note, TeachThought has a great new post which offers "8 Steps to Flipped Teacher Professional Development."  A few of the great podcasts from EdReach this week:The Myth of Digital Citizenship & Why We Need ItMacReach: MacReach Joins the LadyGeeksGoogle Educast: Google TakeoutTwo Guys Show: Integrating Augmented Reality in EdEdAdmin: Innovation, Google X, and Failing Finally, if you're feeling in supportive spirits today, we'll end with a new edtech kickstarter project called Crack the Books.  The project aims to offer digital textbooks at a variety of reading levels, so that students can all learn the same content, but at a reading level that is appropriate for them.  There is about 65 hours left on the project, so go check it out! That's it for the Roundup today!  Thanks for stopping by and enjoy the rest of your weekend!-Mike

Welcome back to the Roundup!  First, I'd like to wish all the moms out there (mine especially!) a very happy mother's day! Second, let's start this week's Roundup with Michele Molnar at Education Week who has a new report on "Google's 'Classroom' Learning Management System."  The application will allow teachers to easily collect assignments, provide feedback, make announcements, and more! Check it out! Jordan Shapiro at Mind/Shift has a new article entitled, "Math, Science, History: Games Break Boundaries Between Subjects."  In this post (which is part 3 of  Mind/Shift's Guide to Games & Learning) Shapiro discusses how teachers can use game-based lessons to embrace holistic learning and bring various content areas together, helping students to see beyond traditional subject-area boundaries.   Here are a few of the great resources from FT4T this week: Sugar and the Human Brain Free Webinars About Using Comics in Class 7 Tools for Creating Short Video Stories Develop & Test Rocket Designs on OpenRocket The Most Popular Posts of the Week Next up, Katie Lepi at Edudemic has an excellent infographic and analysis on "Keeping Students Safe Online." Lepi opens with some statistics (many of which are troubling) about students' behavior online.  She then goes on to offer strategies and tips for helping keep kids safe, and shares a great infographic as well. Here are a few new resources from this week on ET&ML 25 Ed Web Tools to Boost your Teaching 7 Tools for Assessment in a 1:1 Classroom Fundamental Teacher Apps The Four Pillars of Flipped Learning If you're a Twitter fan like myself, you've probably seen an occasional (or often) twitter Q&A discussion taking place. Maybe you've even wondered how you could launch your own Q&A session about a topic that you are interested in.  If that's the case, check out Lisa Nielsen's excellent new post on "How to Host a Q&A Twitter Chat." Finally, here a few of EdReach's new podcasts! Will Unstructured Play Turn Kids into LOtF? Google Educast: The Classroom w/ Eric Curts The Two Guys Show: Class Dojo Flipped Learning: Star Wars in the Classroom Teach Your Students to Make Documentaries The Lightning Round... Dom Norrish offers his predictions on How Will the Classroom of 2017 Look? Edudemic shares a new infographic on Slowing Down the Distracted Generation EdTech Review gives us 5 New Tech Tools that Teachers Must Explore Getting Smart covers the 12 Features of the Next-Gen Platform Finally, Edutopia discusses Tools for Professional Learning: Curate, Share, Connect And that does it for this week!  Again, a very happy mother's day to all you moms out there and thanks for reading!  We'll end today with a new infographic on how technology in education has changed over the past few years! Courtesy of: Cheapest Colleges

Well, hello!  As of today, the Roundup will be going on a brief hiatus until the beginning of August.  I'm currently in the process of moving back to the states from living abroad for the past 4 years, and beginning a new graduate program.  So, things are a little crazy at the moment!  There will be occasional reviews and editorials posted over the summer, but as for the Weekly Roundup portion of the site, it'll be gone for the time.  But again, the site will be back in action come August, with some new changes and updates as well!  As always, thanks for reading, and I hope everyone has an amazing summer!-Mike

Good news for fans of the Roundup and education technology in general... We'll be back in just a few short weeks!  Early August to be exact(ish).  It's been nice having some time off, but I'm almost ready to get back to the blogmobile.  So, see you soon, and in the meantime, check out the new review of Wildlife Acoustic's Echo Touch Meter - You can use it to find your neighborhood bats!

Hello and welcome to the Roundup!  After taking two months off to move back to the states from Colombia, and then to move again to Bloomington, I'm ready to get the site running again!  For those who are curious, I'll be starting a Ph.D. program at IU in instructional technology.  As for the site, not much will change, except I'm going to start adding a monthly "Research Roundup" for those interested in the current research and studies that are underway in the field. Otherwise, it's good to be back and thanks for reading!  Let's begin! Today we'll start at EdTech magazine with an article by Matt Renwick, entitled "How Teachers Can Become Fluent in Classroom Technology."  With a new school year beginning, it's the perfect time to give that new technology tool a try!  In the post, Renwick talks about the benefit of starting small and trying to make a personal connection with the technology you're using in the classroom. Jordan Shapiro at Mind/Shift has a new post which shares "How to Choose a Learning Game."  So maybe you've decided you would like to begin integrating learning games in your classroom, but you're not sure how to pick the right one.  Shapiro asks several guiding questions to help teachers select and implement a learning game that will be beneficial for students. A few of the new posts from the excellent Free Tech for Teachers:Video Guides to Sending Free Texts Through Remind (101)ViewPure for Distraction-Free YouTube WatchingClassDojo in the High School ClassroomOtus - A Great Online Learning EnvironmentThe Most Popular Posts of the Week If you're not familiar with Google Hangouts, it's a free video conferencing tool that be used to connect with others.  It offers great classroom potential, and to that end, Jennifer Carey at Edudemic has a new post which outlines "4 Ways to Enhance Your Class with Google Hangouts." Over at Getting Smart, Jena Draper has a new article which asks "Is the Sharing Economy Education's Future?"  Draper opens by discussing the increasing momentum of the sharing economy and goes on to discuss how this relates to education.  Her main argument is that, "the sharing economy, when applied to education, has the potential to accelerate a highly advanced teaching and learning model." Sean Cavanagh at Education Week has an interesting new article which discusses how "Ed-Tech Vendors See Hurdles in the K-12 Marketplace."  The post discusses the intricate nature of the K-12 environment and how it can be a slow and difficult process to get Ed-Tech tools out of the hands of creators and into the hands of students and teachers. Here are a few of the new podcasts from the EdReach networkFlipped Learning: Digital Responsibility w/ Ken SheltonGoogle Educast: Classroom ValidationFlipped Learning: Talking STEM w/ Chris CraftEdAdmin: New Visual Literacies Finally, at ElectricBrains the site shares an excellent post on "The Top Resources for Teaching Digital Responsibility."  They have a great collection of sites to check out as well as a short post on the huge importance of digital responsibility in the classroom.  If you're using technology at all in the classroom, this is a great post to start thinking about digital responsibility and how to teach it. And that's all for today!  Thanks again for stopping by and it's good to be back.  Also, if you're a teacher who uses Edmodo (a great learning management system), you might want to check out this excellent collection of guides and resources from Educational Tech & Mobile Learning.  In closing, here's an interview with Paul Andersen (of the excellent Bozeman Science) about creating online resources for students. Have a great weekend and see you next time!

Welcome back!  I hope everyone had a wonderful Labor Day weekend and a good start to the school year!  This week we'll begin at Getting Smart with a new post from Jim Schultz on "Three Ways Blended Learning Makes Teachers More Efficient."  Schultz opens with a basic definition of blended learning (in case you're unfamiliar) and then jumps into his reasons on why it makes for more effective classes. Next up, Nicole Blake Johnson at EdTech Magazine has a new post which outlines the Internet Keep Safe Coalition's"New Digital Literacy Program to Educate K-12 Students on Internet Safety." The post also discusses how the curriculum offers free lessons that align with Common Core Standards. If you're a computer literacy teacher, or looking for a good way to inform students about internet safety, this is a good place to start. A few of the great new resources from Free Tech for Teachers: Storyboard Creation for Classroom Cartoons Plickers 2.0 is Coming Soon! (Great tool) Project Based Assignments & Feedback w/ WeLearnedIt History fun with Fake Facebook and Fake SMS The Most Popular Posts of the Week Let's take it back to blended learning for a moment with a solid post from Reannah Sartoris at Edudemic. Sartoris' new post, "Top 5 Tips for a Blended Learning Classroom" offers some simple, easy-to-follow tips for teachers just beginning in a blended environment. Over at Inside Higher Ed, the team has just released a new 30-page booklet entitled "Online Education: More than MOOCs."  For those not familiar, a MOOC is a Massive Open Online Course, and has become one of the standards for online education.  If you're interested in online education, either K-12 or higher-ed, I definitely recommend reading thefree book. Here are a few of the new podcasts from the EdReach network Flipped Learning: Teacher Resources w/ Richard Byrne EdGamer: The Use of Gaming Data Google Educast: RISE Above It TheatreCast: Another Opening, Another School Year And finally, for those of us who love virtual reality, and the potential it has for the K-12 learning environment, Benjamin Herold at Education Week has an excellent new article entitled, "Oculus Rift Fueling New Vision for Virtual Reality in K-12." If you haven't heard of the Oculus Rift, it's pretty awesome, and offers some exciting possibilities for K-12 The Lightning Round... Teach Amazing gives us 5 Ways to Use Mind Mapping Apps in the Classroom Edudemic shares the Top Gamification Tools Worth Trying Educational Tech & Mobile Learning offers 2 Useful Videos on Flipped Learning Emerging Ed Tech covers 10 of the Most Engaging Uses of Instructional Technology The Ed Tech Review discusses 5 Ways for Teachers to Use Tumblr in their Classroom Finally, THE Journal provides 15 Apps Every Principal Should Have That's it for this week!  Thanks for stopping by and we'll have some new reviews up soon for you as well.  Enjoy the rest of the weekend and we'll close with a new interactive infographic from Open Colleges on the Uses of Google Glass in Education.  See you next time! How Google Glass might be used in Education - An infographic by the team at Open Colleges

Welcome back to the Roundup!  We've got a short one this week, so let's jump right in!  Up first, Holly Korbey at Mind/Shift explores an issue that's been on my own mind a lot lately,"Can Students 'Go Deep' With Digital  Reading?"  In the post, Korbey does an excellent job discussing the issue, incorporating recent research, and addressing both the advantages and disadvantages of digital reading. Up next, John Hardison at Getting Smart has prepared an absolutely awesome collection collection of tools and resources in "A Gold Mine of #EdTech Resources: Part II." Hardison covers Website Creation, Learning Management Systems, Apps, Blogging Platforms, and so much more.  There are tons of great tools here that are absolutely worth checking out.  And, if you're interested in part I of the series, you can find it here. And, of course, some great new resources from FT4T: MyStorybook - A Platform for Creating Picture Books Socratic Smackdown - A Game for Discussions Piano Maestro - Learn to Read Sheet Music The Most Popular Posts of the Week Finally (I told you it was a short one!) we head over to the Ed Tech Review for a nice collection of resources from Prasanna Bharti entitled, "Flip Your Classroom with These Great Online Tools." Bharti covers EdPuzzle, eduCanon, Blubbr, VideoNotes, and Teachem, all of which are good tools and worth exploring. The Lightning Round... EdTech Magazine gives us 5 Strategies to Reach At-Risk Students with Technology Edudemic covers 10 Ways to Use Instagram in Your Classroom Educational Tech & Mobile Learning discusses 30+ Features of the 21st Century Classroom Moving at the Speed of Creativity shares 70 iPad Apps for Elementary STEM Finally, T|H|E Journal covers6 Must-Have Apps for Tech Leaders And that does it for this week!  But before I go, I want to recommend checking out a new app that was designed by a student fresh out of high school!  It's calledSharedAgenda and it's basically a way for students and teachers to make the school agenda a social experience.  It's a great app and it's free, so check it out!  Thanks for reading and we'll end with a new infographic from Presence Learning which looks at some of the benefits of online therapy.  See you next time! Courtesy of: Presence Learning

With options for classroom technology growing every day, it has become an increasingly difficult challenge to find the best resource for your students’ learning needs.  Do you go with tablets? What about a "bring your own device" (BYOD) policy? Or maybe a laptop cart to share between classrooms?  While all these different resources have their advantages and disadvantages, one relative new-comer to the field is Google’s Chromebook, and it offers some serious potential at an incredibly reasonable price.  [Continue Reading]