Technology in the Classroom

A new app aims to bring William Shakespeare’s sonnets to the masses with the help of short films starring stage actors performing them in front of New York landmarks, Reuters reports. The Sonnet Project is a free app for the iPhone and iPad that showcases the bard’s poetry through films of up to two minutes and performances by Tony-Award winning actors Joanna Gleason and Cady Huffman, among others. “Shakespeare gets a bad rap. A lot of people say ‘I don’t like Shakespeare, he’s over my head,’ or ‘Shakespeare is boring,’” said Ross Williams, the artistic director of the New York Shakespeare Exchange, the non-profit organization behind The Sonnet Project.

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An 18-year-old recently won $50,000 in scholarship funds for inventing a supercapacitor that could one day be used to fully charge a mobile device like a smartphone in just a few seconds, TechSpot reports. Eesha Khare and two other teens were among the top winners at the annual Intel International Science and Engineering Fair. Her design, a tiny device that fits inside cell phone batteries, would allow them to fully charge within 20-30 seconds. The supercapacitor can last for up to 10,000 cycles which outpaces traditional batteries by a factor of 10…

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This summer I will be heading back to Central Connecticut State University (CCSU) Summer Music Institute to teach a course titled, “Integrating Technology into the Elementary Music Classroom: A Course For Elementary Teachers Taught By An Elementary Teacher.” CCSU Summer Music Institute is an excellent program that has been around for numerous years. Music educators from [...]

The primary focus of this excellent interactive site is for users to decide how to plan for evacuation when a volcanic eruption is imminent.

      The school year is coming to a close at River Hill High School.  Seniors are finding out where they are going to college, and finishing their AP exams, and as anybody who has taught high school knows, this is the time of year when those seniors tend to “check out.”  Many teachers [...]

The Huffington Post reports that Thomas Edison once said, “Books will soon be obsolete in the public schools… our school system will be completely changed inside of ten years.” Amazingly enough, however, one of our nation’s most important inventors was proven quite wrong. The American education system has a remarkable resistance to innovation and the classroom experience has changed very little in the 100 years since Edison’s prediction. Advances in information technology have revolutionized how people communicate and learn in nearly every aspect of modern life except for education. The education system operates under the antiquated needs of an agrarian and industrial America…

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One of the fastest ways to get breaking news, and one of the best platforms for instant networking, is Twitter.  Twitter is replete with people who love to discuss education, technology, and current events.

From education experts to ed-tech industry leaders, and from teachers to those with simply a passion for education, these 15 education Tweeters are worth a  follow!

Know of any education Tweeters you’d like to see on the list? Be sure to leave your suggestion in the comment section below.

(Next page: Some of the top Tweeters)

What an interesting way to explore Manhattan and its place in American literary history.

[View the story "The best tweets of the week for education" on Storify]

Sumner-Eddyville-Miller Public Schools in central Nebraska plans to implement more energy efficient heating, cooling, lighting, windows, and electronic controls, and switch to a renewable energy heat source.

On the photo-sharing app Instagram, search the keywords #Fairfax, #Rockville or #DC and up pops hundreds of photos from children, The Washington Post reports. Among them, until recently, were many from Kyle, a 12-year-old. His full name, Gaithersburg middle school and favorite Montgomery County hangouts were on public display before his parents put a stop to it. Technically, Kyle was not supposed to be on Instagram, the mobile app owned by Facebook. The company’s policy sets the minimum age at 13. But Kyle said he was able to join easily, no questions asked. Within minutes of setting up his account this past fall, he was uploading “selfies” of his cherubic face and blond mop top and tagging photos of friends with their names…

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Libraries that utilize the Library PressDisplay newspaper and magazine Web portal and its companion PressReader application will now be able to offer the mobile service free of charge to their patrons.

Skyward is releasing a new module that will offer teachers a single online hub for classroom activity management and communication.

Google is taking a new approach to distributing mobile apps in schools. This fall, it will launch Google Play for Education, an Android app store for K-12 schools that will allow teachers to manage apps on their students tablets.

The Siemens Foundation has opened its annual Competition in Math, Science & Technology. This year's program will offer scholarships ranging from $1,000 to $100,000.

Moodle HQ has released Moodle 2.5, a major update to the widely distributed open source learning management system.

A new state bill could boost interest in AP computer science.

Washington Gov. Jay Inslee signed a bill opening the door for schools across the state to count Advanced Placement (AP) computer science as a math or science credit. The law’s goal is to improve and expand access to computer science education, a high demand skill in Washington’s technology-fueled economy.

Prior to the law, AP computer science, often one of the most difficult classes offered, did not count as a math or science credit. Instead it counted as an elective. By granting the course academic credit, the bill aims to encourage more students to take the course and many more schools to offer it.

Currently, only 35 of the state’s 622 high schools offer AP computer science. The bill, sponsored by Rep. Drew Hansen, Rep. Cyrus Habib, Rep. Roger Freeman, and Rep. Chad Magendanz, passed the Legislature with nearly unanimous support.

(Next page: Reaction to the new law, and what a report says about computer science education)

This site, divided into information for five different age groups, provides lessons and activities that teach important lessons about saving, spending, and ways to avoid debt.

More than 100 teachers from Catholic schools run by the Diocese of San Jose will participate in a year of professional development to earn a certificate in blended learning in an effort to improve educational outcomes for students.

Panasonic has upgraded its line of ruggedized tablet PCs, the Toughbook H2. The new model gets improved CPU performance and beefed-up storage specs.