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Mentoring Minds is an educational publishing company that develops K-12 instructional materials to help students develop critical thinking and problem solving skills. Experienced educators create the materials based on research and cover topics such as critical thinking, differentiated learning, instructional strategies, classroom management and more. The company's main goal is to provide materials that help students increase their critical analysis and reasoning skills, along with problem solving skills. The curriculum does this through research based lessons and real-world connections. Products include ELA, Math and Vocabulary curriculum programs, Professional Development tools, Critical Thinking programs, Assessments, RTI and more. The products combine print and online resources, as well as teacher editions and resources. You can take a guided tour of their products here:  http://guidedtourdemo.mentoringminds.com/01/ Pricing is very reasonable and all of their resources qualify...

PowerUp WHAT WORKS is a free resource to help teachers help struggling students and those with disabilities. It is part of the OpenEd collection. PowerUp WHAT WORKS ( www.powerupwhatworks.org ) provides customizable materials, lesson plans, instructional strategies, videos and more to enhance learning for students with diverse needs, and to personalize learning with technology and Universal Design for Learning (UDL). OpenEd ( www.opened.com ) is the creator of the world’s largest online collection of standards-aligned resources. PowerUp allows teachers to access training and resources to allow them to enhance learning for students with disabilities, personalize learning with technology. It is evidence-based, standards-aligned, and technology-focused. The sites has tips and resources for teachers, administrators and more, with lesson plans, assessments, videos, playlists, ideas for integrating technology, professional development, and much more. It is easy to search and find re...

I just found out about a new blog out there, More Than a Tech . The blog is about EdTech but especially about leading and managing an IT department in a public school district. Topics being covered include EdTech Resources, Customer service, Ticket prioritization, Navigating the political landscape of a school district, Budgeting, Planning for the future and other topics. I'm adding this to my Feedly account to follow along. Check it out . -

Libraries, like schools, are changing with technology. The typical library full of books will be going away and be replaced with a space for accessing digital resources and getting help finding resources. Many libraries are struggling to change and even attract visitors. Here is an infographic with some interesting details about the library of the future: Future of Libraries Here is an article with more about this.  https://www.webcheckout.net/blog/library-future/ -

Just like most software, Google Docs has keyboard shortcuts available. Google has a great support article with all of the Google Docs keyboard shortcuts , by OS, listed. It lists the shortcuts for PC, Mac, Chrome OS, Android and iOS. Keyboard shortcuts are great productivity tools that help speed up what you are doing. Everyone should know the basic, like cut, copy, paste, but you should also learn others for functions you use a lot. -

MolView is a free web based tool that allows you to visualize 3D models of molecules and compounds. It's easy to use and fun. It includes databases with compounds, proteins and spectral data, as well as change and manipulate the models. It's based on WebGL and HTML5 and works on pretty much all devices. Acetaminophen molecular model: There is a PDF of the manual available for download and it is well written. This is a great tool for science students, especially in chemistry and biology, to help them visualize and understand molecules, compounds and even DNA components. Related: More Chemistry Resources More Biology Resources -

Next week is National  EMS   Week (May 17th - May 23rd) . This year's theme from the  American College of Emergency Physicians  is  EMS Strong . In my other life I am an EMS-Instructor and Paramedic. I have been involved in EMS since 1988 in college. I have not been able to work on the road for the past few years due to a severe back injury, but I still feel a part of EMS as an EMS instructor and instructor-trainer, although that role has been limited since my daughter's birth. I responded to New York City after 9-11 as a paramedic and I spent 15 years as a paramedic in the city I now teach in. I was also a volunteer paramedic and the Lt. of Training for my town's EMS service. Take this week to thank an EMS provider in your town. The First Responders, EMT's and Paramedics are everyday heroes who are often overlooked by the media and public. Firefighters and Police Officers are usually in the news, but EMS providers, whether volunteer, commercial, hospital based,...

Guest Post by  Julie Petersen. Julie is a tutor and a blogger, who features the latest career and educational trends in her articles. At present time she is working on her first ebook dedicated to online learning. You may see Julie's latest publications and contact her via Linkedin All students would agree that it is difficult to study. When you just have too many assignments and projects to work on apart from the other responsibilities, you really need to develop good studying habits if you want to get good grades in class. Thanks to the Internet, there are free online resources that you can use to upgrade your studying process. 1. How-to-study.com This website is a home to lots of free study skills resources not just students but as well as for teachers. It contains 100 practical articles, study tips and self-assessment exams. 2. Studygs.net Studygs.net is a home to various study guides and strategies that you can use in various types of learning. They provide valuable informatio...

Padlet is a free service that lets you create online "sticky notes" that you can share and collaborate on. The notes can include images, links and videos, can be moved and arranged and can be embedded into a website. It's great for brainstorming, story boarding, organizing, projects and more. It is available online and even has a Chrome app and extension, a Kindle app, Safari and Firefox extensions, and a Wordpress plugin. It's easy to use and fun and very useful. If you are looking for more features and the ability to have school accounts, privacy, control and more, take a look at Backpack  (not free). Related: More Collaboration Tools and Resources More Writing Tools and Resources Samepage - app to get more done with contextual collaboration Slack - free, easy to use, communications/collaboration platform - great for teams and schools Google for Education Resources -

TitanPad is a free tool for collaborative writing on a single document. It is simple and easy to use and requires no sign in or login to create a public document., You can create a private document with a free account.  It is similar to Google Docs, but much simpler. Up to 8 people can work on a single document at the same time, with their edits being color coded. You can also import and export text to and from TitanPad. ' This can be very useful in education for quick collaboration sessions in the classroom or meetings.  Take a look.  Related: More Collaboration Tools and Resources More Writing Tools and Resources -

Filechat is a new, free service that allows you to collaborate on documents, photos and videos in Dropbox or Google Drive. Instead of just commenting on a document or file, users can chat, like and vote on any of their files in Drive or Dropbox. You can even have multiple conversations with different teams or groups. It adds more "social" features to collaborate with others in a tailored caht room that is based in a file or folder. Users can store their files in their preferred platform and use Filechat to collaborate with anyone. It also includes a search tool. The "owner" of the Filechat discussion invites others to view and collaborate on the files and controls access. They can also give participants the ability to add files, vote and chat. The mobile app allows you to get notifications, preview and edit files and participate in the conversations.       It is free, with premium levels coming shortly. It is available online and for Android and iOS . Support for...

Edueto is a free service that allows teachers to create their own online activities for students. Teachers can create exercises such as quizzes, matching, writing, sorting, equations, sequences and more and assign them to their students to complete. Student progress is tracked. There are also exercises created by other teachers that you can use and even edit. It's easy to use and can be a great way to do formative assessment with your students using different formats. Thanks to Larry Ferlazzo for discovering this. Check out his blog here:  http://larryferlazzo.edublogs.org/  Related: Assessment Resources Online Assessment Resources Online Assignments Resources -

File sharing services are very popular. While I usually use Evernote or Google Apps for my work and share from them, there are times when I need to share files in other ways. I wrote about one file sharing service, Droplr, back in 2012 . Back then, the free account was 1 GB of storage and 25 MB file size uploads. There was also a Pro version that gave you 1GB uploads and 100GB of storage for $3/month or $30/year. Droplr has just announced that they are going to change to a freemium business model. The paid version is $4.99 per month. Now, you will be able to use their clients and share screenshots, images, files and videos of your desktop through email and social networks for free. The links will expire after a week though. The pro plan, which lets you keep them longer, costs $9.99/month. So, you can do some cool stuff for free, but there are limits. Related: CX - file sync, share and backup service with 10GB free account JustBeamIt file sharing service comes in very handy - al...

SAMR stands for “Substitution – Augmentation – Modification – Redefinition”. It is a framework for using technology to transform learning. Substitution: Using new technology for an old task - good, but not the best way. For example, digital worksheets are still worksheets. Augmentation: Using additional new technology for an old task - this can make some tasks better. Modification: Using new technology to change an old task - this is good. Virtual labs for example can show students the theory and concept better than a physical lab. Redefinition: Using new technology to create new tasks - this is great. Get students to collaborate, create, explore and solve problems. Below is an infographic with some tips and ideas for using Google Apps with the SAMR Framework. Find more education infographics on e-Learning Infographics Here's another graphic that illustrates SAMR well. Related: Google for Education Resources Google Apps and Chromebooks Web App Recommendations - a whole lot! The Be...

Google Chrome (browser and OS) has some great built-in accessibility features , as well as some excellent extensions that add accessibility features. Google just released a new one that is very useful for people with vision issues, especially with colors. Color Enhancer is an extension that allows the user to easily select a color filter that improves color perception. It's very easy to use and works nicely. I have a mild red-green color deficiency and this helped me with some websites. Click on the extension and follow the directions. It's that simple. Related: Google Accessibility Features in Chrome (OS and Browser) Google for Education Resources -

Back in January, Livescribe announced that Livescribe 3 would be available for Android this spring. Well, it is now available in preview mode with full public release in a few weeks. I love my Livescribe SmartPen . I use it all the time to take notes at meetings and keep myself organized. I love how it also records audio and keeps it in sync with your handwritten notes and can sync over WiFi to my Evernote account. Livescribe released the Livescribe 3 last year with an iOS app that let you sync directly to your iPhone (and into Evernote and OneNote). It also allows searching handwriting, converting handwriting to digital text and more. "Your Livescribe 3 pairs with Livescribe+ to instantly sync everything you write on paper directly onto your iPhone or iPad. Your notes become more useful when they are organized, tagged, searchable and converted to text." The Android App works on Android 4.4.2 KitKat and above. The Android app also works the same as the iOS version. It'...