Today is closing day meaning yesterday was the last day school. Summer time is here and I am looking forward to the break to play some golf, visit the beach, and attend some conferences. In the meantime, here are 5 posts from this week so far.
1.) From the Simple K12 blog, 17 Free eBooks for Your Summer Reading. If unsure what to do this summer to grow professionally, these eBooks would be a good starting point; and you can't beat free.
2.) Our school currently is not 1:1 but many schools are. Several schools are also investigating a BYOT/BYOD program and it can provide the same incentives and opportunities. From Free Technology for Teachers, a guest post with the Top 10+ Sites for a Successful 1:1 Laptop Program: Experiences from the Trenches. I am familiar with many of these sites and agree with their use for a 1:1 program.
3.) Google is on the verge of taking over education and they provide great services at a cheaper price than Microsoft and Apple at this point. If you are not a Google User, then Google Tools to Check Out from the Blogging About the Web 2.0 Connected Classroom is worth checking out to discover or re-discover tools from Google you might be interested in.
4.) Speaking of Google, at the recent Google I/O event there was an announcement about Google Play for Education. On the Hack Education blog they provide some valuable information about Google Play for Education Versus.... A valuable look at how Google Play compares to some other options.
5.) The Tornado in Oklahoma is on a lot of educators minds because of the toll that the event took on children and teachers due to the direct impact to two elementary schools. Larry Ferlazzo continues to track news stories and videos of the event. Teachers Putting Children First in Oklahoma and More on Oklahoma Tornado are good starting points. There are more links within those two posts to original information.
As a bonus I shared an article on Twitter about The Courage of Teachers which is an Opinion Piece on CNN regarding the bravery of teachers in Oklahoma and more. I HIGHLY RECOMMEND it for an end of year reading piece.
