Recently several opportunities to support reading and literacy have presented themselves through some fun online links. As we start back to school from winter break here are a few worth sharing.

A recently released study about the future of learning in a digital age by the John D. and Catherine T.

Now that summer is in full swing, it gives me time to reflect on all the great, free, Internet resources available to teachers.

Amazon, the current leader in the e-book reader market with the Kindle, is looking beyond bestsellers to textbooks. With the release of the Kindle DX, Amazon has entered the textbook market.

Education Secretary Arne Duncan told middle and high school students in Colorado in March that American students don't attend enough school.

You may have missed it because October tends to be an eventful "big learning" month

Literacy is evolving in the digital age. The internet is changing the way we think, consider these research findings from UCLA recently reported in the BBC News. “Middle aged volunteers underwent a brain scan while performing web searches and book- reading. When compared to book-reading, the web search task produced significant additional activity in the areas of the brain which control decision-making and complex reasoning when the volunteers were experienced web users."

Learning about Internet safety can be fun thanks to Connect Safely which features episodes of "The Webs" The Web family is a connected "Leave It to Beaver" kind of family trying to keep their digital daughter Kate from making common Internet mistakes. Check out an episode or subscribe to the series.

Have you ever watched story time in an elementary classroom or school library? The teacher or librarian sits perched on the edge of a chair that appears to be floating in a sea of wiggling semi-seated bodies, as each child strains to get a closer position. Are you observing a warm fuzzy moment in elementary education or targeted instructional minutes?

As we begin a new school year I wanted to share some thoughts from the Behavioral sciences that should influence the way we approach teaching. In Behavioral science research is done on human decision making. Studies have proven that word choice has a powerful influence on the decision maker. That is to say, teachers who start the school year telling students that “this is the toughest class you will ever take” or “most students don’t pass the first time,” are front loading the idea of struggle in the minds of their students.