The hottest posts everyone's reading

Here’s the roundup of what's been popular on The Innovative Educator blog. Below you’ll see the top posts along with the number of page views. I hope there's something that looks of interest to you.  If it does, check it out. If you’re inspired use one of those icons below the post to share it with others and/or leave a comment.

Entry	Pageviews
Caution: Banning Cell Phones May Interrupt Learning ... Apr 20, 2014,	2850
The Ten No Nos of Teaching with a Smartboard... May 10, 2010,	1962
Why Smartboards are a Dumb Initiative May 12, 2010,	1857
Does Twitter have a minimum age requirement? Jun 13, 2013,	1606
5 Ways to use social media to spice up your next m... Apr 16, 2014,	1381
Erase Unnecessary Costs by Getting Smart about Int... May 14, 2010,	1315

Ideas for enjoying tech-free meals

The research is clear. Time together around the dinner table has beneficial results including improving quality of daily life, your children's chances of success in the world, and your family's health according to the Family Youth and Community Sciences Department at the University of Florida. In fact, your child may be 35% less likely to engage in disordered eating, 24% more likely to eat healthier foods and 12% less likely to be overweight (Hammons & Fiese, 2011). A study done by The National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse revealed that teens who eat fewer than three family dinners per week compared to those who eat five to seven a week are twice as likely to use alcohol and tobacco and one and a half times more likely to use marijuana.

The hottest posts everyone's reading

Here’s the roundup of what's been popular on The Innovative Educator blog. Below you’ll see the top posts along with the number of page views. I hope there's something that looks of interest to you.  If it does, check it out. If you’re inspired use one of those icons below the post to share it with others and/or leave a comment.

Entry	Pageviews
5 Ways to use social media to spice up your next museum... Apr 16, 2014,	3926
Is boredom the real epidemic in our schools? Mar 23, 2014,	3231
Students, parents, teachers, principals + elected ... Apr 20, 2014,	1591
How obsolete is your school? Take this quiz to fin... Mar 19, 2014,	1177
8 Real Ways Facebook Enriched Ms. Schoening’s Firs... Jul 15, 2010,	947
10 ways the research behind banning #mlearning for... Mar 26, 2014,	888

Help your child get inventive with these resources

Do you have students who love inventing, experimenting, and computing? Then check out my article on Answers.com which features quality, free or inexpensive places you can turn to help your students discover, explore, and develop his or her inner inventor. 

Visit "Help your child get inventive with these resources" to find out about more about resources like Super Awesome Sylvia, Tynker, and Makey Makey.  

Caution banning cell phones may interrupt learning

“The only difference between smartphones and laptops is that cell phones are smaller, cheaper, and more coveted by students” (Richtel & Stone, 2009). Students, parents, teachers, principals, and elected officials know it is time to lift restrictions and embrace these tools for learning. Below is their wisdom and the research to support it.

Students

• In general, 95% of teens use the internet and 74% are “mobile internet users” (Pew, 2013).  With or without us, students are using cell phones for learning despite the perception by some parents and teachers that cell phones are distracting to kids. A national study shows that 1 in 3 middle schoolers are using their devices to complete homework and learn better (Tru, 2012). 
• "... with cell phones tucked in the book bags and pockets of three-fourths of today's teens, many high schools are ceding defeat in the battle to keep hand-held technology out of class and instead are inviting students to use their phones for learning" (Malone & Black, 2010).

• Nationally, just over half (52%) of teachers of upper and upper-middle income students say their students use cell phones to look up information in class, compared with 35% of teachers of the lowest income students (Pew Research Center, 2013).  
• More than half of the world’s population now owns a cell phone, and children under 12 constitute one of the fastest growing segments of mobile technology users in the U.S. according to the The Joan Ganz Cooney Center at Sesame Workshop (Shuler, 2009).  

The hottest posts everyone's reading

Here’s the roundup of what's been popular on The Innovative Educator blog. Below you’ll see the top posts along with the number of page views. I hope there's something that looks of interest to you.  If it does, check it out. If you’re inspired use one of those icons below the post to share it with others and/or leave a comment.

Entry	Pageviews
How obsolete is your school? Take this quiz ... Mar 19, 2014,	4011
Is boredom the real epidemic in our schools? Mar 23, 2014,	3222
Does Twitter have a minimum age requirement? Jun 13, 2013,	2511
Google Drive gets add-ons. Yeah or Eh? Mar 16, 2014,	2370
8 Real Ways Facebook Enriched Ms. Schoening’s 1st Grade... Jul 15, 2010,	1621
10 ways the research behind banning handheld devices is flawed... Mar 26, 2014,	1594