In part one of this series, we did a quick rundown of the ISTE standards. Looking closer at these standards, you’ll learn how they can help students to engage, and even more importantly, to think. Don’t be deceived—just because ISTE is a technology organization, the standards are about good teaching and not just about how we use technology in the classroom.

This year, we celebrated the 50th anniversary of the Apollo moon landing. While it is easy to focus only on Apollo 11, this celebration of human achievement actually began in a somber way when we commemorated 50 years since the loss of the Apollo 1 crew, which occurred back in January of 1967. We moved on to remembering the first manned Apollo 7 mission from October 1968, and the audacious Apollo 8 flight to the moon in December of that same year. Apollo 9 cleared the way by testing the lunar lander in Earth orbit in March of 1969. Apollo 10 proved our ability to rendezvous in lunar orbit in May, which all led to the big event on July 20, 1969 when humans first set foot on the moon.

Back-to-school season can be stressful for many reasons: planning curriculum for the semester, finding resources and content, and gathering important materials to support your curriculum and students throughout the semester. On top of that, if you have school-aged children of your own, you will have to make sure they’re prepared for a new school year as well—and remember to make their lunches and get them to class on time every day.

Now certainly is an exciting time with the start of the new school year! It’s another opportunity to build relationships with students and truly make a difference in their world in ways we can’t even fully imagine. 

As you prepare your lessons this month, you may be looking for ways to engage your students as everyone settles in for the new year. We’ve got you covered with our collection of themed lesson content for September:

Happy back to school! I have no idea where summer went and why it keeps getting shorter every year. Yet, here we are—back to another school year and ready to change the world one student at a time. But before we can successfully do this, we’ve got to get organized!

I recently read a great quote by Christina Scalise. She said, “Organization isn’t about perfection; it’s about efficiency, reducing stress and clutter, saving time and money, and improving your overall quality of life.” The start of the school year can be stressful and overwhelming, so here are a few tips to help you ease into your year and improve your quality of life.

STEM (science, technology, engineering, and math) is one of the biggest education trends of the decade. With an estimated 2.4 million STEM jobs that were unfilled by the end of 2018, it’s more important than ever to promote curiosity in these subjects so students will choose valuable STEM careers.

Teachers in our neck of the woods tend to use the state standards to guide their lesson planning—and for good reason. The state tests that we take align to these standards, much like they do in other states that have adopted the Common Core standards. There are so many of these standards, we tend to stop there and not look any further when it comes to breaking them down.

Industry Influencers Leading the Way

As we enter a new school year, we thought it would be interesting to look at the change-makers leading the way in EdTech this year. Previously, we created a comprehensive list of the top 20 influencers in education technology, and earlier this year, we shared 10 more industry leaders. The EdTech industry is constantly growing and changing, so today we're sharing five more innovative influencers making active change to shape education for the future.

Open house, also known as back to school night, is just days away for some of you, and this is your opportunity to make a great first impression. We just had ours—yes, some schools start in early August—so I thought I’d share a few tips to help you with yours.

Summer break is slowly winding down, which means one thing: it’s time to go back to school! Between creating lesson plans, organizing your classroom, and stocking up on supplies, you’ve got a lot on your plate this time of year. We’re here to help with a roundup of the best back to school deals for teachers: