Digital Bytes - 26th September, 2016

	Video Notes Video Notes is a fantastic tool for students to take notes on videos that are online. This step by step guide takes you through how to get started with video notes. You can sign in with your Google account and your notes are automatically stored in your Google Drive.
	QR Codes You have probably heard of QR Codes and maybe even used them before. Two of the best free QR code generators are QR Stuff with allow you to link to 25 different things and QR Code Monkey which allows you to put a customized image in your QR Code. There are many ways to use QR Codes in the classroom like linking to audio books or even connecting to a Google folder of student work so you can update the content.
	Screentime - Quality vs. Quantity This is a great article from George Couros about screen time. It attempts to answer the question, “Is it really about the time students spend in front of a screen, or the quality of things they do in front of the screen.”

Digital Bytes 5th September, 2016

	The Zen Art of Managing Smartphone Photos We get a lot of questions about the best way to manage the photos on your phone. Here are 3 ways to backup your photos from your camera roll that will save you time and energy.
	Calling Screen Time Digital Heroin is Digital Garbage You may have seen an article calling screen time digital heroin. This article take a critical look at that article and its claims and provides a rational viewpoint.
	How to Extract an Image From Google Docs We often get asked how to download an image that has been placed in a Google Doc. There are a number of ways to do this including publishing the doc to the web, saving it as an HTML file and a google docs add on.

Digital Bytes 29th August 2016

	Not All Screen Time is Equal: Some Considerations for Schools and Parents Jose Picardo provides a balanced look at screen time in this article for schools and parents. He addresses issues such as the media’s propensity for click-bait headlines that don’t advance the conversation, but instead feed the flames.
	Six Good Places to Find Free Music and Sound Effects We all know the impact music can have on creating a “movie in your mind”, so finding great examples of free music is really important. Look no further than Richard Byrne’s post on Six Good Places to Find Free Music & Sound Effects to get you started.
	Handwriting Doesn’t Matter This New York Times article examines some recent studies about handwriting and looks at them with a critical eye. Author Anne Trubek suggests we shouldn’t do something just because we’ve always done it. When students can learn to type without looking at the keys, they achieve “cognitive automaticity” and are able to “focus on higher order concerns”.

Digital Bytes - 16 November 2015

	How to Provide kids Screen Time that Supports Learning Kids are now spending more time on devices like iPads than watching television. “Children not only need to learn how to decode the letters and words they read, but also to gain an understanding of what goes into creating information and stories of all kinds.” This article talks about the three C’s: Content, Context and Child and the importance of balance.
	9 Videos on News Literacy Our students are increasingly getting their information from videos. How are we supporting them in this form of literacy? This article examines what you as a teacher can do to help your students be more critical of the videos they watch. The videos range in topics from how to choose your news to why the news isn’t really the news.
	Classroom Eye Candy: A Flexible Seating Paradise The personal touches in this English classroom make us feel we would like to be a learner in this space. The teacher also shares some excellent tips on how she rotates students through the “best” areas over time. Classroom Eye Candy will be a great inspiration for your flexible learning space.