We have a new help section which is now located at help.planbookedu.com.  Many topics are already covered and we'll be adding new articles over the coming months.  One of the newest sections is our tutorials videos. Check it out and let us know what else we can add.

Editor’s note: Guest contributor Nancy Barlow regularly blogs at The Teacher Geek. You can follow her on Twitter and Facebook.

Simple Visual Bookmarks

Symbaloo, the visual content-curration tool, can be very useful to educators. Using tiles that resemble app buttons, you can compile your favorite websites and apps, and collect them all on one web page (and make it your homepage, if you choose). You can make project specific pages and share them with your students or parents. This is a simple tool that can be a powerful way to organize your the web for you. Michael at the Technology Integration in Education blog has a thorough review here.

Word Study Websites

Jacqui at the Ask a Tech Teacher Blog, has compiled a nice list of Word Study Websites for Second Grade. Undoubtedly, Grade 1 and Grade 3 teachers will find these sites useful, too. From sight words to grammar, this list will help you boost your resource list for which ever Word Study program you are currently using.

A New e-Reading App for Kids

Storia, Scholastic's new e-reading app designed for students, has done a soft launch, with a full launch scheduled for Fall 2012. Storia is a free app, downloadable to an iPad, Windows, and (soon to be) Android devices, and will introduce young readers to many of Scholastic's titles. Currently, they are offering 5 free ebooks on which to give Storia a test-drive. Kid-friendly features like integrated dictionaries, and teacher-friendly features like tracking reading levels, make Storia a contender in getting e-readers into the classroom library.

App of the Week: Species Finder

This android app from the Center for Biological Diversity allows you to find and locate any animal listed under the US Endangered Species Act, and will also give you scientific information like species name and current status. Available at Google Play for FREE.

Editor’s note: Guest contributor Nancy Barlow regularly blogs at The Teacher Geek. You can follow her on Twitter and Facebook.

Running Windows on an iPad? Yes!

Kelly Walsh, who writes the Emerging EdTech Blog, tested out a fascinating app called Onlive Desktop, which can "run" Windows (and its MS Office Suite) on your iPad, in a virtual-reality kind of way. This could come in handy for checking compatibility issues with things like presentations. Check out the post here, and check out Onlive Desktop here.

Living In the Clouds

Are you cloud computing these days? Teach The Cloud's Derrick Waddell writes this week about 5 Smart Tip for Living in the Cloud. These include how to do safe, efficient backups and how to pick your cloud provider. No cloud is perfect, but you can find the perfect one for you with his handy advice.

Share Your Best Lessons (And Get Animated in the Process)

The Educational Technology Guy (David Andrade) writes about an exciting you chapter in the life of TED, the famous inspirational speaker series. TED-ed, a new lesson-based You Tube channel for teachers, is palace where teachers can submit their best lessons to the TED folks. They will then refine the lesson, get it down to 10 minutes, send you a portable video production unit for you record yourself, and then animate you and your lesson for all to see on the TED-ed YouTube Video Channel. Aimed primarily at high school teachers, this could be the start of something very interesting.

App Of the Week: Grammar Up

If you teach high school language arts, or know a student struggling with grammar, this app can help. With both a free and advanced ($4.99) version, Grammar Up will quiz and guide you though extensive English grammar knowledge. The full version has 1800 questions under 20 different categories. That should be enough for mastery! Available in the iTunes store.

Editor’s note: Guest contributor Nancy Barlow regularly blogs at The Teacher Geek. You can follow her on Twitter and Facebook.

Make a Movie, Frame By Frame

Imagine being able to create a stop-motion movie of a caterpillar-to-butterfly metamorphosis? Or make a movie of a geometric process? JellyCam, a free stop-motion movie maker, takes your still photos and allows you to do just that. Michael Gorman, of the 21st Century Educational Technology and Learning blog, writes a review of JellyCam, and has also written a list of 20 Ways To Use Stop Motion In the Classroom. Give this fun storytelling tool a try.

A New Kind Of Reading Going On

In a recent blogpost of the School Library Journal, Media Specialist and blogger Joyce Valenza makes an observation that readers in her school are changing the way they read. She's not referring to the quality or level of reading, but in students' engagement, awareness, and enjoyment of reading. From communicating on Twitter with favorite authors, to making booklists on Goodreads, Ms. Valenza urges us to keep our eyes open to the possibilities that 21st century readers bring to the school library.

EdTech, Meet Pinterest

It was bound to happen: Educational Technology has a board on Pinterest. Specifically, check out David Kapluar's amazing collection of pins with ideas for EdTech projects. If his boards don't get you hooked on Pinterest, then nothing will! (And don't forget to check out his blog, too.)

App of the Week: Trace Letters

For just $0.99, young students can practice reading and forming letters on this simple, engaging app. It features animated directions and letter sounds. It would be great practice for pre-readers. It can be found at the iTunes store.

Editor’s note: Guest contributor Nancy Barlow regularly blogs at The Teacher Geek. You can follow her on Twitter and Facebook.

Cell Phones In the Classroom

What can you do with cell phones in the classroom of younger students? Plenty Shelly Sanchez Terrell writes about 10+ Ways To Use Cell Phones With Young Learners on her Teacher Reboot Camp Blog. Some innovative things include scavenger hunts, field observations, and show and tell.

Virtual Volcanos

Recently mentioned by Richard Byrne in his Free Technology For Teachers Blog, The Discovery Channel's Volcano Explorer allows students to create a simple simulation of an active volcano eruption. By adjusting the magma and gas content, students can see how those adjustments can affect the eruption. Check out Richard's post here, and the Volcano Explorer here.

History For Music Lovers

Can Lady Gaga help you learn about the French Revolution? She can if her song has new lyrics and a fetching music video. Check out the 53 (and counting) music videos from The History Teachers on You Tube. With impressive production quality, students will want to watch and learn over and over!

Apps Of the Week: MOMA and Louvre

Both apps are free, and both apps are spectacular resources for those museums. The Museum of Modern Art app alone allows you access to tens of thousands of the museum's pieces. The Louvre app includes all of the museum's masterpieces, plus informational texts, and and HD version for the iPad. Quite the bargain if you can't get to those places in person!