Innovation in educational technology is steered by the minds of creative and skilled educators all over the world. Many of these EdTech experts share their ideas and experiences through the creation of blogs, teacher resources, and sometimes even the formation of a brand.

With the abundance of websites and resources available to educators, it can be hard to decide where to look for guidance through your next EdTech initiative. To help you out, we’ve compiled a list of 15 of our favorite EdTech experts who you may or may not have heard of, as well as the brands, blogs, and resources they’ve created:

We know how challenging and rewarding teaching can be, so we compiled our top 20 posts on the topic. This list covers everything from the funny to the serious—which is exactly like teaching! 

The 2010s is an era of comebacks. In everything from fashion to music, retro ideas are being renewed to fit the demands of a modern audience. Young people especially are taking to retro-inspired products, focusing more on the lifestyle enrichment value that these vintage items can offer. 

This month, we announced the MimioFrame, a retrofit product that uses a teacher’s existing classroom whiteboard, projector, and computer to quickly and easily turn any whiteboard into a 10-touch interactive whiteboard. This offering has reimagined the idea behind bringing interactive technology into the classroom, making it possible for teachers to bring their old classroom back to life by upgrading their technology in less than 15 minutes.

Each year, the world of EdTech grows and new companies emerge ahead of the pack. Here are the movers and shakers we’re excited about at the moment: 

Bringing interactivity, collaboration, and assessment to your schools is easier than you think! We've compiled a list of easy-to-use, engaging, and effective solutions as a great starting point. We've also included our top guides, so you can dig deeper into the best way to select, evaluate, and implement these interactive solutions.

In late 2015, the Woodhaven-Brownstown School District in Michigan passed a bond of almost $55 million for building renovations. While the bond was primarily for its secondary school, the district decided to include Yake Elementary, which for years had been without the funds to update classroom technology.

Yake’s media specialist, Joe Heacox, was part of the team that evaluated potential purchases. The technology they decided on was Boxlight’s ProColor 75” interactive flat panel displays. The team determined, and school leaders agreed, that the displays’ cost and longevity made them the best choice.

Tech-savvy educators know they must stay on top of the myriad changes and trends in education to learn how teaching and learning can best benefit from technology’s near-constant change. At this year’s FETC and TCEA conferences, there were plenty of new EdTech trends to discover and learn about. If you weren’t able to attend either of these leading education industry conferences, here’s what our feet on the tradeshow floor took in as noteworthy or trending:

This year’s TCEA convention and expo will be an event you won’t want to miss. Held from February 5–9 in Austin, Texas, TCEA is the place for innovative educators to network, collaborate, and learn more about the current trends in EdTech.

This show gathers K-20 administrators, teachers, and techies alike around the latest tools and tips that support teaching and learning. It also offers plenty of opportunities to reconnect with your colleagues, make new acquaintances, and learn new ideas that could enhance your career. Better yet, maybe you will be that change agent to help others!

The countdown is on for the 38^th National Future of Education Technology Conference, which will take place from January 23–26. FETC offers educators countless ways to collaborate with colleagues and explore new EdTech for the K-20 classroom. Through keynote presentations, seminars, workshops, and an expo with over 400 different vendors, FETC 2018 will be a valuable professional development opportunity for attendees from all types of educational disciplines and grade levels.

I grew up in a small town in Minnesota. Our one elementary school building (K–6) and one combined junior and high school campus (7–12), along with the Catholic elementary school (K–6), were central to the community—structures that connected generations, a teaching staff that communicated local values, and a forum where community pride took shape in school events and the cheering on of beloved high school sports teams. It’s important to consider this rural context—deep pride in both place and people—before turning to a discussion of technology use within rural schools.