If you teach World History, or just enjoy the topic, take a peek at this Virtual Ancient Rome app. It's a little pricey ($9.99), but looks well worth it.

The app has maps, art, a 3D tour of the city, a list of emperors and more! It has a game function, too.

Historians love primary sources. We relish the opportunity to get our hands on the REAL thing - the primary source.

However, there are some documents that aren't really accessible - like an original copy of the Constitution.

A recent blog post, 5 Ways Technology Has Changed One of Education’s Most Traditional Subjects: History, points out five ways that history research and education has been influenced by technology. It's not just science anymore!

I ran across this interesting blog from the Burlington High School History Department today. It's new, but take a look for some interesting posts on a variety of topics:

Any Minnesota teachers - if you'll be at the TIES conference on Monday or Tuesday (December 12 & 13), stop by the MHS booth! We'll be showing some of the programs, websites, field trips and more that we're working on to help teach Minnesota history and more.

Many of our program staff will be there, attending sessions to learn more about what's happening in schools these days. If you see any of us (including the editors of the 21C blog) please say hello! 

Here's a great community history project from Mountain Lakes, New Jersey. The school district and community partnered to create a historic walking tour, using QR codes, videos, Historypin and more.

Check out this very 21st-century thinking style project from the education department at the  Smithsonian's Cooper-Hewitt, National Design Museum.

Do video games deserve the bad rap they get? Not according to this TEDxTalk by Gabe Zichermann. He presents evidence of problem solving, communication and mulit-tasking skills learned in video games - and not just at home.

His closing remarks - "Go play with your kids" - are words museums should remember. How can museums incorporate game-based learning that can be shared among generations?

The best places to learn about excellent sources for educational materials is to follow teachers who use these tools on a daily basis in the classroom. One of my favorite blogs for this type of material is Free Technology 4 Teachers.

Richard Byrne posts great resources for teachers of all subjects and disciplines. A recent post was about finding historical images, documents and music online. 

Stereotypes of teen-agers and tweens is that they are ALWAYS texting on their phone and are always using the phone inappropriately.