In today’s roundup, a series of post- Arapahoe shooting text messages between parent and child are going viral, Mashable’s cool technology 2013, and the best WordPress tutorial for Yoast, the SEO superpower.

Today’s news is short because I’m long on grading. I was at school yesterday grading efolios and portfolios long past when other living creatures above 5 feet had gone home.
I love the funny conversations on Twitter that happen like this awesome tweet from Heather Woodland…
@coolcatteacher You will make it. It’s the storm before the calm 🙂
— Heather Woodland (@heatherwoodland) December 17, 2013
Yes, for many of us, it is the storm before the calm. This is how I feel about the end of the semester.
Semesters never really “wind down” – it is always more like a Thelma and Louise. Just survive the crash.
As I count this year’s gifts, you’re among them. Thank you for adding me to your PLN.
😉 Vicki
Mashable’s Best
- 13 Tech Products That Stood Out in 2013Some very interesting gadgets and gizmos that you may want to add to wish lists for family and friends. Also a few I wouldn’t have picked ( a car made the list) but still very interesting.
tags: education news gadgets technology edu_trends
WordPress SEO Guidebook
- WordPress SEO Tutorial • The Definitive Guide • YoastIf you use WordPress the Yoast SEO plug in is by-far the best. This is the definitive guide to optimizing your SEO for WordPress and is something appropriate for serious bloggers or school webmasters/ IT to read and understand, especially if you’re using their SEO optimizer for wordpress (which is free and awesome.)
Tragedy in SMS
- Texts from my son during the Arapahoe shooting | alternatekevThis telling story of a Dad and his son after the Arapahoe Shooting in text messages. I was crying before I got to the end. Those who respond to emergencies at school should read this to know how parents (and kids) feel although most of us could imagine. Heartfelt prayers continue to go out to everyone at Arapahoe including the friend of many of us Karl Fisch.
Posted from Diigo. The rest of my favorite links are here.
Tips for minimizing teacher stress

- Discover 10 stress-busting secrets for healthy teachers. What simple routines will help you handle the stress?
- Simple advice for coping with stress at work.
- Learn tips to help you deal with difficult colleagues and students (even those who "hate" you -- yes it is possible!)
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SpamVicki Davis
@coolcatteacher