Oscar is a sweet but disastrously overweight ghetto nerd who—from the New Jersey home he shares with his old world mother and rebellious sister—dreams of becoming the Dominican J.R.R. Tolkien and, most of all, finding love. But Oscar may never get what he wants. Blame the fukú—a curse that has haunted Oscar’s family for generations, following them on their epic journey from Santo Domingo to the USA. Encapsulating Dominican-American history, The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao opens our eyes to an astonishing vision of the contemporary American experience and explores the endless human capacity to persevere—and risk it all—in the name of love.

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In response to Sheryl’s 2010 TEDTalk on the ways women are held back—and the way we hold ourselves back—viewers around the world shared their own stories of struggle and success. This overwhelming response inspired Sheryl to write this book. In Lean In, she shares her personal stories, uses research to shine a light on gender differences, and offers practical advice to help women achieve their goals. The book challenges us to change the conversation from what women can’t do to what we can do, and serves as a rallying cry for us to work together to create a more equal world.

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Author Jonathan P. Costa, Sr. is Director of School and Program Services for the EDUCATION CONNECTION, a regional education service center in Litchfield, Connecticut. A former social studies teacher, educational consultant and businessman, Costa supervises the Center for 21st Century Skills and handles professional development and consulting interventions on behalf of the agency. He writes and speaks frequently on strategic and technology planning for schools, instructional improvements, as well as on promotion, identification, definition, instruction and assessment of 21st century skills.

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Designing a practically paperless classroom

A must-read for all who desire to make technology integration a priority in their school.

–Amie Brown, Gifted ELA Teacher, Armuchee Middle School, GA

Los Angeles (January 27, 2012) Imagine kids carrying mobile devices, where they can access information from anywhere at any time, instead of bulging backpacks. Transitioning from print to one-to-one digital learning in the midst of economic challenges is not an educator’s impossible dream, it’s definitely achievable, especially when kids use their own device, according to Corwin’s new Digital Learning for All, NOW: A School Leader’s Guide for 1:1 on a Budget.

This breakthrough guide, written by educational technology expert Jonathan P. Costa, Sr., shows educators how to affordably start now, to make the shift to one-to-one computing, transforming schools into digital learning centers. He outlines a step-by-step road map of immediate solutions for overcoming budget and systems barriers, providing field-tested strategies showing how to:

• Acquire and pay for required equipment
• Save money by utilizing open source, crowd sourcing, and Bring Your Own Device
• Align instruction, assessment, curriculum, and professional development for a 21st century learning environment

Not only does the book provide both foundational concepts and “in the trenches” applications of those big ideas, a content-rich companion website provides adaptable tools, step-by-step guidance, resources, and access to an online interactive community. Because Digital Learning for All, NOW will help educators make digital learning a reality on a district-wide scale that is supported at every level and prepares students for life and work in the 21st century, it belongs on every educator’s shelf.

This book moves past the excuses and into a plan for legitimate and practical technology use.

If you buy just one book this year, this is the one…

–Renee Peoples, Third-Grade Teacher, West Elementary School, Bryson City, NC

This is list of “key trends” in educational technology is taken from the New Media Consortium’s 2013 Horizon Report “K-12 Edition.” Here’s the full report.