back to school Archives | Page 5 of 10

Reader Q+A: Good computer recommendations for students going back-to-school?

We need to purchase a computer for our two older children to use for homework. They frequently have assignments that involve the use of Google Docs, as well as PowerPoint and Excel. I’m a Mac user, but we’re thinking we’ll go with a PC for them (due to cost). Can you...

Yellow Bus by Justin Roberts: Kids’ music download of the week

by Christina Refford | Kids Music

‘Tis that time of year again, when kids everywhere hop on the big yellow bus that whisks them away for a day of learning, friendship, and sometimes questionable lunches. And I can’t see that familiar vehicle drive down my street without immediately...

Communicating with your child’s teacher and class without mass email chains? Thank you, Remind app.

by Kate Etue | Productivity Apps

With back to school officially here, I cannot tell you how much I love the benefits of organization and communication apps for parents and teachers. They really do make life so much easier. Well, I’ve just discovered another tech tool that’s going to make...

Master Lock 1500eDBX: Definitely not the padlock you remember from your school days

by Jeana | Random Coolness

Junior high was the only time I used my school-appointed locker and half the time I could never even remember my padlock combination to get to my Trapper Keeper and magnetic mirror. Oh right, and my textbooks. If I only I had a digital padlock like the Master...

Best reading apps for kids: Back to school Tech Guide 2014

by Jeana | Back to School Tech

Whether your kids are figuring out how to sound out words for the first time, or you have older grade-schoolers who just might choose an educational app over a game from time to time if it’s fun enough, educational apps can certainly be a big help in getting...

5 of our favorite tech pins on Pinterest this week

by Cool Mom Staff | Link Roundups

Are you as obsessed with Pinterest as we are? Follow us! Then check out these 5 awesome tech pins, plus lots more techie coolness from our site and around the web. 1. Loving these cool printable typography posters. (Type geeks unite!) 2. One of the coolest new...

10 of the best organizational apps for parents: Back to School Tech Guide 2014

by Nicole Blades | Back to School Tech

There’s excitement and anxiousness in the air at back to school time, but for many parents, this time of year can also bring about a little dread. As in: Ugh. Here comes the deluge of To-Do lists and classroom paperwork and lunch-packing and scheduling and on...

12 of the best educational apps for preschoolers: Back to School Tech Guide 2014

by Nicole Blades | Back to School Tech

We’re so happy to kick off our 2014 back to school tech guide with one of our favorite, and most requested categories: The best educational apps for preschoolers. Now just because your little one isn’t in official Big Kid school yet doesn’t mean they...

Back to school lunch box notes meet cool science lesson

by Liz Gumbinner | DIY

While looking around for cool printable lunch box notes for our back to school guide, I stumbled across these wildly awesome optical illusion flash cards at Mr. Printables. As a kid, I couldn’t get enough of optical illusions and now my own girls feel the same...

When the T in STEM stands for tat

by Nicole Blades | Tech Toys and Random Fun

You may already know we are big fans of Tattly, the way cool temporary tattoos we first told you about at their launch three years ago. (See? Ear to the ground over here.) Well, they’ve grown hugely since then with literally hundreds of designs, and now just in...

NEW: The podcast that helps you be a savvier digital parent in under 15 minutes a week

Hi! We’re Kristen + Liz

Kristen Chase + Liz Gumbinner of Cool Mom Picks

We started Cool Mom Tech in 2010 to help make our increasingly digital lives easier, more organized, more meaningful, and more fun, however old your kids may be.

We love that it's grown to become the go-to source for millions of parents who want commonsense info about tech delivered with a smile.

We even have the privilege of sharing our tips + tricks with The TODAY Show, CNN, HLN, GMA, Nightline, newspapers and magazines around the country, and our favorite -- regular parents who stop us at PTA meetings and ask us how old kids need to be to get a smartphone, and whether they really need to panic about Snapchat.

(Answer: It's complicated.)

We're so glad you're here! And we hope we can help you too.