President Barack Obama and Vice President Joe Biden both made headlines this week, speaking to the National Education Association about the state of teaching in the U.S. Their comments about presumed GOP presidential nominee Mitt Romney and our list of ways that educators and universities are using Google Plus attracted the most attention over the past seven days on Education Dive.

If you fell off the grid over the July 4 holiday, you may want to look at our five most popular reads of the week below:

• Vice President Joe Biden stirs up NEA delegates in Washington—Biden's visit gets political as he criticizes Mitt Romney and praises the work of teachers.
• 5 online learning recommendations from educators—EdTech gets input from teachers who have used and argued for distance or online learning programs and comes up with solid advice.
• 10 ways educators and universities are using Google Plus—Google's social network offers a few unique advantages for instructors and administrators, as you can see on this Education Dive list, which looks at some of the best school-associated Plus accounts out there.
• Obama phones the NEA, says Romney 'mocks' need for teachers—The POTUS reinforces statements made by Biden Tuesday in phoned-in Thursday address to the union.
• New University of Iowa dorm to reflect changing student expectations—Public and private spaces will be approached with modern priorities and attention to academic resources.

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