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"For one language arts class project, a middle school teacher in Shelburne, Virginia, Chad Sansing, asks his sixth graders to read Peter Cherches's 1986 poem "Lift Your Right Arm," and then translate it into computer code. The poem occurs in action sequences-for example, "Lift your right arm, she said./I lifted my right arm." Sansing and his class conceive a list of actions, sketch ideas of how to code them, using icons or letters, and then code the poem. In doing so, the students become producers of both a new language and way of seeing poetry. Sansing's students have also translated the poem's code into Scratch, to create animation, and into LEGO Mindstorms EV3, a robot-programming language. This innovative way of engaging students with poetry is just one example of how educators are increasingly integrating transmedia techniques in their teaching and assessments. What is the point of this activity? "To help kids see connections between grammar and code," says Sansing who shares his lessons on his "Classroots" blog."

"There has been a proliferation of online classes and resources for learning coding over the last couple of years. With all that's out there, one might think there's no need for a Computer Science teacher or program in schools anymore. However, I've found many of these resources can be great tools for teachers, both for professional development and for the classroom. The four resources below are ones I've had great success with over the last couple of years."

"n a rainy Saturday at Hackbright Academy classroom in San Francisco, a group of 35 adults sat at tables, desks, and on couches learning how to code. Marcy, a former artist and now programmer for Uber, taught the class. During a break, Marcy shared that she'd never taken a programming class prior to starting a job in art media. After completing courses at places like Hackbright and General Assembly, she realized how much she enjoyed coding and switched careers. Today she volunteers to teach coding on the weekends. Real world. Compare Marcy's story to Daria's, a high school junior. Daria applied to take her school's AP Computer Science class and was rejected. The reason? She lacked the math prerequisites. Even if she had the prerequisites, she lamented, the counselor told her that her grades probably wouldn't have been high enough to compete for one of the precious 30 seats in the single section that was offered. School world. Learning In The New Economy Of Information | MindShift Teaching in the New (Abundant) Economy of Information How We Can Connect School Life to Real Life Daria's and Marcy's stories speak to the differences between school world and real world. In Marcy's world learning is abundant and artists become coders. In Daria's world, learning is scarce and limited by classroom space and teacher availability."

"One of the most exciting abilities that technology can give educators and students is the ability to make stuff. Unlock a world of creativity and engagement with a computer program, interactive canvas, live presentation, bundle of content, or fun game."

"According to Martinez and Stager, the Maker Movement, a technological and creative learning revolution underway around the globe, has exciting and vast implications for the world of education. New tools and technology, such as 3D printing, robotics, microprocessors, wearable computing, e-textiles, 'smart' materials, and programming languages are being invented at an unprecedented pace. The Maker Movement creates affordable versions of these inventions, while sharing tools and ideas online to create an innovative, collaborative community of global problem seekers and solvers. The Maker Movement in education is built upon the foundation of constructionism, which is the philosophy of hands-on learning through building things. The key message from spending hours in this book was that the Maker Movement overlaps with the natural inclinations of children and the power of learning by doing. By embracing the lessons of the Maker Movement, educators can revamp the best student-centered teaching practices to engage learners of all ages."

"The Maker Movement is a technological and creative revolution underway around the world. Fortunately for educators, the Maker Movement overlaps with the natural inclinations of children and the power of learning by doing. Embracing the lessons of the Maker Movement holds the keys to reanimating the best, but oft-forgotten learner-centered teaching practices. New tools and technology, such as 3D printing, robotics, microprocessors, wearable computing, e-textiles, "smart" materials, and new programming languages are being invented at an unprecedented pace. The Maker Movement creates affordable - even free - versions of these inventions, and shares tools and ideas online, creating a vibrant, collaborative community of global problem-solvers. "

"Augmented reality is fun, but what makes it better than computer programs, online learning or even book reports and flashcards? To find out, we spoke to teacher-turned-techie Drew Minock, co-founder of the educational blog TwoGuysAndSomeiPads.com and a "4D Education Evangelist" for the augmented reality company Daqri. Here are his thoughts on how augmented reality can have an impact on education: "

"Editing images is often imperative in order to achieve the perfect results from your efforts. There are a number of amazing photo editing programs available for you to use through your desktop, but it is not always ideal or even possible for you to sit down in front of your computer to edit images. When you need to edit a photo in the fastest and most convenient way possible, using a online editing tool through the browser in your tablet or smart phone is a better solution. There are some great browser-based options available for you to choose from. You can easily sort through some of the online editing tools now so that you have them downloaded and ready to use when you need them."

"The impulse to create is one of the most basic human drives. As far back as the Stone Age, we were using materials in our environment to fashion tools for solving the problems we encountered. And in the millions of years since then, we have never stopped creating. In fact, the rise of civilization is largely defined by the progress of technology of one kind or another. Today, the availability of affordable constructive technology and the ability to share online has fueled the latest evolutionary spurt in this facet of human development. New tools that enable hands-on learning - 3D printers, robotics, microprocessors, wearable computers, e-textiles, "smart" materials and new programming languages - are giving individuals the power to invent. We're not just talking about adults. Children of all ages can use these tools to move from passive receivers of knowledge to real-world makers. This has the potential to completely revolutionize education as we know it. And the movement has already begu"

"While not every student might want to write their own software, understanding the big ideas of coding is a skill that all students would benefit from, even the very young ones. Understanding the key ideas of computational thinking - identifying patterns, thinking algorithmically, manipulating data, solving real problems, etc - is an important step in helping our students build mastery over their world. This presentation aims to take you on a guided tour through some of the resources available to your students to help them learn the principles of creating code. It starts by looking at a range of desktop and mobile apps suitable for teaching very young students to program, right through to tools and websites that can help your older students learn to hack code, and much more."

"Google Chrome, the free web browser, offers applications (but if you don't want the kids to laugh at you, be sure to call them apps), that function like software programs in the computer. With these apps, you and your students can get work done more quickly and easily. Although many apps are mostly for fun, others can be extremely effective in helping students stay organized and productive."

"On the second floor of Morgan State University's engineering building, Jacob Walker, 12, is putting the finishing touches on a ruler he's just created. Not yet an actual ruler. One he's designing on the computer. He just needs to add his initials - then it's time to produce it on a 3-D printer. Jacob starts seventh grade in the fall and has big dreams. Building this ruler is all part of the plan. "When I was a child," he says, "I loved to play with Legos, and it inspired me to be an engineer when I get older." Jacob is one of some 50 boys in this free, four-week camp at Morgan State. It's called the Minority Male Makers Program - paid for by Verizon."

"The Maker Movement, a technological and creative learning revolution underway around the globe, has exciting and vast implications for the world of education. New tools and technology, such as 3D printing, robotics, microprocessors, wearable computing, e-textiles, "smart" materials, and programming languages are being invented at an unprecedented pace. The Maker Movement creates affordable or even free versions of these inventions, while sharing tools and ideas online to create a vibrant, collaborative community of global problem-solvers."

When you look at your kids playing video games, you might worry they're wasting time and energy passively staring at a screen and pressing buttons. But what if their play time was actually a creative outlet that fostered their imaginations? More and more games, apps, and websites are letting kids as young as kindergartners create anything they can think of -- and it doesn't have to take a ton of time. Even better, most of these tools don't require kids to be skilled programmers or computer experts to design and build creative, entertaining experiences. Whether your kids enjoy creating fun new game elements, editing existing game content, or fully designing their own games from scratch, these programs can help bring their ideas to the screen.

"Coding has replaced history and geography in Australia's new digital technologies curriculum which was endorsed by education ministers on Friday. As The Australian reports, it ensures that 21st century computer coding will be taught in primary schools from Year 5, and programming will be taught from Year 7."

""NSF funds compelling ideas, help test them and helps bring them to wider audiences," said Janet Kolodner, who ran the Cyberlearning program at NSF from 2011 to 2014. "We're interested in helping researchers envision the technologies that will impact learning in a decade and then assist them in transitioning the best ideas from research to practice. On top of that, we want to help scientists overcome the complexity of moving research ideas to real world use." The speakers in the lecture series, all leading cyberlearning scholars, represent the range of technologies, approaches and research practices being pursued today. They're only a small fraction of the remarkable projects being developed and tested at universities across the U.S. - in education departments, computer science departments, robotics labs and even neuroscience departments - but together, they represent the forces transforming what education may look like in the future. "

Yahoo! Glue is a new feature from Yahoo! It gathers images, videos, and articles on a topic and then organizes it on one page. Simply type an entry in the topic text box and click GLUE IT! There is nothing to download and install on your computer. This program is still in Beta.

"Cloud computing" is a white-hot buzzword these days. It basically means working with files and programs that reside on the Internet, beyond your company's walls - out there in the "cloud."

Digital Literacy Self-Assessment This Self-Assessment is designed to help you determine if you will need additional training or practice to meet the computer-related requirements of your degree program. It is divided into 9 parts: