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"Lego is phenomenal super-toy, which helps stimulate kids' creativity, imagination, as well as logical thinking. Yet, school teacher Alycia Zimmerman do not only use it as a toy, but also as a great aid to develop basic math skills among her young minds. Lego blocks, she finds, are good tool to explain fractions, squares and other mathematical concepts. "In the classroom, the tiny bricks are now my favorite possibility-packed math manipulative," she writes in an article for Scholastic that goes more into depth about these bricks' potential uses."

"Lego is a phenomenal children's toy. It's little wonder then that both adults and kids enjoy playing around with it. It can help stimulate your imagination, your creative abilities, and your logical thinking. In turn, it can be used not only as a toy, but also as a great aid to learning both in the classroom and at home. School teacher Alycia Zimmerman regularly uses Lego to help develop basic math skills among her pupils. Lego blocks, she finds, offer a great opportunity to explain fundamental math concepts and calculations in a way which is immediately understandable for young minds. So for those who can't find the right words or who find they haven't got the patience to help with their kid's math homework, here are a few examples which Alycia uses. Each and everyone of them is incredibly simple, but seriously effective."

"Confession: I've been following the BreakoutEdu craze on social media.  Full Disclosure: I didn't get it. I was skeptical. Locks?  Huh? So I stuck with it.  I looked at challenges, I watched videos, and I joined the BreakoutEdu group on Facebook.  I saw someone write about using disappearing ink to reveal a clue.  That was it.  Something clicked and I became a huge fan. Teamwork? Critical thinking? Problem solving? Creativity?  Win, all the way around.  Give kids a chance to be a spy, or Inspector Gadget, or the problem solver you know they can be! And then I read about Michael Medvinsky using the game with first graders to unlock an extra recess.  And I may have hugged my BreakoutEdu kit, right there at my desk.   Once again, I had underestimated the power of a tool to be integrated at the youngest levels of learners… of course! Imagination, play, and collaboration?  That screams elementary!"

"I will be sharing about our Pinball Machine Mayhem that is happening in our Technology and Innovation class. We started with a brainstorming session on the process this week. We began with the Project Idea phase: This is where we explained that they would be making pinball machines. How they made them or what they used is completely up to them during this process. Next we moved into the Prototype Design students during this phase was given a blank piece of paper about the size of the actual pinball machines that they will make. The goal here was for them to start to apply the different pieces of their pinball machines to this document. What was incredible about this whole process was before we released the students to go work we asked them what subjects do they think will be covered throughout this process. Right away hands went up and students started sharing. Math - Area, Perimeter, Height, Length, Pythagorean Theorem to find the slope of their machine. ELA - Research, Creating a story for their pinball machine Social Studies - History of the pinball machine, Research on different pinball machines Science - Volume, Friction, Gravity, Art - Theme of their board, Creative look of their pinball machine. Tech Ed - Lights, sensors, buzzers Makerspace - Students talked about using little bits, robotic kits, makey makey board, along with legos and Knex's"

"If you're anything like us, you're always looking for new inexpensive (or better yet, free) resources that can introduce more students to STEM and maker education. There are a lot out there, but the really useful ones can be hard to find. Here, we're excited to share 50 resources that we think are doing a great job of expanding access and pushing the envelope."

"Most educators are aware of the "Four C's" (Critical thinking, Creativity, Collaboration and Communication) and their importance in schools for ensuring the development of today's skills in our students (I appreciate Will Richardson's contention that "curiosity" should be the fifth "C" and is more important than the others).  But there are other essential skills and traits that many schools teach, either through learning in the classroom or by providing extra-curricular activities, which are not as widely acknowledged, but are extremely important. From my experience being a part of schools and visiting, I have noticed that great schools teach these essentials that are timeless: "

"Easy, straightforward techniques to jumpstart innovative thinking and surface new, brilliant ideas."

In our busy and highly connected lives it can be difficult to find time to slow down, to deliberately and mindfully engage in reflective contemplation. Taking the time to do so can be significant for success, creativity, mental well-being and learning and yet we seem to struggle to commit time to this valuable practice. Schools, in particular seem to offer little time for students to slow down and think, and with the busy lives students lead such time is often entirely absent.

"Two decades in, and it's abundantly clear that one of the most effective ways to nurture the 21st century's trademark skills-creativity, critical thinking, communication, collaboration-is by creating opportunities for kids to do what kids do naturally: play. So we've crafted this educators' guide to game-based learning, packed with resources for gaming gurus and greenhorns alike."

"Math has been a traditionally thorny subject in many American schools. Lots of children dislike math and many more adults stopped taking mathematics as soon as they are able, even when they were successful in their classes. At the same time, mathematical thinking is a crucial part of many of the most exciting and growing careers in science, technology, engineering and math, not to mention important for a general understanding of the mathematical world around us. So, what can U.S. math educators do to shift this dynamic? Stanford Mathematics Education Professor Jo Boaler is championing a dramatic shift in how many math teachers approach instruction. Rather than focusing on the algorithms and procedures that make mathematics feel like a lock-step process -- with one right way of solving problems -- Boaler encourages teachers to embrace the visual aspects of math. She encourages teachers to ask students to grapple with open-ended problems, to share ideas and to see math as a creative endeavor. She works with students every summer and says that when students are in a math environment that doesn't focus on performance, speed, procedures, and right and wrong answers they thrive. They even begin to change their perceptions of whether they can or can't do math."

"Who are the people spearheading maker education? And what motivates them? These are just a few of the questions behind a new study (PDF) from SRI International on the Maker Education Initiative. According to the report, many maker educators believe "making can help students develop real-world skills" such as creativity, problem-solving acumen, critical thinking and perseverance, along with "dispositions associated with positive work and life outcomes." They also find that making can be both a social and self-directed activity that "builds empowerment and participants' sense of agency.""

The question of what learning matters most to our students is one that I return to regularly. A fascinating range of models are available each with similar elements but presented in a slightly different manner. Most could be summarised by the 'Four C's' model outlined in 'Most Likely to Succeed' by Tony Wagner and Ted Dintersmith. Critical thinking, communication, collaboration, and creativity are vital and each plays an important role in allowing us to manage the complexity of modern day life. Beyond being relevant to success in the classroom the Four C's are the foundations of life-long learning but I question if alone they are enough. I believe we must include a fifth; compassion.

"Flashy spaces and shiny toys in makerspaces are enticing, but it takes time and explicit scaffolding to develop a true Innovator. Building and providing the space for Making to happen is one thing; nurturing a mindset that gives students the mental tools to engage with said spaces is a much larger, and timely, endeavor. Best defined by the research and work of Carol Dweck, Jo Boaler and Eduardo Briceno, growth mindset is the recognition of the brain as a muscle that-with practice, effort, and nurturing-can continue to grow and develop. When you think of an inventor or innovator, past or present, what descriptors come to mind? Creative. Persistent. Curious. Fearless. Passionate. But educators know that most students don't show up to your class on the first day of school exhibiting these qualities. So how do we provide not only the physical tools but the mental tools to Make? Here are the essential pieces:"

The Future of Education is a topic often discussed, and at the recent gathering of educators in Florence, it was the title and theme for the conference. Now in its ninth year, The Future of Education is an international conference that attracts educators from around the world and across all domains touched by education. The conference is an inspiring two days of discussion and sharing, with the city of Florence, the centre of the Renaissance, providing a constant reminder of what might be possible when creativity and critical thinking combine. Here are my key takeaways from this event.

The evidence is mounting and the narrative around education is shifting towards a story centred on long-life skills, creativity, collaboration, critical thinking and communication. Success in the future seems to be connected closely to one's capacity to innovate, to problem find and to make strategic decisions when confronted by unique situations for which we have not been specifically prepared. 

"In today's 24/7 digital world, we have instant access to all kinds of information online. Educators need strategies to equip students with the core skills they need to think critically about today's media. We teach foundational skills in news and media literacy through our Digital Citizenship program, specifically through our Creative Credit & Copyright and Information Literacy topics. Built on more than 10 years of expertise and classroom testing, these lessons and related teaching materials give students the essential skills to be smart, savvy media consumers and creators. From lesson plans about fact-checking to clickbait headlines and fake news, we've covered everything. To learn more about our approach, read the Topic Backgrounder on news and media literacy."

"At the end of 2016, I found myself mentally exhausted and barely able to string together a coherent thought or formulate an original idea. As I swiped through my social media feeds for inspiration-or maybe procrastination-a nagging feeling hit. I needed a break from screen time. Pediatricians, psychologists, and neuroscientists warn of potential negative consequences associated with constant mental stimulation as a result of interacting with our devices. Without a screen-free space for my brain to relax, stop firing, and just think, I felt incapable of significant mental processing. I could blame the technology for thwarting my attempts at creative thought, or I could blame myself for taking the easy route and using my devices to constantly stimulate my brain. Though I chose to blame myself, I am finding a lot of support for the idea of blaming technology when discussing the idea of screen time. Get the best of Edutopia in your inbox each week. Mobile devices have the potential to provide amazing learning opportunities as well as great distractions. They can further social interactions to help us build stronger connections in our communities, or allow us to destroy relationships by hiding behind a screen. In the book The Triple Focus: A New Approach to Education, authors Daniel Goleman and Peter Senge describe three essential skills for surviving in a society increasingly dominated by internet-enabled devices: focusing on ourselves, tuning in to others, and understanding the larger world. While the authors apply these concepts to the broader field of social and emotional learning, these same foci also apply as we address the issue of screen time with our students and children."

"Excerpted from Teach Like Finland: 33 Simple Strategies For Joyful Classrooms (c) 2017 by Timothy D. Walker. Used with permission of the publisher, W. W. Norton.  Schedule brain breaks Like a zombie, Sami*-one of my fifth graders-lumbered over to me and hissed, "I think I'm going to explode! I'm not used to this schedule." And I believed him. An angry red rash was starting to form on his forehead. Yikes, I thought, what a way to begin my first year of teaching in Finland. It was only the third day of school, and I was already pushing a student to the breaking point. When I took him aside, I quickly discovered why he was so upset. Throughout this first week of school, I had gotten creative with my fifth grade timetable. If you recall, students in Finland normally take a fifteen-minute break for every forty-five minutes of instruction. During a typical break, the children head outside to play and socialize with friends. I didn't see the point of these frequent pit stops. As a teacher in the United States, I'd usually spent consecutive hours with my students in the classroom. And I was trying to replicate this model in Finland. The Finnish way seemed soft, and I was convinced that kids learned better with longer stretches of instructional time. So I decided to hold my students back from their regularly scheduled break and teach two forty-five-minute lessons in a row, followed by a double break of thirty minutes. Now I knew why the red dots had appeared on Sami's forehead."

"To survive in today's world, it's imperative for students to become innovators able to think both critically and creatively. Because of this, many schools are looking to STEAM education. If you're unfamiliar, STEAM stands for Science, Technology, Engineering, the Arts, and Math. STEAM education aims to help students see and use connections between all of these disciplines to become well-rounded. However, STEAM didn't always exist. In fact, the arts were never part of the original equation. Read on to see how STEM morphed into STEAM and how to bring these important ideas into your classroom."