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DIET ADVICE AND CRACKDOWN

When is it cheating? When is it collaboration? This thoughtful article from Common Sense Media provides fine advice for parents (or teachers) on how to talk to kids about digital media and ethics.  

"Now that you have understood the basics of Digital Citizenship and have read the digital footprint guide, you night be in need of a handy graphic to share with your students to wrap it up all. Well, I have one for you. The graphic below features some wonderful tips and pieces of advice on how to develop good manners online. Look at it as a code of online ethics to recommend not only to your students but to your kids as well. You can also print it and hang it on your classroom wall to constantly remind students of what is expected from them while using the world wide web. Enjoy"

"Thankfully, there's more information on introverts out there than ever before. I tapped into my amazing personal learning network of educators and gathered a towering pile of books on my nightstand, topped by Susan Cain's book Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World that Can't Stop Talking. In her book, Cain champions the often-overlooked talents and gifts of introverts, and offers parents and educators strategies for communication and evaluation. This year, I drew on this advice and made a number of changes to my classroom in order to improve learning opportunities for my introverted students."

"Here are some interesting graphics I came across in fortheteachersblog and thought you might want to have a look. These visual graphics feature a set of useful pieces of advice to parents on how to help their kids with Math, reading and spelling. I invite you to explore them and share with your colleagues. The graphics are also available for free download in PDF format in case you want to print them out and use them in your class. Make sure you give credit to the owner of these visuals anytime you use them."

""I want to integrate making in my classroom. Where do I start?" I see this question pop up all the time in the feeds, listservs, and blogs that I read, and I am continually surprised by the great resources that appear in response. Check out the #makered hashtag on Twitter, join the K-12 Fab Labs and Makerspaces Google Group, read about what Maker Ed and Agency By Design are up to - and then speak up! These groups are filled with generous, welcoming educators who want to share with and help each other. Ask for support fine-tuning a project prompt, invite other schools to participate in competitions and local events, or ask for advice on safe and effective ways to use a new tool. Model the collaborative, open-ended, growth-oriented approach to learning that you'd like to see in your students, and enter the conversation. "

"However talented, no one is a natural-born teacher. Honing the craft takes significant care and effort, not just by the individual, but also by the school at large. Though experience does matter, it matters only to the extent that a teacher -- regardless of how long he or she has been in the classroom -- commits to continued professional development to refresh his or her status as a transformational teacher. Along those lines, even after a decade in the classroom, I don't claim to be beyond criticism -- not in the least. Still, I wish to offer some advice on constantly striving toward perfection, however elusive that goal will always remain."

"Who knew one simple Medium post could ignite such a profound movement? #iLookLikeAnEngineer is now being spread globally in over 50 countries. It has received over 170,000 tweets and has been covered in countless news outlets. In addition to an influx of incredibly heart-warming and positive support, many people have reached out to me for advice on how I learned how to code without a formal college education. I wanted the opportunity to give everyone an illustrative and thoughtful response, so that is now my intention with this Medium post. I am most familiar with web application development, so that is what this will be covering."

"A number of national initiatives are underway to support getting students access to maker skills and tools, including 3D printers. As schools and educators are seeking advice on what to get, it is important for them to recognize that the needs of students in a classroom are different than those of hobbyists or professional makers. Here are a few important criteria for educators to consider when evaluating 3D printers for their class:"

"Coding for kids (otherwise known as computer programming) is growing rapidly in popularity. While programming is offered in a small number of traditional schools in the US, a Gallup poll indicates that 90% of parents would like computer programming to be taught during the school day. Even in the schools that offer computer science in the classroom, the level of rigor has been traditionally low, and many parents have chosen to look for outside resources to provide coding instruction. In this guide, we provide parents with the answers to some of the most common questions that we encounter operating a successful kids coding academy, and we attempt to provide advice on academic approach, curriculum selection, and other resources."

"Dumpster diving and dollar stores. Purse-shaped post-it's and animal lubricant. When you're building a makerspace on a budget, you learn that resources are everywhere-and they aren't always what you expect.  Dumpster diving and dollar stores. Purse-shaped post-it's and animal lubricant. For three years I and my fellow cofounders Kim Martin and Beth Compton, have created, developed, and run Canada's first mobile makerspace-the MakerBus. As an entirely community-driven (pun intended) makerspace, we have had to master doing a lot with very little. As we have learned, while money is extremely useful, no amount of it can replace the value of an engaged, creative community. Below I share some ideas for creating makerspaces at various price points, offering advice for building a $100 and a (nearly) $0 community makerspace."

"Here is a collection of some good iPad apps for teaching kids and students sign language and American Sign Language (ASL). The collection which we have curated from iTunes App Store and App Advice, embeds some of the most popular sign language apps out there.  We have based our selection mostly on user reviews and ratings. Whether you are a parent, a teacher dealing with deaf or hard of hearing students, or simply interested in learning an extra important communicative code, the collection below is definitely a great place to start with."

"Students aren't daunted by the iPad interface. They may take time to experiment and understand steps required to produce an outcome, but they will persevere. Having observed students at different stages of learning, across many subjects, it has become clear that students aren't a barrier to learning with the iPad. If a process doesn't work for a student they will try something different. They collaborate with peers to produce quality work and will heed advice to move forward."