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"This is the last post on iPad for this year. I have recently published several guides on the use of iPad in education starting with the best educational iPad apps for teachers and concluding with these tutorials and a soon to be released eBook that will be comprehensive enough to include everything we have covered about iPad so far. If you are an Android user and wondering why I don't talk about Android as much as I do about iPad , I recommend that you subscribe to my second blog Teacher's Mobile Technology to stay updated about educational Android tips and apps."

"Children's books are an excellent means of 'travel'. With some good writing and an active imagination, you can go quite a lot of places without getting up off the couch. But did you know that many of the fabulous children's books out there were inspired by and written about real places? From Harry Potter to Beatrix Potter, authors have been drawing their inspiration from real life for a long time. Check out the handy infographic below (photo credit) to learn about traveling as well as a bit more about the real life places behind some of the most popular children's books of all time."

"As a general rule, I don't tend to blog too much about what I get up to at School, that's not really what my blog is about. That said however, some of you that also follow me on Twitter may have seen me tweeting recently about a student I teach who has developed an iPad App for the School. A few people, such as Pedagoo asked me to write about it and so here are some of the steps to how this happened, so that, if you wanted to try and replicate this yourself, you might be able to."

"Many educators are aware of Carol Dweck's research on growth mindset. The Stanford psychologist has found that the way students think about and approach challenge makes a big impact on their learning. Students who believe that they were born with a certain amount of intelligence that cannot be changed - a condition Dweck calls a fixed mindset - are often afraid to seek out challenging tasks and are resigned to one's perceived set of abilities. Students who see intelligence as something that can grow and change with effort - known as a growth mindset - tend to persist at difficult tasks, trying new strategies and ultimately performing better in school. Many schools have begun to focus on building growth mindsets in students because of this research. Helping students develop growth mindsets is made even trickier because mindsets about learning can change depending on context. And unfortunately math class is a time when many students have preconceived notions about their abilities. Many adults, including teachers, grew up receiving negative messages about their math ability and can unintentionally pass on unhelpful messages to students through casual words or actions. That's why it's impressive that educators at Two Rivers Charter School in Washington, D.C. recognized a culture of math fear among the staff and worked hard to change teachers' relationships to math as part of their broader strategy to improve math achievement. The school's Director of Curriculum and Instruction, Jeff Heyck-Williams, described their efforts in an Education Week article:"

"Educator Mia MacMeekin made this infographic about ways to inspire students to think more deeply about how innovation applies to them. It's a helpful way to begin a conversation about what it means to innovate, a word that sometimes seems to belong in the adult domain of business and is estranged from how students think about living their lives."

"One question I get asked often is about flipping my Kindergarten class. If you have never heard about a flipped class read more about it here. The quick answer is I don't flip my class for my students. I simply haven't seen a need for this for my young kids. What I have been doing the last few years is flipping my class for the parents by using a classroom blog. This might not be flipping in the true sense of the word but it is as close as I have come. My goal is to use blog posts and videos to help parents understand the learning that is happening in our classroom. With that knowledge my hope is parents can support or even expand on that learning at home. I believe that informing parents about our learning is important at all levels, but especially for young kids."

"Creatures of Light is a beautiful free iPad app from the American Museum of Natural History. The app contains five chapter about bioluminescent animals like jellyfish, fireflies, and glow worms. In each chapter students learn about what causes bioluminescence and how it helps animals survive in their environments. Each chapter includes an interactive map of the world that students on which students can tap to learn about the bioluminescent animals of a particular region."

"To be clear-learning can happen in the absence of technology. Integrated poorly, technology can subdue, distract, stifle, and obscure the kind of personal interactions between learner, content, peer, and performance that lead to learning results. But increasingly we live in a world where technology is deeply embedded into everything we do. Thinking about it simply in terms of "digital literacy" puts you about 5 years behind the curve. It's really much more than that-less about being connected, and more about being mobile. There will be growing pains, and I'm sure educators that have brought in BYOD programs into their school can come up with 50 reasons it won't work. But most of those 50 are a product of the continued poor fit that exists between schools and communities-the system and the humans it serves."

"The last session I am attending is "Redefining the Writing Process" with Beth Holland and Samantha Morra. Beth highlights the idea we all have about writing - that it's about paper and keyboarding. Beth wrote a great article about this at Edudemic, "5 Myths About Writing with Mobile Devices.""

"Teachers are always looking for ways to educate and engage. I read, observe, listen and try to integrate meaningful platforms and experiences into student learning so that my students are drawn to the event. I'm no different than any other teacher; we know that engagement matters. So with that in mind, let's talk about Minecraft. Children are crazy about it--they collaborate and create for hours. They LOVE it and want it at school. They are always talking about it, asking for it, and relaying stories about it. I've tried it a few times, and must admit I've yet to understand it well, but my son assures me that as soon as I get the hang of it I'll be hooked."

"Some tasks numb the soul, says Sarah Raffray, head of St Augustine's Priory in Ealing. "I'm talking about death by worksheet. There's nothing more killing than dragging your child to the table when you can't find anything intrinsically interesting about spotting adjectives." Ideally, she says, homework should inspire, divert and nurture a lifelong love of learning. Sound unrealistic? According to independent schools, it comes down to the quality of homework set by teachers. "Homework should be about engaging higher thinking skills and rarely about the right answer," says Raffray. "

"Apple has just released an exciting collection on iBooks called One Best Thing. Each of these books was written by an Apple Distinguished Educator about one thing they do well using-you guessed it-Apple products. The useful thing about this collection is that not only are the Multi-Touch books written about the ways educators are transforming their classroom, but each of the 102 books (today I counted 83 available so far) are offered free. I am thrilled to be one of these authors."

"Inside a classroom, opportunities to learn about common viruses arise when illnesses cycle through, like the cold, flu and some conjunctivitis. Those ailments often come and go with students spending a couple of days recovering at home. However, the types of communicable diseases that capture the nation's attention tend to be more deadly, such as Ebola. While students can learn about how these diseases affect the human body and communities through news, books and movies, another platform has proven itself useful as an educational tool: games. By playing games about how relationships and outcomes are tested by more deadly viruses, players are pushed to work together to ensure survival."

"The Managing Complex Change model puts language to that which makes some schools successful while others struggle. The model looks at five components necessary to create a desired environment. These include vision, skills, incentives, resources, action plan. If any one piece is missing the model indicates results schools will experience including change, confusion, anxiety, gradual change, frustration, and a false start. When thinking of successful schools such as Science Leadership Academy, The MET, The Island School, The iSchool, you will find they have all those components in place. On the other hand, when I hear teachers lamenting about their school failures, the model brings clarity to the fact that one or more of these components are missing. Below is the chart that lays this out. Following the chart, I'll take a look at what each missing component might look like in a school environment. As you read, consider which, if any are components, are missing at your school. save image Lack of Vision = Confusion When I hear exasperated teachers spinning their wheels, working so hard to get ready for all the various mandates and requirements, but never feeling a sense of accomplishment, it is clear there is not a tangible school vision that has been communicated. In some cases this is because what is being imposed does or can not reconcile with what the school wanted for their vision. Skill Deficit = Anxiety My heart goes out to those with a skill deficit. They are required to implement a curriculum they are not trained in using or being evaluated via measures with which they are not familiar. Or…they are put into a position they were not trained for or prepared to embrace. Social media provides a great medium for helping these teachers get up to speed, but when the outreach occurs, the anxiety is abundantly clear. Lack of Incentives = Gradual Change It is not unusual for innovative educators to feel like and be perceived as misfits. Islands onto their own

"Finally, science has given its approval to one of the literary world's most cherished ideas about the value of literature. Even though the study only measured short-term benefits, it was taken to stand for a wider truth about the morally improving effects of the stuff, the "Finally, science has given its approval to one of the literary world's most cherished ideas about the value of literature. Even though the study only measured short-term benefits, it was taken to stand for a wider truth about the morally improving effects of the stuff, the notion that it makes you a better, more empathic person."

"The space nerds at NASA have officially hopped on the Meghan Trainor parody train with their ode to the Orion spacecraft, "All About That Space." The Pathways Interns of NASA's Johnson Space Center recorded and filmed the parody song to encourage further public interest in Orion, which saw its first successful test flight on Dec. 5. The spacecraft orbited Earth twice during its flight and traveled 60,000 miles before splashing down into the Pacific Ocean as planned. NASA's parody isn't the first space-themed "All About That Bass" parody - a group of geeky ladies penned a similar, Star Wars-themed parody in November."

"About a year ago I first heard Greg Kulowiec of EdTechTeacher talk about App Smashing. App Smashing is the process of using multiple apps together to create a single product. The power of the iPad isn't about one or two innovative apps. It's about finding creative ways to get apps to work together (smashing them together to get something new). Drawing Pad does some cool stuff. So does Chrome. So does Explain Everything. So does iMovie. So does Book Creator. But all of them have their own limitations. Each of them lack some really creative features. But at the same time, each of them does some amazing things the others don't. The power of the iPad is in getting those apps to work together to do some truly creative stuff."

"Caring about and maintaining our mental health is as important as our physical health. We only have one brain and one body, so it's our job to keep it running in the best way we can by paying attention to and working to improve our mental and physical health. We seem to know more about our bodies than we do our minds. This website is designed to share information about mental health and provide you with resources that can help you understand your mental health and assist those you care about. Use the tools, resources, events and engagement tools to improve mental health literacy in your community and help change the conversation."

"The longer I blog, the more I realize something. It's really not about trying to say something. In fact it's not about trying at all. It's not even about crafting a powerful message. It's just about sharing. Whatever is in your mind, on your heart, and running through the veins of your soul. That which drives you to keep going. Because when you reach thatpoint, that is who you are. When we share that with each other? That's when messages grow into ideas. Thoughts become actions. Connections are authentic. Passions run deep. It's as real as reality can get."