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"A few months ago, I posted an article by Shelly Blake-Plock called 21 Things in Education That Will be Obsolete in 2020, which lists some of the ways in which the face of schools will change in less than a decade. In this op-ed, which originally appeared in the Baltimore Sun, he describes what exactly needs to be done to get to there. "

"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."

"Math is a core subject and one used in everyday life, especially throughout the K-12 years. Students who enjoy and generally perform well in math classes will have their choice of an amalgam of apps to aid them in both study and enjoyment. There are, however, a fair number of students who simply don't like to do math at school and who certainly won't easily be tempted to do extra math at home. Luckily, there are a series of apps available to help math averse students. Some of these are geared towards students who need visual stimulation such as colors, patterns, and graphics to remain engaged in general math concepts. Other students, those who are geared toward auditory stimulation, will be interested only if sound and music come into play. In addition to focusing on multiple communication preferences, some math apps disguise learning in the form of game play. Students who have fun while learning can greatly benefit from these math 'games', especially if they are in the younger grades."

"I recently had the opportunity to take part in a two-day professional development session with the Children's Museum Makeshop in collaboration with Kickstarter.  Here there were a variety of different of teachers and administrators who had varying levels of experience with making in education.  The commonality: all teachers and administrators wanted to incorporate making into their instruction in a more meaningful way. Led by Teresa DeFlitch, we were engaged in a take-apart activity.  In this activity, we were to take apart an everyday item.  Our team selected a children's toy.  During this process, I was reminded of what drew me to making in the first place: the awakening of a curiosity for how things work."

"With iOS 9, Apple has introduced a new feature called Multitasking that takes the iPad to the next level. By running two apps side by side, you can be more productive (or have more fun) than ever before. While this feature is only fully compatible with the iPad Air 2, iPad mini 4 and iPad Pro (and in limited ways on some older iPads), it's an incredibly powerful feature that might be worth the upgrade. (Note that Multitasking does not work on any model of iPhone.) Multitasking comes in three forms: you can have two apps running fully side by side in Split View mode; you can peek at an app and use it in limited ways with Slide Over; and you can run a video in a window all its own in a mode called Picture in Picture."

"Are  your students texting in class? Of course they are. A better question is, are you allowing your students to send text messages? If not, why? The picture above is what happens in most classes. Students hide their mobile devices and surreptitiously send text messages to their friends. In many cases they may be texting peers in the same room. Teachers fear this secret texting in class and, in many cases, ban the use of mobile devices entirely. A better practice is to embrace the mobile devices and the text messaging."

"Although instructional design as a discipline has been around for decades (and probably was at its height in the 1970's and 1980's as a profession, its application and use has diminished in the age of easy to use software and access to and use of Internet. This is partly because it is so easy to create a course of almost any type, add as many "bells and whistles" as you like and then widely distribute it to a given audience. But in paying less attention to instructional design than we should we have lost something important and it is therefore high time we recognized that it is more important than ever in the modern world. After all, instructional design is the approach which helps to keep the process of training, coaching or development of any kind (on or off line) to be well-targeted and on track to meet the needs of the individual(s) at which it is aimed. Good instructional design therefore needs to appreciate that we are open to learning but find the best ways and moments to intervene in which to package it or parcel it up so that it can be successfully delivered. Although the approach is relatively straightforward, there is a best-practice way to conduct effective instructional design and this is shown in the 10-step infographic shown below:"

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"Originally, we used Book Creator in English lessons, where children enjoyed producing more creative and interactive pieces, using the various tools, such as images for scenes in their stories or to link with the subject of their non-fiction work. It also helped our younger years' classes, both with writing and speaking and listening because the children were able to record their sentences, using the microphone tool. Moreover, we have a significant number of children who speak English as an additional language, so Book Creator provides excellent support for them too because they are able to practice both their written and speaking skills simultaneously. Book Creator can really work in the science classroom, according to @MrW_BVPS CLICK TO TWEET The hypothesis Realising the potential of Book Creator, I wanted to see how effective it would be in other subject areas. In this instance, we used it in Science. The children were investigating the importance of surface area when thinking about floating and sinking. I felt this would be a good fit because it would help to immerse the children in the experiment."

"It's a controversial topic: do you introduce social media in the classroom or ignore it? Whether you use traditional social platforms or social-focused tools, many educators find that this technology helps increase engagement and excitement with students, many of who are already very familiar with it. "Students communicate, research, collaborate, create and publish online with or without the help of parents or educators. These same students then hop on social media to promote, discuss and share their thoughts with the world. The digital environment is offering us some of the greatest learning opportunities that young learners have ever had," says Gail Leicht, an 8th grade teacher. Bringing social networking into the classroom gives quiet students a chance to shine; sharing their voice online is often easier than speaking out in class. It also opens the doors for collaboration and communication between peers, both inside and outside of the classroom. Not to mention, it gives teachers another opportunity to connect with students. Despite the benefits, many educators still shy away from using social networking in the classroom because they are unsure about how to integrate it successfully. In fact, fewer than 20 percent of U.S. teachers use social media in the classroom, according to USNews.com. Luckily, the process isn't quite as daunting as it seems. Not to mention, you don't need to use traditional social networks to take advantage of social networking in the classroom. Follow these simple steps and watch as your students start sharing, commenting and publishing while learning important lesson material."

"Since its introduction, Skype has gained more than a little traction in the communications space. While Google+ has added Hangouts and Facebook video chat that accomplish essentially the same thing, due to its pioneering effort, Skype has become the industry standard by being its own verb, in the same way Google has for search, and Coke has for soft drinks. It'd only be a little confusing to ask someone to "Skype," and then hope on Google+ for a Hangout. Or maybe it wouldn't. Nonetheless, Skype has a potential role in the 21st century classroom. (In fact, in August of last year we looked at 50 ways it could be used in the classroom.) To help in that regard, langwitches has created a helpful taxonomy to guide teachers on how to plan, evaluate, and execute a Skype conversation for learning. It starts off at the bottom with forced, awkward conversations, and eventually grades to the top, where authentic, free-flowing conversations occur. You can download a pdf version on her site."

" Learn the secrets to great leadership practices, and get immediate and practical solutions that address your needs. More Permissions ASCD respects intellectual property rights and adheres to the laws governing them. Learn more about our permissions policy and submit your request online. Policies and Requests Translations Rights Books in Translation Home Current Issue Archives Buy Contact Read Abstract Online June 2014 | Volume 71 Making a Difference Pages 16-21 Overcoming the Challenges of Poverty Julie Landsman Here are 15 things educators can do to make our schools and classrooms places where students thrive. Last year, when I was leading a staff development session with teachers at a high-poverty elementary school, a teacher described how one of her kindergarten students had drifted off to sleep at his seat-at 8:00 a.m. She had knelt down next to the child and began talking loudly in his ear, urging him to wake up. As if to ascertain that she'd done what was best for this boy, she turned to the rest of us and said, "We are a 'no excuses' school, right?" A fellow teacher who also lived in the part of Minneapolis where this school was located and knew the students well, asked, "Did you know Samuel has been homeless for a while now? Last night, there was a party at the place where he stays. He couldn't go to bed until four in the morning." I couldn't help but think that if the "no excuses" philosophy a school follows interferes with basic human compassion for high-needs kids, the staff needs to rethink how they are doing things. Maybe they could set up a couple of cots for homeless students in the office to give them an hour or two of sleep; this would yield more participation than shouting at children as they struggle to stay awake. This isn't the first time I've heard of adults viewing low-income children as "the problem" rather than trying to understand their lives. In a radio interview I heard, a teenage girl in New O

Sweetness in your speech talent in your mind love in your heart peace in your eyes strength in your hands & I wish always victory in your life

"A recent study has found that kindergartners who use iPads in school are likely to score higher on literacy tests than those who do not. The study, which was carried out in Auburn, Maine early last year, looked at 266 kindergartners who had been given free iPads to use in class as part of an experiment. Out of the 266 students, 129 were given lessons using iPads, while the remaining 137 were taught through traditional methods. The results, which were published on Apple's unofficial tech blog, TUAW, showed that in addition to better scores in every literacy test, children who were taught through the use of an iPad also showed an increased interest in learning and were more enthusiastic about going to school."

"Finland's classrooms are very different from America's -- far more permissive, with less of an emphasis on academics. There are no standardized tests until high school, and children get 15 minutes of recess in between lessons -- more than an hour of recess a day. "Play is important," one Finnish teacher told the Smithsonian magazine. "We value play." Yet Finnish kids always get good grades on comparisons of student achievement between countries. Their average scores on the Program for International Student Assessment, a test that's given to 15-year-olds in 65 countries, are among the highest in the developed world. As a result, critics of education reform in the United States often cite the Finnish example. It's a stark contrast to America's reliance on using test scores in public school teacher evaluations, or the strict, "no-excuses" model of discipline in charter schools that many have touted as improving academic results. Now, Finnish schools are embracing an even more radical approach to teaching. One major initiative is to encourage teaching by topic instead of by subject. According to The Independent, instead of teaching geography and foreign language classes separately, teachers will ask kids to name countries on a map in a foreign language. Instead of separate lessons on history and economics, they'll talk about the European Union."

"Technology is critical for innovation, yet schools struggle to get students interested in this area. Could teaching robotics change this? The Queensland government has just announced plans to make teaching robotics compulsory in its new curriculum - aimed at students from prep through to year 10. Robotics matches the new digital technologies curriculum, strongly supported by the university sector and states, including Victoria. But while, worldwide, there are increasing initiatives such as the Robotics Academy in the US to teach robotics in schools, Australia isn't doing enough to get it taught in schools. To explain why we should teach children how to program robots in schools, we first need to understand what a robot is. "

"In case you hadn't noticed, I'm quite a fan of the iPad (the Lollipop Nexus 9's not too bad either). Not because of its design or because its by Apple or any of that, but because of its keen heritage in the learning arena. Any one who knows me will tell you that I am not one for using tech for tech's sake, despite my evangelist moniker. Use of technology in a cross curricular sense should be measured and done with consideration for the best potential learning outcomes. With all that said, I've been doing this for quite some time now and I thought it time that I shared some of the Apps that have stuck by me or have struck me for their ease of use and impact upon learning in the classroom. Rather than blog about each one however or write in depth about each one either, I've done this in the form of a small poster, with the apps icons on. My periodic table of Apps that I developed from Sean Junkins' original is always well received however it really is a bit on the large size. This poster will feature Apps that hold stock in every classroom and can have an impact upon learning."

"One of the more exciting apps that has recently made it's way onto the social media scene is Periscope. Periscope is a live, interactive video streaming  app which allows users to broadcast media and footage while their followers engage in their content at the same time. When used in the classroom, students are able to connect with the world in real-time and interact with any of the content that is made available to them. One of the ways Periscope can be used to enhance a lesson or unit is with a teacher-directed Periscope. Inviting students to interact in this way now allows for personalizing what is needed from each individual at that very moment. When creating content with a screencast program, teachers must already anticipate the needs of their class. With Periscope, teachers can broadcast content live to their students with the ability to tailor the video on the spot in response to student questions and conversations. Flipping a lesson, re-teaching a strategy, or communicating classroom information all in real-time now gives the teacher the power to easily personalize instruction through the interactivity of this app. Students on the other hand, now have the power to pick the path of their own learning."

"Why build a Makerspace in your school? Student creativity, building stronger neural pathways in the brain through kinesthetic learning opportunities, is the reason to build a Makerspace. It is about play, students tinkering to discover, children experimenting to learn, and students building what they dream. Building a Makerspace is worth it when the students grow and learn within it. In an age of accountability and standardization, these elements have been steadily removed from schools and classrooms. A Makerspace has the potential to put it all back in place. Even so, making a Makerspace come to life in a school is not an easy task. It takes vision, buy-in, materials and space, and a plan for implementation. More than that, building a Makerspace in a school takes time. And, we did it!"

"If you have run updates on your iPad or Android tablet in the last 24 hours you might have noticed some new commenting options in Google Docs, Slides, and Sheets. If you haven't run updates, you will want to after learning about the new commenting features. Google Docs, Slides, and Sheets for iOS and Android now have instant mentions in comments. Simply start typing a contact's name in a comment box and you will see a list of suggested names to mention in your comments. Anyone you select from that list will be notified of being mentioned in your comment."