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"For more than six hours each day, we aim to seize every teachable moment. Our schedules, carefully crafted and refined, often resemble a flight schedule at a busy airport: whole-class math lessons here, reading groups there, and one-on-one conferencing/counseling/cheerleading sessions squeezed in everywhere else. But we all know learning isn't confined to the school day. Extracurricular activities, from soccer to chess club, have been around as long as school itself. When I was young, few after-school activities appealed to me, so hosting an after-school club as a teacher didn't occur to me until a few years ago when I began to look at after-school learning through a new lens. Having started two after-school clubs in the past three years, I now realize I can create rich learning opportunities that would have appealed to me when I was a student, and simultaneously appeal to the teacher I am now."

"SoundCloud is one of the audio recording tools that I have been recommending for years. I've always liked the ease with which you can record, save, and share audio through the service. The option to insert text comments into SoundCloud tracks has been an appeal of the service too. Today, SoundCloud added a new feature that will appeal to anyone that has wanted to try his or her hand at podcasting."

"After-school clubs offer both students and teachers the freedom to explore alternative approaches to learning."

For educators, parents and learners Carol Dweck's research on the benefits of a Growth Mindset is naturally appealing. Those who have a growth mindset achieve better results than those who don't, are more resilient and accept challenge willingly. After two years of incorporating a growth mindset philosophy we are finding that the reality of shifting a student's disposition away from a fixed mindset and then maintaining a growth mindset is significantly more complex than at first imagined.

"For educators, parents and learners Carol Dweck's research on the benefits of a Growth Mindset is naturally appealing. Those who have a growth mindset achieve better results than those who don't, are more resilient and accept challenge willingly. In response schools have embraced the notion and classroom walls are adorned with posters identifying the characteristics of growth versus fixed mindsets. Teachers make efforts to shift their students towards a growth mindset and parents consider how they may assist in the process. After two years of incorporating a growth mindset philosophy we are finding that the reality of shifting a student's disposition away from a fixed mindset and then maintaining a growth mindset is significantly more complex than at first imagined. Numerous forces and influences play a role and progress is unlikely to match a linear curve. Where schools have made steps in the right direction, is in raising awareness of the two mindsets. In this regard the placement of posters and discussion around the role that our mindset has in our learning are steps in the right direction. Demonising the fixed mindset is perhaps an unnecessary step and our students may be better served by understanding that we all have times when we fall into a fixed mindset. Education of how we may recognise such times and apply strategies of mindfulness and metacognition would avoid shifting already vulnerable learners on to the circle of shame. Awareness is however far form the end of the journey towards reaping the benefits of a Growth Mindset."

"Please take the following survey and share your thoughts, then pass the link on to your colleagues and friends. I'm writing a new column for the Appealing Apps for Educators series in Appolicious and I'd love to get gather the opinions of educators and students on their favorite apps that they've used this year. These apps do not have to be new to the education market this year. Vote for one app per category only; apps can be listed in multiple categories. You also are not required to submit an app in every category. K12 classes may want to consider discussing the following categories, and making one group entry. NOTE: This is not a survey for app developers to promote their own work. Do not take this survey if you are not a K12 student, a K12 class or educator."

"Three Goals of Technology in Education"

"One of the challenging tasks facing teachers in today's learning environments is increasing students engagement. I said challenging because our students' attention span is very short and unless you make your learning tasks appealing to them you will never succeed in keeping them on task. Some attribute this to the heavy presence of digital media in teens life and also to the negative practices that came as a result of this over indulgence in the digital such as multitasking. Below is an interesting graphic created by Mia Mac Meekin in which she features 27 activities teachers can use to increase students engagement and participation. Enjoy"

"WriteReader is a neat multimedia writing platform for elementary school teachers and students. The appeal of WriteReader is found in the collaboration between students and teachers. Students can create multimedia books that teachers log into to correct. As is seen the video below, each page of a book has a space for students to write in and a space for teachers to write in. Teachers use the space on the page to correct spelling errors and or make editing suggestions."

"Creating great infographics need not be a chore, no matter if you're a teacher or a student. Taking information and presenting it in an artful and visually appealing way has never been easier, thanks to the infographic tools you can use today. Before you dive in, here are some quick tips: Collect your data. If you have been collecting data, compile it all in a spreadsheet. Decide the best way to present your data (flyer-style, bar charts, line charts, Venn diagrams, histogram, scatter plot charts, flow charts, timelines, etc.). Design a rough sketch so you don't end up flying blind. Pick your app and get to work! Now that you've got basic tips on how to get started, it's time to get creative. Here are 9 great infographic tools to help you get started creating great infographics."

"With Pokemon Go, Google Cardboard and Google Expeditions making virtual reality the hottest thing in tech, teachers may be wondering how they can capitalize on the trend in the classroom. Imagine studying underwater ecosystems and taking the whole class scuba diving with just a smartphone and a $6 headset. The benefits of virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR) include increased engagement, appeal to visual learners and shared experience among students. Although the immersive experience is enhanced with a headset, the 360-degree experience is still worth exploring. Teachers can take advantage of many of the VR apps using the individual laptops, iPads or smartboards already in the classroom. While VR is changing quickly, the resources below are a good starting point."

""You may think you are prepared for a post-truth world, in which political appeals to emotion count for more than statements of verifiable fact," writes Margaret Sullivan, media columnist for The Washington Post. "But now it's time to cross another bridge-into a world without facts. Or, more precisely, where facts do not matter a whit." ADVERTISEMENT Because I teach American history, government, and journalism in high school, Sullivan's words hit close to home. I spoke with my students about Mary Beth Hertz's Edutopia post "Battling Fake News in the Classroom," and I sensed that many of my students, while skilled at what Hertz fittingly calls "crap detection," were still deeply troubled by what they characterized as a growing public aversion to the truth. When politicians and thought leaders can't or won't agree on a basic set of facts, how can we motivate students for the noble pursuit of truth and help them see why it still matters?  "

"Experts at a panel discussion in New York last month entitled "Baby Brains and Video Games" urged parents to set limits on electronic device use - while acknowledging the magnetic appeal of iPads in particular."

Use these images as stimulus for writing. The images in this group's photostream exude an immensely rich knowledge of the aesthetic makeup of a good photograph. Each visually appealing photo is composed and lit impeccably, following the rules of photography. 

"Silvia Rosenthal Tolisano writes a most fascinating blog at Langwitches. We have mentioned her before on this blog and she continues to construct and then share great resources. One of her great talents is her ability to create simple and effective workflows. She does this in such a graphic way that for 'visual learners' like me they are instantly appealing. "

"Tablet computers are on a lot of people's wish lists this year. A recent Nielsen survey found the Apple iPad is the most wanted gift for kids ages 6 to 12. Some have even taken their appeals to YouTube. But if an iPad isn't in the budget, there are some 30 other tablets out there to choose from."

"A key element to ensuring any successful pedagogy is student engagement. However, keeping students motivated and actively involved can be difficult. Besides the basic challenges of maintaining students' interest and participation in class, today's teachers also have to deal with growing numbers of students and the increased distraction from smart phones and other personal devices. One good way to keep students engaged in the learning process is by varying class exercises to include a combination of lectures, individual assignments, group work, computer activities, videos, and other pedagogical tools like games. Games are interactive, fun, and appealing to most students, and they also offer a number of specific benefits to the learning process."

"Like thinking, reading in the 21st century is different than in centuries past, endlessly linked in an increasingly visible web of physical and digital media forms. So in this context of media abundance, what does the modern, 21st century look like? How can we appeal to their interests?"

"It's getting harder and harder to update this article-and that's a good thing for everyone but me, because it means that today's Windows Web browser choices are fast, secure, compliant with new Web standards. The products most people are likely to have heard of-Google Chrome, Microsoft Internet Explorer, and Mozilla Firefox also sport trim, clear interfaces. But each browser has its own appeal and unique features. Microsoft Internet Explorer excels at graphics hardware acceleration, as you'll see in the benchmark results in the reviews linked below. It's also the only 64-bit program of the lot, and the only one that includes powerful Tracking Protection against site code that tracks your browsing activity. "

"I've taught about Google Drive/Docs many times in person and virtually. Many teachers have decided to completely move all of their files to the cloud to store them and edit them via Google Drive. The idea of having access to your stuff from any device connected to the web is really appealing; coupled with the collaboration features that Docs offers."

"Technology is helping to boost the appeal of reading for young boys, and they're getting smarter because of it, new research has found. Primary school-aged boys with little interest in reading are finding that using iPads and netbooks in the classroom adds a touch of competition and fun. "