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"This week's edition of Sunday Night Teacher focuses on motivation-specifically motivating students by helping them see the big picture. These videos are all charged with hyperbole, rhetoric, and emotion. While the tones, themes, sounds, and visuals make powerful cases for motivation, what you're motivating them for and towards is on you. Yes, ideally motivation comes from curiosity and self-awareness, not rah-rah speeches you show them from YouTube-so let's use both. Prime your inquiry-based learning unit with a video, offer then a basic model, then unleash them and watch them fly."

"If you are a subscriber to this blog, you are probably aware that we champion the use of appropriate and integrated technology in ECE. As we begin a new school year, I wanted a technology center for our kids that we could use throughout the year. The QR Code Alphabet Games below will not only help introduce your kids to QR Code technology, but they will also allow for mobile technology integration as letters/words are introduced. "

"I'd like to offer up a video playlist to remind all of us about the power of empathy, kindness, and human connections. It's always a good time to practice gratitude for the relationships that sustain us all -- for the people who have taught us in a school setting and beyond, and for the young ones we are able to nurture and inspire. I was also thinking about how many of us are living out the paradox of being ever more plugged in, and ever more aware of what's happening in our community via social media platforms, while at the same time, face-to-face interactions are less frequent than ever before. We are in constant touch, but barely touching. Watching these videos made me remember the importance of re-connecting, treating people with kindness and respect, and being generous and compassionate to both loved ones and strangers. If each of us pledged to do more of that, we'd make a better world for all of us to learn and grow in."

"Welcome to the third post in this series. I cant't think of a better thin then summer to check out some new edtech tools and possibilities. I have a goal every summer to bring you at least 40 new tools… maybe more… that you may not know about.  I am sending out ten new ones in each post. Remember, I am picking these from thousands and I am trying to find those sites that are up and coming and might just be the next big edtech hit. You might also notice I am also including a few sites that have been around for awhile.  They include ones that I feel educators might want to be a little more aware of. I hope you enjoy and try some of these out during the summer months. It is my way of saying happy summer!   First, t"

"While Apple has traditionally positioned the iPad as a media-consumption device, the tablet has gained a reputation as a very capable and powerful music-creation tool. GarageBand is a great place to start, but taking the next step can be difficult when faced with an overwhelming number of creative options. Don't worry: we'll point you toward the very best block-rockin' apps and accessories. Before we get started, be aware that the processors in older iPads simply don't pack enough punch to take on many of the top audio apps. You'll want nothing less than an original iPad mini, and the closer you can get to a current iPad Air 2, the better. Also, look for applications that support Inter-App Audio (IAA), Apple's protocol for inter-application operability. Now, let's rock!"

"Welcome to the second post in this series. Summer is a great time to check out some new edtech tools and possibilities. My goal every summer is to bring you at least 40 new tools… maybe more… that you may not know about.  I am sending out ten new ones in each post. Remember I am picking these from thousands and I am trying to find those sites that are up and coming and might just be the next big edtech hit. You might also notice I am also including a few sites that have been around for awhile.  They include ones that I feel educators might want to be a little more aware of. I hope you enjoy and try some of these out during the summer months. It is my way of saying happy summer!   "

"While my last blog post was focused on developing shareable content FOR schools via social media, I have taken a step back to look at the bigger picture and the different components schools need to consider and gain fluency in order to best harvest the power of social media for them. awareness of the difference between social media IN schools and FOR schools social media strategy for schools social media platforms and tools: characteristics, capabilities, type of content suited for particular platform, image/video sizes characteristics of shareable content"

"The iPad is a great device for assistive technology and text to speech is one of the most often used accessibility feature by teachers in special education and general education classrooms. Many teachers are not aware that it exists, but it does, and it has evolved to become a very usable solution with lots of valuable options to customize it to meet your needs. Here's what you need to know to get started with text to speech functionality on your iPad."

"Why are you printing if you are BYOD teacher? Printing and writing are not connected. This is something that everyone in a BYOD program needs to be aware of."

"In honor of Autism Awareness Month, this week's featured Top Picks lists highlight the best edtech for kids on the autism spectrum. For these kids, technology can act as a bridge -- helping them unlock their potential by improving verbal communication, developing social skills, enhancing the ability to learn and organize information, and improving their overall understanding of their environment. Technology can also be extremely helpful for parents and teachers of kids with autism, as apps, games, and websites can replace more expensive specialized devices. The lists here include more than 40 apps, games, and websites focused on four important areas of growth: executive function, social skills, language skills, and emotional intelligence."

The purpose of the survey was to ascertain the level of awareness and openness to mobile learning among English language teachers. I also wanted to find out to what degree and how teachers were already using mobile learning both in their teaching and and professional development and to establish whether they would be willing to pay for and use mobile content. The survey also collected information about the teachers' existing access to mobile services and the kinds of device they are using to get access to mobile Internet.

he annual Horizon Report is a collaborative effort between the New Media Consortium (NMC) and the EDUCAUSE Learning Initiative (ELI). Each year, the report identifies and describes six areas of emerging technology likely to have a significant impact on teaching, learning, or creative expression in higher education within three adoption horizons: a year or less, two to three years, and four to five years. The areas of emerging technology cited for 2009 are: * Mobiles (i.e., mobile devices) * Cloud computing * Geo-everything (i.e., geo-tagging) * The personal web * Semantic-aware applications * Smart objects Each section of the report provides live Web links to examples and additional readings.

Interesting concept. Be aware that the image results that come up from Flickr may not be appropriate for use in the classroom.

OVIEDO, FL -- July 14, 2008 -- InfoSource Learning announces that all school districts, state departments, and educational organizations can receive the SimpleAssessment for Student Technology Proficiency free of charge for all students. What started as a promotion at this year's National Educational Computer Conference (NECC) has blossomed into a nationwide campaign to raise awareness of students' technology proficiency.  This campaign also stems from the goal to assess 25 million students during the 2008/2009 school year as a means of celebrating the Company's 25th anniversary.

The Net Pedagogy Portal is a resource whose purpose is to increase understanding, knowledge, and awareness of the changing landscape of teaching and learning online.

Today's classrooms are diverse and inclusive by nature. Differentiation of instruction and assessment and the principles of universal design are now recognized practices for teachers. Both differentiation and universal design provide systematic approaches to setting goals, choosing or creating flexible materials and media, and assessment. To undertake differentiation and universal design, teachers need to be aware of a range of accommodations (multiple means of representation, of expression, and/or of engagement) that may be necessary to help each student in the classroom succeed. These accommodations may take the form of adaptations and/or modifications

"But it is not enough for educators to simply be aware of social networking; they have an obligation to teach students the difference between social networking and academic networking."

Food Force 2 has been designed to educate and motivate people to solve world hunger. Since the laptop reaches out to the developing and third-world countries, it educates children and teachers in a village on how to achieve self sustenance in a fun and non-intrusive way. It also provides awareness about the work WFP has been doing for the past many decades to abate the problem of world hunger.

"Program Overview Students interact with music, movies, software, and other digital content every day. Do they understand the rules that dictate the ethical use of these digital files, and do they understand why these issues are relevant? The Digital Citizenship and Creative Content program is a free, turnkey instructional program. The goal is to create an awareness of the rights connected with creative content. Because only through education can students gain an understanding of the relevance of and a personal respect for creative rights and grow to become good digital citizens."