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This week, I began using Educaplay to make fun classroom learning games for my students. In addition to easy game creation, sending the games to Google Classroom was easy, as was student work, automatic grading, and engagement. Many of us who have been teaching online need some variety. Presently, the site has many different types of activities and games: memory games, video quizzes, crossword puzzles, word search, fill in the blanks, diagram completion (they call these map quizzes), quizzes, word search, and more.

"There have been complaints leveraged against out of the box robots like Dash and Dot, Ozobot, Hummingbird, Sphero. The complaints usually revolve around the canned and prescriptive nature of their uses and programs, that they lack creative engagement by the younger users. I personally love the excitement my learners have using these robots. As with all tools and technologies and with creative framing, though, they can be used in creative and imaginative ways. Mention robots to many English teachers and they'll immediately point down the hall to the science classroom or to the makerspace, if they have one. At many schools, if there's a robot at all, it's located in a science or math classroom or is being built by an after-school robotics club. It's not usually a fixture in English classrooms. But as teachers continue to work at finding new entry points to old material for their students, robots are proving to be a great interdisciplinary tool that builds collaboration and literacy skills. (How Robots in English Class Can Spark Empathy and Improve Writing) This past term, I had my 2nd through 4th grade students work on their robot-enhanced creative writing and stories. In small groups, students were asked to create a fictional storyline and use StoryboardThat.com to create both the physical scenes and the accompanying narrative. As part of their directions, they were told that they were going to create a 3D setting out of cardboard boxes, foam board, LED lights, and other craft materials; and that they would use Wonder's Dot with the Blocky App and Ozobot as the characters in their stories. Preparation time was divided between storyboarding, creating the scene, and learning how to use/code the robots. Because of all of the preparation and practice, the recording actually went quite quick and smoothly. Here is a break down of the learning events that learners were asked to complete:"

Might help create a blended classroom, even when you have to share the blender.  Common sense advise for the real world of underequipped classrooms and stretched thin teachers.

21st Century Learning: Making Technology Relevant in Today's Classrooms by Fred Podolski "21st Century Learning" is currently the hottest catchphrase in education, but what it means has yet to be fully determined. Technology is a part of students' everyday lives, and substantial advances in technology have profoundly affected the way they learn. As a result, educators are working hard to meet the ever-evolving needs of 21st century learners. Translating the ongoing technological revolution into a learning experience is a fundamental part of that challenge

"So how can teachers prepare for this surge of computer science in the classroom and integrate it into their curriculum in a meaningful way? It starts with understanding that technology is a tool-a means to accomplishing an end, but not an end itself. It's important to not just leverage technology for technology's sake. There needs to be a purpose behind it. For example, besides simply having iPads in the classroom, schools need to have goals in place for using them. Perhaps the goal is enabling kids to create with the iPads-like build their own apps-versus simply reviewing materials on the device. Through our work helping students, teachers and parents around the world embrace technology in the classroom and at home, I've learned some best practices for maximizing the opportunities that technology education offers:"

"Learn how to setup, use and moderate content on a classroom blog to improve student writing skills. A moderated classroom blog is the ideal platform to use to share announcements, classroom news, and student work for a public audience. In this workshop we'll use several free blogging and learning management tools. These will include KidBlog (powered by WordPress), My Big Campus, and Edmodo. We'll also explore how free Posterous.com sites can be used to share rich media including images, audio and video files from iPads including "cart-based" iPads using a shared student "sending" email account. In addition, we'll learn how to create enhanced/multimedia eBooks including digital text, hyperlinks, images, and embedded videos using iPad apps as well as other software programs. These will include Book Creator for iPad, iBooks Author software, Apple Pages software (part of iWork), and Calibre software (free and cross-platform). Digital Show and Tell from Day 2"

"Capturing information quickly and efficiently in a classroom is an important skill. So much of what we do in the classroom needs to be documented either by you, the teacher or by the students. Apps that make this process quick and easy are therefore vital. Here are a quick list that might work in your classroom - some are quite expensive but they do offer a vastly different product depending on who will be the primary user. "

"Are you a Flipboard user? If not, you're missing out, because it is fast becoming an important part of an educator's PLN. If you've never tried it before, Flipboard is a popular news discovery app that works on iPhones, iPads, Androids, Windows, Windows Phones, and the web. It learns what you like and gives you a one-stop shop to check Facebook, Twitter, Google+, your favorite blogs, and more. At Grant Wood AEA, the Digital Learning team have begin curating some of our favorite articles from around the web and we have been storing them all in Flipboard magazines. A magazine is a collection of websites, articles, photos, videos, and blog posts from around the web. Anyone can start a magazine, and lots of people do. In fact, an increasing number of educators are already using Flipboard Magazines in their classroom to enhance teaching and learning. How are they doing that? Check out the Flipboard Education blog for a collection of great stories and ideas that come directly from classroom teachers. "

"Imagine spending every day in a physical space designed for people much bigger than you. To wash your hands or get a drink of water, you'd have to drag a chair over to the sink or ask a friend for a boost. Your feet would dangle in mid-air when you sat down and you'd have to crane your neck and stand on tiptoe to read the bulletin board. After the novelty wore off, it's likely that you'd end up feeling uncomfortable, insignificant, and out of place. Unfortunately, this is how many children feel every day in their classrooms. Whether it's because the chairs are too big or too small, the aisles too narrow, the tables too low, or the displays too high, the message is clear: "This room was not made for you." The sad fact is that most classroom spaces are far from ideal. Perhaps they were originally designed and built with little or no consultation with the teachers who would be working in them. Or maybe they were designed for another purpose, or with tight budgetary restrictions. And while teachers probably won't be able to transform an inadequate classroom space into an ideal one, they can make dramatic improvements. So, where to begin? The most obvious place is by thinking about the students. Before moving a single piece of furniture or clearing a wall for a display, learn as much as you can about the particular needs of the children you'll be teaching by talking with families and former teachers. Below are some general guidelines to help you create a physical environment that makes children feel comfortable and significant and that best serves their needs."

"I sometimes learn more about my own practice in the classroom from the questions I am asked than I do from my own reflection. There is something about the lenses through which others see our work that helps us to see ourselves more clearly.  That was the case earlier this month at the Building Learning Communities Conference in Boston. At the end of the first day of a two-day session I was leading on Building Learning Communities in elementary classrooms, I asked the participants what they specifically wanted to talk about on the second day. One of the attendees asked me to address the way I introduce the idea of digital citizenship in my classroom. What a great question! Unfortunately, I didn't have a great answer. I did though, have the evening to think about my response."

"As the Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development points out, today's educators face a catch-22 - they must "help decidedly unstandardized students meet an expanding set of rigorous, standardized learning targets." Fortunately, teachers have a solution to this dilemma in differentiated instruction. A differentiated classroom accommodates the heterogeneity of students by tailoring instruction to each student's backgrounds, interests, skill, and readiness levels. Read on to learn more about differentiated teaching, why it works, and how to implement it in your classroom."

"It's not the "norm" today but it should be: Every K-12 classroom teacher needs access to a YouTube channel to publish student work as well as their own videos. The past two years I've used a classroom YouTube channel for my elementary STEM class. Video is a very powerful medium, and Google provides teachers via YouTube with (in the words of Jim Sill) unlimited, high definition, mobile-friendly video hosting for FREE. Consider: Over half the adults in the United States are now equipped with a smartphone capable of viewing YouTube videos. (56% as of June 2013) A year ago (in March 2014) PEW reported 63% of US adults watch online videos."

"This fall around the globe, hundreds of classrooms will participate in the Hour of Code, a celebration of all things computer science and programming. Traditionally held in December during Computer Science Education Week (December 3-9 this year), the hour can be adopted anytime of year that works for your classroom. The best part? It doesn't matter if you're a coding newbie or an expert in order to bring it all to life. Here are some of our favorite Hour of Code activities for students and teachers at all levels. "

"It's easy to promote positive thinking and a can-do attitude in your classroom with these growth mindset posters. Each poster has an awesome message, reminding your students that mistakes are OK and hard work pays off. These posters are perfect for your school hallways or classroom. "

"We have designed a Mathematical Mindset Guide to help teachers create or strengthen a growth mindset culture. This guide contains five Mathematical Mindset Practices along with links to teaching videos.  The videos all show Jo and Cathy teaching middle school students. There are different stages described in each practice to help capture the journey of a mathematical mindset classroom and the evidence teachers may collect along the way for their own reflection or for discussion with colleagues.  The guide has been designed for teachers to use in the process of self-reflection, or for coaches or administrators to use to encourage a mindset teaching culture. In the interactive version of the guide on this web page, you can click on the arrow buttons in the Expanding descriptors to see a short extract of Jo/Cathy teaching in the ways described. Our goal for the guide is to support a mathematical mindset journey of learning and growth. Teachers can work with the guide individually or in collaboration with others. The guide is intended to be non-judgmental, non-evaluative, and iterative in nature. When using the guide consider the classroom community as a whole rather than the teacher alone. It is also important to note that while the goal of the guide is to communicate all aspects of a mathematical mindset classroom, it is not always possible to find evidence of all practices in one lesson. We encourage teachers, coaches, and administrators to use this guide, and our reflection suggestions iteratively over multiple lessons."

"No one learns without making mistakes. Quite the opposite-we learn when we make mistakes. But in the classroom, making mistakes and taking risks can be at best unrewarded, and at worst ridiculed and unnecessarily penalized. I asked my 21-year-old son the other day what high school class had made him feel safe to make mistakes. He said that he never made mistakes. Really? He explained that he only did the work if he knew he was going to succeed. That made me think about my own teaching: Do I create a classroom where students will be risk takers?"

"Five or so years ago when it launched (way back when, in technology terms), Pinterest entered a social media market dominated by text. Quite simply, it brought an unprecedented visual aspect to social media which users enjoyed, though it was a fairly basic platform. Fast forward to today and you'll find a plethora of new features that can make it particularly useful in your classroom. Read More: How to Use Instagram In Your Classroom So how can making boards and pinning photos be a useful tool for teachers? Pinterest offers a number of different options for teachers both for professional development and for student work. Tons of teachers (and other folks, too) are using this tool  - there are countless boards devoted to lesson plans, classroom ideas, and more. There are purportedly around 100 million active users as of December 2015 - and as with many web-based tools, the more people there are contributing to a platform, the better stuff there will be for you to use (even if you have to sort through some garbage to find it!)   To get your wheels churning, we've collected a few of our favorite ideas below."

"When I'm not busy working on our teaching websites, I can usually be found playing Lego with our children! It's an incredibly creative toy, but it can also be used to support work in a number of different curriculum areas. Here is our HUGE list of ways to use Lego in the classroom. Many of these ideas have been contributed by our wonderful Facebook community. If you have any other suggestions, please add a comment at the bottom of the page. Don't forget that many of these activities could use Duplo too!"

"As a working parent, sometimes it is difficult to sign up for volunteer dates. So, when I have the chance to see what's happening inside the class or on field trips, I treasure those moments. As a teacher, I've found that the more I share with parents, the less they tend to question. When they feel like they are an active part of their child's learning experience, they are also more able to help with specific needs their child may require since they have an idea of what is going on in the classroom. "

"As 2014 draws to a close and we look forward to what 2015 will bring, I'd like to share a simple and fun classroom challenge with you: STEM Curiosity Links. For the past two semesters, I've made a point of sharing several STEM "curiosity links" with my students at least once per week. On days I share curiosity links with students, I try to limit myself to just using 10 minutes of class time. I need to set this time limit, because (depending on the class) we can really get into good discussions with lots of questions, and we could take MUCH more time exploring the ideas the week's curiosity links inspire. While I'd love engaging in long discussions like this with students, and I know they have value, I also understand that my students learn the most when they are actually DOING STEM activities rather than just talking about them or STEM ideas. My students who are working and playing in our STEM "Maker's Studio" are always especially eager to "get to work.""