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"The Computer Science Education Week, Dec. 5-11, is an annual initiative that mobilizes educators, parents, nonprofits and the industry to inspire all young people to learn computer science and open the door to a promising future. With our rising digital economy and the nonstop pace of technological change, we have an imperative to prepare young people to pursue careers that are in demand. Computer science refers to the academic discipline of studying what can be done using a computer and how to do so. At the foundation of this is computational thinking, a mental process that allows one to formulate problems so as to design possible solutions that a computer or human can easily understand. Coding is one way that computational thinking can be expressed. It is simply writing a list of step-by-step instructions for computers to perform what we want to do. More importantly, it provides everyone a platform to unleash our creativity to create software websites, games, and apps. More than half of today's jobs require some technology skills, and this will increase to 77 percent in the next decade, according to IDC. With youth unemployment in Southeast Asia alone almost three times that of total unemployment rate, coding and computer science serve as the gateway for youth to secure a more fulfilling career or even venture into entrepreneurship. In the Philippines for instance, an entry-level tech position pays 38 percent more than the minimum wage.   I strongly encourage everyone to try coding-and here's why:"

"Teachers can't escape the growing trend of technology in the classroom. It's more than just hype. More schools are buying tablets for use in the classroom, with Apple's tablet sales to the education sector doubling last year. As a mobile software company whose product is used extensively in education, we dream big about the future of technology in the classroom. We have worked with numerous great teachers who have successfully leveraged tablets to improve the learning experience for students. Are you tempted to join the trend? Here are ten tips for introducing tablets into your classroom."

Asymptopia Crossword Builder is a JavaScript education application that runs in any modern internet browser but does not require an internet connection. The simple controls allow teachers or parents to create unlimited math crosswords, or supply their own word:hint pairs. Support has recently been added for French, Spanish, pt-Brasillian, Kiswahili, and special characters (accents, tildes etc), in general. Some suggested uses include: cities, countries, lattitudes and longitudes to teach geography and spherical trig, simultaneously; Periodic table word:hint pairs; Language[i]:Language[j] word:hint pairs, for foreign language learning exercise; Terminology practice with virtually any other subject.

Teach children what to watch out for online with fun, interactive games and activities netiquette, internet security, safe sites, internet control, parental control, child safety, online safety, blocking software, KidSafe, browser,kid site, webwatchers, internet education, educational tools, tips, safety rules, safety organizations, safety websites, internet safety games...

"At CES 2016, Lego Education announced Wedo 2.0, which combines Legos, software, and real world projects to teach 2nd to 4th grade students about science and technology. Among other new features, updates include compatibility with more platforms, a move from USB to BLE connected robots, and tools for documentation and sharing. "

"At the International Consumer Electronics Show, LEGO Education launched LEGO Education WeDo 2.0, a hands-on science solution designed for elementary classrooms using a robot-based learning system. The solution combines the LEGO brick, classroom-friendly software and engaging, standards-based projects to teach elementary students essential science practices and skills. With WeDo 2.0, students explore, create and share their scientific discoveries as they build, program and modify projects. Through a series of collaborative challenges, they deeply engage with science, engineering, technology, and coding, sparking a love for experimentation and investigation."

"NJIT Continuing Professional Education announces ONLINE iPhone/iPad Software Application Development training class. NJIT is one of the first universities to offer training about iPhone and then about iPad app development. This non-credit iPhone & iPad Application Development course adultlearner.njit.edu/admissions/prospective/iphone_online.php is open to the general public and is available 100% online. Participants in this class receive a login to the NJIT Apple Developer Program portal and receive full access to all of the NJIT Apple resources without paying the additional $99 Apple Developer Registration fee required of private developers. The Apple resources include documentation, development software and video tutorials. This portal now supports both the Mac OS X Lion and Snow Leopard Development environments."

116 86 11 inShare 10 Print! 4 Web Tools to Create Presentations without Installing Any Software April 21, 2014 There are a slew of useful web tools that teachers and students can use to create awesome presentations and slideshows without having to install any piece of software. I am sharing with you below my four favourite tools that I have been recommending to teachers and students:

"Work based skills are changing as more and more jobs are displaced by digital technologies.  Software, apps and online technology such as Uber, Airbnb, Legal Zoom and TurboTax to name a few has already had an impact on many professions.  Online shopping has eliminated tens of thousands of retail store positions. And with self-driving vehicles on the way, how many taxi, trucking, express delivery-and even aviation jobs-will go the way of the telephone switchboard operator? If history is a reliable guide, the technologies that are eliminating one set of jobs will create others: jobs that require twenty-first century-mainly digital-skills.  The explosion in industrial robotics, for example, is eliminating thousands of assembly line jobs but it is creating a demand for people who can design, manufacture, program and maintain those machines.  The questions are -  what will the net impact on jobs be and how well are our schools preparing young people for those new, higher skilled jobs as we head toward the fourth industrial revolution?"

"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."

"In India, 41km of highway road was constructed every day for the year of 2016. In the Indian government budget, it estimated the cost just for 2016 to be 19 billion USD. It would be financing any shortfall through tax-free government bonds. Computational thinking would have played an instrumental role in deciding on where the road would go through with taking into account the key hubs and may have saved the government millions, if not billions of dollars. Jeanette Wing (2012) defines computational thinking as the thought process involved in formulating a problem and expressing its solution in a way that a computer-human or machine can effectively carry out. It is the process of abstraction by; choosing the right abstractions, operating in terms of multiple layers of abstraction simulations and defining the relationships between layers guided by efficiency, correctness, and flexibility. Computational thinking can best be related to as writing software or instructionals. Every action or non-action is accounted for in the way computational artifacts are constructed. Computational thinking is great for working out a solution but there is an argument that computational thinking does not put enough emphasis on the problem itself. Design thinking, on the other hand, attempts to understand the intent or problem before looking at any solution - computational or otherwise. Design thinking attempts to identify why the problem exists in the first place before solving it. IDEO defines design thinking as the application of empathy and experimentation to arrive at innovation solutions through making decisions based on stakeholder input and evidence based research. Using the Indian roading example, a design thinker would ask, what is the intent of building the roads in the first place?"

"Most kids really appreciate today's technology. Want to know what the latest must-have phone is? What about the newest game or app? Often, you need look no further than the students in your classes. Many of them are passionate about using the coolest gadgets and tools. That's why teaching with cutting-edge technology can be a great way to connect with your students. The right app can make even the most boring or time-consuming subject seem interesting and understandable. Financial concepts like budgeting, buying a house, or running a business may not be the most exciting subjects for students, but it's important to teach kids financial literacy starting at a young age. ZipBooks is free accounting software that can help familiarize them with concepts around running a business. The interface is easy to grasp so students can jump right into the app with little instruction. It's not overwhelming like a lot of accounting software. Every element is labeled clearly, and there are in-app tips to help newcomers get started. There are lots of ways you could use ZipBooks in the classroom and we have outlined a couple ideas to get you started."