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Theis is an UNESCO initiative to bring the world together toward open access, OERs, knowledge societies, and gender equality.

"Don't get me wrong - given my Twitter ID it's a given that I believe very strongly in using technology to support and enhance learning. The OED states that an evangelist is "a person who seeks to convert others to the Christian faith, especially by public preaching", so ok… I might not be doing the Christian faith bit, but as an 'ICT Evangelist' I do believe that technology has the power to change our world and certainly the learning that takes place in our classrooms and beyond. There's a problem though. There is a dichotomy of experiences, skills, beliefs and abilities when it comes to using technology in our classrooms. It's written in to the United States Declaration of Independence that, "all men are born equal", but it's certainly not true when it comes to the experiences that our students receive in their lessons at the hands of some of our teachers and that's before you even think about entering technology into the equation."

"Slice It! is a sneakily simple and completely engaging way of teaching users of all ages to visualize geometric figures. The goal of Slice It! is really quite simple: cut the provided shape into whatever number of pieces the level asks for, with just the number of lines the level offers you. Oh, and just to keep it interesting: make all of the pieces EQUAL."

"Recently, a little bird - well, maybe a Big Bird - told us that the STEM movement is spreading and reaching out to the pre-K crowd! Sesame Street has just launched on an Online STEM toolkit for students, parents and educators. They hope this digital destination will help the term "STEM" become as equally well known to their audience as another popular four letter Sesame term, "ELMO.""

"Classroom discussions have been a staple of teaching forever, beginning with Socrates. I have taught using discussions, been a student in discussions, and observed other teachers' discussions thousands of times -- at least. Some have been boring, stifling or tedious enough to put me to sleep. Others have been so stimulating that I was sad to see them end. The difference between the two is obviously how interesting the topic is, but equally important is the level of student participation."

" Rey Junco Apr 28 2014, 12:36 PM ET 38 inShare More (Mike Prosser/flickr) All video games are not created equal. I wouldn't recommend we encourage youth to play just any game. I doubt transferable skills are learned by repeatedly flapping a bird into a drainage tube. The best educational interventions are those that meet youth where they are and use the energy associated with that space to encourage learning. So where are the youth? Minecraft."

"We are intermediate grade teachers who have learned over the years that there are practices that get kids excited about reading.   We tried to rank them but decided they were all equally important.  We can't imagine eliminating any of them, so these are not in any particular order."

"Whether we're talking about preschool, elementary through secondary school, college, or even adult learners, I have serious objections to the idea that learning supposedly only comes via the eyes, the ears, and the seat of the pants. Schools -- and policymakers -- have for too long accepted the belief that learning best occurs while students are seated (and quiet, of course). The theory may have been understandable back when they didn't have the research to prove otherwise. But today we do."

""If you imagine less, less will be what you undoubtedly deserve," Debbie Millman counseled in one of the best commencement speeches ever given, urging: "Do what you love, and don't stop until you get what you love. Work as hard as you can, imagine immensities…" Far from Pollyanna platitude, this advice actually reflects what modern psychology knows about how belief systems about our own abilities and potential fuel our behavior and predict our success. Much of that understanding stems from the work of Stanford psychologist Carol Dweck, synthesized in her remarkably insightful Mindset: The New Psychology of Success (public library) - an inquiry into the power of our beliefs, both conscious and unconscious, and how changing even the simplest of them can have profound impact on nearly every aspect of our lives. One of the most basic beliefs we carry about ourselves, Dweck found in her research, has to do with how we view and inhabit what we consider to be our personality. A "fixed mindset" assumes that our character, intelligence, and creative ability are static givens which we can't change in any meaningful way, and success is the affirmation of that inherent intelligence, an assessment of how those givens measure up against an equally fixed standard; striving for success and avoiding failure at all costs become a way of maintaining the sense of being smart or skilled. A "growth mindset," on the other hand, thrives on challenge and sees failure not as evidence of unintelligence but as a heartening springboard for growth and for stretching our existing abilities. Out of these two mindsets, which we manifest from a very early age, springs a great deal of our behavior, our relationship with success and failure in both professional and personal contexts, and ultimately our capacity for happiness."

"The maker zeitgeist has evolved far beyond the day when an educator might set objects-say, a box of robotic LEGOs-in a library corner and call it a "maker lab." Educators are now focusing on how the maker movement can be truly meaningful: it's not about where making is happening, but about how creating, experimenting, and collaborating impact education. In addition, some high schoolers tinkering their free periods away can discover a passion-sometimes leading to a future educational focus or even scholarship money. "The maker movement…encourages a growth mind-set, which tolerates risk and failure and maybe even encourages it," says Laura Fleming, library media specialist with the New Milford (NJ) High School. "It has been the great equalizer within, and in some ways against, our modern education system by allowing opportunities for creativity and innovation to take place through informal learning.""

"The infographic we have for you today provides an excellent explanation of what Universal Design for Learning is all about. We invite you to check it out and share with us your thoughts "Universal Design for Learning is a set of principles designed to guide curriculum and lesson development to ensure that all individuals have equal opportunities to learn and can quickly engage with the instruction.Digital technologies, online resources, and mobile devices can be used to design flexible instruction with options to support all students in achieving the Florida Standards" "

"Living a life of perpetual travel is pretty exciting - new destinations, new cultures and new incredible people to meet and hang out with! However, working on the road can get pretty hectic at times. As a digital nomad I have found myself in rather awkward situations a lot - from missed deadlines due to incorrect time zone conversion to a nearly missed plane when I forgot to print out my booking and confused the time (I did catch that plane though!). Being your own boss is equally awesome and hellish. Juggling numerous tasks at once and getting things done super-fast with a terrible wi-fi connection requirea killer organizational skills and zen-like concentration. Try using the next 20 websites and apps to make your life as a digital nomad easier, less stressful and even more exciting!"

"Fresh wallpaper is always a welcome addition to Mac desktops and iOS device backgrounds, and photographer Radoslav Holan, who provided us with some amazing bokeh wallpapers before, has offered us a new fantastic collection wallpapers to share. These twelve beautiful high resolution images are of green grassy fields, grass blades, some with flowers, some with dew, and all equally gorgeous, making them perfect for any device screen."

"Piktochart is a great tool that I have been personally using to create infographics to share with you. I have reviewed this tool in several instances here in Educational Technology and Mobile Learning and am glad to hear that some of you have found it equally useful."

"When I was a kid, every weekend, my parents would drive me to Loon Mountain in New Hampshire to master the sport of skiing -- and downhill racing, in particular. On the chairlift, my instructors would critique the technique of those skiing below us. On the racecourse, I would spend hours studying and eventually trying to mimic the most experienced racers. I can't overstate the importance of effective modeling in helping me become an amazing skier. Effective modeling is also how I learned to write well. I spent equal time and effort actually watching other, more experienced writers write."

"Here's a look at another batch of iOS 5 features that you may be equally excited about, and how they'll make your mobile life even better when the final version lands this fall."

"You'd heard about this parent from other teachers. This parent was a handful. Rude. Combative. Aggressive. Even litigious. In response, you worry, if just a little. You have enough to deal with, and butting heads with an angry parent-especially one angry just because-doesn't sound like fun. You don't get paid enough for that hot mess. So you keep calm and hope to ride the year out. Maybe they won't call. Maybe they'll skip parent-teacher conferences. You've even considered grading their child a little easier just to avoid the hassle of it all. We've all been there. Nothing can solve this problem, but there are ways to take the edge off so that you can open up the lines of communication and deal with the parent on equal terms so that they're child has the best chance for success."

"What constitutes a human right? Abstractly, a human right is one that is inherent and inalienable to all human beings. They are the elements of social life any individual should reasonably expect to be granted solely for the fact that they are alive. According to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, there exist thirty such elements ranging from the Right to Equality to Freedom of Religion to the Right to Rest and Leisure. Some are more abstract than others, some more integral to survival than the rest. Near the end of the list is the Right to Education, which is the focus of Big Think expert Nicholas Negroponte's recent interview, featured today on this site and embedded below:"