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"Computational thinking is the thought processes involved in formulating a problem and expressing its solution(s) in such a way that a computer - human or machine - can effectively carry out. Informally, computational thinking describes the mental activity in formulating a problem to admit a computational solution.  The solution can be carried out by a human or machine. This latter point is important.  First, humans compute.  Second, people can learn computational thinking without a machine.  Also, computational thinking is not just about problem solving, but also about problem formulation.1 The Digital Careers organisation says that students need experience and skills in computational thinking and computer programming (coding) to be successful in their future careers.2 The NSW syllabuses provide a range of opportunities to develop students' understanding of computational thinking and coding. This guide draws out the areas where computational thinking can be applied within the existing NSW K-8 syllabuses. Like the syllabuses, it is organised into stages of learning and subdivided into learning areas, with suggested activities and links to online resources. Not all resources and activities listed in this guide refer to coding explicitly, but they do aim to develop algorithmic and computational thinking skills to better enable students and teachers to reach a coding goal."

"Empowerment of people through Media and Information Literacy (MIL) is an important prerequisite for fostering equitable access to information and knowledge and promoting free, independent and pluralistic media and information systems. Media and Information Literacy recognizes the primary role of information and media in our everyday lives. It lies at the core of freedom of expression and information - since it empowers citizens to understand the functions of media and other information providers, to critically evaluate their content, and to make informed decisions as users and producer of information and media content. Information Literacy and Media Literacy are traditionally seen as separate and distinct fields. UNESCO's strategy brings together these two fields as a combined set of competencies (knowledge, skills and attitude) necessary for life and work today. MIL considers all forms of media and other information providers such as libraries, archive, museums and Internet irrespective of technologies used"

"So many classroom activities are only fully realised when your students add their sketches to embellish their work, or to annotate a concept. Sometimes they just need to describe an object. Here are a series of apps that allow the creative little Picasso or Frida in your class to express themselves. Most of these are so intuitive that your students will be drawing before you know it."

"One way to depict the cycle of education is that it moves between the development of learning and the subsequent expression of understanding ... and the amazing growth of inexpensive mobile technology tools is affording learners the ability to communicate their understanding in ever more creative and personalized manners. Media is moving center stage (yes, the pun was fully intended) and what once required tens of thousands of dollars in equipment and training can now be accomplished with an iPad and some inexpensive props."

"No matter how old the profession, those who work in a particular field have always had the ability to communicate with one another to compare notes and improve services. The form of communication began with face-to-face contact in early civilization and evolved to a more digital form in today's age of technological advances. Technology has always improved communication methods by enabling all-not just professionals-the ability to consult, collaborate, and learn from others. This has progressed from the earliest printing presses to the most recent smartphones."

"While there are so many iPad apps that deliver content, I think the one of the best uses for technology in education is to make something with what you're learning. This might include producing a video, authoring a digital book, recording a puppet show, creating a college, narrating a slideshow, designing a comic book, or somehow making your own media and study aids. Yes, there are loads of drill and skill apps, digital books, and electronic response systems that can be very useful in classrooms. What's much more exciting to me are apps that empower students to be creative and expressive."

"The Maker Movement is one of creativity and invention. Of Do-It-Yourself ingenuity. Of making things with your own hands. Building something from scratch can shift a lesson from a lecture into an experience. Students can play, diverge, tinker, make mistakes, help each other, and express themselves with the appropriate guidance of a teacher/facilitator. The end result can be anywhere from an honest try to a creative wonder. Whatever the case, consider adding the following tools to your experiential learning toolkit. Curated by elementary school technology coach Elizabeth Espinoza, this comprehensive collection contains web, desktop, and mobile apps that can help your students become makers and inventors."

"Increasingly, educators are acknowledging and welcoming the relative advantages of social media into the teaching and learning process. From creating school Facebook pages to connecting students with experts via Twitter, social media has taken root as a legitimate classroom learning and communication tool. The highly linguistic nature of social media allows us to create and consume ideas and information unlike ever before. Much attention has been given to composing an articulate blog post and condensing our messages to 140 characters or less. However, effective use of this 21st century technology requires that we not only become proficient in textual communication, but also in our ability to express ourselves and interpret others' ideas through visual literacy. "

"When electrical engineering professor Dr. Karen Shoop of Queen Mary University in London took her first knitting workshop, she noticed immediately that knitting is very similar to writing computer code. "I noticed that knitting instructions are largely binary (like computers) - in other words, knit or purl," she said. "More interesting were the knitting instructions, which read just like regular expressions [of code], used for string matching and manipulation when coding." Shoop also recognizes that the earliest stages of computing were inspired by handwork: "Of course, computers ultimately started off partially inspired by weaving and the Jacquard loom, or earlier Bouchon's loom. Arguably some of the earliest programmers were the people making the card/paper punch hole patterns for weaving patterns.""

"In this letter to Dr Andreas Schleicher, director of the OECD's Programme for International Student Assessment, academics from around the world express deep concern about the impact of Pisa tests and call for a halt to the next round of testing"

"arlier, I wrote about four activities teachers and school leaders can use to jump-start creative problem-solving in teams. Given the increased pressure on educators to innovate, the goals for each activity were to build or deepen skills associated with that work. Readers expressed particular interest in one of these activities, so I wanted to do a deep dive and provide additional information. This activity grew out of my work with teachers and school leaders to identify effective solutions to school problems. Over time, I became curious about how schools might make pain points visible, in order to tap into educators' collective wisdom to solve them. I wondered, too, if we could structure this problem-solving in such a way that everyone's voice would be heard. Finally, I wondered if there might be a way to make it a fun and creative game. That's where a set of index cards comes in."

"3 Reasons Why Faculty Meetings Are a Waste of Time By Peter DeWitt on April 10, 2015 6:50 AM Faculty Meeting.png Many school leaders walk into a faculty meeting with a single idea of how they want to move forward and walk out with the same idea. That's telling... John Hattie talks a great deal about the Politics of Distraction, which means we focus on adult issues, and not enough time...if ever...on learning. That is happening around the U.S. for sure. Recently the Assembly of NY State only furthered those distractions, which you can read about here, which means that school leaders and teachers have to work harder to maintain a focus on learning. Quite frankly, well before mandates and accountability, school leaders focused on the politics of distraction and not on learning. Compliance is not new in schools. Faculty meetings were seen as a venue to get through and something that teachers were contractually obligated to attend. During these days of endless measures of compliance, principals can do a great deal to make sure they don't model the same harmful messages to staff that politicians are sending to teachers. Jim Knight calls that "Freedom within form." In Talk Like Ted, Carmine Gallo quotes Marissa Mayer (CEO of Yahoo) when he writes, "Creativity is often misunderstood. People often think of it in terms of artistic work - unbridled, unguided effort that leads to beautiful effect. If you look deeper, however, you'll find that some of the most inspiring art forms - haikus, sonatas, religious paintings- are fraught with constraints. (p. 190)" Clearly, constraints have a wide definition. There is a clear difference between the constraints of compliance and the stupidity of the legislation just passed by the assembly in NY. As we move forward, principals still are charged...or at least should be...with the job of making sure they offer part...inspiration, part...teacher voice...and a great deal of focus on learning. There is never a more important tim

"Terrible Twos. Threenagers. Fearsome Fours.  These are years marked by tantrums and meltdowns - palpable reminders that young children haven't yet learned how to regulate their emotions. But rather than wait for them to outgrow this phase, caregivers can use this window to teach emotional literacy skills that will yield immediate and long-term benefits. Increasingly, research confirms the efficacy of explicit training in emotional intelligence starting at a very young age. According to multiple studies, preschoolers who participate in social-emotional skills programs exhibit less aggression and anxiety and become better social problem solvers. While these outcomes may make for a more peaceful classroom environment, the benefits outlive preschool: prosocial behavior in early childhood is strongly linked with future academic performance and mental health.  In other words, when children learn how to calm themselves down, use language to express their feelings and treat others with kindness, they are laying the foundation for future success and wellness."

"For most people when they hear the words location, location, location they think real estate.  I think of school library media centers.  In almost all schools the media center occupies the largest amount of real estate on the campus.  And just like a piece of real estate, there should be flexibility in the staging, products, services, and use of the space. This place, above all others, should be a dynamic space that allows for self expression, exploration, discovery, curiosity, creativity, inquiry, critical thinking, and problem solving."

"Short Circuit is an after-school experience with a fresh approach to electronics and physical computing for young people. The Short Circuit Curriculum Guide includes seven informal learning activity modules that encourage students to express their creativity and develop DIY digital media skills by exploring innovative uses for physical and digital materials, like circuits, conductive inks, LEDs and the latest programming languages. Short Circuit Curriculum Guide modules include lesson plans and individualized assessment tools based on programs piloted at Quest to Learn, as well as by the Digital Youth Network and YouMedia programs in Chicago."

"I will be teaching a free online master class via EducationCloset.com on WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 13TH at 7 EST (which is 6pm for us in the Chicago area). I will be using only one free app: Sketchbook Express to quickly demonstrate how to make these 8 art lessons. Download the app and create along with me. Don't worry, it will be recorded so you can go back at your own pace and try them all again. Sign up for the class here: http://educationcloset.com/master-class/"

"Edtech has created learning opportunities for kids to gain valuable experiences through a teaching style that speaks their language as digital learners. Many districts are embracing a non-traditional approach to educating children through the infusion of technology--and parents are expressing a mix of emotions."

"Unfortunately, the strength in the talent pipeline that we see in female soccer today is not the reality for technology. The U.S. is facing a shortage of Computer Science (CS) graduates. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, every year there are close to 140,000 jobs requiring a CS degree, but only 40,000 U.S. college graduates major in CS, which means that 100,000 positions go unfilled by domestic talent. Even more dramatic is that women in U.S. colleges and universities earn only 18 percent of CS degrees. In middle school, 74 percent of girls express interest in Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM), but when choosing a college major, only 0.4 percent of high school girls select computer science. The true potential of future innovation will only become a reality if more women are part of it. A rich, diverse community of innovators is key for new technologies to address the needs of modern society. That is why Microsoft YouthSpark - a global initiative to create opportunities for all youth to learn computing - supports Girls Who Code, a national nonprofit organization that aims to close the gender gap in technology in the U.S."

"A couple of months ago Canva launched an education page full of lesson plans built around the idea of getting students to think and express themselves creatively through visual design. Since the launch Canva has added more lesson plans and more design tutorials to their education page. In all there are now thirty design tutorials that students can work through on their own or with guidance from you. I've been slowly working through the tutorials myself. Some of what I've learned has been put to use in the blog post images that have appeared in posts like this one about the pros and cons of using social media for school announcements."

"Robotic Prototyping Created with flickr slideshow. Objectives By the end of this unit, learners will be able: To define and describe a robot, its functions, and what it can and cannot do. To design a robot prototype that can serve humankind. To express new insights and learning about robots through oral communication."