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"Google Plus has recently introduced an interesting new feature called Collections which is basically a curating tool that resembles Pinterest. You can easily create collections where you can organize and group posts by topic. 'Each collection can be shared publicly, privately, or with a custom set of people. Once you create your first collection, your profile will display a new tab where other people can find and follow your collections.' "

"We have come a long way with using Google on the iPad. We now have 50 official apps from Google, Inc. for iOS. The following is a list of Google Apps for iOS. This list is exhaustive and includes several apps that are not on the infographic Guide to Google Apps for the iPad. Some of these are natural for classroom integration, and some are more for personal or business use. Some are optimized for both iPad and iPhone; some are only optimized for iPhone. Each app title is linked directly to the App Store so you can click directly from your device to download each app."

"When my grandpa died, my grandma told me that she missed the small stuff. She had plenty of photo albums packed full of memories, but what she missed the most was waking up next to him in the morning. I remember visiting her on a hard afternoon. She had accidentally poured two cups of coffee and brought them into the family room and placed one next to his empty chair. She spent the next hour crying. This moment had me rethinking what it means to live an epic life - which is ultimately why I created the following video:"

"I absolutely love all of the new robotics toys that have been coming out for elementary age learners.  I have been using them for my summer maker camp, with my gifted education classes, and for my upcoming Saturday morning program. One of my gifted girls noted, "Where do all of these robots come from?" I laughed and told her, "It's actually has become one of my passions. Collecting them has become a major hobby of mine." I usually use them for an hour per week with my two groups of gifted learners.  I am an advocate of student-centric learning and giving them choices as to which instructional activities they would like to engage. For their robotics hour each week, I am giving them the following choices with their goal of using five of the robotics to complete five of the tasks provided. My robotics-type devices include:"

"Unity 3D Student is a new way to learn game development with the Unity Game Engine. By following 'bitesize' tutorial Modules, and combining them in our Challenges, you will learn all the skills you need to pickup game development and also get an understanding of how to research further info as you work."

"I used to teach a class called photojournalism. I usually referred to it as "digital journalism," because people assumed we were a photography class. Students created videos, podcasts, documentaries, and blogs with the goal of sharing their work with an authentic audience. On the surface, this might not seem all that practical. After all, newspapers are slashing their budgets and laying off staff. Why teach an elective class in a subject that doesn't connect to a decent job market? But here's the thing: whether we feel like it or not, we are all citizen journalists. We are all researchers. We are all sharing information online and publishing it on social media. We are all curating and producing content even if only a fragment of the population creates videos, podcasts, or blog posts. Social media is a fusion of space (social) and publishing (medium). Although it can simply feel like a place to hang out, every social media platform uses elements of traditional media. Just look at the terms: subscribers, news feed, followers, publish."

"Did you know it's possible for students to use social media as a classroom research tool? Over the years social media has evolved from being a mere communication platform where people can connect with their long-time friends. It has matured into a platform where people conduct real business in addition to just making connections. At the time of this writing (the fourth quarter of 2016) Facebook is the most popular social media platform with almost 2 billion followers. It started out as a channel where people could re-establish some of their lost connections. Today, in addition to this, major brands are using the platform to market their goods and services. That is how far our social media has evolved. With such changes, it's only fair that students should be able to take advantage of such opportunities. There are so many ways students can use social media for research. Why struggle with research papers when there is plenty of help out there? Instead of focusing on chatting up friends, they can use that time constructively and get something done. HomeworkDesk.com decided to make a list that will help you."

"One thing that always interested me about History was the growing realisation that even the supposedly simplest and most straightforward facts are quite often shrouded in a mystifying narrative; a trail of sources that leaves the true story open to a range of opposing interpretations and outcomes. Whilst we may think we have answered all the questions and arrived at the correct conclusions about the sequences of events, a differing theory or discovery of a contradictory source can suddenly debunk the accepted. That is what makes learning History so fascinating; the mysteries. The definite mysteries that we may never solve or we can see evolving into an answer as decades move forward, or the certain chronicle that suddenly finds itself turning into a cryptic puzzle as later evidence emerges. Within us all is a person who wants to know the answers when challenged by the unknown, and to embrace the exhilaration of cracking a Sherlockian case. Instead of a just a 'Whodunnit?', exploring history mysteries involves a wider spectrum of narratives and therefore can offer a far more rich tapestry of skills including analysis, questioning and the evaluation of places, events and persons. Follow me down the rabbit's hole into the wonderland of history mysteries."

"When it comes to creating videos in elementary school there are some qualities needed in an iPad app that aren't needed in apps for older students. For example, it's helpful to not require that students register to use the app. It's also nice if the app has a child-friendly interface. The following three apps have those qualities and more."

"You may have noticed the conversation about ed tech vs tech ed and the confusion about what each is or if there is even a difference. This is understandable. The International Society for "Technology Education" calls themselves the largest teacher-based organization in the field of "educational technology." Wait? They're the society for "tech ed" but they are an "ed tech" organization with "ed tech" standards. Confusing! The Innovative Educator is here to help you understand, as well as determine where you fit in this whole picture.  To follow is your handy dandy guide."

"This case study report provides concrete guidance and information resources to support other School District leaders faced with the challenge of determining how they can get their own innovations to 'stick' and achieve their goals. The CEA Selection Jury of Canadian innovation leaders was most impressed with how the OCSB leads with a focus on learning and teacher support first, followed by the technology. This School Board has been implementing their innovative strategy over a number of years, incorporated all partners - including teacher unions and support staff - and built a budget in support of this collective vision, with ongoing parent and student voice that continue to inform these changes. "

"Root looks like a smoke detector but is actually a sophisticated robot. A magnetic surface, wheels, and an impressive arsenal of sensors allow it to navigate a classroom white board. But Root isn't actually programmed to do anything. Its tasks and functionality hinge on a child's imagination. To operate - Root needs instructions, a line of code. Zivthan Dubrovsky of Harvard's Wyss Institute recalls testing out Root with kids for the first time. He asked them this: "Can you make a text based java script line follower? They go 'no that's hard, can't do that', but we can put level one in front of them and they can do it in minutes." Level one introduces kids to principles of programming using an interface of simple instruction and pictures. As they become more adept, they jump to levels 2 and 3, at which point writing computer code becomes second nature, according to Dubrovsky."

"Flickr hosts millions of images that are licensed under a Creative Commons license or are in the public domain (Flickr Commons). Depending on the license, you may use the images on your private or commercial webpage, or can make changes to it. If you want to use these images, you need to to the following: Make sure you understood the license correctly Get the correct HTML code for the IMG tag Link the image back to the Flickr photo page Give the author of the image proper credits (Attribution) Link to the Flickr profile of the author Link to the license the image is licensed under With ImageCodr.org, there is no need to do all this manually, you simply enter in the URL of the picture page (as seen in your browser) you are interested in and ImageCodr.org will generate the ready to use HTML code. It will also display a brief and easy license summary, so you don't get in legal trouble because you missed something."

"Teachers may offer up a killer classroom library and carve out class time for silent reading, but these two things do not guarantee prolific reading, or even moderate reading from your students. One of my goals when I was teaching high school was this: to have students fall in love with reading while they were in my classroom (or at least like it a little more). So how do you motivate secondary students in a deeper, lifelong reader way? It's not just about helping a student find that right book, as teachers often see as the ultimate mission, but it's about giving reasons for reading -- and really good ones. Because let's face it, there's plenty of stuff we all have to read that we may not be crazy about, but we know it's good for us. The following motivators are inspired by educator Kelly Gallagher's book, Reading Reasons: Motivational Mini-Lessons for Middle and High School."

"Are you a fellow Type B Teacher? I recently started a second instagram account called @TeacherTroubles where I'm meme-ifying all those things you always thought were "just you". These memes all come from that account, so make sure to follow me on instagram if you like this post. (There's also a Teacher Troubles Facebook page!)"

"Summer's the perfect time for a new creative outlet, but it's far too easy to slip into "consumer" mode, passively watching TV or playing video games. Coding is a great way to break the cycle and flex your creative and logical muscles. Anyone can learn to code! We've chosen six fun starter activities that help kids see that making their own games is much more fun than playing a game made by someone else. They can just fire up their web browser (or the Tynker app for tablets) and choose whichever activity most strikes their interest! Kids follow easy step-by-step instructions to make their own games and stories while creatively customizing the project as they go. They can access hundreds more free activities by going to tynker.com or downloading the Tynker app for iPads or Android tablets."

"Welcome to this fourth post in a series that brings STEM, STEAM, and Maker Space together with Project Based Learning and proper technology integration in the classroom. You will discover around one hundred resources in this series along with some great ideas for finding student success.  Before reading, please take a moment to subscribe by email or RSS and also give me a follow on "

"A few weeks ago, at the Bay Area Discovery Museum (BADM) near San Francisco, 5-year-old Jack Stabenow climbed a step stool to peer into a machine that cuts cardboard with a high-powered laser. The red beam precisely followed a squiggly building design that Jack had just finger-drawn on a tablet computer. Jack's goal was to make a building that could stand up to the wind of a nearby table fan. With his cardboard cut, Jack hurried to the assembly area where about two dozen other kids his age labored over teetering, but well-taped, creations. If these first attempts toppled in the breeze, that was to be expected. In fact, back-to-the-drawing-board was kind of the point. The kids were learning the cycle of design, prototype, test, and redesign that's a hallmark of engineering."

"Welcome to this fifth post in a series that brings STEM, STEAM, and Maker Space together with Project Based Learning and proper technology integration in the classroom. You will discover around one hundred resources in this series along with some great ideas for finding student success.  Before reading, please take a moment to subscribe by email or RSS and also give me a follow on "