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"The merits of doing research and creating these reports and papers are valid. When they create them, students … Gather information Evaluate sources Organize and synthesize data Form ideas and cohesive thoughts Create a polished, finished product Cite where they got their information Here's the problem, though: the finished product just isn't very relevant to the real world, be it in the workforce or in people's personal lives. Reports and papers often end up where mine always did - in the trash. If students are going to do their best work to learn and create, shouldn't it be in a form they can be proud of - and that they want to show others? I think it's time that we turn research reports and papers on their heads. Here are 10 creative alternatives:"

"As one of the commenters exclaims on David Neat's blog of modeling tips: "I feel like I've just discovered the Holy Grail of modeling sites!" David's simple, plain WordPress blog betrays the amount and quality of the content found there. David writes about and teaches model-making and this site gathers the materials from his books, courses, and lectures. More on Modeling Tabletop Gaming -- Modeling Tips and Tricks Top Ten Tips: Designing Models For 3D Printing How to Design and 3D Print Your Own Custom Gaming Miniatures There is a ton of material here, on everything from technical drawing to materials and supplies for modeling, modeling techniques (from the most general to the very specific), and lots more. David even has a Lexicon section with terms used in model-making. Most of what's covered concerns architectural models and models used in set decorating, but the techniques can be applied to any type of building and terrain modeling. I look at a lot of hobby modeling sites and rarely have I seen one with this much depth, rigor, and high-value content. I will definitely be spending a lot of time here in the future."

"About a week ago I was asked if I could write a post about tools for making infographics with students. A well constructed infographic can convey a lot of information in a compact, visually-pleasing manner. The process of creating a good infographic requires students to analyze and succinctly summarize data and facts that they've gathered through research. Here are some good tools that students can use to create infographics."

Only those who have taught a class for a year, who have struggled with the challenges faced by students and who have shared in the moments of success will truly understand why we teach. Maybe that is why we seek out opportunities to gather and share what we do, to spend even a Saturday in the company of those who "get" what it is that we do and why we do it. Teaching is a beautiful thing to be a part. 

"The SAMR Model for integrating technology into teaching, developed by Dr. Ruben Puentedura, has gained a good deal of exposure in recent years. "SAMR" is an acronym that stands for Substitution, Augmentation, Modification, and Redefinition. The SAMR model provides a technique for moving through degrees of technology adoption to find more meaningful uses of technology in teaching and move away from simply using "tech for tech's sake". We recently discussed the SAMR model during an Academic Technology Work Group meeting at The College of Westchester. We examined the video, SAMR in 120 Seconds. One thing that really struck me is how much the example helped, so I made it a point to gather and/or create some more examples."

"This afternoon, our Parker senior administration and IT teams gathered to approve a 1:1 iPad program that will start next year in grades 3-5. Our number one priority is to deliver adequate training to the teachers about how addition of these devices into the classroom environment can dramatically change our learning experience to become more student-centered, collaborative, project-based, exploratory, fluid, and open to the world knowledge base."

"Until recently, we have always had a big bowl of Legos on the conference room table. They are great to 'toy' with when waiting for folks to gather rather than have our noses buried in our mobile device screens. There are folks that can look at a pile of Legos and see a fire engine waiting to be built. There is the rest of us that see a lot of fun lockable color blocks."

"In this regard, The Best of Mobile Technology has gathered and reviewed some of the apps that you can use with your students. These apps are for students with hearing and visual impairement. I have included these apps into different presentations to make it easy for you to share and access them anytime you want."

"Science NetLinks is in the early stages of gathering and reviewing STEM-related apps for both the iPad and the Android. Please check back often as we expect to add new app-related tools on a regular basis."

"My IEP is a free iPhone and iPad app designed to help parents and guardians to gather and organize information before, during, and after IEP meetings. ( IEP = Individualized Education Program. )

"Students feedback can sometimes host a treasure trove of new insights not only about their own comprehension but also about our teaching. Giving students the opportunity to share their own response on the learning taking place in the classroom is highly beneficial to them particularly in the way they position themselves vis a vis the content being taught. They also feel empowered because they know their voice does matter and therefore become more engaged and involved in the learning/teaching process."

"Google forms are fabulous for gathering information, but sometimes, the data in the spreadsheet can be difficult to view. In this post, I'll share a simple-to-implement formula that will make it much easier to deal with (and even print) form-fed data!"

"Let's get one thing straight here. I love my morning cup of joe. I'm not alone in saying my day doesn't start without it. Sixty percent of American coffee drinkers claim they need coffee to start their day. But when I came across an infographic by Ryoko Iwata, a Japanese coffee-lover with a blog titled "I Love Coffee" who followed research on the 24-hour circadian clock gathered by Steven Miller, a PhD candidate at the Uniformed Services University of Health Sciences in Bethesada, I decided to change my ways. The infographic shows the early morning hours are the worst time to drink coffee."

"In our last unit most of the inquiry was guided. In our new unit we decided that we would give more freedom to students earlier in the unit. This is an environmental unit. It's new for us this year, although we had a similar one about Climate Change last year. We had a new compelling question, "How long could we live without bees." We asked students what they thought about this question. We used Padlets. This is my class's Padlet. (It's a great way to gather short thoughts and ideas.) "

"Gather online with Edmodo educators across the globe for a remarkable day of professional development"

"The difference between assessment of learning and assessment for learning is a crucial one, in many ways indicative of an important shift in education. Traditionally, tests have told teachers and parents how a student "does," then offers a very accessible point of data (usually percentage correct and subsequent letter grade) that is reported to parents as a performance indicator. Class data can be gathered to imply instructional effectiveness, and the data from multiple classrooms can be combined to suggest the performance of an entire school, but a core message here is one of measurement and finality: this is how you did. This was the bar, and you either cleared it or you didn't. And it's all past tense."

"In this presentation, Brad Ovenell-Carter shows you the work he and his students have done on what they call the "field school model," an innovative instructional methodology distinguished by the way it asks students-not teachers-to curate and catalogue the content they themselves gather, effectively creating their own textbooks as they study. The model capitalizes on mobile and web technologies and borrows design-thinking strategies to get students to identify and collaboratively resolve original, real world problems. "

"Below we've gathered a diverse list of learning apps across iOS and Android from giants like Google, Apple, Microsoft, as well as upstarts like Brainfeed, The Sandbox, and Knowji. None of the apps are perfect, but each app does something special, and in that talent represents what's possible as we careen towards 2020 and beyond. Learning through play. Self-directed learning. Flipped learning. Mobile learning. Collaborative learning. Social learning. It's all here. Alone, none offer the turn-key approach to education that textbooks have traditionally turned to. But this is a strength. As education technology grows, we can adapt to new learning models that take advantage of the fragmented but enormous potential of self-directed, creative, collaborative, and almost entirely mobile learning."

"While gathering resources to share with campus teachers, I stumbled upon the Photo Mapo app and quickly added it to my list of tools for summer archival. The intent was to provide a repository of tools and applications that educators could utilize in the midst of their staycations and vacations that could also be extended to the classroom. Photo Mapo is a FREE app that does just that. "