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"Last year, I went to Nigeria with Mark Zuckerberg. One of the first stops on the trip was a program that taught kids how to code. When Zuckerberg entered the room, many of the young students had a hard time pulling themselves away from their projects, even to gawk at one of the world's richest men. Facebook's founder instead came to them. "What are you making?" he'd ask. And they would proudly say, "A game!" or whatever it was, and begin showing him how it works. Zuckerberg would stop them. "Show me the code!" he'd say, because, well, he's Zuckerberg, and any occasion is ripe for an ad hoc programming review. And that's when the kid would click on a menu that toggled from the game to the LEGO-like building blocks of a Scratch program. This happened several times, with kids ranging from ages 8 to 15. In every instance, the maker of a cool project could clearly show this famous visitor how he or she had methodically implemented a plan. Zuckerberg was clearly impressed. As we headed up the stairs to leave the building, Zuckerberg called out to me, "Scratch! Have you heard of this?" Oh, yes I had. Though it was not yet released to the world when Zuckerberg left Harvard to launch his quirky little startup, Scratch (developed just a couple of T stops away) is quickly becoming the world's most popular computer language for kids taking their first bite of programming. Last year, over 120 million people came to its site, and many of them built and shared projects, at a rate of a million a month. "It's the gateway drug for Silicon Valley engineering," says Fred Wilson of Union Square Ventures, a Scratch supporter."

A book written by Manitoba educators on how they are implementing Maker and Coder ideas. Edited by Mike Nantais and Reynold Redekopp

"From autonomous vehicles, predictive analytics applications, facial recognition, to chatbots, virtual assistants, cognitive automation, and fraud detection, the use cases for AI are many. However, regardless of the application of AI, there is commonality to all these applications. Those who have implemented hundreds or even thousands of AI projects realize that despite all this diversity in application, AI use cases fall into one or more of seven common patterns.  The seven patterns are: hyperpersonalization, autonomous systems, predictive analytics and decision support, conversational/human interactions, patterns and anomalies, recognition systems, and goal-driven systems. Any customized approach to AI is going to require its own programming and pattern, but no matter what combination these trends are used in, they all follow their own pretty standard set of rules. These seven patterns are then applied individually or in various combinations depending on the specific solution to which AI Is being applied."

"On this blog I've shared thousands of web tools, apps, and resources that are free or offer a freemium option for teachers. However, I've been asked by several educators what recommendations I have for STEM labs, makerspaces, and technology classes. Below are six products that engage students, promote hands-on learning, and spark creativity. Also, students of all ages love learning science, math, engineering, and programming with these products. Most are reasonably priced for a kit that can be used by an entire class for several projects and lessons. The products are easy to manage, store, and work for K to 12 learners. These products also come with a great support team, support materials, lesson plans, and activities. Even if you are just a beginner these products are easy to learn and implement. These companies did not pay me or ask me to write about them. I just have tinkered with them and truly enjoyed these products."

n practical terms, any change effort that does not consider the culture into which it is introduced is unlikely to succeed. The worst-case scenario is that the change effort is resisted to such a degree that it is never truly implemented. In many cases, however, the change effort fails to produce the sort of results initially imagined despite the efforts of all involved to adopt the change. Although the new behaviours are adopted, something goes wrong, and it isn't always that the new idea itself is to be blamed. - Maybe it's culture?

"Artificial Intelligence (AI) is driving the next wave of technological innovation and is changing almost every industry around us. With the expansion and ubiquity of AI being a motivating factor in the decisions and need for all children to develop their understanding of Computer Science, it is logical that children also must need to develop their understanding of AI itself. We have two free teacher professional development MOOCs in AI available to suit your year level: Teaching AI in the Primary Classroom and Teaching AI in the Secondary Classroom. Our AI courses are presented in two related parts. Firstly, we provide school teachers with an overview of AI, unpacking AI and key concepts across both MOOCs. The second half of our AI MOOCs are specific to the year level you have selected (primary or secondary). In these units, we present the practical implementation of classroom activities that engage students in learning about AI, including support for teachers about the design and assessment of learning activities. You may complete one or both primary and secondary courses! From the 21st of June, our "Overview" units will be available to access, with the second half of the course being available in July. Registration is now open!"

"Even though it's October it still feels very much like the beginning of the year. One of the first thoughts that many teachers have about their students is "they look so little!" It's true. Those tall confident students that left us have gone on to be "little" to next year's teacher and we have our own new crop of "little" people to educate. This becomes even more pronounced in a technology classroom. Everything takes longer, typing, starting, opening, finding, searching. Whatever it is they need time to figure it out. Patience is key. So what can we do?"

"Ultimately, one question always arises. "There's so many apps on the ipad - just how do you expect me to learn it all!!" Here's my quick answer: Don't! While it is important to attach deeper understanding to specific apps for specific purposes, sometimes the introduction can be offered within a framework of "discovery learning". For those of you who have access to an ipad cart or a group of iPads, here's an introductory process for both you and your class:"

" iPads have certainly become a highly desired commodity in education. Apple is reporting that schools are purchasing iPads by a ratio of 2:1 over MacBooks. However, that rush to purchase the latest technologies often precedes the careful planning and preparation that's crucial to their success as educational tools. Stated simply, technology alone doesn't have the capacity to improve education. It needs to be woven into a holistic approach to education that encompasses thorough planning and ongoing review of the skills and competencies required by the rapidly changing society that characterizes life in the 21st century. Well-planned technology deployments have the potential to have a remarkably transformative impact on schools and students. Here's a list of ten vital elements of a successful iPad implementation in schools."

"One-to-one technology can transform a classroom. When implemented correctly, students are engaged and excited to learn, and teachers can assess their progress in real-time. The amount of technology resources available for educators can be overwhelming. "

"Here are six pieces of advice I would pass on to anyone leading the Teaching and Learning side of an iPad deployment. I've learned as much from our successes as our shortcomings and hope you find this helpful."

"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."