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"With so many schools adopting the use of iPads I find it strange that we aren't hearing more about the incredible opportunities available in iTunes U. Well I suppose it isn't that strange given that schools in the early stages of transitioning to an iPad platform are extremely busy and learning one more thing can seem overwhelming. Trust me, I understand that, but I believe if you were to learn one more thing it should be about the power of iTunes U. The possibilities of this incredible tool are endless. I'd like to provide you with just a few examples of the many uses of iTunes U in the hopes that more schools will join this incredible network of learning resources."

"3D printing and other additive manufacturing techniques are revolutionizing global health systems. Great interest is being seen in the 3D printed prosthetic movement due to the potential for a wide range of people, including novice designers, builders, and students to produce devices that have the potential to effect positive change in a recipient's life. Close Additionally, there is incredible value in having students print and build devices and for those devices to make their way to other young people. Through this work, students are provided with a window into an incredibly authentic application of many of the STEM concepts and 21st century skills they are being taught and recipients have their interest sparked and have a tangible object that offers a glimpse into what is possible when they receive one of these devices."

"Designing your own 3D printed parts is a skill that every person who owns a printer should have or be actively acquiring. The power to design exactly what you want feels incredible when you actually have it, and the lack of those skills is incredibly frustrating when they present themselves. More from Weekend Watch Weekend Watch: This Hydraulic Press Channel Is Crushing It Weekend Watch: "Ron's Stuff" Is a Collection of Kinetic Wooden Sculptures Weekend Watch: "Geek Builders" Blends Geeky and Practical in Videos Noe Ruiz over at Adafruit has an ongoing educational series called "Layer by Layer". If you skim back through the playlist, there are over 40 videos about designing for 3D printing."

"Educreations Interactive Whiteboard by Educreations, Inc is an INCREDIBLE, yes that's right - incredible app. This newly released app comes with the huge bonus of being FREE! "

"Back in primary school I remember learning about the internals of the human body by constructing a digestive system out of toilet rolls. Needless to say, that summer I probably used more toilet tissue than I needed too in an effort to get enough toilet rolls together. The results were awesome though. I plonked a marble through the cardboard oesophagus and proudly demonstrated to my parents the wonders of the human digestive system. I'm assuming my model had the equivalent of the runs as my marble got through in about 5 seconds. Now, the days of such eco-unfriendly learning are behind us and Zybright have released a great app called My Incredible Body, which I would say is aimed at ages 4-13."

"My Incredible Body is an iPad app (currently free) designed to help students learn how the human body works. The app features eight sections. Those sections are circulation, muscles, senses (vision, smell, hearing, touch), kidneys & urine, skeleton, respiration, digestion, and brain & nerves. Each section of the app contains short animated videos that explain the functions of each system and how it works."

This community is devoted to providing an opportunity for those who care about education to share their voices and ideas with others. It's a place for thoughtful discussion on an incredibly important topic. Right now we're in pre-launch phase in order to answer the "Carol Broos" questions! The official launch will be at the end of January

"Twitter is a remarkably popular tool with educators the world over for a number of very good reasons. But while it is truly loved by many, its incredibly powerful Advanced Search feature remains underutilized and somewhat underappreciated. With access to torrents of current 'up to the moment' streaming data, thoughts, links, images and videos, the power and versatility of Twitter's Advanced Search feature really is incredible."

"Lego is a phenomenal children's toy. It's little wonder then that both adults and kids enjoy playing around with it. It can help stimulate your imagination, your creative abilities, and your logical thinking. In turn, it can be used not only as a toy, but also as a great aid to learning both in the classroom and at home. School teacher Alycia Zimmerman regularly uses Lego to help develop basic math skills among her pupils. Lego blocks, she finds, offer a great opportunity to explain fundamental math concepts and calculations in a way which is immediately understandable for young minds. So for those who can't find the right words or who find they haven't got the patience to help with their kid's math homework, here are a few examples which Alycia uses. Each and everyone of them is incredibly simple, but seriously effective."

"Teaching through projects, interrogating the value of grades, attempting to make learning more meaningful and connected to young people's lives and interests, thoughtful ways of using technology to amplify and share student work. These are just some of the ways teaching and learning are changing. But moving to these kinds of learning environments is a big shift for many teachers, schools, and districts; it's hard to sustain change once the shiny newness wears off. That's when people tend to slip back into old habits, relying on what they know best. The transformation requires a leader who understands how to manage the change process. "Sustained modes of change can be incredibly meaningful and yield for your community in huge ways, but you have to be incredibly intentional in order to make space for these things to happen," said Diana Laufenberg at an EduCon 2018 session about how to lead through change. Laufenberg is the executive director of Inquiry Schools, a nonprofit working with schools around the country to make these shifts. She has come to the conclusion that there are five pillars to sustaining change: permission, support, community engagement, accountability and staying the course."

"Teaching a new language to non-native speakers may be one of the most challenging educational jobs out there, so ELL teachers can use all of the help they can get! Thankfully, many excellent resources for ELL and ESL exist online, from full-service websites to reference tools and communities, all designed to make the task of educating ELL students just a little bit easier and more effective. We've scoured the Internet to share 50 of the best of these resources, and we hope you'll find lots of valuable content and tools through these incredibly useful links for ELL educators."

"Being a relatively new concept, the definition of Maker Ed isn't exactly set in stone, though it roughly relates learning making making. What your definition of "making" is will likely help you form your definition of maker ed and learning through making, whether that be clay for sculpting, wood and saws for building, or apps for digital wares. The 21 kits below are a part of this movement, but they're also incredibly cool. They have less to do with making from scratch and more to do with making from pre-made materials (kits), but that doesn't make them any less useful for learning through play and creation. Oh, and we've got 2 or 3 books in there as well."

"TeachThought is officially ten weeks old (yay us!), and to celebrate that incredible milestone (which is also the same as the gestation period of the North American Box Turtle), we're putting together posts that reflect back on that time, while also acting as a kind of curation tool for some of the content you have found most helpful."

"How we learn is changing in response to a changing environment, from fluid digital environments to constant access to information, incredible peer networks to learning simulations, 21st century learning is teeming with possible learning pathways. So it seemed appropriate to take a look at a handful of these new approaches-not so much formal learning approaches such as project-based learning or mobile learning, but rather some of the platforms and tools themselves. The immediate benefit is to take inventory in what's available now. But picture, we can kind of trace a line through these emerging approaches to get an idea of where learning is headed, and what we might expect in the next 3-5 years as the blistering pace of changes continue-and how the "crowd" will be a part of it all."

"For a variety of reasons (which we'll get to shortly), the iPad is the pre-dominant technology form in K-12 environments. They dominate blog headlines, promote incredible user loyalty (you could say cultish, but you said it, not me), and make adults drool like teething infants. Walk by any Apple store and through their wide glass storefront you'll see otherwise rational human beings swoon and fawn, listening intently as Apple experts explain how a slideshow works, how to use iCloud, or how to sync their iPhone with their iPad. School districts buy them, teachers buy them, and parents even send their students to school with them on occasion. So it makes sense that this kind of popularity would carry over to the classroom. Educators have officially had their curiosity piqued. They want to know how to integrate it into activities, lessons, and curriculum in general, and judging by our traffic patterns here on TeachThought, they come bearing questions."