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"For many, Python is the programming language of choice for use in the classroom. Why? There have been many ways to get at Python and make it successful. As mentioned previously, and it will come up with any computer science teacher, there's nothing like a silly missing semi-colon to drive the introductory programming student crazy. In many cases, people will introduce Scratch or Alice as an introductory language since building with blocks overcomes this situation. The programming concepts are great for those getting started."

"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:"

"A short introductory screencast on how to cut, copy and paste on your iPad. This technique works in every app using the keyboard."

"Welcome back to iPad Summer Camp. Whether your summer is relaxing and filled with free time or packed with busy things (like me - working on a master's degree!), it's important to take some time to play with some of the technology that you might be using next year. If you haven't been following along, check out the introductory post and the first project. Otherwise, onwards to collaborative writing!"

"Mention robots to many English teachers and they'll immediately point down the hall to the science classroom or to the makerspace, if they have one. At many schools, if there's a robot at all, it's located in a science or math classroom or is being built by an after-school robotics club. It's not usually a fixture in English classrooms. But as teachers continue to work at finding new entry points to old material for their students, robots are proving to be a great interdisciplinary tool that builds collaboration and literacy skills. "For someone like me who teaches literature by lots of dead white guys, teaching programming adds relevance to my class," said Jessica Herring, a high school English teacher at Benton High School in Arkansas. Herring first experimented using Sphero, essentially a programmable ball, when her American literature class was studying the writing of early settlers. Herring pushed the desks back and drew a maze on the floor with tape representing the journey from Europe to the New World. Her students used class iPads and an introductory manually guided app to steer their Spheros through the maze. Herring, like many English teachers, was skeptical about how the Sphero robot could be a useful teaching tool in her classroom. She thought that type of technology would distract students from the core skills of reading, writing and analyzing literature. But she decided to try it after hearing about the success of another English teacher across the country."

"Understand key programming concepts and apply them using Scratch, with this introductory course for primary or K-5 teachers." Starts in February 2017

"The BBC's Skillswise website offers lots of good activities for learning and practicing skills in language arts and mathematics. A section of the site that could be useful in a lot of classrooms is the speaking and listening section. The speaking and listening section contains subsections offering lessons and activities to develop a specific skill. Those skills are listening for specifics, communication skills, formal and informal speaking, and giving presentations. Each section has a short introductory video followed by a set of quizzes and interactive games in which students test their skills."

""Getting Started" includes a set of curated, introductory resources are for those new to making or interested in learning more about what making is and its potential impact in education. It also provides practical, concrete ways for integrating making into educational settings."

"The City X Project toolkit is the most educationally relevant introductory 3D printing and design thinking curriculum available for 8 to 12 year-olds. It is a detailed guide to facilitating the City X Project workshop with your own students. Though it is best run with a 3D printer, the City X Project still works great using just free 3D modeling software recommended in our instructor's guide."

"Let me go ahead and say it. I think you should consider switching from your current introductory physics textbook to Matter and Interactions (by Chabay and Sherwood - published by Wiley). Matter and Interactions is a calculus-based, first-year physics curriculum. But wait! It's not just any ordinary physics textbook. No, this one is different."

"Programming may be one of the newest skills we are bringing into modern classrooms, but it can be a difficult topic to introduce. Lines of complex code can not only be quite intimidating but it can also be devastatingly boring for students new to the subject. This is where the POP app can be an excellent introductory tool to turn your students ideas and enthusiasm into interactive app prototypes. Using a tablet or phone's inbuilt camera, POP allows students to photograph their sketches and begin designing their app before any coding is needed at all."

"Many of the applications for introductory program are based on the logo turtle concept.  Even at that presentation, there sometimes is a challenging entry point.  You have to understand the concept of the stage, the mathematics of location, movement, etc. before you even get started. In the case of CodeMonkey, they've take more of a challenge / gamification approach. Yes, you work directly with code instructions like STEP and TURN but they're done in the context of solving a problem.  The video above gives a nice description of how you or your students work within the environment. As with many of my obsessions with coding and Computer Science, it's just plain fun.  Stepping back for a moment, I had to reflect on the fact that they've introduced the concept of coding and problem solving in a very non-threatening manner.  I was quite impressed."

"In this introductory Keynote for iOS tutorial from The Epic Guide to Keynote for iOS, you are introduced to Keynote's interface and learn how it is laid out. We look at the buttons and toolbars in some depth and learn what each button in Keynote actually does. The Presentation Manager and Presentation Editor How to create folders in Keynote How to duplicate and delete Keynote Presentations How to create, import and share Keynote Presentations The Slide Manager and how to create new slides The Keynote Toolbar Explained (undo/redo, the format inspector, add new objects, Keynote settings, sharing and Presentation Mode) "

"This lesson/series of lessons is designed to give pupils an introductory understanding of key computational thinking skills and help them to discover that in fact, computers don't solve problems, but are used by us to aid the problem solving process. This will be shown by using the BBC Micro:Bit device, both emulated via online tools and with a real Micro:Bit if available - and adding a touch of magic."

"Leveraging the power of the iPad for teaching and learning means not only tapping into the potential of Apple's hardware but harnessing the power of Apple's software as well. Pages, Keynote, and Numbers comprise Apple's productivity suite of apps that teachers and students can use to not only increase productivity but also foster creativity in the classroom and beyond. Learn how to create documents, edit content, share final products, and more in this introductory video series. Get started with the word processing, presentation, and spreadsheet suite of apps and see how far they can take you and your students. Learn more from Mason in this great video playlist!"

"Satisfaction and engagement may not be the most common feelings among students studying introductory calculus. According to Jo Boaler, a professor of math education at Stanford, roughly 50 percent of the population feels anxious about math. That emotional discomfort often begins in elementary school, lingering over students' later encounters with algebra and geometry, and tainting the subject with apprehension-or outright loathing. Professor Mary Helen Immordino-Yang, associate professor of education, psychology, and neuroscience at the University of Southern California has explored how emotions are tied to learning. "Emotions are a piece of thinking," she told me; "we think of anything because our emotions push us that way." Even subjects widely considered to be outside the realm of emotion, like math, evoke powerful feelings among those studying it, which can then propel or thwart further learning."