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"It has been a busy few weeks in the MFL department at Berkhamsted. We have seen the class sets iPads arrive and everyone in the team has now used them in lessons. I thought it would be a good time to share some initial thoughts about the experience thus far!"

"E.A.K. teaches code using 'stealth learning' - our goal is to provide learners with their first steps towards digital literacy in the most entertaining way possible. By changing the source code of the levels - written in HTML and CSS, just like a web page - players must rescue kittens to complete the game."

"To celebrate Computer Science Education Week, students around the world are participating in the Hour of Code.  This global event brings computer science into schools to allow students, for one hour, to learn basic programming and coding to nurture problem-solving skills, logic, and creativity. My class spent some time designing an Iditarod Trail course for students to travel using round Sphero robots.  What is a Sphero?  It is simply an app-enabled ball that students code or program to move.  It can jump, change colors, and roll in any direction up to 4.5mph. Our robots represented an Iditarod dog team in the 2016 race.  Students used the free Sphero app for programming its movement along the course we created.  "

"In the age of technology, when students use online databases for home research and when Khan Academy tutorials personalize learning, why does the 21st-century student come to school? They come to see their friends. They come for the community. They come to be part of a classroom culture that motivates them to stick with the online tutorial and write that last paragraph in an essay. For my first seven years of teaching, I spent the first week discussing class norms, dutifully posting group expectations on the wall, and asking that students sign an agreement to follow them in an effort to "determine class culture." Turns out there's a quicker, more fun way to establish a positive atmosphere. With a little reinforcement, this positive culture lasts past the honeymoon of the first two weeks and into the second quarter when the gloves come off. The secret is improv games. I call them warm-ups and play them once a week at the beginning of class. Many students tell me that warm-ups are the best part of their day."

"Close your eyes and picture the most recent math class you taught. Who is doing the math? Who is doing the talking? Who is doing the thinking? Three years ago, my answer would have been "me"-the teacher. My students were doing math, but I was probably telling them how to think and what to do most of the time. My big aha moment was being introduced to the research of Peter Liljedahl, a professor at Simon Fraser University. Liljedahl proposes three strategies that you can implement in order to create what he calls the thinking classroom: Start with good problems, use visibly random groups, and work regularly on vertical nonpermanent surfaces. I started using these three strategies in my math classes, and they have been an absolute game-changer. I can confidently say that my students now do most of the thinking and talking in my classroom."