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"Researchers and educators agree that cellphones have become fixtures in Canadian classrooms, but opinion remains divided on how best to address their presence. All agree that the presence of smartphones can be problematic if students are allowed to devote more attention to their screens than their studies. One research paper suggests the majority of schools are still treating cellphones as a scourge and banning the devices outright both in and out of class. But that study and a growing number of boards say they've had more success once deciding to stop fighting the technological tide and find ways to incorporate cellphones into schools."

"The iPad looks amazing when projected onto a large screen. The students in a 1 to 1 iPad classroom gets to see the apps at work. Have a look at the list below to see if any of these might be useful in your classroom. If you have others that should be added to this list please leave a comment with the name of the app and we will add it to the list."

"It all started with a weekly reflection our teachers leave on our school's closed Professional Development Ning. Mrs. Y, our Kindergarten teacher pondered how her five and six year olds were learning and practicing subtraction:"

"When you eat something loaded with sugar, your taste buds, your gut and your brain all take notice. This activation of your reward system is not unlike how bodies process addictive substances such as alcohol or nicotine -- an overload of sugar spikes dopamine levels and leaves you craving more. Nicole Avena explains why sweets and treats should be enjoyed in moderation."

" How to Record the iPad / iPhone Screen as Video with Reflector Sep 9, 2013 - Leave a Comment Record the iPhone / iPad Screen Recording and capturing the screen of an iPad, iPhone, or iPod touch while in use is infinitely helpful for education, teaching, instructional guides, and what we do here at OSXDaily. If you've ever wondered how to record the screen of an iOS device you'll find there are a variety of options out there, but one of the best solutions is an app named Reflector. Cross platform compatible, Reflector allows iOS device screens to be mirrored directly onto a computer screen through AirPlay, plus it's loaded with easy screen recording abilities with a video export option, and allows for some alternate uses like live streams over the web and even audio streaming if video isn't needed. For this article, we're focusing on the screen recording ability of Reflector though, which is extremely easy to use. "

"It should be abundantly clear to anyone with experience around classrooms, teachers or students (which is to say almost all of us), that teaching is a highly emotional craft, loaded with possibility and expectation, importance and scale. It's troubling when the National Commission on Teaching and America's Future says that 46 percent of new teachers leave the profession within five years. And even worse, this turnover is also impacting the whole public education machine - learning, teacher education, teacher training, funding, public perception, and so on - in a dizzying cause-effect pattern stuck on repeat. Fixing this issue is an illusion, as it's not a single issue but rather a product of countless factors. However, there are six ways we can address it here and now."

"I have aversions to certain colors. I'm sure I'm not alone in this - most people find themselves drawn to either warm colors or cool colors, and there is a whole business of the psychology of colors. The handy infographic below takes a look at the psychology of colors and how they're used in branding. Not applicable to the classroom, right? Wrong. There are so many different ways you can incorporate color into what you're doing in your classroom to help boost your efforts. From designing your presentations mindfully to how you mark student work, color can come into play a lot more often than you may realize. So what colors should you use for what? Take a look at what the infographic below has to say about colors with branding, and we'll give you an idea of how this crosses over into the classroom. We'd love to hear if you've used colors intentionally in your classroom setting, or if you have other ideas. Leave a message in the comments!"

Take a few minutes to watch Pogue's presentation. It's entertaining as well as informative. Then, take some time to leave a comment. What's something you learned from this video that you didn't already know? What's your favorite tech time-saver that you think more people should know about? Please share, so we can all learn together!

"One of the most iconic freedom fighter has just left us a couple of days ago leaving behind him a huge legacy for next generations to learn from. Nelson Mandella's life was a genuine fight for human rights and justice and it was thanks to his civil activism that apartheid was abolished in South Africa. The fight for freedom cost Nelson so dearly, 27 years of his life was spent in prison. The lessons we can draw from Nelson's eventful life experiences are inestimable and here are some of the teaching resources I have curated fro you to help yu teach your students about this legendary man."

"It's a query that can give an ill-prepared job seeker pause: So, do you have any questions for me? Interviewers will judge you by your questions. Almost all employers wrap up job interviews by turning the tables and offering candidates an opportunity to showcase how well they understand the role, how interested they are in the opportunity and what plays to their passions points. When the time comes to flip roles and grill your interviewer about the potential job, it can be tempting to ask pressing questions about salaries, hours and workload. But asking questions about vacation time, salary reviews and benefits might be red flags - and worst-case scenario, they might cost you the job. When asking your interviewer questions regarding compensation or scheduling, there's an imminent risk of being perceived as self-serving. Questions that are more focused on achieving results, helping the company grow and showing how well you've researched the role are the most wow-inducing. The goal is to end with a bang and leave a solid impression. We asked managers what they actually want to hear candidates ask during an interview. Below are a few of their responses."

"Teachers need to reinvent themselves, like Miley Cyrus. We need to come in like a wrecking ball and smash our traditional approach. Like Miley did. Hannah Montana was great! But her audience changed. With time, her fans grew up and started to leave Hannah behind. So what did she do? Cut her hair, ramped up her wardrobe and engaged her audience again. Please understand, I do not align myself with any of the twerking or ridiculously bizarre on and off stage behaviour. But as one of my smarter senior students pointed out, she is the consummate marketer. Gimmicks aside, she did grab her audience back."

"Sometimes quotations can really sum up what we're thinking or feeling in words that are much more eloquently put than what we can come up with in the moment. You can use them to help remind you that others are feeling, seeing, and doing the same thing as you are. You can use them to share a message you feel strongly about. Or, you can use them to keep yourself inspired and energized (which is as necessary as coffee for most teachers!) Hang them in your classroom, keep them as a background on your phone, iPad, or laptop, or leave them on a sticky note in strategic places. Here are five teaching quotations to keep you inspired."

"One of the essential parts of the digital citizenship I have been long talking about in this blog is about digital footprints. Students need to know that whatever they do or create online leaves behind a trail or digital breadcrumbs that others can trace. This "others" can be anyone from prospective employers, to college admission boards, anything you do online should be vetted by a critical lens and if "you don't want your parents to know about it then better not do it"."

"In education literature, "engagement" is a lynchpin word, routinely cited as essential. However, authors often leave it undefined or offhandedly provide vague definitions. So, what is engagement?"

"If you ask me about the best iPad apps for creating and sharing presentations and slideshows the five listed below are what I would highly recommend for you. Yes this is  a personal view and I know there are tons of other apps out there that can be used for this purpose, but from my own experience of app reviewing and based on my actual use , the apps I have handpicked for you have all the features you need to create a powerful and visually appealing presentation. Check them out and as always leave us a comment if you have other suggestions. Enjoy"

"We believe in a future where every child leaves school knowing how to code. It's not realistic to expect educators to achieve this on their own, developers and the wider community must help. The amazing thing is that many developers believe in our cause and want work with educators to make this happen- someone just needs to bring them together. That's where we step in. We provide a platform where educators can post code-related projects, request a custom project or pick from our growing base of pre-defined projects. Developers can browse projects in their local area and connect with the educators to take discussions further and bring authentic learning opportunities to the classroom. So, we're currently looking for our founding partners to get the ball rolling. If you know anyone or would like to become a founding partner, please get in touch with us (team@codefuture.org)!"

"Whether presenting to a class or audience, for most, interactivity is appreciated. One technique I enjoy is to ask participants to discuss an issue with colleagues. I generally leave the presentation platform to access the timer and countdown music, then come back to it.  But that can get annoying and sort of glitchy.  I thought there had to be a better way. There is. The trick is that you embed a timer that has been turned into a YouTube video. YouTube is used because it can be embedded into most presentation platforms. Then you use a picture in picture technique to indicate time is running out with game show music and follow that up with a  "time is up" sound effect."

"In the age of digital learning, exit tickets are no longer confined to small slips of paper collected by educators as students leave their classrooms (although this method is still fine). There are numerous digital tools at the disposal of educators to collect this valuable performance data from their students. Here are ten digital exit slip tools to choose from."