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"Physics 4 Kids is a great resource packed full of basic lessons covering different key concepts of physics. You can use this resource to expand students knowledge of physics and to also initiate them to those physics concepts you are planning to teach them in class. Physics 4 Kids provides students with  guided tours that they can use by themselves to learn about physics. To make things easier, the site embeds visual aids and video tutorials to enhance students understandings. Some of the core physics ideas the site covers include: motion and mechanics, electricity and magnetism, modern physics, light and optics and many more. "

"Like Donald Graves, I believe that the teacher is the chief learner in the classroom. I also believe that positioning ourselves as learners sustains our passion for our work. When we make a study of our teaching, we discover things we would not have otherwise. Lights flicker. We're continually inspired. What would happen if you became a learner and embraced the idea students assessing teachers? This has nothing to do with mandating the use of student feedback for teacher evaluation purposes. This kind of assessment is off the record. It's a gift that your students give you, and one that you might use in service to them."

"Using technology for learning makes sense. Technology creates access, transparency, and opportunity. Any smartphone or tablet is media incarnate-video, animation, eBooks, essays, blog posts, messages, music, games. The modalities of light, color, and sound all arranged just so to communicate a message or create an experience. But there is a difference, claims this graphic from teachbytes, between using technology and integrating it deeply into the learning experiences of students. This is, of course, what models like the SAMR model are based on-that idea of mere use to automate, to redefining what's possible."

"The Franklin Academy High School in North Carolina initiated a 1:1 iPad program at the beginning of the 2010-2011 school year. Over the course of the following two years, the pilot was expanded to include all grades (9-12) in the high school. In April, 2014, the Academy released results of a study that sheds light on the impact that the use of the iPad has had on academics, and the development of the vital non-cognitive skills that their program is founded upon."

"When you find something cool that Adam Bellow likes, the chances are high that you will like it too! For me, this truism manifested itself recently in the form of a tweet Adam sent declaring his love for the recently released Tickle app for iOS. Tickle is a free coding app for the iPad that lets students create programs to control Spheros, Air Parrot Drones, and even Philips Hue Lights. Intrigued? I thought you might be! Here's what you need to know. Tickle started as a Kickstarter campaign, and uses block coding elements that were inspired by the likes of Scratch, Tynker, Blockly and Hopscotch. The simple coding interface is accessible enough to be used with early elementary students, but it has enough potential to challenge middle school students and beyond. Programs can be written and tested in the app without connecting to any other devices, but connecting to a Sphero or an Air Parrot Mini Drone is where the real fun begins."

"Lightbot is an addictively fun puzzle game that is the perfect platform for introducing programming concepts to your students. Using sequential commands, students create simple programs to direct their Lightbot (Girlbot or Boybot) through a 3-dimensional grid on their mission to 'light up' the world of tiles. With no explicit coding required and a fun and tactile interface, Lightbot is an excellent starting point to get your class on the path to programming."

"Now that the excitement of the Hour of Code has passed, and you still vividly remember your students' eyes light up while completing their coding challenges, you may be wondering how to keep that excitement going in your classroom. The only thing is, you don't teach computer science -- and you have no idea how to teach coding. The great news is, that's fine!"

"This coming summer I am getting the opportunity to teach a maker education camp for three weeks, half-days at a local elementary school.  The descriptions for the three one-week workshops are: Circuit Crafts: Build glowing, sensing, and interactive circuit projects; make electronic stickers, circuit sketchbooks, circuit cards, and sewn circuits. Sweet Robotics: Make simple robotics using Popsicle sticks and LED lights; play with and build some robots with Makey Makey, littleBits, Hummingbird, and Modular Robotics. Toy Hacking: Take apart simple electronic toys to see how they work & then put them back together again creating a new toy; make an operation game."

"Why use video games in the classroom as teaching tools? Let's be clear-we've come a long way from Asteroids and Space Invaders. The modern capabilities and designs of computer games provide endless opportunities for meaningful learning experiences. Used appropriately and effectively, technology can make a difference in students' lives and affect their attitude toward school in a positive way. So ditch the old stereotypes and misconceptions you may have about the ill effects of video games and reframe your perception in the light of using them to enhance learning. Gamification of classrooms isn't a new idea. The components of the gaming world lend themselves well to self-directed learning, because gaming taps into the variables which inherently motivate the desire for progress. In fact, using a set of constructs called game mechanics one could conceivably create situations that enhance learning by incorporating the kinds of motivating strategies found in today's best video games. Whether you choose to "gamify" your physical classroom all the way or only use video games as an occasional learning enhancement, making learning fun will positively reinforce students' experiences of school. Here are some suggestions on how to successfully use video games in the classroom."

"News that Microsoft is buying MinecraftEdu and beefing up the classroom version of the insanely popular game got us thinking about all the great ways educators use Minecraft to teach everything from math and social studies to team building and cell biology. "As an educational tool, Minecraft is a wonderful platform for learning," says Pam Simon who runs an after-school program called Fidgets2Widgets that has incorporated Minecraft since 2013. "You have to have mathematical understanding to build sound structures. Architecture and design features allow for innovation. Redstone in the game acts as the electrical circuitry system, so you can run minecarts, light torches, and create pressure plates." Read these six articles to get ideas for using Minecraft to engage students in deep leaning in your classroom, school or program."

"In this tutorial we will be combining a basic circuit with paper craft exploring how a circuit works while applying this to a physical design idea.  This is a hands-on problem solving activity as learners need to think about how the circuit is connected so that the flower that lights up ensuring there are no short circuits."

"If you're like most people, you think of drones in a military or even in a police context. It's no wonder why, really, when they most often appear in news reports on the heels of a drone strike we've carried out in another country,  when discussing drone monitoring or policing programs, or in exploring the many safety hazards they bring with them. This makes it easy to view drones in a negative or at least a violent light. But drones, just like all technology, are themselves neither good nor evil. Rather, it's all in how we use them. Given the right context and guidance, drones can make a creative tool for learning, creativity, and experimentation. There are, of course, many potential liabilities in using drones within an educational sphere, most pressing of which have to do with safety and liability. Another real issue even for hobbyists is the expense, which may require a grant or a campaign on GoFundMe or DonorsChoose.org to solve. Still, drones are the future and the future is now. For a moment, let's suspend some disbelief and any larger concerns, so we can look at the creative teaching potential inherent in this technology."

"The discovery of gravitational waves that was announced a few weeks ago substantiated Albert Einstein's oracular ideas about black holes.The importance of such a discovery in scientists' eyes is that it will help shed light on many enigmatic issues about the genesis of the universe. Your students might have heard about this scientific breakthrough and though they might probably not fully understand the full concept of gravitational waves and Einstein's general relativity but their desire to learn more about space and its workings might be revived. Students can actually learn a great deal about space using iPad apps. There is a wide variety of excellent apps created specifically to help students and even young learners explore the workings of space and understand some of its topics. Below is a collection of some examples of NASA apps  students can use to learn more about space:"

"Fiber optics! Fiber optics! Admittedly, I'm a little obsessed with fiber optics, and for good reason. They are a durable, versatile, and relatively simple way to add beautiful lighting effects to anything you're making. Just look at some of the gorgeous projects you can create with them! There was a time when I mostly used el wire in my illuminated designs, but ever since the amazing Natalina and Technorainbows introduced me to the wonders of fiber optics in their various forms, I've been on a bit of a fiber optic bender. So come fall down this rabbit hole with me, and turn yourself into a mesmerizing bioluminescent sea creature... you know you want to."

"It is getting to be that time of year here in Maine when we can't walk across a carpet then touch a light switch without getting a bit of a shock. What causes that happen? And why does it seem to happen more often in the winter months than in the summer months? The answers to those questions and more are found in the TED-Ed lesson The Science of Static Electricity."

"A driving strategy that serves students-whether pursuing self-knowledge or academic content-is questioning. Questioning is useful as an assessment strategy, catalyst for inquiry, or "getting unstuck" tool. It can drive entire unit of instruction as an essential question. In other words, questions transcend content, floating somewhere between the students and their context. Questions are more important than the answers they seem designed to elicit. The answer is residual-requires the student to package their content to please the question-maker, which moves the center of gravity from the student's belly to the educator's marking pen. In that light, I was interested when I found the visual above. It's okay to say "I don't know." Teach your students how to develop questions (because) it helps conquer their own confusion. Rebeca Zuniga was inspired to create the above visual by the wonderful Heather Wolpert-Gawron (from the equally wonderful edutopia, and also her own site, tweenteacher). The whole graphic is wonderful, but it's that I don't know that really resonated with me. Traditionally, this phrase is seen as a hole rather than a hill. I don't know means I'm missing information that I'm supposed to have."

"If you're like most people, you think of drones in a military or even in a police context. It's no wonder why, really, when they most often appear in news reports on the heels of a drone strike we've carried out in another country,  when discussing drone monitoring or policing programs, or in exploring the many safety hazards they bring with them. This makes it easy to view drones in a negative or at least a violent light. But drones, just like all technology, are themselves neither good nor evil. Rather, it's all in how we use them. Given the right context and guidance, drones can make a creative tool for learning, creativity, and experimentation. There are, of course, many potential liabilities in using drones within an educational sphere, most pressing of which have to do with safety and liability. Another real issue even for hobbyists is the expense, which may require a grant or a campaign on GoFundMe or DonorsChoose.org to solve. Still, drones are the future and the future is now. For a moment, let's suspend some disbelief and any larger concerns, so we can look at the creative teaching potential inherent in this technology."

"This past week our learning space transformation was revealed and The Launch Pad is open for business.  My fingers are still stinging from the glue gun burns and fingernails stained with enamel spray paint, but the ribbon was cut and the door was open for our teachers and students.  As kids were coming in, seeing the room for the first time after months of anticipation, I got to watch their eyes light up, again and again.  And that?  It's what learning should be.   Shouldn't we blow kids minds sometimes (or as Kevin Jarrett said… often?), and then give them opportunities to blow our minds, too?  Of course we should."

"This week gets a little more challenging! The challenge is to create widgets that will handle the brush size, making it both thicker and thinner as needed! We will be covering a couple of new concepts this week (If-Statements, "Listeners & Light switches") as well as reviewing variables again."

"I will be sharing about our Pinball Machine Mayhem that is happening in our Technology and Innovation class. We started with a brainstorming session on the process this week. We began with the Project Idea phase: This is where we explained that they would be making pinball machines. How they made them or what they used is completely up to them during this process. Next we moved into the Prototype Design students during this phase was given a blank piece of paper about the size of the actual pinball machines that they will make. The goal here was for them to start to apply the different pieces of their pinball machines to this document. What was incredible about this whole process was before we released the students to go work we asked them what subjects do they think will be covered throughout this process. Right away hands went up and students started sharing. Math - Area, Perimeter, Height, Length, Pythagorean Theorem to find the slope of their machine. ELA - Research, Creating a story for their pinball machine Social Studies - History of the pinball machine, Research on different pinball machines Science - Volume, Friction, Gravity, Art - Theme of their board, Creative look of their pinball machine. Tech Ed - Lights, sensors, buzzers Makerspace - Students talked about using little bits, robotic kits, makey makey board, along with legos and Knex's"