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"One thing that always interested me about History was the growing realisation that even the supposedly simplest and most straightforward facts are quite often shrouded in a mystifying narrative; a trail of sources that leaves the true story open to a range of opposing interpretations and outcomes. Whilst we may think we have answered all the questions and arrived at the correct conclusions about the sequences of events, a differing theory or discovery of a contradictory source can suddenly debunk the accepted. That is what makes learning History so fascinating; the mysteries. The definite mysteries that we may never solve or we can see evolving into an answer as decades move forward, or the certain chronicle that suddenly finds itself turning into a cryptic puzzle as later evidence emerges. Within us all is a person who wants to know the answers when challenged by the unknown, and to embrace the exhilaration of cracking a Sherlockian case. Instead of a just a 'Whodunnit?', exploring history mysteries involves a wider spectrum of narratives and therefore can offer a far more rich tapestry of skills including analysis, questioning and the evaluation of places, events and persons. Follow me down the rabbit's hole into the wonderland of history mysteries."

"Our 3rd grade classrooms love to mystery Skype.  Have you tried it? In a mystery Skype, 2 classrooms connect with one another but don't say where they are from.  The two organizers of course know, but the students don't.  By asking a series of yes or no questions, students try to narrow down to a country, state, city, and even school if there is time.  Mystery Skypes work best when students are prepared in advance and every student has a job to do.  There are many example of jobs to assign in a mystery Skype such as greeter, researcher, questioner, scribe, and photographer."

"Mystery Science is a relatively new service that is offering nice science lessons for elementary school students. The lessons on Mystery Science feature a series of videos and images arranged around a science subject. After each video there are questions that students can answer on their own or work through with your guidance. The lessons don't stop there. After the initial videos and questions you can extend the lessons by leading students in hands-on activities that reinforce the concepts shown in the videos. Mystery Science provides materials lists and detailed directions for each hands-on activity"

"Are you already familiar with Mystery Number Skype? If you are, read on. If you're not, my six and seven year olds would be happy to tell you how to play it. I love the way Mystery Number Skype helps students to think about numbers. Every time we play, the game changes and a new strategy and order of questions emerges that can help the children narrow down the options for the number the other class is thinking of. It's such a great tool for me to see their thinking and for them to try various number strategies."

"Do you use Mystery Skype in your classroom? If so, you are probably familiar with how it works, but if you are looking for some extra tips, or want to get some other teachers involved, you should check out the new Mystery Skype Curriculum that Microsoft has put together for teachers who are connecting their classrooms all around the world. The curriculum is free for anyone who wants to use it, but you do need a Microsoft account in order to sign in and view the latest version. Microsoft accounts are free, and you may already have one if you have a Hotmail or Outlook.com email address. For some reason Office 365 for School accounts do not seem to be supported, but this may have changed by the time you read this blog post."

"The Problem The US has fallen behind the world in terms of science and math. One big reason is that many of our classrooms don't have the money for books and equipment. 1 share this stat with friends The Solution Imagine this: There's been a mysterious blackout at school the night of the homecoming dance, and you'll need to use your science skills to fix it! Play and share this text-message game to solve the mystery of the blackout and save the dance. (PLUS you could win a $5,000 scholarship IRL!)"

"I've heard a lot about Mystery Skype calls over the past few years. If you're not familiar with this term, the basic idea is that two classrooms chat via Skype and try to guess where the other class is from by answering questions with only yes or no answers. I've always thought this would be lots of fun, but it has always seemed out of the reach of my six year olds, many of whom are still struggling to realize that they live in both a city AND a province. Answering questions about our location would be out of the question. "

"It's time for my students to make a guess: Where is the class they are meeting for the first time via Skype? "Is it North Carolina?" There is silence in the classroom as my fifth graders crane their necks toward the screen. "No!" shouts a voice from the computer speakers, and my students scramble back together. A buzz of "What could it be then?" envelops them. This is what it sounds like when 23 students engage in what is known as Mystery Skype. The idea is incredibly simple, but how it unfolds can be downright magical. When else can you see students using all of their background knowledge, tech savvy and common sense just to figure out where someone is in the world?"

Geoboard app - http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/geoboard-by-math-learning/id519896952?mt=8

The BBC has produced a fun and interactive course, which is available for free. It draws you into a web of intrigue dealing with real natives and you can't help but learn Spanish! You'll find yourself at the heart of a fast-paced mystery drama, which starts off in Madrid.

Are you getting any strange notification on Windows 8.1? Well, this is really mysterious. Opening Windows Update from Control Panel and finding new update "KB2866518" as per the following screenshot:

"Only 25% of eighth graders score proficient in geography on standardized tests. Some teachers are using a video chat game to engage kids in the world around them."