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" "At the end of the day, what qualifies people to be called 'leaders' is their capacity to influence others to change their behavior in order to achieve important results." Joseph Grenny In a time where the only constant in education is change, people involved with education need to become "change agents" more now than ever. You can understand pedagogy inside out, but if you are unable to define "why" someone should do something different in their practice, all of that knowledge can be ultimately wasted. People will take a "known good" over an "unknown better" in most cases; your role is to help make the unknown visible and show why it is better for kids."

"Making embeds informal learning into formal learning experiences. Kids develop more complex vocabulary, apply critical math skills, and explore a range of knowledge as they make. As the principal shared a digital image portfolio with me, his stories jumped out of joyful learning narrative. The story of a young child who decided he didn't want to make the Statue of Liberty (his choice) but to be the Statue of Liberty complete with cereal box sandals, cardboard body and scepter, and a post it note tablet. The idea that making can be captured in movies and art work and iPad interviews. A project in which two fifth graders created a design for a maker patio outside classrooms, presented it to a landscaper, and now will get to see their project actually built with PTO support."

"Times have never been better for computer science workers. Jobs in computing are growing at twice the national rate of other types of jobs. By 2020, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, there will be 1 million more computer science-related jobs than graduating students qualified to fill them. If any company has a vested interest in cultivating a strong talent pool of computer scientists, it's Google. So the search giant set out to learn why students in the US aren't being prepared to bridge the talent deficit. In a big survey conducted with Gallup and released today, Google found a range of dysfunctional reasons more K-12 students aren't learning computer science skills. Perhaps the most surprising: schools don't think the demand from parents and students is there. Google and Gallup spent a year and a half surveying thousands of students, parents, teachers, principals, and superintendents across the US. And it's not that parents don't want computer science for their kids. A full nine in ten parents surveyed viewed computer science education as a good use of school resources. It's the gap between actual and perceived demand that appears to be the problem."

"Gamification is the process by which teachers use video game design principals in learning environments. The effects are increased student engagement, class wide enjoyment of academic lessons, and high levels of buy-in, even from your most reluctant learners. When gamifying a classroom there are several things you'll need to consider. The first is content, as in what are you trying to teach? Like any lesson or unit plan, you'll need to figure out how to organize and assess new material. You'll also need to consider your students. What kind of learners are they? What information do they already know? You'll need to have a basic understanding of your students' technology skills and how much support each student may need. You'll want to consider putting together a training manual or some other support system for students who may need extra help. You'll also need to consider your own comfort level with technology and the actual technology available to you. These considerations may lead you to designing your own game, or relying one a template or already built quest."

"When students tell me about some of the things that they deal with, even at such an early age, I think about how strong they are to show up to school every single day, and how privileged we are to be able to serve them.  Not only should we have high expectations for our students, but we need to also have high beliefs in what they can accomplish.  Innovation does not happen in schools if a child does not feel loved.  This can't be the job of some teachers; it has to be all.  I will take a teacher that loves and believes in their students over one that is extremely innovative yet lacks the aforementioned qualities."

"Adafruit has delivered another in their fantastic educational electronics series called Circuit Playground. They're working their way through the alphabet, explaining the principals of electronics in ways that even children can understand. These videos are a great way to introduce kids to the basics (and safety information) involved with electrical components."

Intended for use in which the practice of composition is combined with the study of literature, it gives in brief space the principal requirements of plain English style and concentrates attention on the rules of usage and principles of composition most commonly violated.

""These kids are so good on technology, and then we get them to power down for school," said school principal Al Lowrie. "We don't make them power down.""