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"Skype is an instructional tool that provides boundlessopportunities for authentic teaching and learning.  It allows us to explore beyond the four walls of our classrooms.  As elementary teachers, we sometimes battle to hold our students' short attention spans. Integrating Skype lessons brings the curriculum to life in ways never before possible.  You know that special moment when you announce a class activity, and it's greeted with claps, screams, and cheers?  That's Skype.  It brings pure joy, wonder, and intrigue to your students. Here's a list of ten ways to utilize it in the elementary setting, followed by some logistical tips for success."

I love using this commercial as a parting thought after my workshops. Sometimes there is so much info covered I'm sure that this might be the way some people react the next time they see me! ;-)

"Are you buying iPads or other technology because you see an urgent need for change in our aging, "business as usual" system of education? If not, then it's simply not enough ... and our kids are screaming for more."

"Confession: I've been following the BreakoutEdu craze on social media.  Full Disclosure: I didn't get it. I was skeptical. Locks?  Huh? So I stuck with it.  I looked at challenges, I watched videos, and I joined the BreakoutEdu group on Facebook.  I saw someone write about using disappearing ink to reveal a clue.  That was it.  Something clicked and I became a huge fan. Teamwork? Critical thinking? Problem solving? Creativity?  Win, all the way around.  Give kids a chance to be a spy, or Inspector Gadget, or the problem solver you know they can be! And then I read about Michael Medvinsky using the game with first graders to unlock an extra recess.  And I may have hugged my BreakoutEdu kit, right there at my desk.   Once again, I had underestimated the power of a tool to be integrated at the youngest levels of learners… of course! Imagination, play, and collaboration?  That screams elementary!"

"Joe's teacher, Ms. Watkins, is feeling frustrated. For the fourth time today, the second grader has flatly refused to do as she asks … and it's not even lunchtime yet. The last request, that Joe put away the book he is reading and take out his math assignment, escalated until the he was on the floor screaming and kicking. Ms. Watkins has had meeting after meeting with Joe's parents, but all they can say is that Joe argues like this at home, too. Things seem to be at an impasse until the school counselor suggests Joe might be one of many students with ODD-oppositional defiant disorder."

"While watching the Oscars tonight, I was intrigued to see a promotion that Walmart was running to celebrate the craft of film making. I don't normally pay a lot of attention to  commercials, but these ads managed to catch my attention, and I think that they have some interesting potential for teachers who are looking to add some creativity to video projects in their classroom. Walmart contacted four award-winning directors, Seth Rogan and Evan Goldberg (Superbad, Neighbors), Antoine Fuqua (Southpaw, The Magnificent Seven), and Marc Forster (Monster's Ball, The Kite Runner). They sent each of them a receipt with the same six items and challenged them to make a one minute movie that was centered around the six items on the receipt. You can learn more here, but take a look at the videos below to see what these talented directors came up with… The three stories are very different, but they would be, wouldn't they? I mean, if you challenged your students to do something like this, the results you got would likely be very different too. Wouldn't they?  Because although the parameters are the same for every student, this is still a very open-ended activity that just screams for a creative outcome."

"The annual K12 Horizon Report regularly identifies and profiles six key trends, six significant challenges, and six developments in educational technology likely to impact teaching and learning. This year, especially, you will find many opportunities for connections to our own mission and practice. But while this year's K12 report practically screams school libraries to me, it does so rather quietly in PDF. This chart from page 9 presents, in summary, the 18 topics selected by the report's expert panel."

"Over a rushed lunch period the other day, my colleague took a much-needed breather as she described a pandemic-era staff meeting. "Everyone had masks on," she said, "but their eyes were screaming. I honestly don't know how many people are going to quit before the year is up." As the conversation continued, we discussed the increasing prevalence not just of teacher retention issues, but also of less visible gratitude from those in upper-level positions. Though administrators, department heads and team leaders are doubtless thankful for all teachers do, it doesn't hurt to be a little clearer about how much we wish to support and appreciate one another through these difficult times when everyone is beyond overwhelmed. For school leaders who already have so much on their plates, here are four simple ways to increase an overall sense of wellbeing for teachers without becoming burdened with yet another "one more thing" to do."

Ex-Penn St. associate Sandusky in prison for abuse http://alturl.com/qtoji BELLEFONTE, Pa. - Jerry Sandusky was charged Saturday of intimately battling 10 young boys over 15 decades, suggestions that smashed the Satisfied Area picture of Penn Condition baseball and led to the shooting of Area of Popularity instructor Joe Paterno. Sandusky, a 68-year-old outdated protecting instructor who was once Paterno's heir obvious, was in prison for 45 of 48 number. Sandusky revealed little sentiment as the judgment was study. The assess requested him to be taken to the city prison to welcome sentencing in about three months. He encounters the likelihood of life in prison.The assess suspended Sandusky's help and requested him locked up. In trial, Sandusky half-waved toward household as the cops led him away. Outside, he gently stepped to a sheriff's car with his arms cuffed before side of him. As he was placed in the car, someone screamed at him to "rot in terrible." Others thrown insults and he shaken his go no in reaction. The accuser known in trial documents as Sufferer 6 split down in rips upon listening to the decisions in the trial docket. bsequently, a district lawyer accepted him and said, "Did I ever lie to you?"