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Is there a place beyond the physical world where we may go as avatars? Where do we get together with our friends and family, go to concerts together, pursue hobbies, work, shop...? Many are looking forward to such a "metaverse". We simply explain.

Is there a place beyond the physical world where we may go as avatars? Where do we get together with our friends and family, go to concerts together, pursue hobbies, work, shop...? Many are looking forward to such a "metaverse". We simply explain.

"FaceTime is Apple's video chat service. It allows anyone with a recent iPhone, iPod touch, iPad, or Mac to make free calls to any other Apple user over Wi-Fi or cellular connection. On the iPhone, FaceTime is bundled into the Phone app. On the iPod touch, iPad, and Mac, FaceTime is a separate app. On all devices, FaceTime can connect to any Apple-registered iPhone phone number or email address. That makes it perfect for keeping in touch with family who lives far away, with the kids while traveling, with business partners at distant offices, or even with that special someone while shopping for the perfect gift."

"Before the advent of the uber-popular show Mythbusters or the push for more STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) in schools, parents and their kids were doing at-home science experiments. Now, the trend continues to blossom, although many of the experiments have remained somewhat the same…and always awesomely exciting! If you're a parent and you want to do something with your kid that isn't related to cleaning the toilets or forging through homework, check out these 20 great science projects that you can complete in the confines of your humble abode. Most of them use around-the-home items that you probably have on hand, although some will require a little bit of shopping ahead of time. To help you decide which are best for your children's needs, the 20 have been divided into projects for younger students and projects for older ones."

"Have you noticed how bizarre social media and the news cycle has been lately? In the age of digital media, journalism is changing significantly. Widely available storytelling and distribution tools, misinformation spreading like wildfire, social media filter bubbles-headlines and stories are increasingly vying for attention, plastered across a smorgasbord of platforms. Can media get any stranger? Without a doubt. The videos we watch and podcasts we listen to may themselves soon be seamlessly manipulated, distorting the truth in new ways. Photoshop was just the beginning. Advanced media creation tools today are cheaper than ever, and innovative tech is accelerating the bleeding edge, further blurring the line between fantasy and reality. One of the latest developments was introduced last week at Adobe Max conference in San Diego. Engineered to make audio editing easier, Adobe's Project VoCo allows users to edit voices by rearranging words or saying phrases never actually recorded-all via typing. The software requires a minimum 20 minutes of recorded talking to do its magic. Then you can make an edited or brand new snippet of speech. In a text box below a visualization of the audio, you can copy/paste or type whatever you want. In a playful demo, Adobe presenter Zeyu Jin jokes around with comedian Jordan Peele by using the software to make him speak falsehoods. In short, this is the audio version of Photoshop-the ability to create something from nothing. A new generation of "sound-shopping," à la photoshopping, has been born."

"Work based skills are changing as more and more jobs are displaced by digital technologies.  Software, apps and online technology such as Uber, Airbnb, Legal Zoom and TurboTax to name a few has already had an impact on many professions.  Online shopping has eliminated tens of thousands of retail store positions. And with self-driving vehicles on the way, how many taxi, trucking, express delivery-and even aviation jobs-will go the way of the telephone switchboard operator? If history is a reliable guide, the technologies that are eliminating one set of jobs will create others: jobs that require twenty-first century-mainly digital-skills.  The explosion in industrial robotics, for example, is eliminating thousands of assembly line jobs but it is creating a demand for people who can design, manufacture, program and maintain those machines.  The questions are -  what will the net impact on jobs be and how well are our schools preparing young people for those new, higher skilled jobs as we head toward the fourth industrial revolution?"

"Why is it that sometimes we only see the extremes in our work? Picture your strongest lessons, activities, and projects juxtaposed against ones that just didn't work, and that's how it's been so far with our Digital Shop capstone projects. Some experiences make me want to high-five the entire class all at once. Others deserve an epic facepalm. As of this writing, we still have a month of school left. How will the remaining capstones go? What have we learned in the process? Can we "fail up" and finish strong, sending kids into summer vacation with school-year memories that will last forever? As I explained in my April post, I wanted the capstone projects to: Be genuine design thinking experiences. Allow kids to showcase the skills and dispositions they worked to acquire all year. Be based on and help people from the community and the world. The results have been mixed, as this post will illustrate."

"If I had a dollar for each and every time someone has asked me to suggest a great PDF to Word converter, I'd probably be able to shop at Whole Foods every day for a month. It's one of the conversion types topping the formatting pile. My love of organic fruit and veg aside, here are some of the best free PDF to Word converters around."

"For our 50th issue of Make: (April/May 2016), we decided to talk to a number of people who have contributed to the magazine, shown at Maker Faire, written for the website, and who have basically been a huge part of the success of Maker Media, to share some of what they've been up to recently. We asked them about current projects they're working on, some of their favorite tips (on everything from practical shop workings to a maker pro's bottom line), and any inspiring memories they've had during their time in the maker movement. You can see the full feature piece in the magazine. We got responses from 28 people. As you can imagine, we received way more material than we could fit in the magazine. Since many of the tips were too good not to share, we decided to share the rest of them here on the website. Enjoy."

"Care. Think. Design. Act. These words are the first thing that people see when entering Digital Shop, our middle school makerspace. This mantra anchors the threshold experience, a visitor's first visual impression of the space. But what do the words really mean, individually and collectively? Why those words, in that order? And how do they resonate with our learners and with my colleagues in regard to their impressions of the program?"

"Recently, I was given the opportunity to go one-to-one in my first grade classroom with iPads. To say that my students and I were excited to do this would be a bit of an understatement. It has long been a dream of mine to go one-to-one and for the students it is, as they say, like kids in a candy shop. With Great Tools Comes Great Responsibility"

"There is nothing in the world quite like a good book. Reading, whether curled up by the fire, secretly holding a torch under the duvet, or simply drifting through life with your nose firmly wedged between the pages, is one of the most wonderful things in life. As a veritable devourer of books since childhood, I can't help feeling protective of the wonders of musty old pages and tiny, mysterious local book shops, so it is no insignificant thing for me to write a blog extolling the virtues of those half-wonderful, half-devastating recent inventions… paperless books."

"TUAW readers of long standing, this post is for your friends and family who are asking you about iOS 7. Feel free to share it with them in person, on your social networks, or randomly in coffee shops and libraries. For more info, scroll to the bottom of the post. Breathe in, breathe out. Namaste! Chances are, you're here because someone you know suggested you look us up regarding iOS 7, the new operating system for the iPhone and iPad. Thanks for reading; we're here to help. Most importantly, don't panic. We're going to run down some of the most commonly asked questions and essential tips for iOS 7, with a minimum of jargon and handwaving."

"Walk into a school, airport, shopping mall, or even a church and the image is always the same, teens and tweens have their heads down, ear buds on, and a mobile device in their hand. This generation is commonly referred to as Generation Z and they are coming of age with a new set of rules, expectations, and mannerisms. "

"Quietly and almost covertly, Apple's iPad has become a common tool in every realm of professional design. Fashion designers sketch on it, designers collect and curate ideas using it, digital artists paint with it in stunning realism, and architects even prepare 3D models before going to production all from the 9.7″ screen. The device is a near ubiquitous sight inside studios, design shops, and most noticeably at trade shows, an ideal compromise when the pocketability of the smartphone is too little and a laptop is just too large. For a demographic regularly relying upon composing, showing, and sharing projects, the iPad is Goldilocks perfect. Here are several of our favorite iPad apps for creatives with content creation and collaboration in mind."

"I cringe when people ask me, "Are you handy?" Partly because I don't consider myself to be the best with tools, but also because it is asking me to judge whether or not I'm capable of fixing, making, or crafting something. Here's the thing, I didn't know how to put new shower tiles in and patch up my existing dry wall with cement board when we had a leak last year…but I had a friend help get me started, I watched a few DIY Youtube videos, looked at some articles online, and now I know how to do that (although not too well). The same thing happens in high schools all the time. The "handy" kids go to shop class, the "artsy" kids go to art class, the "business" kids go to business classes, the "techy" kids go to web design classes and so on… It's got to stop. We can't continue labeling kids as one thing or another thing. What we know about the future workforce is that creativity, making, and innovating will be at the center of most jobs…and that will require students to be all of the above: 'Experts predict that 50 per cent of occupations today will no longer exist by 2025 as people will take up more creative professions,' said Martin Chen, Chief Operating Officer of Genesis."

"The Maker Movement is a new trend based on old school traditions in which the philosophy of doing, building, and creating prevails over just simply buying. Instead of going to the toy store, people are learning how to design and 3D print their own toys. Instead of shopping for furniture, people are going to local community workshops like TechShop and building their own custom chairs and tables. The Maker Mentality creates a powerful paradigm shift by eliminating the separation between consumer and producer. By looking at the benefits and upsides of the Maker Movement and analyzing why it has reemerged, we can use it productively in the classroom by intertwining these new techniques with the classic methods such as lecture, reading, and so on."

"It has me thinking about my own experience with creative work. When I first got into drawing, I copied the styles of other artists. When I first got into poetry, I copied the style of my favorite poet. When I first wrote a novel, it was essentially fan fiction -- albeit at a time when no one knew that term. I have noticed similar trends among students. They often go through a phase of copying and mash-ups that occur before creating something truly original. I see this trend in art class, wood shop, in writer's workshops, and in STEM labs. So, this has me thinking about stages that I notice as students move from consumers of media to creators of media. I admit that this is not very scientific. There might be a better model out there that explains this phenomenon. However, here are seven stages I see students go through as they shift from consuming to creating: "

"These courses represented a lifeline and a glimmer of hope in what has become a day fraught with relentless preparation for college and careers.  However, the powers that be found that they consumed precious time from the school day that could have been spent on more important curricular endeavors.  In the end, students, especially those most at-risk based on learning needs, have immensely suffered.  They desperately need an outlet during the long school day.  If not, their motivation to learn in all their other classes will wane resulting in either a lack of effort or desire to even attend school.  The bottom line is that many schools have deprived students of real-world learning experiences that are needed now more than ever.  This might seem like a bleak scenario that I describe above and it should.  Our students deserve activities that will not only prepare them for vital trade careers, but also allow them to openly explore the solving of problems that are relevant to them.  During my tenure as New Milford High School Principal our district cut wood and metal shop.  Over the years I have also seen recess time dwindle for my own kids and others who attend the New York City Public School System.  All hope is not lost though for any school looking to create a better learning environment that works for kids.  The solution for all schools comes in the form of makerspaces. "