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"In our new conception for Gold Standard PBL, we have created two separate but related components of the model: Essential Project Design Elements, and Project Based Teaching Practices. We call them the Essential Project Design Elements because that's precisely what they are - not the "elements of PBL" the instructional methodology, which is a much broader topic than the design of a project itself. The Project Based Teaching Practices expand on what it means to implement PBL well, beyond designing the project. You can read more about our new model in another post, but as you can see in the diagram below, while some of the familiar "8 Essential Elements" remain, others are gone. Let's explain where they went and why."

"To establish how we can maximize the impact of the iPad as a learning tool, we first have to establish what kind of impact we'd hope to have. In this case, we'll settle on understanding (as troublesome a term as that might be): Students being able to think critically about chosen standards or curriculum, and apply understanding in diverse, academic and non-academic environments. With that as the goal, here are some ideas."

" As someone who primarily taught math and science when I was a classroom teacher, I associated robots, robotics curriculum, and robot apps as things that were only used in those subjects. However, this past year my school received a robot grant that provided ten robots for us from the company Sphero. Sphero emphasizes the power of play in education and has a variety of lessons that are aligned to the Common Core and Next Generation Science Standards on their website. They also have a number of STEM challenges in the form pre-designed engineering projects designed for collaborative group work with students and are helpful for teachers using the robots in their classes."

"Don't try to put making in a box. Don't make it a kit, standardize it, and water it down.  Don't develop a canned-for-sale-program out of it.   Don't make it a packet to sell on website. Don't reduce it to a moment in a day, a day in a week, or a kit from the shelves. Don't make it into a program that a school has to pay billions to be a part of. Don't reduce making to that "thing" that happens in a certain room or a certain space or once a month.  Please just don't reserve making for gadgety electronics or robotics.  Don't just call it STEAM. Making is connecting, interpreting, and building a relationship with the world. Let's make school more about making. The mathematics and patterns in sewing, the joy in colorful art, the visual beauty in cooking, painting, the science of mixing colors, the music of sculpture in the wind, the flow in writing from the imagination, the collaboration in developing something together, the spark in sharing cardboard creations via Skype, the motivation in sharing with the world, the engagement in raw discovery, the fun in tinkering with a pile of junk, the passion in an idea grown from a seed, and the excitement in untouched exploration."

"appoLearning Collections enable teachers to create, annotate and share lists of hand picked digital resources, including YouTube videos, iOS and Android apps, and websites, around specific subjects, topics or lessons. Collection creators can easily: select from thousands of expert-vetted, standards-aligned resources from appoLearning search and/or add their own resources (including anything that is URL-addressable including videos, apps, websites, assessments, Dropbox links, Google Drive links, Evernote links) and upload their own files (Photos, Lesson Plans, Videos, PowerPoints, PDFs, etc.).  "

"One of the basic tenets and strengths of the maker movement is its emphasis on constructive and collaborative learning through hands-on, trial-and-error experimentation. While a live mentor demonstrating and leading activities is the gold standard, a growing number of titles offer inspiration, support, and clarification for a wide variety of maker topics. The following list of recommended books was crowdsourced by librarians running maker spaces and/or offering maker programming in their libraries or schools."

"I was honored to serve on the Best Apps for Teaching and Learning Committee this year. Over the course of the year we tested hundreds of contenders and selected a list of 25 apps "best of the best" for the Committee's third list. Our committee vetted apps in five categories connected to AASL's learning standards and in support of our instructional roles relating to inquiry-based teaching and learning.  The Committee recognized free and cost effective apps that foster the qualities of innovation, creativity, active participation, and collaboration and are user friendly to encourage a community of learners to explore and discover. Here are those fabulous apps with tips for their use in your schools and libraries: Books Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM) Organization & Management Social Sciences Content Creation"

"One of the basic tenets and strengths of the maker movement is its emphasis on constructive and collaborative learning through hands-on, trial-and-error experimentation. While a live mentor demonstrating and leading activities is the gold standard, a growing number of titles offer inspiration, support, and clarification for a wide variety of maker topics. The following list of recommended books was crowdsourced by librarians running maker spaces and/or offering maker programming in their libraries or schools."

"As someone who primarily taught math and science when I was a classroom teacher, I associated robots, robotics curriculum, and robot apps as things that were only used in those subjects. However, this past year my school received a robot grant that provided ten robots for us from the company Sphero. Sphero emphasizes the power of play in education and has a variety of lessons that are aligned to the Common Core and Next Generation Science Standards on their website. They also have a number of STEM challenges  in the form pre-designed engineering projects designed for collaborative group work with students and are helpful for teachers using the robots in their classes. Sphero is a robotic ball that can pair with an iPad, tablet, iPhone, or smartphone through Bluetooth, and getting started is relatively easy. Once you are ready to use Sphero, you take it off the charger stand and give it a "tap-tap" to "wake it up." When the robot wakes up, it starts to flash three different colors until it pairs with the device you are using it with via Bluetooth. Once it turns blue, then you know that it is paired and ready to go. There are at least 14 different education related apps that are available with Sphero: some of them use augmented reality technology, some of them teach the basics of coding, while others allow students to draw on a tablet to manipulate the color and movement of the robot. During the last week of June, I did a presentation at the ISTE conference with many other educators from all over the country who also received the robot grant. What amazed me was that people who taught subjects like language arts and social studies found incredible ways to integrate robotics into their curriculum to create some really engaging lessons for their students."

"Last year, I wrote this post on 21 Things Every 21st-Century Teacher should do and it became an instant hit (with the help of Sean Junkin's Infographic).   As tech tools come and go, I felt the need to update and refresh it for this school year.  However, I ran into a problem.  When I got done with my updated list (removing a couple of ideas, adding several more) I was up to 36 different ideas.  As luck would have it there are 36 weeks in a standard school calendar so this actually works out wonderfully.  While these aren't necessarily listed in the order you should do them, they are listed from least difficult (#1 - Selfies) to the most difficult (#36 - Creating an in-class incubator).   The last few challenges are especially geared toward real-world problem solving and will hopefully make a dent in those "Tech Problem-solving" stats in the future"

"Are schools taking advantage of the breadth of career opportunities for young people? Is there a fixed mindset in the structure and organisation of school as if nothing has changed? Who is making the choices for technology? The educators, the techies or the persuasive sales-people?  The key is being open and willing to embrace the opportunities of a changing world. Creativity flourishes within the context of constraints. There are conditions that must be maintained, including: academic rigour, standards, student safety and the joy of learning. So rather than see the world either/or, how do we embrace the both/and to encourage an entrepreneurial mindset? To meet community expectations AND create the context for entrepreneurs to flourish."

"Innovation is a trait that I desperately want to instill in my students, and many teachers I talk to seem to share that goal. In the current climate of high stakes testing, state standards, and prescribed learning outcomes, it can be incredibly difficult to foster an atmosphere of innovation and creativity that inspires students. But rest assured, it is possible. Here, I outline eight basic principles for the "Innovative Classroom," around which I designed a middle school course called Physical Computing. Some of the projects and tools are specific to that course, but I think the fundamental ideas could be applied to almost any course at any level."

" think we would all agree that a classroom with iPads looks and functions very differently than a classroom without iPads. While many administrators and support staff complete standard walk-throughs, some of them struggle with what to look for beyond the basics when it comes to evaluating a classroom infused with iPads. Recently, our district started offering iLEAP academies, which blend classroom site visits and in-house professional development for districts all over my state. Many of the attendees are administrators, support staff, and teachers that have limited familiarity with 1:1 classrooms but are seeking best practices to take back to their own schools and campuses as they implement a 1:1 iPad initiative or pilot. When I began searching for ways to facilitate this type of classroom visit, I happened on an excellent list of observation tips for a traditional classroom but found nothing specifically tailored to iPads. Thus, I felt there was need to create a "What to Look For" list that would embody the behind-the-scenes and not-always-obvious instructional pieces to look for when visiting a classroom with iPads. These tips are very granular and specific to iPads, but could easily be adapted for other 1:1 settings."

"Maker education (often referred to as "Maker Ed") is a new school of educational thought that focuses on delivering constructivist, project-based learning curriculum and instructional units to students. Maker education spaces can be as large as full high school workshops with high-tech tools, or as small and low-tech as one corner of an elementary classroom. A makerspace isn't just about the tools and equipment, but the sort of learning experience the space provides to students who are making projects. Maker Ed places a premium on the balance between exploration and execution. Small projects lend themselves to indefinite tinkering and fiddling, while larger projects need complex, coordinated planning. Often, small projects can organically grow into larger and larger projects. This deliberate process strengthens and enriches a learner's executive functioning skills. Additionally, communication and collaboration are two of Maker Ed's fundamental values. Making allows learners to practice their social communication skills in a variety of groupings, whether affinity-based, role-specific or teacher-assigned. It's important for all different groups to be present in student learning spaces so that all students can practice their social skills in multiple settings. Lastly, Making presents unique opportunities to generate flow learning and allow the teacher to leverage high-interest projects and activities and turn them into learning objectives within a curriculum. Maker education provides space for real-life collaboration, integration across multiple disciplines, and iteration-the opportunity to fail, rework a project and find success. The benefits of a cooperative learning environment are well documented in a makerspace. If you are wondering how to connect these projects back to the Common Core Standards, check out PBL Through a Maker's Lens and Woodshop Cowboy."

"I am very excited to announce the launch of my new makerspace radio show on the BAM Radio Network!  BAM Radio is the largest education radio network in the world offering programming from the nation's top education organizations and thought leaders and reaching a wide audience of people passionately committed to quality education.  The show is called WMKR, Movers & Makers.  Embarking on this journey with me, I am lucky enough to have a fabulous co-host in educator, Travis Lape.   Each episode of our show, will focus upon expanding upon the chapters of my makerspace book, allowing for readers/listeners to be immersed further in each topic. Show topics will include: The Maker Movement Planning Your Makerspace Setting Up Your Makerspace Creating a Maker Culture in Your School Makerspaces and the Standards The 'Expert' Maker Makerspaces and the School Library Makerspace as a Unique Learning Environment Showcasing Student Creations Makerspaces as Catalysts for Future Change School Leaders Role in the Maker Movement/Makerspaces As of today, our first show has launched.  The topic is the Maker Movement and the show is called Helping Students Learn with the Head, the Heart and the Hand.  Our first guest is the gracious, Sylvia Martinez."

Today was Dr. Davey's first Maker Day, and an amazing one at that! Here's a look at our day. All of the Grade 1-Grade 7 students participated in today's Maker Day. Students attended two of seven different sessions based on their interests: Minecraft/Coding, Collaborative Art, Beautiful Junk, Positive Graffiti, Making Music, Lego/Blocks, and Egg Drop. Staff members paired up together to facilitate the learning at each of the sessions, and the students directed most of the learning based on their interests. I (Aviva) worked with an amazing Grade 4 student that led the Minecraft/Coding session, and even worked with small groups of students on coding the Arduino. It was really quite incredible! After two sessions, students reflected on the day and on their learning, and then extended the "Maker Learning" back in the classroom. Today was all about the Learning Skills, problem solving, creativity and critical thinking. As you can hear in our video reflection, there were also links to our classroom learning including Science (Structures) and Math (shapes, figures, and non-standard measurement). There was also a lot of Arts learning today (with creating music and creating works of art including the elements of design). What an amazing day!"

"Each time I see students using our makerspace tools I see possibilities.  I see the problem solving that goes into each attempt and each failure.  I see the curiosity and energy that students bring with them.  I begin to make connections to the more structured curriculum that students use in their classrooms.  So far, I have been the main person to offer ideas to our teachers on how our makerspace supports the Common Core and the Georgia Performance Standards.  However, I don't want to be the only one.  Since every lesson that happens in the library is a collaboration between me, the classroom teachers, and other support teachers, I want their wheels to be turning about our makerspace as well."

All content from Rice University's open education initiative Connexions is now available for download as e-books. Connexions rolled out the availability of more than 1,000 titles this week in the popular EPUB file format. EPUB is the standard used by most smart phones and e-readers worldwide. The files can be accessed with enTourage's eDGe, Apple's iPad and iPhone and with Google's Android, among others.