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"The ThingLink Summer Teacher Challenge is a free, self-paced, online professional development opportunity designed to help teachers explore the powerful possibilities of using ThingLink for teaching and learning. This 5 week challenge invites teachers to have fun learning to use interactive images, slideshow channels and interactive video to power up your pedagogy and redefine learning in the classroom. Throughout the challenge, we will use the ThingLink flexible suite of interactive tools for schools to create media rich, customized resources for use in your classroom. The weekly challenge activities are designed to be beneficial to educators who are new to ThingLink and also to experienced users. We will explore all the flexible features of ThingLink and discover the tremendous potential for using this amazing tool. Here are 3 reasons to take the ThingLink Summer Teacher Challenge."

"So, then, what does it really take to be a modern teacher? This term has been cropping up since the general consensus seems to be that the term '21st century teacher' is outdated and a bit awkward. Some make the same argument for the 'modern teacher' mind you but that's about semantics. You want to know what it takes to be a progressive and always-learning teacher who knows how to get students to think, contemplate, and explore. Well, here goes!"

"Road to Grammar is a free resource featuring quizzes, games, and lessons for English language learners. Visitors to Road to Grammar will find grammar quizzes. Most of the quizzes provide students with instant feedback. Part of the feedback that students receive on the quizzes they take includes explanations why an answer is correct or incorrect. Before taking the quizzes visitors can work through a series of practice activities."

"While Apple has traditionally positioned the iPad as a media-consumption device, the tablet has gained a reputation as a very capable and powerful music-creation tool. GarageBand is a great place to start, but taking the next step can be difficult when faced with an overwhelming number of creative options. Don't worry: we'll point you toward the very best block-rockin' apps and accessories. Before we get started, be aware that the processors in older iPads simply don't pack enough punch to take on many of the top audio apps. You'll want nothing less than an original iPad mini, and the closer you can get to a current iPad Air 2, the better. Also, look for applications that support Inter-App Audio (IAA), Apple's protocol for inter-application operability. Now, let's rock!"

"School and district leaders that are thinking about personalizing education tell us one of their top concerns is how to train, support, and develop teachers effectively to teach in ways that may feel new and unfamiliar.  As former educators we agree that this is crucial, and are happy that they recognize the challenge and are ready to take it on. First and foremost, in order to support the teachers we are asking to teach in blended learning environments we have to understand the implications on teaching practice.  Over the past three years, we've worked with thousands of teachers tackling the question of how to personalize learning in their classrooms and we've gathered a set skills into 5 domains of blended learning teaching that we believe are new skills to master for veteran and novice teachers alike. This five-domain rubric was created, not for evaluation purposes (there are enough evaluation rubrics out there!), but for teachers to be able to self-assess, set goals and progress.  In the same way, we want blended learning to allow for students to have a better understanding of their own strengths and weaknesses, we want teachers to be able to identify blended specific skills and better understand their own strengths and areas for growth.  We wanted to give teachers, their coaches, and their leaders, a sense of what to strive for, and help them plot a path to get there through aligned professional development.  We also found that the teachers we work with cherish the opportunity to self-reflect, identify the skills they have and the skills they need, and take the time to set goals around where they want to shift their practice.  Many of our schools infuse these concepts into community of practices discussions for continuous learning."

"As a science teacher, this is the best project I do all year.  I have yet to come across a project where students are more engaged.  They want to come after school to work on it, they ask to take the project home to work over the weekend, students are shocked when the class period has come to an end, and they all want to skip their next class to continue working. The purpose of this project is to reinforce Newton's Laws of Motion through roller coaster physics.  The objective is to have a marble take the GREATEST amount of time to get from the top of the first hill to where the coaster ends.  This instructable has also been submitted into the paper contest.  I know the competition is fierce so please vote for me!"

"A Dynamic QR code allows you to place a short URL into the QR code and then EDIT/CHANGE it to something different at a later time! For instance, if I had a big QR code hanging on my classroom wall that would take my students to a specific website all about the Water Cycle, I could keep the SAME QR code taped to my wall throughout the year and just change the URL that is linked to that code. So the next day when my students scan the QR code, it could take them to a different website. Save the earth people! Save your ink! Dynamic QR codes can change your world :P"

"Dr. Seuss is gold-whimsical and visually interesting traipses through surreal worlds, and always full of life advice. And life advice is learning advice, and learning advice-well, that's why we're all here, yes? There are themes below that apply directly to the responsibilities of a teacher. Let's face it-teaching is an emotional roller coaster, and a microcosm for life itself, full of tedium and wonder, disappointment and triumph, down days and days to celebrate. Take #11 for example-you have brains in your head and feet on your choose, you can steer yourself any direction you choose-can be both encouragement to elementary students, or high school students taking themselves-and life-too seriously"

"Over the past decade, maker-centered classrooms and making-centered learning have become increasingly popular - young people (and teachers and parents alike) have greater opportunities to build, hack, redesign, and tinker with a variety of materials, in school- or community-based spaces, design thinking and engineering programs, and Maker Faires. Maker-centered learning not only offers opportunities to learn about new tools and technologies, it requires certain thinking skills - such as navigating uncertainty, adaptability, collaborative thinking, risk-taking, and multiple-perspective taking - that are critical to engaging and thriving in a complex world. Drawing on research from Project Zero's Agency by Design project, this course offers classroom teachers, maker educators, administrators, and parents an opportunity to explore firsthand maker-centered learning practices and the opportunities they afford. Discover what kinds of tools might best support this kind of teaching and learning, and examine the benefits (to both young people and facilitators) of engaging in this work. Through hands-on, collaborative activities, consider how maker-centered experiences might fit into your own contexts."

"The Anti-Bullying Alliance have announced that the theme for Anti-Bullying Week 2015 will be, 'Make a Noise about bullying'.  Taking place from the 16th - 20th November 2015, Anti-Bullying Week is a chance for schools and the wider community to take action against bullying. "

"Studies have shown that typing notes requires shallower levels of cognitive processing than handwriting, as subjects often tend to type verbatim what they hear without really engaging with its substance to the level that is required for greater understanding and better recollection. In contrast, handwriting appears to be more cognitively demanding. According to these studies,  subjects who use handwriting are generally forced to rephrase what hear into their own words, thus creating "more effective memory cues by recreating the context (e.g., thought processes, emotions, conclusions) as well as content (e.g., individual facts) from the original learning session". The evidence against typing your notes is pretty compelling. And then there were tablets Tablets introduce another level of complexity to this problem, since they can be used both to type and handwrite notes. So what are we to do? Are we to avoid using the tablets and stick to pen and paper? If we do use tablets for note taking, are we to force students to handwrite notes on their tablets using a stylus? And are we to ban students from typing up notes on their tablets? After all, that is what the research appears to suggests."

"I often wonder if what we see as teaching at professional learning events would be acceptable in a high school classroom. If the purpose of professional development (Pro-D) is professional learning, then what is our evidence that learning does, in fact, occur? Are we using effective teaching practices in Pro-D? Although Pro-D is evolving, the "Sit'n'Git" way of learning seems to still be alive and well in many conferences and workshops throughout Canada and the U.S. In the past five years, I cannot tell you how many times I've sat in a large conference room for a number of hours with hundreds of other dedicated educators and not been provided with the opportunity to even talk to the person beside me. People are spending hundreds and thousands of dollars to attend these events to listen to a series of lengthy lectures without the opportunity to network and wrestle with the presented ideas. I'm not opposed to a keynote address to start off the day with some inspiring, thought-provoking ideas; however, if there is no opportunity to take these ideas and move deeper, many of the thoughts that are initiated in the keynote get lost as I move on to the next session or listen to the next presenter. It's no secret that in order for deeper learning to occur, we must DO something with a new concept; we must apply new learning to take it from an idea to implementation. Our current typical model of Pro-D makes deeper learning a challenge and often only leaves participants with a few ideas that are unfortunately left on the shelf with the many glossy white binders from workshops of years past. At some point we need to stand up and say that a high volume of "Sit'n'Git" style of Pro-D is no longer acceptable and is an insult to those who have spent money, time, and effort to attend. While doing this, we also need to rethink the conference model and professional learning so that it better aligns with what we want to see in classrooms."

"The iPad isn't famed for its photographic abilities. But in reality, it is one of the most useful devices a photographer could own. Everyone who takes pictures has a favored digital workflow. For some, it is entirely iPhone-based, using filters and careful framing in preparation for the latest Instagram triumph. For others, it is a laptop operation which takes hours of patient sorting, followed by adjustment and layering. But there is a third way. The iPad's processing power cannot compete with that of a computer, and its photographic credentials are less celebrated than those of a smartphone, and yet, you could argue that it combines the best of mobile and desktop."

In "Grown Up Digital" he uses the results to paint a portrait of this generation that is entertaining, optimistic and convincing. The problem, he suspects, is not the net generation but befuddled baby-boomers, who once sang along with Bob Dylan that "something is happening here, but you don't know what it is", yet now find that they are clueless about the revolutionary changes taking place among the young.

Podcasting is one of the most explosive technologies to hit the Internet. In this free, on-demand, three-part seminar Apple experts take you behind the scenes to see what it takes to perform a great-sounding podcast, produce a professional show, and promote a podcast to reach as many people as possible.

While taking this course you are not only a learner but also helping to build this course. Please take advantage of the collaborative opportunitiy of this wiki course. Each topic introduces you to new skills and gives you opportunites to explore pedagogical implications and classroom ideas

"Think You're Good At Multitasking? Take These Tests"

College students' lives can be changed - and even destroyed - in the time it takes to click a mouse. Take a look at these real-life examples of the harm digital technology can cause.

"Take a Peek into China's First 1:1 iPad Class by Silvia Tolisano "