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"Though purists may say nothing can replace a printed topographic map, the world's leading smartphone apps are getting close. Technology is making it easier than ever to get lost in an adventure without getting lost in the wilderness, and there are plenty of ways to enjoy these benefits even when you've ventured to signal-free zones. Try one of these useful off-line apps on your next remote mountain trek, camping trip, or deep-sea dive to stay connected and informed without an internet connection."

"I never really learned how to cook. Other than scrambling eggs over a fire during Boy Scout camping trips, it just wasn't something I was taught growing up. Because I never learned how to make a healthy meal for myself, I ended up eating a lot more fast food than I should've-especially when I was young and early in my career. That's not the case for Robert Hand's students. Robert works at Mount Vernon High School, which is about an hour north of Seattle. He teaches family and consumer science-what we would've called "home economics" when I was in school. In other words, he helps his students learn how to take care of themselves after high school, including how to make a nutritious and delicious homemade meal. In just six years of teaching, Robert has had such a big impact on his school that he was named the 2019 Teacher of the Year for my home state of Washington. He was nice enough to visit my office earlier this year and show me how to make one of his students' favorite dishes: barbecue chicken."

"In Canada, no cases of the coronavirus have yet emerged in elementary or secondary schools, but the virus has still impacted the lives of students. A number of school boards have cancelled class trips abroad and it's certainly possible that a student, or teacher, could become infected at some point during this crisis. Virus transmission in the school setting "is amplified" because young students are generally less compliant with effective hand hygiene and respiratory etiquette practices, according to the Public Health Agency of Canada's website. Also, they socialize with each other in a way that is likely to increase transmission, the website said.  CBC News looks at the ramifications if  a case of the novel coronavirus materializes in a school.  "

"'It's boring', he groaned, glancing sideways beseechingly. 'Do I have to do it. Why do I need to learn to code?'  Part of the year 6 gifted and talented class, this student punched keys, slammed the laptop shut, yanked it open again. His friend offered to help. Desolately he turned back to the coding lessons. I continue cruising the classroom stepping over lanky legs harbouring slumped socks, dodging flailing arms. 'It's really easy - it's like the games we play. I'm trying to trip it up,' one boy tells me as I watch the psychedelic coloured spinning shape. It reminds me of a rapidly created multi-coloured elastic band ball. He's chuckling with glee. I am amazed. This was my first coding class as a supply teacher."

"Doodle 4 Google Canada is a national contest inviting students from Kindergarten to Grade 12 to redesign the logo for the Google.ca homepage for a day.* As Canada blows out a whole lot of candles for its 150th birthday this year, what better way to celebrate than by asking students to imagine what the next 150 years will look like? Google believes our youth hold the key to a bright future for Canada, and can't wait to see what their optimism, creativity and imagination give rise to. The winning doodle will be featured on the Google Canada homepage for 24 hours. The winning student will also receive a $10,000 university scholarship, a Google Chromebook, and a $10,000 technology award for their current school along with a trip to the final event on June 13, 2017."

"You've read about the Holocaust in books and seen it portrayed in films. But it's another experience entirely to walk through the site of a concentration camp in virtual reality, led by a survivor who lost his entire family there. The Last Goodbye, which debuts at the Tribeca Film Festival this week, follows Pinchas Gutter as he makes his final pilgrimage to Majdanek, a former Nazi Germany extermination camp in occupied Poland. It's a trip he's made many times, but this one has a specific purpose: to capture his account of the Holocaust so we never forget that it actually happened. "

"Chances are if you're a teacher that you've considered how to continue to engage students once classes are over for the day, or even the year. Above all, beyond our daily interactions with learners, we'll always want their curiosity to continue and this is a commendable mindset. So what about a selection of apps that can make this happen? Thankfully, Dave Saltmarsh from eSchool News has recently come up with a terrific list of apps that are designed to engage students during "rainy days, road trips or any time in between." Check out the links he has compiled below."

"Last year, I went to Nigeria with Mark Zuckerberg. One of the first stops on the trip was a program that taught kids how to code. When Zuckerberg entered the room, many of the young students had a hard time pulling themselves away from their projects, even to gawk at one of the world's richest men. Facebook's founder instead came to them. "What are you making?" he'd ask. And they would proudly say, "A game!" or whatever it was, and begin showing him how it works. Zuckerberg would stop them. "Show me the code!" he'd say, because, well, he's Zuckerberg, and any occasion is ripe for an ad hoc programming review. And that's when the kid would click on a menu that toggled from the game to the LEGO-like building blocks of a Scratch program. This happened several times, with kids ranging from ages 8 to 15. In every instance, the maker of a cool project could clearly show this famous visitor how he or she had methodically implemented a plan. Zuckerberg was clearly impressed. As we headed up the stairs to leave the building, Zuckerberg called out to me, "Scratch! Have you heard of this?" Oh, yes I had. Though it was not yet released to the world when Zuckerberg left Harvard to launch his quirky little startup, Scratch (developed just a couple of T stops away) is quickly becoming the world's most popular computer language for kids taking their first bite of programming. Last year, over 120 million people came to its site, and many of them built and shared projects, at a rate of a million a month. "It's the gateway drug for Silicon Valley engineering," says Fred Wilson of Union Square Ventures, a Scratch supporter."

I recently spent ten days in Cambodia accompanying students on a service trip where they developed their cultural understanding and spent time improving the environment of a local school. While laying pavers and digging a ditch I had a chance to reflect on the difficulties facing education in a country like this. I came away with questions, wondering and few answers. 

"Let's just put it out there. December is exhausting for teachers. The days are shorter. The weather grows colder and (at least here in Oregon) wetter. Students are anxious - whether it's a buzzing excitement for vacation or a sense of dread that some kids feel in homes that are unsafe during the holidays. And teachers are tired. They're tired of redirecting behaviors and tired of the mid-year pressure of the test and simply tired of the sheer energy it takes to be a teacher. It's no wonder that so many teachers begin playing holiday movies around this time of year. They want to create a sense of fun and escape and enjoyment, and a motion picture promises exactly that. Maybe that's okay. Maybe that's a part of creating a culture of joy. So, please don't read this post as a slam on teachers showing movies before the break. If this is a part of a positive classroom culture, keep doing it. This isn't meant to be a guilt trip or a rant or a "you're doing this wrong" post. This is meant to be a yes/and post offering other options."

A Different Way to Read Great Literature! This site is an experiment in teaching great literature in a very different way. Using Google Earth, students discover where in the world the greatest road trip stories of all time took place... and so much more!