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"Many will point fingers at educators and call for changes in the education system - and ask why changes that have been implemented over the last several years have not been effective. But research done at the Manitoba Centre for Health Policy (MCHP) suggests that we have to go beyond educators if we want to find out why Manitoba scores are at the bottom. It is beyond the education system where changes will have to happen if we want to improve the performance of Manitoba students, and ultimately, improve the life chances of our children and youth."

"iPhone 5 Called ""Gadget off the Year"" by Time Magazine, Apple's iPhone 5 (from $199 on 2-year AT&T, Sprint or Verizon plan) is a serious piece of hardware. Along with its powerful new A6 chip, iPhone 5 works on 4G/Long Term Evolution (LTE) networks for wireless speeds that rivals your home's broadband connection. iPhone 5 also has improved cameras: an eight-megapixel iSight rear-facing camera (3264 x 2448 pixels) and front-facing FaceTime camera with 720p HD quality for video calling. Samsung Galaxy S III The Samsung Galaxy S III (from $149 on 2-year plan with AT&T, Sprint, T-Mobile, U.S. Cellular, Verizon) is a true smartphone in every sense of the word -- and we're not even referring to its stunning 4.8-inch display, fast LTE speeds or versatile Android operating system. the Galaxy S III's front-facing camera knows when you're looking at the screen, so it'll give you the bright display you seek, but if your eyes look away it'll dim itself to preserve its battery. It also knows when you want to talk: if you're messaging with someone and want to call them, simply lift the smartphone to your ear and it'll dial for you. Nokia Lumia 920 As the flagship Windows Phone 8 device, Nokia's Lumia 920 (from $99.99 on 2-year AT&T plan), has a lot to offer, including a colorful Start screen with ""live tiles""; familiar Microsoft apps like Outlook, Word, Excel, PowerPoint and OneNote; and a People hub that aggregates all your contacts into one page per person (so you don't need to close, say Outlook, to see what that friend is up to on Facebook or Twitter). HTC Droid DNA and HTC One X+ A pair of Android-powered HTC devices are also worthy of ""best of 2012"" nods: the HTC Droid DNA ($149.99 on 2-year Verizon Wireless plan) and HTC One X+ ($199.99 on 2-year AT&T plan). Protected by Corning's uber-durable Gorilla Glass 2 technology, the Droid DNA's 5-inch 1080p HD screen was built for video, games, ebooks and web browsing. Integrated Beats Audio - an

"It seems that everyone wants to learn how to write computer code these days. No matter what field or profession a person works in, the ability to make a computer (or mobile device) dance to your tune seems part of the basic skill set. The question is, how does a person take the first step toward gaining those skills? Once upon a time the path was simple: BASIC was where most people started before moving into Fortran or COBOL (depending on whether they were heading toward scientific or business programming). Now, though, there are far more options and rather less clarity. If you want to know how to get started (or give advice to others), then you have a number of options. Choosing the best means looking at what you ultimately want to do, what you like to do now, and how you best learn new skills."

"Want to record a phone call from a Mac? Maybe you're interviewing someone for a podcast and want to record both sides of the conversation? Maybe you want to record a phone call for quality and training purposes? Whatever the purpose, there are several different ways to record a phone call from a Mac, but we're going to go with perhaps the easiest method that is decidedly low tech but highly reliable. "

"In this initial weekly roundup of what's happening on Product Genius, I wanted to share some of the trending educational web tools we've been using. Since the site is so new, a lot of these tools are based on what I've been seeing and personally using. As time goes on, we'll get a more crowdsourced version of this list. For now, I wanted to share some of the tools I've been seeing and wanting others to know about."

"On the surface, it seems like big companies and startups are worlds apart. Startups want to disrupt existing markets. Established organizations want to squelch the competition. But in reality, the big company-startup marriage may actually be the secret to sustainable innovation. It used to be that a key success factor of business partnerships was cultural fit. If the companies were too different, thing would fall apart. In today's world where disruptive innovation is the name of the game, you want to embrace differences of all kinds - in organizational culture, technology, business models, and anything else that will advance the business."

"Regardless of whether you think every infant needs an iPad, I think we can all agree that technology has changed education for the better. Today's learners now enjoy easier, more efficient access to information; opportunities for extended and mobile learning; the ability to give and receive immediate feedback; and greater motivation to learn and engage. We now have programs and platforms that can transform learners into globally active citizens, opening up countless avenues for communication and impact. Thousands of educational apps have been designed to enhance interest and participation. Course management systems and learning analytics have streamlined the education process and allowed for quality online delivery. But if we had to pick the top ten, most influential ways technology has transformed education, what would the list look like? The following things have been identified by educational researchers and teachers alike as the most powerful uses of technology for learning. Take a look. 1. Critical Thinking In Meaningful Learning With Technology, David H. Jonassen and his co-authors argue that students do not learn from teachers or from technologies. Rather, students learn from thinking-thinking about what they are doing or what they did, thinking about what they believe, thinking about what others have done and believe, thinking about the thinking processes they use-just thinking and reasoning. Thinking mediates learning. Learning results from thinking. So what kinds of thinking are fostered when learning with technologies? Analogical If you distill cognitive psychology into a single principle, it would be to use analogies to convey and understand new ideas. That is, understanding a new idea is best accomplished by comparing and contrasting it to an idea that is already understood. In an analogy, the properties or attributes of one idea (the analogue) are mapped or transferred to another (the source or target). Single analogies are also known as sy

"Physics and Mathematics are extremely important subjects. Actually, that's a bit of an understatement. Physics and Mathematics allow us to peer out into the cosmos and understand the inner workings of the universe. At once, they show us our  insignificance and our remarkable potential; they give us a hint of the vast possibilities that exist-of what we could (and may) one day accomplish. They allow us to see the world and to see ourselves anew. That begins to scratch the surface of these subjects. No one can deny their importance; however, it is also a fact that many people don't know where to begin investigating these topics…what books to study, what themes to begin with. On top of this, many feel intimidated by physics and math-they seem to think that they are things which only the sharpest individuals are able to understand. But nothing could be farther from the truth. True, these subject areas might not be the easiest that you will ever happen across, but they are far from impossible. So. If you want to be a physicist or a mathematician,  or if you just want to understand the subjects, here's where to start. Huge thanks to the wonderful Moinak Banerjee for his work on this."

"The Most Wanted 2010 Holiday Gadgets: Consumer Electronics Association Study "

"While on Twitter today this graphic caught my eye. It was posted by @MindShiftKQED linking to an article on their blog. The sketch itself was created by Sylvia Duckworth and it definitely caught my attention. I began to think about the kinds of professional learning we offer at Powerful Learning Practice and asked myself if we were honoring what teachers want. We are a small, intimate group here at PLP, but we have huge hearts and an extensive amount of combined experience both in and out of the classroom when it comes to pedagogy and future ready learning. No one works harder and thinks deeper than the folks at PLP who selflessly plan and offer the coaching, professional learning, e-courses, and products available on our site. I am grateful for each instructor's drive and ability to be self directed, conscientious and caring toward our clients. But I was curious if what we do we aligns with this list of teacher wants? And more importantly, should we? Was anything important missing from this list?"

"Hadi Partovi wants more kids to learn to code. Bill Gates, Mark Zuckerber, Sheryl Sandberg, and many others agree. Partovi wants all high schools to offer computer science classes because it represents a growing cluster of job skills but one that few schools teach-particularly schools attended by low income and minority kids."

"Remind 101 is a free service that allows you to send text messages to groups of students and or parents from your computer, your iPhone, or your Android phone. The benefit of using Remind 101 over Google Voice, which I used to use for this purpose, to text students and parents is that your phone number is not revealed and your students' cell phone numbers are not revealed to you. Students and parents have to opt-in if they want to be added to your text messaging list. Students and parents have to enter a confirmation code to state that they do want to be contacted by you through the service."

"So you want to be able to capture your ideas wherever you are and put them into creative mind maps . There are actually several iPad apps to allow you to do just that. We have included in the list below the major mind mapping apps you might want to try on your iPad. These apps are all highly rated and work pretty good. Educational Technology and Mobile Learning has also curated another list of mind mapping tools that work on the desktop versions. Click here to check it out."

"This afternoon I received an email in which I was asked how to write a hyperlink without relying on the visual editor in Word, Google Docs, or your favorite blogging platform. While the visual editing tools will usually do everything you need, at some point you might want to beyond the limitations of WYSIWYG. It's then that you'll want know how to write and edit HTML yourself. These are three resources that you can use to teach yourself HTML. The instructions in these resources are clear enough that middle school students can use them on their own too. "

"So You Think You Want to Tweet Chat: From Lurker to Chatter 101"

"Here are some interesting graphics I came across in fortheteachersblog and thought you might want to have a look. These visual graphics feature a set of useful pieces of advice to parents on how to help their kids with Math, reading and spelling. I invite you to explore them and share with your colleagues. The graphics are also available for free download in PDF format in case you want to print them out and use them in your class. Make sure you give credit to the owner of these visuals anytime you use them."

""I want to integrate making in my classroom. Where do I start?" I see this question pop up all the time in the feeds, listservs, and blogs that I read, and I am continually surprised by the great resources that appear in response. Check out the #makered hashtag on Twitter, join the K-12 Fab Labs and Makerspaces Google Group, read about what Maker Ed and Agency By Design are up to - and then speak up! These groups are filled with generous, welcoming educators who want to share with and help each other. Ask for support fine-tuning a project prompt, invite other schools to participate in competitions and local events, or ask for advice on safe and effective ways to use a new tool. Model the collaborative, open-ended, growth-oriented approach to learning that you'd like to see in your students, and enter the conversation. "

Ask any teacher what they wish they had more of and the most common answer is likely to be time. Schools are inherently busy places and there is always much to be done. We all want to meet the needs of every student, add value to their education with breadth and depth, ensure adequate coverage of the curriculum and include aspects of play and discovery. Add up all that is done in a day over and above face-to-face teaching and you can only wonder at how we manage to fit it all into the time we have. So is there an answer to this dilemma, is there a secret method to finding more time in our schedules to achieve all that we want to?

"Who knew one simple Medium post could ignite such a profound movement? #iLookLikeAnEngineer is now being spread globally in over 50 countries. It has received over 170,000 tweets and has been covered in countless news outlets. In addition to an influx of incredibly heart-warming and positive support, many people have reached out to me for advice on how I learned how to code without a formal college education. I wanted the opportunity to give everyone an illustrative and thoughtful response, so that is now my intention with this Medium post. I am most familiar with web application development, so that is what this will be covering."