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"I have found through countless speaking engagements and professional development workshops, what we may think is obvious or even "tired" … is sometimes exactly what someone has been looking for. On that same note, many times all it takes is a sample or a nibble of a great idea to spark creative juices."

"The province is drafting plans to make coding a part of the curriculum in every grade. Education Minister Karen Casey told a room of more than 600 students at the Big Data Productivity Congress in Halifax on Wednesday that learning coding will help prepare them for future careers. "We know that coding promotes problem-solving, teamwork, critical thinking, innovation and creativity," Casey said. "And we also know that those skills are directly related to industries like computer programming, manufacturing, communications and more. And those are the industries that you will be going to." The Education Department will finalize its plans over the course of the 2015-16 school year, and will introduce formal coding instruction in some grades in September."

Show What You Know with Web and Mobile Apps Recorded Wednesday, November 14, 2012 3:30 - 4:30 pm (EST)

"I love the idea of making, inventing and tinkering. Just watch kids who are immersed in the activities and you can see the engagement. But is the learning authentic and relevant? I presented three sessions at the Free Maker Movement event at One Work Place on Wednesday, September 30, 2015 with some amazing educators who presented hands-on activities. The event will took place at our Oakland Center for Active Learning . I decided I needed to spend some time researching where the Maker Movement was happening and find examples of authentic learning. This gave me the opportunity to talk to several of my friends and share how they have transformed learning spaces to Makerspaces. Everyone I talked to made a point that it is about creativity not consumption. Yet when I went to different Maker events, I saw activities that an adult set up, purchased a kit or provided directions for activities. They were all fun, but I was having trouble seeing the connections to real learning or any ownership from kids."

"Everyone in Canada should be able to access high-speed Internet, the country's telecom regulator has declared, setting bold targets for speeds and establishing a new fund that will invest up to $750-million over five years to expand broadband services to remote regions. The Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission ruled Wednesday that broadband Internet with download speeds of at least 50 megabits per second and upload speeds of at least 10 Mbps will now be considered a "basic telecom service." It also said all customers, even in rural areas where plans often have low caps on data usage, should have access to unlimited data options."

"On the morning of Wednesday, February 22, 2017, my cell phone rang at 5:30 a.m. The caller ID told me that the call was from our school district. Even before I swiped to answer, the pop-up notification on my phone told me the nature of the call. School had been canceled for the day. That's not such an odd occurrence in February in southwest Missouri. Snow and ice have canceled school as late in the year as early May. However, we'd been enjoying a stretch of record high temperatures, and while I wasn't really awake enough for my rational mind to rule that out, I knew something was off. There has been a lot of construction to and around a few of the school buildings in our district. In December 2016, I happened to be privy to a conversation regarding low water pressure at one of the schools due to a water main issue at a construction site near that particular school. So, non-functioning utilities was certainly a possibility for canceling school that zipped through my not-yet-awake mind. I was not prepared for what the recorded voice of our district superintendent told me. School had been canceled because of the threat of violence."

"Last Wednesday I did my second class of my new iPad Rock Star Boot Camp with my students in fourth and fifth grade and I wanted to give you a brief update. "

"Our publishing schedule for the best apps of the year will be: Sunday, December 25: 20 best iPad productivity apps Monday, December 26: 15 best iPad education and reference apps Tuesday, December 27: 10 best iPad healthcare apps Wednesday, December 28: 20 best iPad business apps Thursday, December 29: 15 best iPad news apps Friday, December 30: 20 best iPad utility apps"

"Social media storytelling tool Storify finally untethered itself from the desktop on Wednesday with the launch of a free iPad app. Like the web-based version of Storify, which has been used by news organizations such as the New York Times and Al Jazeera, the app makes it easy to scroll through and assemble Tweets, YouTube videos, Facebook photos and Instagram photos in a social media timeline. Its drag-and-drop interface translates perfectly to the iPad."

"An iPad app released Wednesday makes it easy to combine a drawing on the tablet with an audio memory - such as your child's description of his or her artwork. "

"Human beings learn in lots of different ways. They can learn by reading a book or by sitting in a classroom or by taking an online class. Some ways of learning are more tedious and stressful than others, though. When I was an engineering student in college, I sat in lectures for nine hours straight on Wednesdays, with no lunch break. After those nine hours of lectures, I'd study several hours to prepare for the next day. Is it any wonder I ditched engineering as my college major? There's got to be a more humane way of learning. Learning by making is that more humane way."

"The maker movement was front and center at the 2015 ISTE conference-and that's a good thing for me. After following maker initiatives with great interest for some time now, I have the opportunity to design a maker space this year for 6th-12th grade students at my school, Worcester (MA) Academy. A search of this year's program at ISTE, held June 28 to July 1 in Philadelphia, using the term "constructivist learning/maker movement" resulted in 67 related sessions. The ISTE Librarians Network hosted a maker station at their Digital Age Playground and convened a panel on library maker spaces, featuring elementary and middle school librarians, a school administrator, and the coordinator of a public library maker initiative. Vendors and exhibitors demonstrated tools, lessons, and ideas for maker spaces. Meanwhile, a four-hour Maker Playground Wednesday morning drew a huge crowd of attendees. One of my goals at the conference was to gather ideas and tips to help me create my library's maker space. Here are some highlights of what I discovered at ISTE."

"I will be teaching a free online master class via EducationCloset.com on WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 13TH at 7 EST (which is 6pm for us in the Chicago area). I will be using only one free app: Sketchbook Express to quickly demonstrate how to make these 8 art lessons. Download the app and create along with me. Don't worry, it will be recorded so you can go back at your own pace and try them all again. Sign up for the class here: http://educationcloset.com/master-class/"

"The maker movement was front and center at the 2015 ISTE conference-and that's a good thing for me. After following maker initiatives with great interest for some time now, I have the opportunity to design a maker space this year for 6th-12th grade students at my school, Worcester (MA) Academy. A search of this year's program at ISTE, held June 28 to July 1 in Philadelphia, using the term "constructivist learning/maker movement" resulted in 67 related sessions. The ISTE Librarians Network hosted a maker station at their Digital Age Playground and convened a panel on library maker spaces, featuring elementary and middle school librarians, a school administrator, and the coordinator of a public library maker initiative. Vendors and exhibitors demonstrated tools, lessons, and ideas for maker spaces. Meanwhile, a four-hour Maker Playground Wednesday morning drew a huge crowd of attendees. One of my goals at the conference was to gather ideas and tips to help me create my library's maker space. Here are some highlights of what I discovered at ISTE."

"Publisher Time Inc. announced on Wednesday that all 21 of its magazines will be available on Apple's iPad this year, including currently unavailable titles like Entertainment Weekly and InStyle. In