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"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!"

"Over the next four or five posts in this series, I'm going to share with you details about each week's activity and the work involved, components needed, and more. It's my hope that there are others out there who might find this useful for creating their own camp, so I'll do my best to share where I've deviated or modified the project (and why). I'll also include some details about costs and where I ordered stuff as well as give you some ideas for what science-y topics work best for each project. (You don't have to order a book for each student, but a few extra copies might be useful for those who are interested in reading the story or investigating the various projects. The books are around $12 each.)"

Commentary and discussion of the Workspace product: where it's been, where it's going, and what you can do with it.

"In my last post I talked about the ability to transform what we do in the classroom using technology as opposed to simply substituting what we do as teachers in the classroom. Of course, students can use a word processor instead of writing out by hand, or they can use email to submit work or they can do their research using google or safari instead of a book. This is the first level where technology can play a part. However, technology can do more than just substitute and in order for it to impact more effectively we must look at how technology can augment, modify and redefine tasks in the classroom. The top level of the SAMR model calls for redesigning tasks where what can be achieved goes beyond traditional and takes tasks to a new level allowing students to go further in their studies and thought processes. The other key, in my opinion, is to remember that technology is not the star of the show but is there to enable teachers to move learning on beyond traditional expectations and help students construct knowledge in a way that they might not have been able to before."

"How can participant-led, one-day events open up new possibilities for professional learning? "I have heard more positive feedback on this day than any other professional development I have ever been a part of. I keep wondering why we didn't take our professional development in this direction a lot earlier. If we want classrooms where we are teaching students to be collaborative and more proactive in their learning, don't we have to set up a culture where we trust teachers to do the same?" -Patrick Larkin (2010), assistant superintendent Hundreds of quotes like this one have been circulating within the Twittersphere and Blogosphere since May 2010. What's all the buzz about? Edcamp."

"f you're already an avid follower of our Polar Bear, Beluga Sky (Northern Lights) or Underwater Beluga Whale Cams, then you've heard the name Churchill over and over again. But where exactly is it and what makes it such a hot spot for these amazing and threatened creatures? On the western side of Hudson Bay and just southwest of the Northwest Passage is a little coastal town in Canada. The Northwest Passage, of course, was long sought after as a short-cut trade route for countries near the Arctic Circle. It could potentially allow places like Russia to have a direct route to Canada, Greenland or New York City without going south. Famously impassable, the Northwest Passage has now become more accessible as climate change melts the Arctic ice. This could be good news for shippers but is bad news for bears. More on that later."

"The humble question is an indispensable tool: the spade that helps us dig for truth, or the flashlight that illuminates surrounding darkness. Questioning helps us learn, explore the unknown, and adapt to change. That makes it a most precious "app" today, in a world where everything is changing and so much is unknown. And yet, we don't seem to value questioning as much as we should. For the most part, in our workplaces as well as our classrooms, it is the answers we reward -- while the questions are barely tolerated. To change that is easier said than done. Working within an answers-based education system, and in a culture where questioning may be seen as a sign of weakness, teachers must go out of their way to create conditions conducive to inquiry. Here are some suggestions (based on input from question-friendly teachers, schools, programs, and organizations) on how to encourage more questioning in the classroom and hopefully, beyond it."

"Report cards are coming home, and a good number of parents are worried that their child seems to be showing signs of a learning disability. Their concern is well founded; learning disabilities including A.D.H.D. and dyslexia affect 20% of our students and less than half get the attention they need. That is a large community, in fact, the largest minority in the country. For these kids, often the day is longer, the challenge greater, the work harder. Unless we identify and assist them, the national cost in human potential and hard dollars will be tremendous. Kids with learning disabilities drop out ten times more frequently than others in high school, and are much more likely to use drugs and get involved in our jail system. The impact when this large a social group fails is felt by all of us. A learning problem is not an intelligence problem -- these children are smart, creative, and capable. They can and do learn; however, they think differently, access and process information in an atypical way. That is where opportunity lies, and where we are falling far short."

"This is possibly the question I hear most frequently - "Where do I start incorporating making in my classroom?" I wish there was a single, simple answer! But here are a couple of ideas of where to start. "

"I stood and embraced Jack when he walked into the coffee shop where I was meeting with a young leader. Jack's in his 80's and an elder statesman in the community where I live. He looked at the young man, then back at me, and asked, "Is he a good student?" Jack's question made me a little uncomfortable. I wasn't sure why. I said, "Yes, he's a great student," and left it at that. On the way home, about an hour later,  it hit me. Josh wasn't the student. I was."

"This is possibly the question I hear most frequently - "Where do I start incorporating making in my classroom?" I wish there was a single, simple answer! But here are a couple of ideas of where to start."

"Imagine a world where resources were limited to what was found in the classroom or the school closet known as the "Curriculum Materials Room." Picture a world where students wrote letters with pen and paper to communicate with other students and adults outside of the building. Due to postage costs, the teacher either sent the letters in bulk or paid for stamps out of his or her own pocket. Can you recall a time when student interests like skateboarding or video were never used as part of learning curriculum because the tools needed were either too expensive or not yet conceptualized? Do you remember a time when non-traditional learners struggled, and absenteeism meant a high likelihood of students doing poorly in school, and possibly having to retake the course?"

"Schools are busy places filled with competing agendas. At Printrbot Learn, we believe that learning should be hands on. We believe that kids need opportunities to become builders, designers and inventors and that classrooms and schools should be spaces where all learners can pursue their passions. Teachers and students need all kinds of tools to do this. They need paints and clay. They need microscopes and sand tables. They need electronics, robotics and 3D printers. Each of these tools give us opportunities to dream, to imagine, to investigate and to design. We need to build learning spaces which are worthy of the passion and potential of our kids. While skills and tests are part of the reality of education, we want to do all that we can to ensure that kids, their curiosity and passions stay at the forefront of what we do. This is where making needs to be an important part of classroom life."

"The modern classroom is a messy one! Schools are entering the world of technology at different speeds and levels; some institutions have invested in full 1:1 programs where the school selects a single device (such as iPads or Chromebooks); others have instituted Bring Your Own Devices (BYOD) initiatives, some specify a single device while others permit a broader selection; and most of us operate in some type of hybrid environment where students have access to a device at school, such as a tool issued to them, a computer lab, and/or laptop cart and/or a device they have access to at home or even bring with them. As technology becomes more ubiquitous both at home and in the classroom, we find ourselves in a more blended world. As educators in the 21st century, we must be prepared to tackle education in an environment that is cross-platform and multi-device."

"Being a student right now is difficult. There's that nagging feeling that you could always 'just Google it' and know the answer to something. It's an urge many students must fight on a day-to-day basis if they want to actually get some reliable answers. Sure, you could punch in a simple question or keyword and get millions of results. But what happens when you need to do a 'Google A Day' style level of research? An instance where you need to dive into dozens of actual books or figure out how to sort the good resources from the less-than-reliable sources? That's where figuring out some of the best Google tips comes in handy."

Handing Assessment Over to Students I have been giving a lot of thought about how to give my students more of a voice in their learning and in our classroom. Initially, I was focused on increasing their presence on our classroom blog through podcasts, videos, and blog posts. I even gave thought to asking my district IT to unblock Twitter so that we could create a class account (which I am still going to do). But never would assessment have crossed my mind. Fortunately, I took my thoughts to my PLN. Janine Campbell (@campbellartsoup) responded to my tweet about amplifying students' voices with rich insights and a couple articles that got the cerebral wheels turning. If you like what you read here, be sure to follow Janine on Twitter. Assessment for learning is a pedagogical golden nugget. No one ever said that the teacher had to do it alone. Why not give your students a voice in how they are assessed? It might tell you more about where they are at than assessing your class conventionally. Rubrics are my favorite way to assess student projects. I'm even pretty good at creating them. By doing so, I completely understand the assignment and learning outcomes for any given project. But do my students? Is there a way to better utilize rubrics as assessment of learning where students' voices are intensified. Yes! Allowing students to create the criteria for assessment does just that. It doesn't just serve the purpose of better summative assessment. Student-created rubrics also provides a medium for formative assessment as well. If my assignment is for students to analyze the effects of the assassination of Abraham Lincoln on post-war America, I will be able to formatively assess the class' understanding of the main points of this event by the criteria that they suggest this assignment should be graded on. I will know that I need to reteach aspects of this event in American history if students believe that including a description of John Wilkes Booth's escape from Ford's The

"We usually only learn about the magnitude of an earthquake and the location of the epicenter. This infographic explains how ground waves and depth define the magnitude on the Richter Scale and the amount of destruction that implies. It also illustrates plate boundaries on the globe and the regions where most earthquakes occur. The Earthquakes infographic by Weather Underground also describes hydraulic fracking and how this has increased earthquake activity in places where earthquakes don't naturally occur."

""Be sure to cite your sources." "Give credit where credit is due." "Don't plagiarize." It's possible all teachers have said these things to students. But what do those directives mean to students who, in all reality, haven't had to do much citing?  What does it even mean to cite your sources?  The first step in the process is for students to understand the purpose and importance of citations. We found this great resource outlining that information from The Write Direction. One of the co-authors of this piece, Jessica Steege, is a middle school writing teacher. In her first year of teaching she did her best to explain the importance of citing her work. But somewhere along the way, the message got lost. When a student turned in a research project citing just one source-www.google.com - she felt defeated and wondered where she'd gone wrong. She realized that teaching citations from a "handbook," especially one that would quickly become outdated, wasn't the best way to teach her tech savvy students. So she turned to electronic resources. The Internet offers an abundance of online citation tools, from the extremely easy to use, to ones that require more research on the part of the user. We'd suggest teaching students about a few tools and let them decide which one to use to help them successfully cite their research."

"In my new book, "The Innovator's Mindset", one of the things that I discuss is understanding that we are not able to change others, but are able to create the conditions where change is more likely to happen.  Instead of  pointing fingers at others, it is important to recognize what we have the ability to do, and develop conditions where innovation is more likely to happen. Below are five focuses I share in the book on how to "Unleash Talent", with a quick synopsis and some questions."

"t's been my dream to make my 2nd grade classroom look more like a "Starbucks for kids", and less like, well, a classroom. Think about when you go to Starbucks to complete some work. Why do you choose to work there? Where do you choose to sit? I usually gravitate towards the comfy seating choices like the couches and big chairs, and yet, I see people choose the tables and chairs over and over again. Regardless, when you walk into Starbucks, you have choice. You get to choose where you sit. No one checks you in and directs you to a spot, telling you that you must sit there for the remainder of the day to do your work. If you need to get up, walk around, or choose a different seat, you are free to do so. As I sat in our local Starbucks this past summer, I looked around and thought-why can't my classroom look like this? After several weeks of planning and a little bit of faith, what resulted was this"