Group items tagged

Andhra Pradesh is poised to add 200 MW of wind power farms shortly and has accorded clearance for 2,636 MW of wind power generation capacity, according to Minnie Mathew, Chief Secretary, Andhra Pradesh. Delivering her inaugural address at the CII Conference, she said the State currently has an installed capacity of 197 MW of wind energy and plans to lay special thrust on boosting generation capacity from renewable energy sources. She said the State Government is working on a tariff mechanism for renewable energy which will make it lot more attractive for wind and solar power generation companies.

"Is the school year winding down? Do you need a reboot to help get through a challenging month? Inspiration can come from many places. From the smile on a student's face, to a great conversation with parents, to an episode of a favorite television show that provides an idea for the next day's lesson, small moments can be game changers when we need to reboot and recharge. When I was a classroom teacher, those days after a long break or in the midst of a period without a moment to catch my breath could make it hard to find inspiration in everyday moments. In this list of resources for teacher inspiration, you'll find a handful of different websites and apps to energize your lesson, lighten your mood, and inspire you to persevere through a challenging part of the school year. These might become part of your daily or weekly routine, or something that you turn to for a dose of inspiration to reboot during a tough time of year. If you've tried one of my favorites or have another to add to the list, share your top resources for finding inspiration in the comments at the end of this post."

"The movement to "go green" has been growing stronger over the past few decades. People are thinking more about the everyday changes they can make to help make planet Earth a little nicer and less touched by the harm of pollution. Might as well, since most of us are going to be stuck here for the rest of our lives. Whether you're building a wind turbine for your home or just planting a garden, there are a lot of DIY ways for you to go green."

"A few weeks ago, at the Bay Area Discovery Museum (BADM) near San Francisco, 5-year-old Jack Stabenow climbed a step stool to peer into a machine that cuts cardboard with a high-powered laser. The red beam precisely followed a squiggly building design that Jack had just finger-drawn on a tablet computer. Jack's goal was to make a building that could stand up to the wind of a nearby table fan. With his cardboard cut, Jack hurried to the assembly area where about two dozen other kids his age labored over teetering, but well-taped, creations. If these first attempts toppled in the breeze, that was to be expected. In fact, back-to-the-drawing-board was kind of the point. The kids were learning the cycle of design, prototype, test, and redesign that's a hallmark of engineering."

- iGoogle: On November 1, 2013, iGoogle will be retired. With modern apps that run on platforms like Chrome and Android, the need for iGoogle has eroded over time, so we'll be winding it down. Users will have 16 months to adjust or export their data.

"Weather apps are a major portion of the apps offered by iPhone. There is always as a necessity to know the humidity, temperature, wind speeds, etc before starting on a journey. Here is a list of free apps that have become popular. You can also use this apps on your iPad and iPod Touch."

"The summer is quickly winding down & a number of teachers will be returning to their classroom with new mobile devices (iPads). Throughout the summer I have been conducting workshops on iPad integration with EdTechTeacher and I thought it might be helpful to pull together a back to school list of apps structured around specific classroom goals. While many schools may already have an Apple VPP program already in place, I know a number of teachers will also be purchasing the apps themselves. Therefore, I will do my best to include both a pay & free app for each objective."

"The summer break is winding up and many teachers are getting ready to head back to work for another school year (and many IT staffers in those schools are trying to make sure everything's ready when those teachers return)"

"You see it everywhere in K-12. Kindergarteners design toys for their friends to practice empathy, while learning to use a saw and glue-gun along the way. Second graders deepen their understanding of character traits while designing and sewing puppets to represent a character in a folk-tale. In high school physics, students make wind turbines in order to internalize an understanding of how magnetism can create electricity. The "it" I'm referring to is "Making," and simply put, Making is any activity where people create something, often with their hands."

"You see it everywhere in K-12. Kindergarteners design toys for their friends to practice empathy, while learning to use a saw and glue-gun along the way. Second graders deepen their understanding of character traits while designing and sewing puppets to represent a character in a folk-tale. In high school physics, students make wind turbines in order to internalize an understanding of how magnetism can create electricity. The "it" I'm referring to is "Making," and simply put, Making is any activity where people create something, often with their hands. I often define Making by looking at what people bring to the Maker Faire, which does include more technical aspects like 3D printing, physical computing and programming. But Making also includes woodworking, growing food, making art and crafts."

"School may be winding down, but that doesn't mean learning has to. In fact, it is vital that it doesn't! When students let their brains take a break over the summer, they can lose the equivalent of two months of their grade-level math and reading skills. To combat summer learning loss and keep those STEM skills fresh over the summer, Project Lead The Way put together a list of super simple (and fun) STEM activities you can do with your children over summer break."

"Don't try to put making in a box. Don't make it a kit, standardize it, and water it down.  Don't develop a canned-for-sale-program out of it.   Don't make it a packet to sell on website. Don't reduce it to a moment in a day, a day in a week, or a kit from the shelves. Don't make it into a program that a school has to pay billions to be a part of. Don't reduce making to that "thing" that happens in a certain room or a certain space or once a month.  Please just don't reserve making for gadgety electronics or robotics.  Don't just call it STEAM. Making is connecting, interpreting, and building a relationship with the world. Let's make school more about making. The mathematics and patterns in sewing, the joy in colorful art, the visual beauty in cooking, painting, the science of mixing colors, the music of sculpture in the wind, the flow in writing from the imagination, the collaboration in developing something together, the spark in sharing cardboard creations via Skype, the motivation in sharing with the world, the engagement in raw discovery, the fun in tinkering with a pile of junk, the passion in an idea grown from a seed, and the excitement in untouched exploration."

"This is my 20th year in education but my second year back in the classroom, teaching STEM full-time to 610 4th and 5th graders at Independence Elementary in Yukon, Oklahoma. Our STEM program is very unique, since it's in the "specials "rotation for all students that also includes PE, Music and Art. This is the 4th year of the STEM program in Yukon Public Schools. As we're about to wind down our school year, I thought it would be good to reflect and share about the reasons I love teaching elementary STEM in YPS. If you want to learn more, come to STEMseeds PD Camp June 2-4, 2015!"

"The 3D printing industry is expected to exceed $21 billion by 2020. Classrooms are joining in. Kelly Hines' fifth-grade classroom is redesigning a prosthetic hand. Can't buy a drone? Soon, you may be able to print one. You can print robots, math manipulatives, and even parts for a 3D printer. (In fact, Bryan Byer's science classroom in Michigan built their own 3D printer.) What will happen when we can 3D print things from door stoppers to wind turbines to (wait for it) wedding dresses? This past year, my students and I began our journey after I saw the FabLab at Kentucky Country Day School last summer."

"Lesson learned - technology that doesn't work has a negative effect on motivating technology integration. "

"What's the opposite of scaffolding a lesson? It would be saying to students something like, "Read this nine-page science article, write a detailed essay on the topic it explores, and turn it in by Wednesday." Yikes -- no safety net, no parachute, no scaffolding -- just left blowing in the wind."