"Evaluations found that students participating in Technovation challenges display are more self-confident, better problem solvers, better entrepreneurs, more resilient and more self-reliant. Sticking with the parents-as-first-teacher and go-global-and-see-what-breaks model, the Iridescent team launched the AI Family Challenge. Families learn about Artificial Intelligence and use it to solve a problem in their community. Five design challenges introduce families to AI concepts. Three more design challenges explore robotics. Ten more lessons prepare families to solve a problem in their community and submit to the AI World Championship."

"A recent MindShift article highlighted some things teachers should be aware of if they're bringing mindfulness into their classrooms. Students may have experienced trauma that makes sitting silently with their eyes closed feel threatening, and teachers can't assume it will be an easy practice for every child. That awareness is important to create an inclusive environment, but it doesn't mean that teachers shouldn't cultivate their own mindfulness practice or use some techniques with students. Often mindfulness is used as a way to help students build self-regulation skills and learn to calm down when they become frustrated or angry. Cultivating those skills can be powerful for students, but many teachers say mindfulness is crucial for themselves, helping them take an extra moment before reacting to students. "The best way to practice trauma-informed mindfulness is [for teachers] to have their own practice and interpret the behavior of the youth through a trauma-informed lens, even if they never do mindfulness training with the kids," said Sam Himelstein, a clinical psychologist, trainer and author who has spent most of his career working with incarcerated youth. He's received a lot of questions about how to be trauma-informed while still using mindfulness in classrooms since the first article. He suggest nine guidelines for teachers that he uses to make sure mindfulness practice with youth is helping, not hurting."

"They can't fly, but they can leap tall obstacles-if they stay balanced. In light of the many feats we ask principals to perform as instructional leaders-like guiding teachers to improve student outcomes and arranging for teachers' continued learning, all while overseeing budgets, placating parents, and addressing student behavior and mental health needs-principals might wonder if their job description should also include leap tall buildings in a single bound. Is the widespread notion of principals as instructional leaders tantamount to asking them to be superhuman? Where did this idea of principal as hero come from, anyway?"

"However, the most nerve-wracking moment occurred when I sat in a radio studio recording my script. I would play the giant magnetic tape back and use a razor to cut it and Scotch tape to splice it together. I listened to my voice and hated it. At one point, I threw my hands up in the air. "I'm not doing this," I said. But Mrs. Smoot looked me in the eyes and said, "I'm not going to let you get away with that. Your voice is good. What you say matters. And when you hide your voice, you rob the world of your creativity.""

"Like any tool we use every day, our laptops accumulate dust, grime, oils from our skin and who knows what else. Yours is probably due for a cleaning, and here's how to do it right."

"Whether you are a beginner or an expert, you might need to trim video to remove all the unusable parts when you are editing video. However, how do you trim a video? This post lists several ways to help you trim a video effectively."

"In the ever-changing technological world, computer science is not only becoming more prominent in classrooms, but a staple in education. Computer science combines the principles of technology and use of computers to educate learners on both the hardware and software of computer technology. The field of computer science is exceptionally diverse, as the skill sets are in-demand across practically every industry-serving as a lucrative and stable career pathway. In addition, computer science has many facets, meaning educators can leverage various components of the field to reach students across all levels and learning abilities. With technology present in almost every classroom, educators have a greater opportunity to implement computer science lessons throughout the curriculum. This provides students with the knowledge and skills required to help follow job market trends when they graduate."

"I have always had a love for hands on learning and play. I have seen this type of learning continue to get stifled in schools with all the pressures mounting on schools, teachers, and students. As stress, fatigue, anxiety, and burnout continue to increase for both students and adults I see a bigger need to help support education with infusing more play and wonder into the classroom. I have decided to do something about it. After leading several PD sessions and workshops using LEGO and other materials as a way to bring excitement to learning I realize I can do more. Starting the week of April 15th I will begin a 6 week course on Purposeful Play using only LEGO. "

" For many hard-working people, email has naturally become a significant part of our everyday lives. When we wake up in the morning, the first thing we do is check our email; when we get to work, the first thing we do is check our email; on our lunch break, we check our email; before we leave the office, we check our email; when we're getting ready for bed, we check our email. There are some studies that say the more we check our email, the harder it is to remove ourselves from our work in order to live our normal lives-to the point where it can have detrimental effects on our mental state. However, the fact of the matter is that even if we're limiting how often we check our email, we will have to deal with all the unread messages sitting in our inboxes at some point. If we have to deal with our Gmail inboxes anyway, we should be taking the time to learn how to make the experience more seamless and personalized so we don't have to spend as nearly as much time managing emails. Here, we have 16 tips and tricks you can use to create a seamless Gmail inbox."

"How can you stimulate students and teachers to engage in computational thinking with data? One key is to provide a realistic, relevant, and meaningful context. We're excited to release two new resources-a short video and a two-page handout-that teachers can use to introduce students to how the music industry is using data and computation."

"I have identified thirteen literacies that our students need to become well-rounded 21st-century citizens. These literacies are not taught as separate literacies but are taught across the content areas. If you find a link that is not working, please let me know the title and I will fix it! Thank you!"

I have the privilege of teaching my gifted elementary students for multiple years. At my one school, I have them in class for a full day each week, and each year I have special thematic days for which the students get very excited, e.g., Halloween and Day of the Dead "Wars," Valentines Day, Book Celebrations, and Pi Day. I love planning a variety of interdisciplinary activities for these days and I love watching how 100% are fully engaged for the entire time.

"Whether providing lessons for sick kids or giving parents a weekly update on classroom activities, livestreams and podcasts offer teachers yet another way to connect with their students and families."

"Augmented reality and virtual reality​ could fundamentally change the way we interact with and interpret data. "

"As I am coaching teachers in learning how to learn and teach FOR the 22nd century, I realize that the gap between being able to read traditional forms of information, communications materials in geneal and reading on new platforms, in new genres and in general new digital forms is widening drastically. Not too long ago, I wrote a post titled, Our Notion of Literacy and Iliteracy Calls for an Update.  I define literacy as the ability to read and write and being able to express and communicate our ideas to others. So, in our world, which is BOTH analog AND digital, we need to be literate in both. Especially if we are educators, in charge of teaching our students to be literate for THEIR future. The digital world is not going away, nor can it be ignored in terms of being and staying (critically) informed, lifelong learning, communicating, connecting, collaborating and contributing. One realisation for me was that new forms of reading and writing did not ONLY have to do with the skillset of learning the logistics of how to read and write on digital platforms, but had EVERYTHING to do with a new mindset that allows for new forms of reading and writing versus merely substituting the way we have done it in analog form before."

"Many students are not good at evaluating the credibility of what they see and read online according to a now-famous Stanford study that was released just after the 2016 election. And while it's true that 82 percent of middle schoolers couldn't tell the difference between a native advertisement and a news article, neither could 59 percent of adults in a study conducted by the advertising industry. Sam Wineburg, the Stanford professor who led the middle school study, is worried that everyone is "profoundly confused" right now and that schools aren't doing enough to teach students the skills they need to be effective citizens and digital consumers."

"A primer on the impact of implicit biases in schools and how they can be expressed by students and faculty."

" Looking for a little old timey computer nostalgia with a dose of espionage and a taste of geographical flavor? Well, gumshoe, you are ready for your next assignment from the ACME detective agency. This time Carmen Sandiego is sneaking around the world via Google Earth. The Crown Jewels Caper is the first of a series of new Where on Google Earth is Carmen Sandiego? games being developed by Google Earth in partnership with Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. Yup, you still fly around in chase, question local witnesses, and, of course, respond to questions about geography, history and culture as you gather intel about Carmen's location. But this time you get the way-better-than-DOS ability to zoom in and explore the sites. Coming soon are The Tutankhamun's Mask and The Keys to the Kremlin capers."

When tech giant Amazon announced its search for a second headquarters site, cities across the country scrambled to produce persuasive pitches. In Loudoun County, Virginia, fourth-graders from Goshen Post Elementary School took up the challenge personally. To create compelling video arguments, student teams interviewed experts in economic development, researched state history and geography, and even wrote poems to sing the praises of their region. When Northern Virginia was ultimately picked as a new HQ site, students were as proud as any civic leaders from their community. The story offers a good example of how education is shifting as we wrap up two decades of the 21st century. Instead of relying on textbooks and teacher direction, these students had to think critically about unfolding events, collaborate with peers and adults, and make creative use of digital tools to communicate their ideas. In the process, they also learned plenty about social studies and civic engagement. For Loudoun County Superintendent Eric Williams, what makes such authentic learning experiences worthwhile is how they prepare students "to make meaningful contributions to the world."