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The role of the teacher is slowly but surely changing and with this come new challenges. Change becomes inevitable and processes for managing this and capitalising on the opportunities it brings becomes paramount within organisations. It is perhaps not surprising that educational institutions may evolve to become what are termed 'Learning Organisations' or 'Professional Learning Communities' within which there is a focus on the application of the principles of learning to manage change and explore new opportunities. 

"If you ask any DIY fanatic what's on top of their wish-list, chances are pretty high they'll say a laser cutter or engraver. As you might expect, these exotic pieces of kit use high-powered lasers to cut through materials, or to engrave them with a design. Like a 3D printer, they're controlled by a computer, and work autonomously once provided with a design. Laser cutters aren't terribly new technology, and haven't quite captured the public attention like 3D printers have. However, they are incredibly cool, and much like 3D printers, prices have crashed to the point where they're now affordable for DIY enthusiasts. Which brings us on to a really interesting question: What one should you get? What can you make with it? And crucially, what should you do to ensure that you use them as safely as possible?"

"Root looks like a smoke detector but is actually a sophisticated robot. A magnetic surface, wheels, and an impressive arsenal of sensors allow it to navigate a classroom white board. But Root isn't actually programmed to do anything. Its tasks and functionality hinge on a child's imagination. To operate - Root needs instructions, a line of code. Zivthan Dubrovsky of Harvard's Wyss Institute recalls testing out Root with kids for the first time. He asked them this: "Can you make a text based java script line follower? They go 'no that's hard, can't do that', but we can put level one in front of them and they can do it in minutes." Level one introduces kids to principles of programming using an interface of simple instruction and pictures. As they become more adept, they jump to levels 2 and 3, at which point writing computer code becomes second nature, according to Dubrovsky."

"Play is abundant in the lives of those considered to be creative. It facilitates social bonding, boosts productivity and enhances your mood. As positive psychologist Christopher E. Peterson put it, play is "…a robust predictor of how satisfied we are with our lives." "We should consider every day lost on which we have not danced at least once." - Friedrich Nietzsche  I have two left feet, so I'm glad Nietzsche wrote metaphorically. With this quote, I think he was saying something true and profound about the importance of play-that it's an essential part of living a good and balanced life. What I hope to convey are some philosophical, scientific, and personal reasons for why we should all get serious about messing around. I hope that by reading this, you'll feel compelled to actually pencil in some time for more frivolity."

"As laptops become smaller and more ubiquitous, and with the advent of tablets, the idea of taking notes by hand just seems old-fashioned to many students today. Typing your notes is faster - which comes in handy when there's a lot of information to take down. But it turns out there are still advantages to doing things the old-fashioned way. For one thing, research shows that laptops and tablets have a tendency to be distracting - it's so easy to click over to Facebook in that dull lecture. And a study has shown that the fact that you have to be slower when you take notes by hand is what makes it more useful in the long run. In the study published in Psychological Science, Pam A. Mueller of Princeton University and Daniel M. Oppenheimer of the University of California, Los Angeles sought to test how note-taking by hand or by computer affects learning."

"While the Maker Movement continues to grow, it hasn't yet gained its greatest traction, which currently sits untapped in the minds of the students in front of us. Through forming partnerships with community makerspaces or building a school makerspace, educators and decision makers everywhere have the rare chance to help bring this truly all-inclusive learning experience into their schools, districts, and communities in order to help all students. Here are four ways that the "new industrial revolution" will help your students succeed and help breathe life back into your craft."

"There are several evolving spaces in which we are seeing the blending of the digital and physical successfully fostering critical thinking, communication, collaboration and creativity."

The book 'Non Obvious' by Rohit Bhargava present an intriguing exploration of how careful observation and thought can reveal emerging trends and as the subtitle suggest 'predict the future'. For educators the ability to identify the trends which will deliver the best outcomes for our students from the noise of fads is alluring. While the talk of new technologies, of learner centric pedagogies and teaching for lifelong learning play the part of the obvious trends in education identifying the non-obvious trend is a more challenging endeavour.

"Nicholas Provenzano puts the 'A' in STEAM education. As a high school English teacher who actively seeks new ways to enhance learning, he is often at the leading edge of trends in education and technology - from going paperless in the classroom, to creating a makerspace in the school library, to teaching STEAM skills through project-based learning. For his TED-Ed Innovation Project, Provenzano launched student innovation projects - in which students were given the opportunity to choose an interesting problem and solve it in an innovative way. The projects were then shared in the school's first ever STEAM competition. Here is Provenzano's recap of what worked best for his students - and how you can launch student innovation projects in your school:"

"My school is a STEM magnet school and unfortunately, that leads to a disproportionate number of male students.  This year the ratio was 65% male, 35% female, which led to many of my female students feeling disenfranchised.  I wanted to do something to help create a safe environment for my girls to explore STEM and to build a community with one another, so this year I partnered with several science teachers to start a STEMgirls club at our school.  At our first meeting, we talked about possibilities of projects and activities that we would like to do.  When I mentioned a workshop I had seen others do where you could sew light up bracelets, my students got really excited.  Thus, our Circuit Bracelet Workshop was born."

"Here is a handy visual for librarians featuring 12 of what we think are very good iPad apps they can use in their daily work. The visual is based on a post we shared here a few months ago. For more app suggestions for librarians, we recommend  Nicole Hennig's book : Apps for Librarians: Using the Best Mobile Technology to Educate, Create, and Engage which covers in more details over 100 Android and iPad apps. You can also check this infographic featuring 30 good web tools for librarians."

"You've probably heard of the student-led "Genius Bar", which is generally a team of student leaders that provide technical support for the technology devices and programs in their schools. What a great way to utilize and develop student knowledge and skills, right? I couldn't agree more. Busch's student tech teams have four sub-committees: the "Newcast Directors," the "iPad Consultants," the "Makerspace Mentors," and the "Cyber Squad." But what if we took the opportunity to develop young, skilled learners a step further, and asked those student leaders to support, collaborate with, and mentor teachers and their peers with in-class technology projects? What if we asked those student learners to create informative, instructional digital content that is accessible to all? After all, many of us would agree that the students are the ones who are usually the most knowledgeable, up-to-date resources for what is the latest and greatest with technology, so why not tap into their large knowledge base and cultivate their leadership potential? Our school here in Wisconsin did just that, and the results have been astounding. Here's how it happened."

"I remember George Couros when he came to our District, asking the question, "If you don't know what a hashtag is are you considered illiterate today?" I thought about that as I read a recent article by CEO of Hootsuite, Social media skills millenials lack.  Ryan Holmes states that using social media effectively is "the most important digital skill for tomorrow's CEOs"  He refers to a "social media gap" which is further supported by Professor William Ward, professor of social media at Syracuse University, who states "Students using digital and social media professionally in an integrated and strategic way have an advantage. [They're] getting better jobs and better internships …"   The fact is, students are good at connecting with people they already know, but don't understand how to network professionally.  I would add they don't often know how it works for learning either. That is a compelling reason to incorporate social media in the context of the classroom and yet there is a real reluctance to do this by many Districts."

"I came back from my morning run completely energized. I took my headphones out and continued to puzzle over Sugata Mitra's compelling segment on the TED Radio Hour of "Unstoppable Learning," which suggested that in many ways, teachers are getting in the way of learning. A tough pill for me - a teacher of seven years - to swallow. I scrawled some thoughts in my journal: "Students in pursuit of learning," "fostering curiosity," "CHOICE," "unstoppable learning," and grinned as I imagined what this transformation could look like in my classroom. A few weeks later, I told my students we'd be starting "Inspiration Time." I explained this time was designed for them to ask themselves what they are curious about and what they want to pursue."

"I've just presented another Webinar for the fab Eduwebinar team - this time on texts which support the makerspace movement. Some notes from this evening's webinar are below for attendees, and anyone else who may be starting their makerspace journey, or wishing to add to their existing resources."

What will tomorrow bring? What will life be like in 2028 as our youngest students of today exit school? What occupations will they enter and what challenges will they face? These are not new questions but with the rate of change in society and the pace at which technology evolves they are questions without clear answers. How then do schools prepare students for this uncertain tomorrow? What shall we teach our children today such that are well prepared for the challenges and opportunities of their tomorrow?

"I still focus on fluency with multiplication facts in fourth grade but fluency has a completely different meaning to me now. The way I work on fluency now does not involve timed tests. It does not involve kids being anxious or feeling unsuccessful at math. Instead I focus on developing number sense which helps kids learn and remember strategies that make them fluent with their multiplication facts. To the untrained eye, it often appears as if my fourth graders have memorized their facts when they actually know their facts from memory. "

"Computer science (CS) education is a pathway to innovation, to creativity and to exciting career opportunities. We believe that all students deserve these opportunities. That is why Google is committed to developing programs, resources, tools and community partnerships which make CS engaging and accessible for all students."

"Our CREATE Education Project champions partner organisations who share our ethos for making 3d printing as easy, accessible and affordable as possible for everyone. In the name of open source we find synergies with many pioneers who understand that sharing is the way forward to developing and seeding innovation for new technologies. When we find these pioneers it is our mission to provide access to our community so that everyone can enjoy the progress and even add to it themselves.  One of the more challenging aspects of introducing 3D printing into schools is the complexity of 3D modelling software and the general cost of having computers that can handle such software. A good majority of schools have adopted a cheaper method of computing which is the tablet. iPads are fast becoming common in the classroom and this is where Gravity Sketch comes in."