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"True story. The bell rang and nobody moved. They were completely focused, totally engrossed. They probably didn't even hear the bell because they were so focused on what they were learning. Amazing, right? How often are students counting down the minutes of each class? They have their eyes on the clock. They start packing up early, preparing themselves for the transition to the next class. Sometimes they are even lined up at the door, waiting for the bell to ring to move on to the next thing. But not on this particular occasion. The students were so into what they were learning, the teacher had to remind them it was time to leave. You can work more on this tomorrow. You'll be late for your next class. It's time to go."

"It's often easy to get stuck into a narrow view of what a particular field of study entails, but as Dominic Walliman reveals in his impressive science infographics, there's much more than meets the eye when thinking of particular STEM subjects. Walliman demonstrates the diversity and complexity of biology, chemistry, computer science, physics, and mathematics in visual maps that explore the breadth of each field. Walliman, who also created animated videos exploring his science infographics, manages to pack all the shades of each complex field on one page. For instance, the Map of Mathematics travels from the origins and foundations of the field to the differences between pure mathematics and applied mathematics. Likewise, chemistry is divided between rules and different sub-topics like biochemistry and inorganic chemistry, with fun illustrations to clearly show what falls underneath each area. Whether you are a scientist who feels like people never quite get what you do or a student who can't put their finger on how they might use their math or science degree, Walliman's infographics will come in handy. Consider them roadmaps to possible careers or cheat sheets to figuring out how quantum physics is related to the theory of relativity. Best of all, by studying the visual maps, it becomes easy to see how all these scientific fields overlap and fit together like a puzzle."

"Minecraft: Education Edition is coming to the iPad platform in September. The iOS version will share the features found in other versions, including the Update Aquatic package for underwater STEM activities and the Chemistry Resource Pack. It will include a touch interface that is "functionally equivalent to the standard control scheme for the game," according to Microsoft, which owns Minecraft."

"Jacqueline Prester was a self-proclaimed hustler in middle school. Mowing lawns, babysitting-she took the initiative to earn her own money. But she was also a responsible moneymaker, using the envelope system to budget every cent before she knew it was an actual budgeting strategy. Back then, her friends rolled their eyes when she tried to share her financial savvy. Fast forward two decades and Prester is a popular business and technology teacher at Mansfield High School in Massachusetts, working to give students real-life financial skills. Only this time her audience is keen to learn. (Her Personal Finance classes always reach their 28 student capacity.) Students are learning about personal finance, but not just because that's the name of the class. They're making it personal. Prester's passion is infectious, and the content she chooses-like Pathway To Financial Success created by Discovery Education and Discover-immerses students in authentic lessons with videos, interactive modules and real-world connections. Pathway To Financial Success Video: Being Financially Responsible EdSurge caught up with Prester to find out how she packs her classes with willing learners and to uncover her secret to finding compelling financial literacy content. She also shared how and why she helped pass a new Massachusetts bill focused on financial literacy."

"t's time to take a look at the micro:bit, which is quite the impressive little device, and see what's packed onto its small surface (4.5 × 5 cm-it's been billed by the BBC as being about half the size of a credit card). I usually introduce new users to a device like this by examining each component one by one, moving clockwise around the board, and that seems like a perfectly reasonable route to take now."

"Photocopiables is a theme-based supplementary resource center for English language teachers. Go to Resource Packs page, where you'll see bundled resources listed according to their grammar concept. There are also online versions of the resources for you to try them out before you take them to your class.You'll also find nice&sound&tested EFL ideas for your lessons on my blog."

"Two decades in, and it's abundantly clear that one of the most effective ways to nurture the 21st century's trademark skills-creativity, critical thinking, communication, collaboration-is by creating opportunities for kids to do what kids do naturally: play. So we've crafted this educators' guide to game-based learning, packed with resources for gaming gurus and greenhorns alike."

As a school librarian, I try to offer spaces where students can create, make, and innovate. Trying to offer a makerspace to 100% of the student population can quickly become limiting due to space. Offering a mobile classroom makerspace solves this problem. A mobile classroom makerspace library program allows classroom teachers to check out 6 to 8 makerspace activities with the needed supplies packed together in one cart. Teachers can check-out a cart for their classroom for a week. During that week teachers can unpack the activities, and create a pop-up makerspace in their classroom when it fits into their schedule.      Last year I tried this at Ed White E-STEM with kindergarten and first grade classes. The teachers and students loved the mobile classroom makerspace carts so much we added a cart for 2nd grade this school year. The 2nd grade teachers want to take it a step farther. They want the library to supply a book with each activity, so they can use the cart as part of a Literacy Station. The students will explore, make, read, and then write about their experience.   The second year of this program has been a learning experience. This year we were able to fine tune the offerings in each cart by teachers expressing what worked, and what didn't work last year. We used teacher input as one measure to create this year's inventory list for the mobile classroom makerspace carts. 5 things to think about when creating a mobile classroom makerspace."

"Your smartphone is packed with sensors and miniaturized equipment. Instead of using them to snap photos or message friends, harness those instruments for the sake of science. Software can turn a phone into a mobile science laboratory, letting you make research observations, track earthquakes, study birds and stars and the elements, and even project a virtual particle accelerator. Here are some of our favorite apps for doing science on your smartphone. "

"Those itching to get to grips with neural networks are in luck: Google offshoot AIY Projects has recently revamped its Voice and Vision Kits. These project-in-a-pack kits give you all you need to build an intelligent speaker or camera."

Check out our new #ComputationalThinking Competencies! They're like an expansion pack for the #ISTEStandards for Educators! https://t.co/4EPMUFTWrl #edtech https://t.co/vYMzc4hPY8

"One evening last week, I collapsed into bed after homework was finished, lunches were packed, and bedtime stories were read and happened upon an impassioned Los Angeles Times op-ed by high school political science teacher Jeremy Adams. In it, Adams decries his students' lack of interest in reading and places the blame squarely on smartphones. My kids are still young, but I'm always thinking of how to instill in them a passion for books, so I read on...on my smartphone."

"In the last few years, Netflix has completely transformed the way many Americans watch movies.  Long gone are the days of driving to the video store, browsing through the aisles of endless new releases. Now,  you can do it all, right from the comfort of your home. From romance to dramas, there's something for everyone. Lucky for us, the streaming site is jam-packed with educational shows on Netflix."

"From packing peanuts to disposable coffee cups, each year the US alone produces some two billion pounds of Styrofoam - none of which can be recycled. Frustrated by this waste of resources and landfill space, Ashton Cofer and his science fair teammates developed a heating treatment to break down used Styrofoam into something useful. Check out their original design, which won both the FIRST LEGO League Global Innovation Award and the Scientific American Innovator Award from Google Science Fair."

"Halloween is packed away, Christmas looms on the horizon, report cards are consuming way too much time…all of which means it is almost one of my favourite weeks of the year: Hour of Code week! This year Hour of Code officially runs from December 4th to 10th. Last year our teachers and administrators worked really hard to ensure that students in all grades and across all of our schools got a chance to try one or two coding activities during Hour of Code week. I hope we do even better this year and for the next several weeks my blog posts will be dedicated to helping teachers prepare for Hour of Code in their classroom. However, in any discussion about coding, I think it is important to start off by discussing Computational Thinking. Computational Thinking is the basis for all coding. More importantly, it provides a great base for problem solving in any arena of life, from getting dressed for the snow to building a gingerbread house to completing a school project."

"A matchbox-sized, programmable device launches in the US and Canada today, aimed at offering children a gentle introduction to the world of computers. Already used in schools across the UK, the BBC micro:bit is designed to make it easy for kids to write simple programs to control the board's hardware, with creations to date including basic games and animations. The device packs a 25 LED matrix display, a motion sensor, accelerometer and two buttons onto a tiny 4cmx5cm board. It can be programmed using easy-to-grasp tools, such as the drag-and-drop programming environment Scratch, or if the user is more confident, by coding in a variety of languages, including JavaScript or MicroPython."

"The Digital Public Library of America (DPLA) is an all-digital library that aggregates metadata - or information describing an item - and thumbnails for more than 7 million photographs, manuscripts, books, sounds, moving images, and more from libraries, archives, and museums around the ​united ​states.The Digital Public Library of America brings together the riches of America's libraries, archives, and museums, and makes them freely available to the world."