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"In an age of creators, makers, and innovators, we hear of the concept design thinking too often. What is design thinking? More importantly, can design thinking help you as an educator in your classroom? Design thinking is a concept that centers around applying creativity and innovation to our actions, decision making, and problem solving as human beings. More significantly, it focuses on the impact that this creative and innovative thinking has on individuals. As a concept, design thinking can be used pedagogically to enhance our teaching practices. As a tool, it can be used to foster and teach empathy in the classroom."

"Several teachers now have already stated using the flipped classroom model in their teaching and some are still thinking about how to do it. If you are one of those who are keen on applying this learning/teaching strategy with your students then this resourceful section will provide you with all the materials, tips, ideas, and tools to flip your classroom. A flipped classroom is a model in which the ordinary teaching activities which are done in class like lecturing or demonstrations are recorded in videos and podcasts for students to access at home. The in-class time is used instead for deeper class discussions, students projects, one-one-one interventions, peer collaboration, and many more."

"To establish how we can maximize the impact of the iPad as a learning tool, we first have to establish what kind of impact we'd hope to have. In this case, we'll settle on understanding (as troublesome a term as that might be): Students being able to think critically about chosen standards or curriculum, and apply understanding in diverse, academic and non-academic environments. With that as the goal, here are some ideas."

"The start of the school year brings with it more than a few 'gotta-do's for a classroom teacher. For that matter, if you're also the designated ed tech "go-to person," there are a LOT of tasks for you (and the IT team) to consider. With a technology program, ensuring that the various aspects of technology are ready for you, your colleagues and your students could be a huge task. It's hard to envision all the aspects of tech that you might need to worry about, and if you or the team miss something, it only creates more heartburn and wasted time later. To help your student-centered tech program get off to a fulfilling start, we have put together this checklist. Most of the items on the list will be important for you to consider. Some of these items will not apply depending on your role, your devices, and the latitude your administration and district allows, of course. In any case, reviewing this list will remind you (and your administration, tech support, teachers and others) of the needs of a highly engaging, fully functioning student-centered classroom."

"Dr. Seuss is gold-whimsical and visually interesting traipses through surreal worlds, and always full of life advice. And life advice is learning advice, and learning advice-well, that's why we're all here, yes? There are themes below that apply directly to the responsibilities of a teacher. Let's face it-teaching is an emotional roller coaster, and a microcosm for life itself, full of tedium and wonder, disappointment and triumph, down days and days to celebrate. Take #11 for example-you have brains in your head and feet on your choose, you can steer yourself any direction you choose-can be both encouragement to elementary students, or high school students taking themselves-and life-too seriously"

"The image-heavy social media platform Pinterest isn't just for making pretty digital tack boards filled with DIY projects and delicious food recipes. Pinterest is a great educational tool for teachers, homeschool parents, and other educators around the world. And the best thing is, it's free! With links to virtually millions of ideas, Pinterest offers a wealth of great information and learning ideas that can be applied to almost any educational environment. Everything is keyword searchable and Pinterest "pins" can be commented on and liked, similar to Facebook. Here we feature 9 great Pinterest classroom ideas that will engage and entertain both teachers and students alike."

"Innovation is a trait that I desperately want to instill in my students, and many teachers I talk to seem to share that goal. In the current climate of high stakes testing, state standards, and prescribed learning outcomes, it can be incredibly difficult to foster an atmosphere of innovation and creativity that inspires students. But rest assured, it is possible. Here, I outline eight basic principles for the "Innovative Classroom," around which I designed a middle school course called Physical Computing. Some of the projects and tools are specific to that course, but I think the fundamental ideas could be applied to almost any course at any level."

"During my poster session at ISTE, I must have been asked dozens of times: "When do students use your Makerspace?  How do you organize scheduling?" I am in a magnet middle school on a flexible schedule.  I have an extremely supportive administration and staff and an enthusiastic student body that's eager to learn.  I realize that these circumstances won't apply to everyone and that I'm very lucky to be in the place that I'm in. That being said, here's how and when students at Stewart Middle Magnet use our Makerspace:"

"Instagram will have you believe that anyone can be a photo editing expert by just applying a filter and cropping your image into a square. But my friend Abbie Morrison, a professional photographer, will remind me that being able to use Instagram and being a good photo editor are not the same things. A good photographer and photo editor will take advantage of more than just a few default filters in a photo editing tool. To help people understand photo editing terminology and functions, Polarr has published an interactive guide to photo editing terminology. The guide defines twenty-four terms and provides visual examples of each in practice."

"I often wonder if what we see as teaching at professional learning events would be acceptable in a high school classroom. If the purpose of professional development (Pro-D) is professional learning, then what is our evidence that learning does, in fact, occur? Are we using effective teaching practices in Pro-D? Although Pro-D is evolving, the "Sit'n'Git" way of learning seems to still be alive and well in many conferences and workshops throughout Canada and the U.S. In the past five years, I cannot tell you how many times I've sat in a large conference room for a number of hours with hundreds of other dedicated educators and not been provided with the opportunity to even talk to the person beside me. People are spending hundreds and thousands of dollars to attend these events to listen to a series of lengthy lectures without the opportunity to network and wrestle with the presented ideas. I'm not opposed to a keynote address to start off the day with some inspiring, thought-provoking ideas; however, if there is no opportunity to take these ideas and move deeper, many of the thoughts that are initiated in the keynote get lost as I move on to the next session or listen to the next presenter. It's no secret that in order for deeper learning to occur, we must DO something with a new concept; we must apply new learning to take it from an idea to implementation. Our current typical model of Pro-D makes deeper learning a challenge and often only leaves participants with a few ideas that are unfortunately left on the shelf with the many glossy white binders from workshops of years past. At some point we need to stand up and say that a high volume of "Sit'n'Git" style of Pro-D is no longer acceptable and is an insult to those who have spent money, time, and effort to attend. While doing this, we also need to rethink the conference model and professional learning so that it better aligns with what we want to see in classrooms."

"On supply, normal rules don't apply. You may be left a set of plans, fully resourced, for the day. Or you may turn up with five minutes (10 minutes after you received the call to go) before the children arrive, to an empty desk, a missing laptop, and no password for the photocopier. You don't know that the children have some work to finish off in any spare five minutes. You need to make sure that the children are fully occupied and engaging with their task to help minimise fuss and poor behaviour. You may be warned assembly is a 9:30 sharp, only to arrive and discover that it has been cancelled for today. In short, you need help! From five minute time fillers, to whole session activities ideas on the hop, apps are an essential tool for supply teachers."

The core of the opposition to what are being called "21st century skills" is contained in the following argument: "Cognitive science teaches us that skills and knowledge are interdependent and that possessing a base of knowledge is necessary to the acquisition not only of more knowledge, but also of skills. Skills can neither be taught nor applied effectively without prior knowledge of a wide array of subjects."

"abaCal - Your new online calculator for applied mathematics "

Manitoba educators who are "reaching out" to other schools using technology should consider applying for $1000 grant. Six grants in total are available with 2 at K-4; 2 at 5-8 and 2 at 9-12 grade levels. Submission deadlines are Jan 26 & Apr 13, 2011. This opportunity is a meaningful extension for LwICT empowered students to reach out and make a difference.

Note: This information applies to US Copyright Law. Fair Use is the concept that if you are doing something for the greater good of society, like teaching, then your needs supersede the ownership rights of the copyright holder under the Copyright Act. Teachers, and by association, students, can legally use music, websites, video, print, images, and the whole realm of copyrighted materials for the purposes of teaching.

From the site - "The courses are designed so teachers can apply what they've learned immediately to the classroom. In addition, each course is designed to be completed in 90 minutes or less so teachers can stay focused on learning one topic at a time." Some courses are FREE others are at a pretty low cost.

A Real Solution For Classroom Teachers The Solution Site is filled with K-12, hands-on, problem based thematic units with real world relevance. Invite your students to apply 21st Century skills and tools in your classroom everyday by incorporating lessons from The Solution Site into your teaching.

Moovl is a unique online tool which teachers and pupils can use to draw, animate and apply physical properties to objects in order to bring their pictures and words to life. Let them discover what happens when they make a ball even bouncier, a hippo even heavier or the word shiver actually shiver.

This web page contains a "Magic Sandbox." When you click within the sandbox, it delivers bits of random advice, which you can then try to apply to your current situation

Presentation on Visual and Creative Thinking. The presentation explores how professional in all fields can apply creative and visual thinking skills to their work as well as why people ignore the talents that made them naturally creative as children. He will discuss the myths that people hold about creativity, why they exist and how you can overcome them