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"The list of mind blowing videos covering the topic of 21st century education and learning is growing bigger and bigger. There are actually some clips that I think every teacher should watch if not twice then at least once. These videos are not only an inestimable source of inspiration but are also a good resource packed full of great ideas on where education is right now. "

"Pictures convey meaning in profound ways. I'll illustrate this using a free word cloud program called www.wordle.net. Below I have a series of favorite quotes on visualization, with references. Attached I have a word cloud of the quotes (minus the source). Please read the quotes and then look to the word cloud. I ask you: which is more powerful? Which gets the point across quicker, stronger, and faster? Which would your students prefer to read?"

"Before Danielle Thomson was our TED Prize researcher, she wrote trivia for Who Wants to Be a Millionaire? and spent years finding difficult-to-source info for The Late Show with David Letterman. And she has quickly established herself as our staff secret weapon. When one of us can't get our hands on a piece of information that we need, we turn to Danielle and - voila! - there it is. We asked Danielle to share some of her best research tips to help you in those "why can't I find this?" moments. Here's what she had to say:"

"This article is about finding the best 3D printing software for every stage of your workflow. Which 3D printing software is best for preparing 3D models to print? How about designing 3D print models from scratch? What if you're an absolute beginner? Have no fear, we've answered all of these questions, together with details on proficiency levels and where they can be downloaded. And best of all, the majority of them are totally free and open source."

"We all have stress in our lives. In fact, tech can often be a source of the stress. But tech can also help you to relax, offering a more calm environment and helping you to take your mind off of your troubles. When using apps or surfing the Web, you may become upset by a Facebook post, tweet, or news report. Or maybe you read an email from your boss unfairly criticizing your hard work. You may be tempted to step away from your tech, but perhaps tech can be the solution to your tension. These tech tools may help you relax and unwind from your stressors."

"A paper circuit is a low-voltage electrical circuit that is created on paper or cardboard using conductive copper tape, LEDs and a power source such as a coin-cell battery.  Creating paper circuits is a good way to teach the basics of electricity and how circuits function.   In addition to being educational, they can also be a fun makerspace project that helps to bring artwork and paper craft to life.  By adding sensors, buzzers and motors to your circuit, you can also add another dimension of interactivity.  These simple projects are great for all ages and all makerspaces."

"Learning math can be a great source of fun for kids. There is a wide variety of entertaining and interactive online games  to use with your kids to introduce them to basic as well as intermediate mathematical concepts. As learning aids, games are proven to engage kids' attention and boost their interest in learning. To this purpose, and besides the multiple math resources we have shared here over the last couple of years, here is a very good collection of websites that provide games designed specifically to address kids mathematical needs."

In a world where anyone with an internet connection can access, create and share information, opinions and beliefs, it has become increasingly important that students are not only able to assess the credibility of sources but also to look more deeply at the underlying motivations, beliefs and bias of the creator.

"Preteens and teens may appear dazzlingly fluent, flitting among social-media sites, uploading selfies and texting friends. But they're often clueless about evaluating the accuracy and trustworthiness of what they find. Some 82% of middle-schoolers couldn't distinguish between an ad labeled "sponsored content" and a real news story on a website, according to a Stanford University study of 7,804 students from middle school through college. The study, set for release Tuesday, is the biggest so far on how teens evaluate information they find online. Many students judged the credibility of newsy tweets based on how much detail they contained or whether a large photo was attached, rather than on the source."

"If the most recent U.S. Election has taught us anything it's that we live in an era of fake news and sites. With accusations flying of manipulation of stories, the media and voters, it's truly hard to know if what we read on blogs, social media and other sites is actually the truth or a tale spun to generate clicks. To further compound the problem a recent study from Stanford shows that the vast majority of students can't determine it what they read on websites is true or baloney. The study showed More than two out of three middle-schoolers couldn't see any valid reason to mistrust a post written by a bank executive arguing that young adults need more financial-planning help. And nearly four in 10 high-school students believed, based on the headline, that a photo of deformed daisies on a photo-sharing site provided strong evidence of toxic conditions near the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant in Japan, even though no source or location was given for the photo. With many schools and districts rolling out 1:1 initiatives and a push to digitize learning, helping students understand where their information comes from, and if it is reliable and accurate are critical skills, not just for learning for but life as well."

"Design thinking is an approach to learning that includes considering real-world problems, research, analysis, conceiving original ideas, lots of experimentation, and sometimes building things by hand. The projects teach students how to make a stable product, use tools, think about the needs of another, solve challenges, overcome setbacks and stay motivated on a long-term problem. The projects also teach students to build on the ideas of others, vet sources, generate questions, deeply analyze topics, and think creatively and analytically. Many of those same qualities are goals of the Common Core State Standards. (What Does 'Design Thinking' Look Like in School?) I use the following activities to introduce elementary students to the design thinking process. The ultimate goal is for the learners to work on their own, self-selected problems in which they will apply the design thinking. Introducing the general design process to elementary student occurs through showing the following video about the engineering process:"

""AI won't obliterate jobs, but it will transform jobs," said Daniel Pink, author of Drive: The Surprising Truth About What Motivates Us. Pink said he's told his own kids to "think about what you can do to augment what AI does-work that only humans can do that smart machines cannot." That includes: creativity; dealing with ambiguity, nuance and poorly defined problems; understanding other's emotions and point of view; Developing expertise and sense making; and Identifying reliable sources. "

"The world wide web has afforded the common people opportunities that were literally non existent during the times of our ancestors. Opportunity grows in proportion to knowledge, and thus the age of information can also be recognized as the age of opportunity, for those who have vision. So whether you wish to explore the ideas of the brilliant minds past, elicit your imagination, learn more about philosophy, politics, economics, ancient history, or some other topic of interest - or maybe you want to acquire certain knowledge relevant to a particular field of expertise - the internet has provided you with everything you need to create new opportunities that will culminate in personal growth and long lasting success. Below you will find a comprehensive list of literature that has something to offer for everyone; *Big shout out to Tiffany Davis via Bachelors Degree Online for being the original source for most of these listings;"

"When the AP United States history students at Aragon High School in San Mateo, California, scanned the professionally designed pages of minimumwage.com, most concluded that it was a solid, unbiased source of facts and analysis. They noted the menu of research reports, graphics and videos, and the "About" page describing the site as a project of a "nonprofit research organization" called the Employment Policies Institute. But then their teacher, Will Colglazier, demonstrated how a couple more exploratory clicks-critically, beyond the site itself-revealed the Employment Policies Institute is considered by the Center for Media and Democracy to be a front group created by lobbyists for the restaurant and hotel industries. "I have some bright students, and a lot of them felt chagrined that they weren't able to deduce this," said Colglazier, who videotaped the episode in January. "They got duped.""

These project-based lessons focus on basic principles of physics, structural, and mechanical engineering. Physical models are built from a similar set of materials that can be easily sourced online (links are provided in-lesson). All of the project plans in this collection are designed to be used in an after school enrichment setting, though you may use and modify these ideas for other not-for-profit purposes provided you cite The Workshop for Young Engineers. This is a growing and improving collection of lesson plans. Please comment to share your ideas to improve lessons and photos of your designs.