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 The role of assessment has always played its part but it is a role that is changing in the present global climate and understanding this shift is important for educators.

"The concept of literacy is notoriously elusive and hard to define. Aside from the shallow and intellectually-impaired  definition that sums up  literacy in  reading and writing printed text, any serious and profound investigation of literacy does, by implication, entail an analysis of the new ways of learning and meaning-making afforded by digitality. New digital media have provided learners with novel and revolutionary ways of producing, discussing, sharing and interacting with text. These ways, to say the least about them, are multimodally complex and call for an integrated set of skills that go beyond the mere ability to code and decode meaning. In this sense, to be literate in such a multimodal environment requires understanding and using a wide range of interconnected literacies. We are no longer talking about a single literacy as was the case since the invention of writing some 6000 year ago, we are, instead,  in front of multiple new emerging  and interdependent literacies. Today's students are asked to have a working knowledge of these literacies in order to be able to thrive in a globalized knowledge economy. Katchy Schrock has this wonderful resource where she features some awesome mini-posters defining the key literacies making up today's Literacy (with capital letter) landscape.  These visuals are ideal for classroom inclusion. I invite you to check them out and share with your colleagues."

"More people are living longer these days, but the good news comes shadowed by the possible increase in cases of age-related mental decline. By some estimates, the global incidence of dementia will more than triple in the next 35 years. That grim prospect is what makes a study published in March in The Journal of Alzheimer's Disease so encouraging: It turns out that regular walking, cycling, swimming, dancing and even gardening may substantially reduce the risk of Alzheimer's."

"Do-it-yourself maker community Instructables is teaming up with global 3D printing network 3D Hubs for a new contest that will see 15 lucky winners walking away with a top of the line desktop 3D printer. The 3D Printing Contest 2016 is looking like it is going to be one of the biggest 3D printing design competitions of the year, and they have an impressive prize pool to prove it. Winners will be able to win one of an assortment of some of the most popular 3D printers on the market, not to mention 3D printing vouchers being awarded for every contest entry."

"This week UNESCO launched a framework illustrating its Five Laws of Media and Information Literacy (MIL). This global strategy marries the large, but often separated, disciplines of information literacy and media literacy and creates a common vocabulary for folks in multiple areas of knowledge to engage in conversation. It also positions these critical literacies as a combined set of competencies-knowledge, skills and attitudes-central for living and working in our world today."

"A few days ago, we shared with you this handy infographic featuring 12 important tips to help you refine your Google searches and get precise search results. Today, we are introducing you to these equally important resources shared by Google Inside Search. These are free self-paced courses to help you develop and improve your Google search skills. You will get to learn 'tips and tricks to become a fast and effective fact-finder with Power Searching with Google, deepen your understanding of solving complex research problems using advanced Google search techniques with Advanced Power Searching with Google, and join  a growing global community of Power Searchers.'"

"A new educational app from global education leader Houghton Mifflin Harcourt (HMH), HMH Fuse™: Algebra 1, was studied by research firm Empirical Education Inc. and found to be a platform that successfully "encourages the use of personalized lesson plans by combining direct instruction, ongoing support, assessment and intervention in one easy-to-use suite of tools.""

"More People Have Mobile Phones Than Electricity Or Drinking Water"

"While my school district has a very clear Media/Website consent form specific to public media and our school district website there is no consent form yet in place for the on-line activities I do with my class. These activities include but are not limited to our class blog, my students' individual blogs, our class tweeting, our class skyping, and the global projects we take part in on-line."

""Leadership and learning are indispensable to each other," John Kennedy intended to say in Dallas on November 22, 1963. These words are as relevant to us today in Albemarle County as they were when John Kennedy asked America to relearn the world - through efforts such as the Peace Corps - and relearn the universe - through the then seemingly improbable "moon shot." If our students are to be successful in today's increasingly complex and demanding global environment, we must be constantly learning and we must be modeling learning. To do that we must help our educators develop the learning and leadership skills which help our children learn to become leaders."

"STEM education is "an interdisciplinary approach to learning where rigorous academic concepts are coupled with real-world lessons as students apply Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics in contexts that make connections between school, community, work, and the global enterprise enabling the development of STEM literacy and with it the ability to compete in the new economy. (Tsupros, Kohler, & Hallinen, 2009) Not coincidentally, several other trends in learning-from mobile learning and tablets in the classroom, to personalized learning and adaptive learning apps-are all at least somewhat connected to STEM education, which makes the following collection of STEM iPad apps for learning from Listly user Randy Yerrick helpful."