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"Learnist is one of the hot education-oriented social networks you should know about. If you're a teacher, student, administrator, or anyone who wants to learn while browsing the web, you should know about Learnist. Founded by the folks behind Grockit (the test-prep company), I've been following Learnist since inception. This course is a quick overview of all the key points to know about! Take This Course Students "

"Teachers have wonderful tech tools to choose from these days. I am positively jealous that many of the tools below did not exist even three years ago when I left the classroom. As the E Learning Coordinator of my division, I get to review and train others on the latest tech tools, which I have to admit, is pretty fun! All of the tech tools featured in this post are free, user friendly, and (likely) will be available on your school's network. These tools are best for students in grades 6-12 but the teacher creation tools can be used for any grade/subject level."

"Our guest says that the maker movement is neither something old or something new. The maker movement represents a fresh opportunity to help kids learn in compelling and real-world ways."

"In a "post-truth" era where people are increasingly influenced by their emotions and beliefs over factual information, fact and fiction can be difficult to distinguish, and fake news can spread rapidly through mainstream media sources and social networks. Moreover, fake news is often meant to do harm, by tricking us into believing a lie or unfairly discrediting a person or political movement. Given this malicious intent, students must learn to approach news and information with a critical eye in order to identify intentionally misleading sources (although recent studies confirm that this is an uphill battle for both adults and young people). Teachers therefore play a crucial role in ensuring that their students develop the skills to decipher the many streams of information available to them."

"Teachers are doing some incredible things right now. They're basically magicians. A typical teacher has to figure out how to turn an extremely small budget into an effective year-long learning experience. And they do it all with a too-small (we think) salary and typically using their own money. We think it's time for teachers to have a little fun. That's why we've created a fun little ongoing initiative we're calling #TeacherSelfie. Basically, it's your chance to show off yourself, your classroom, or any of your passions in life to the rest of the teachers around the world. In order to make this happen, we've created the hashtag #TeacherSelfie and are going to be monitoring it on both Twitter and Instagram. You'll find feeds from both of those social networks below. An important note: we obviously don't control what gets posted and who uses the hashtag so please don't be mad if random other people sometimes use it!"

"Learn about the what's, how's and why's of using web 2.0 tools and social networking with elementary age students to enhance learning and student engagement."

"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."

"Light is a fascinating and familiar topic for children and adults. It's also rich and complex, which is great if you are teaching a graduate level course in Quantum Mechanics. But how do you lay the foundation for this exciting topic? What do you teach to the youngest would-be scientists? This self-paced, 5 week course is designed for both formal and informal educators who want to teach children ages 6-14 about the science of light and optics. Starting with a simple kit and some basic activities, we'll work through understanding the basics of light, color, shadows, reflection and refraction. Each module offers easy to digest science content, application of science process skills, connections to real world technologies and engaging activities designed to build your comfort and confidence with light and optics. Throughout each module, guidance (suggestions) on how to use and create learning experiences for children will be provided through online discussions and other opportunities for self-reflection and sharing. This process will support the completion of a final project."

"The technological landscape in schools is always evolving. As consumer trends like social networking, mobile applications and smart devices continue to make their way into the classroom, students are increasingly expecting an atmosphere of more interaction and less presentation. Beyond their expectations, the reality is that - as shown by multiple studies - students learn more through interaction and doing things for themselves, rather than passively absorbing content."

"Your father's school library and school librarian are rapidly disappearing. In this segment we talk about the many ways that the school library is changing teaching and learning."

The project is designed to investigate how social networking services can and are being used to support personalised formal and informal learning by young people in schools and colleges

"I developed this quiz with members of my personal learning network (found at end of post) to get students thinking about their digital footprint. The quiz was created at the request of high school students I spoke with who thought the creation of a such a quiz could lead to a smart conversation about ways students can update their digital footprint so that it is one that leads to college and career success. Check it out with your students and let me know how it goes in the comments below. "

October is Connected Educators Month. Here's a description: Connected Educators is an initiative of the Office of Educational Technology at the U.S. Department of Education and is conducted by the American Institutes for Research in collaboration with several partner organizations and a technical working group. Numerous other organizations and individuals have contributed to its success as organizers and participating organizations in Connected Educator Month. Connected Educators pursues this mission through seeking to understand and promote educators learning and collaborating through online communities of practice and social networks.

"Nearly all kids learn how to count using their fingers. But as kids grow older and math problems become more advanced, the act of counting on fingers is often discouraged or seen as a less intelligent way to think. However, educators, parents and students who frown on kids for using their fingers may be cutting short a greater opportunity: the strengthening of brain networks. Stanford professor Jo Boaler writes in The Atlantic about the neurological benefits of using fingers and how it can contribute to advanced thinking in higher math."

"Companies are starting to flock to Snapchat. McDonald's and Taco Bell are using it to get Snapchatters interested in their products. The NBA and MLS are giving behind-the-scenes footage from their sports worlds. CNN is reporting news content, and The Food Network is providing an extension to its programming. They're providing content that's interesting. They're surprising their audience. And they're having some fun along the way. If companies can do it, teachers and schools can, too … and we can learn some lessons about how to engage students by watching how they engage their customers."