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"Recently, I've been thinking of the universal truths in teaching. Students should be first. Don't always start planning with a standard. Questions matter more than answers. Trust is a currency of a human classroom. So I thought I'd gather twelve of them to start with. The idea of "good teaching" is an idea we get at a variety of different ways, So then, here are some rules we might consider when making sense of this idea of what makes a teacher great."

Haven't you yet built your first ROBOT, when it's become so easy a task. Come on, lets make one in just three days.

"As the Maker Movement has gained steams schools and educators alike have begun to incorporate makerspaces as exploratory centers for students to invent, tinker, create, and make to learn.  A makerspace can best be defined as a physical place where students can create real-world products/projects using real-world tools.  In 2013 I was fortunate enough to hire media specialist/teacher librarian Laura Fleming, who took the initiative to create a makerspace in our school.  Through her work I discovered some guiding principles that might just help you begin to create a makerspace in your school or integrate the process of making across the curriculum.  It is first important to understand three underlying qualities that essential in ensuring that students make to learn:"

Follow along as a public elementary school in Chicago integrates iPad devices into its first and second grade classrooms."

Points to ponder

Young Minds, Fast Times: The Twenty-First-Century Digital Learner How tech-obsessed iKids would improve our schools. by Marc Prensky

Check first as not all may be appropriate for school use.

100 sources where you can find free stock images: and don't worry - they're all legal! Most Popular These resources are some of the most popular free stock image sites on the Web and with good reason. If you're looking for some mainstream images, these are the first place to try.

"readers for the first time ever bought more e-books in the Kindle's proprietary format than actual paper books."

Stykz is the first multi-platform stick figure animation program in the world (as far as we know!), and it is COMPLETELY FREE!

The first multi-platform stick figure animation program. Stykz supports exporting animations in QuickTime Movie and Animated GIF formats

Which Came First - The Technology or the Pedagogy?

"Check out the visual writing idea for the first week of school. This set comes with both a curriculum and a set of visual ideas (as .png). Simply click on the icon above and it should download. Click on the .zip file (most likely in your Download folder of your computer) and everything should work. The resource is Creative Commons, meaning you can print, display or distribute it as you wish.  "

"This page has lots of information about First Nations, Metis and Inuit culture! Whether you are a student in need of help with your homework, or a teacher looking for fun and exciting ideas for your classroom, you have come to the right place!"

Department of Information Technology (DIT), Government of Maharashtra has launched the first and one-of-its-kind 'Online Certification Course on e-Governance' in India. The course aims at creating awareness and understanding about e-governance in the people. The course is available for free and for everybody. The certification has been made mandatory for all staff-members in DIT as well as consultants and software developers working with Government of Maharashtra. Stakeholders and staff-members working on e-governance projects in other states of India can also take the test.

The eGov magazine enjoys the distinction of being Asia's first magazine on e-Governance. Founded in 2005, the monthly magazine is published in both print and online formats, and is focussed exclusively on the use of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) for bringing efficiency, accountability and transparency to various citizen and business related initiatives of the government.

For educators, parents and learners Carol Dweck's research on the benefits of a Growth Mindset is naturally appealing. Those who have a growth mindset achieve better results than those who don't, are more resilient and accept challenge willingly. After two years of incorporating a growth mindset philosophy we are finding that the reality of shifting a student's disposition away from a fixed mindset and then maintaining a growth mindset is significantly more complex than at first imagined.

"For educators, parents and learners Carol Dweck's research on the benefits of a Growth Mindset is naturally appealing. Those who have a growth mindset achieve better results than those who don't, are more resilient and accept challenge willingly. In response schools have embraced the notion and classroom walls are adorned with posters identifying the characteristics of growth versus fixed mindsets. Teachers make efforts to shift their students towards a growth mindset and parents consider how they may assist in the process. After two years of incorporating a growth mindset philosophy we are finding that the reality of shifting a student's disposition away from a fixed mindset and then maintaining a growth mindset is significantly more complex than at first imagined. Numerous forces and influences play a role and progress is unlikely to match a linear curve. Where schools have made steps in the right direction, is in raising awareness of the two mindsets. In this regard the placement of posters and discussion around the role that our mindset has in our learning are steps in the right direction. Demonising the fixed mindset is perhaps an unnecessary step and our students may be better served by understanding that we all have times when we fall into a fixed mindset. Education of how we may recognise such times and apply strategies of mindfulness and metacognition would avoid shifting already vulnerable learners on to the circle of shame. Awareness is however far form the end of the journey towards reaping the benefits of a Growth Mindset."

"Drexel University's ExCITe Center released Making Culture, the first in-depth examination of K-12 education makerspaces nationwide, revealing the significance of cultural aspects of making that enable learning. The research highlights how makerspaces foster a range of positive student learning outcomes, but also reflect some of the gaps in inclusion common in the STEM fields. Credit: ExCITe Center, Drexel University"

"It could be very soon that every child amputee can don a bionic arm in their favorite Disney character's colors for a fraction of the current price. This result will be thanks to Open Bionics and 3D printing. This week, a clinical trial of 3D printed bionic hands for children starts in Bristol. The trial is the world's first and could result in children receiving bionic hands at a fraction of the regular cost of £60,000. Funding from the Small Business Research Initiatives scheme made the trial a reality. 3D printing plays a large part in the price decrease from £60,000 to a projected £5,000. This is thanks to the technology's ability to offer amputees a custom fit at the same time as speeding production. If the trial is successful, bionic hands for kids could soon be available on the NHS (the national healthcare system for the UK). The hands would also feature kids' favorite Disney characters."