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"Summer has begun! This is a great opportunity to reflect on the past year and to learn some new skills for next school year. We will be starting a weekly book study of Dave Burgess', Teach Like a Pirate on 6/17 at 8pm CST. Burgess teaches cutting-edge strategies for skyrocketing creativity so that teachers will be able to design lessons to draw students into their content like a magnet. Readers will leave with the ability to create a classroom experience that will have students knocking down the doors to get in. The book will have your mind racing with ideas that you can bring into your classroom immediately."

"As the school year draws to a close, many reflections are running around in my brain. The biggest one though stemmed from a question I have asked myself about our school mascot, the penguin. Why a penguin? They are cute, and fun to observe; but where is the value in having this little formal wearing bird as a mascot? After much reading and many discussions all via twitter chats, I have come to discover that being a penguin is an amazing feat...maybe even more amazing than one may realize. I have observed and interacted with my students in new, scary, unchartered, and sometimes crazy fun waters this year (Genius Hour, Maker Space, STEAM, getting ipads, etc.) and through it all have come to  realize what it means for my students to Live Like a Penguin. I am sure many of you educators out there have heard of the author, Dave Burgess, who wrote "How to Teach Like a Pirate", "How to Learn Like a Pirate", etc. In his books he assigns term to each letter of PIRATE that encourage innovation, risk taking, and determination.  Taking inspiration from him, I have come up with an acronym for our mascot, the PENGUIN that seems to truly fit how my students and I lived this year of teaching and learning and how I hope we both continue to so in our futures. ​Live like a PENGUIN:"

Dave Eggers TED Talk - http://www.ted.com/speakers/Dave_eggers.html

" Because the summer usually offers many freedoms -- later nights, lazier mornings and space in between to just be a kid -- the structure of a fall schedule can be a bit jarring for the under-20 crowd. And while I am no David Letterman (love you, Dave!), I love a good Top 10 List, so below are the Top 10 Ways to Avoid Flunking the Fall."

A video series by Dave & Blake from My Life Online with genuinely great content and strategies for parents, encouraging conversation and relationship building. Video 1 - The 3 Habits every kid needs to be safe and responsible online. Video 2 - The 4 myths about screen time and how it affects your child. Video 3 - The 3 Crucial Conversations you need to have with your child about social media.

"Chances are if you're a teacher that you've considered how to continue to engage students once classes are over for the day, or even the year. Above all, beyond our daily interactions with learners, we'll always want their curiosity to continue and this is a commendable mindset. So what about a selection of apps that can make this happen? Thankfully, Dave Saltmarsh from eSchool News has recently come up with a terrific list of apps that are designed to engage students during "rainy days, road trips or any time in between." Check out the links he has compiled below."

"With so many Raspberry Pi projects to choose from, it can be tricky to find the one you really want to build. Our advice is to find a way to marry the Pi with something you really love. One great example is TV and movie robots - iconic characters from popular sci-fi that can be rebuild at home with a Raspberry Pi built in. Once constructed, your robot might be able to utter commands when a condition is met (perhaps a sensor detects motion). Or it might move around, learning about its surroundings, or reading information to you from Wikipedia. Whatever you have in mind, it should be relatively straightforward to plan and execute. It may take some time, however. Here are five example projects that show how you can combine a Raspberry Pi 2 or later with your favorite fictional robot. 5 Things Only a Raspberry Pi 2 Can Do 5 Things Only a Raspberry Pi 2 Can Do The latest edition of the pint-sized computer is awesome. So awesome, in fact, that there's 5 things you can only do on a Raspberry Pi 2. READ MORE 1. R2-D2 We've all wanted our very own astromech droid, haven't we? Sure, no one on earth is (currently) operating a light speed drive, but Star Wars droid R2-D2 has far greater abilities than onboard spacecraft maintenance. For instance, he can hold torches, carry a tray of drinks, and launch lightsabers across pits in the desert. Okay, it's unlikely you'll manage to get your own R2-D2 robot to do that… but don't let that put you off. Check out this little guy, controlled by a Raspberry Pi. While this project was based on an existing R2-D2 toy, that shouldn't limit your ambition. You'll find plenty of R2-D2 builds on YouTube. There's a massive R2-D2 building community online. Finding one that has a drive unit should be ideal for integrating a Raspberry Pi (and perhaps an Arduino, which you can use the two together) and developing a more realistic R2-D2 experience. Arduino vs Raspberry Pi: Which Is The Mini Computer For You? Arduino vs Rasp

"Increasingly, educators are acknowledging and welcoming the relative advantages of social media into the teaching and learning process. From creating school Facebook pages to connecting students with experts via Twitter, social media has taken root as a legitimate classroom learning and communication tool. The highly linguistic nature of social media allows us to create and consume ideas and information unlike ever before. Much attention has been given to composing an articulate blog post and condensing our messages to 140 characters or less. However, effective use of this 21st century technology requires that we not only become proficient in textual communication, but also in our ability to express ourselves and interpret others' ideas through visual literacy. "

"The NMC Horizon Report: 2014 K-12 Edition was released this past week, examining emerging technologies and their potential impact on teaching and learning worldwide. Part of the NMC Horizon Project, a 12-year effort, this report highlights "six trends, challenges, and emerging technologies that will affect current practice" over the next five years. Aside from being great content for your next Twitter chat, this year's iteration of the NMC Horizon Report is a must-read for 21st century educators and education policy makers alike. Following is a summary of major points."