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"For one language arts class project, a middle school teacher in Shelburne, Virginia, Chad Sansing, asks his sixth graders to read Peter Cherches's 1986 poem "Lift Your Right Arm," and then translate it into computer code. The poem occurs in action sequences-for example, "Lift your right arm, she said./I lifted my right arm." Sansing and his class conceive a list of actions, sketch ideas of how to code them, using icons or letters, and then code the poem. In doing so, the students become producers of both a new language and way of seeing poetry. Sansing's students have also translated the poem's code into Scratch, to create animation, and into LEGO Mindstorms EV3, a robot-programming language. This innovative way of engaging students with poetry is just one example of how educators are increasingly integrating transmedia techniques in their teaching and assessments. What is the point of this activity? "To help kids see connections between grammar and code," says Sansing who shares his lessons on his "Classroots" blog."

"For many years New Milford High School was just like virtually every other public school in this country defined solely by traditional indicators of success such as standardized test scores, graduation rates, and acceptances to four year colleges. These indicators have become so embedded in the minds of those judging our schools and work that we, like everyone else, worked hard to focus only on initiatives that would hopefully produce favorable outcomes in those areas. If we were doing well we continued down the same path allowing the status quo to reign supreme. The mentality of if it ins't broke than why fix it resonated so profoundly with us that we would not have even considered changing our ways. If results were not what our stakeholders wanted this would then trigger meetings leading to the development of action plans to get us back on course. "

"Photos, logos, graphics and images are an important part of any multimedia creation that students produce. A few well placed, high quality images can transform class work from amateur to spectacularly professional. So, unless you plan on taking your own photographs or creating your own artwork, finding legitimate Creative Commons images is an essential digital skill. To help students (and teachers) navigate and understand the often confusing space that is digital copyright, here are five tools that we recommend using to to search, reference, attribute and download Creative Commons images."

"Need a little lift to get you through the day, the week, and propel you through to the end of the school year? I've so enjoyed the videos from Kid President, I wanted to check out some other content from Soul Pancake. I was not disappointed. These folks are putting out so many great, fun empowering clips! This is just a small collection of what they've produced. You and your students are sure to find some inspiration (and humor) in these videos."

"So if you've ever wanted to reach a broad audience as a podcaster, there's no time like the present. These days, the difference in quality produced by professional set-ups-with layers of soundproofing and pricey microphones-don't sound all that different from recordings made on a smaller budget.  But hardware and software alone don't make for polished audio. Having worked in studio settings ranging from small town radio stations, to control rooms of nationally syndicated radio shows, I can tell you that good technique is just as important.  For the best recordings on a budget, check out this list of tips and tools for the budding podcaster. "

"Hackathons, tech shops, makerspaces: These terms are increasingly prevalent in today's vernacular, and for good reason. They represent a burgeoning global movement with people of all ages developing, designing, and often marketing their creations. In the age of the maker, anyone can be an inventor. Their potential impact on the world is enormous. Innovations and discoveries are no longer produced exclusively by scientists in white lab coats or research and development departments of major corporations. Thanks to affordable technologies and online environments, individual makers can launch small companies to manufacture and market their goods. This shift in industry is influencing the way we learn, shop, sell, and interact. Here are four ways this movement is changing our world. "

"Last week Why Are There Clouds? was one of the most popular posts on the Free Tech for Teachers Facebook page. A good follow-up to that lesson is found in Where Does the Smell of Rain Come From? Produced by It's Okay to Be Smart, Where Does the Smell of Rain Come From? explains why we sometimes think we smell rain before a thunderstorm. Through the video we also learn about the role of petrichor in the lives of some animals."

"Everything we've been told about food and exercise for the past 30 years is dead wrong. FED UP is the film the food industry doesn't want you to see. From Katie Couric, Laurie David (Oscar winning producer of AN INCONVENIENT TRUTH) and director Stephanie Soechtig, FED UP will change the way you eat forever."

"Education-bashing has become something of a national sport in the United States. From hurling criticism about slipping test scores, socio-economic disparity, dropout rates, to raising concerns about poor teaching standards and school resources, the popular narrative is that U.S. schools are failing children. There's good reason for the pile-on: in many cases, the problems are real. While most of the conversation around education reform centers on how to address these existing issues, another point of view has been gaining momentum over the last several years. It's a point of view that is less focused on fine-tuning the current system for high performance-since the system was built in 1893 with the goal of churning out "good workers"-and more about rethinking education entirely and how it meets the world's rapidly changing economy in the information age. This topic is explored in depth in the feature-length documentary, Most Likely to Succeed, which premiered at Sundance and will appear at the Tribeca Film Festival April 24. In the film, director, writer and producer Greg Whiteley casts a light on the shortcomings of established education methods by focusing on one school that's defying convention, San Diego's High Tech High. While following two ninth-grade classes for a year, with classroom instruction unlike anything you've ever seen, the doc offers some inspirational ideas for how to help students rise to the occasion of an innovation economy that requires critical thinking."

"Business realized that simply putting an existing paper-and-pencil process on a computer would produce modest or incremental gains,"

"I have been making printed versions of books made with Book Creator on an iPad for many years. The app produces a really decent file for hard copy printing. First thing to realise is that your video and sound files won't work on paper. I know that sounds silly but people sometimes get upset when they first realise this. What you do get is a paper book which looks like it was purchased from a bookstore - it looks so professional."

"I've been very pleased to have the chance to beta test the upcoming DoInk Green Screen app for the iPad. It's in a word, phenomenal. It's the best of what makes technology so delightful. It just works, and produces great results with very little effort. I think people are going to love it to pieces."

"A 3D-printed robotic hand that costs just £1,000 to produce has won the 2015 James Dyson Award in the UK."

"The Maker Movement is a new trend based on old school traditions in which the philosophy of doing, building, and creating prevails over just simply buying. Instead of going to the toy store, people are learning how to design and 3D print their own toys. Instead of shopping for furniture, people are going to local community workshops like TechShop and building their own custom chairs and tables. The Maker Mentality creates a powerful paradigm shift by eliminating the separation between consumer and producer. By looking at the benefits and upsides of the Maker Movement and analyzing why it has reemerged, we can use it productively in the classroom by intertwining these new techniques with the classic methods such as lecture, reading, and so on."

"SAN FRANCISCO - Many children in San Francisco do not have regular access to computers in school, let alone computer science classes. The school district is about to change that as it plans to become the first large urban school district in the country to commit itself to exposing every child to computer science starting in pre-kindergarten all the way through 12th grade. "We are not trying to produce an army of software engineers," said Bryan Twarek, SFUSD's computer science coordinator. "We want to open all doors to this industry, and right now those doors aren't open to everyone.""

"When 3D printing was first introduced over 30 years ago it felt like something more likely to appear in a Star Trek episode than reality. Today, more companies than ever are utilizing this technology to take their concepts from the boardroom to the design table in a matter of hours. The first step of every "solid imaging" project - as the name was originally dubbed by inventor Chuck Hull - is using 3D printing software, or computer aided design (CAD) software, to create your digital blueprint and send it off to the 3D printer to have it created layer by layer. The first thing Chuck ever printed was a tiny cup for washing the eye, something boring yet innovative in that it would spawn objects that even good ol' Chuck probably never thought possible. Below is a list of many of these items that can be created by a 3D printer that you wouldn't think would be. These items were selected for this list because you'd probably not think of them as manufacturable items and because some of them cannot be produced with a single process while employing traditional manufacturing processes."

"On the second floor of Morgan State University's engineering building, Jacob Walker, 12, is putting the finishing touches on a ruler he's just created. Not yet an actual ruler. One he's designing on the computer. He just needs to add his initials - then it's time to produce it on a 3-D printer. Jacob starts seventh grade in the fall and has big dreams. Building this ruler is all part of the plan. "When I was a child," he says, "I loved to play with Legos, and it inspired me to be an engineer when I get older." Jacob is one of some 50 boys in this free, four-week camp at Morgan State. It's called the Minority Male Makers Program - paid for by Verizon."

"Explore STEM education in settings beyond the classroom walls, and see how opportunities to learn science, technology, engineering, and mathematics are all around us. From science-based internships, to student-run makerspaces, to after-school activities, STEM is everywhere.  The videos in this series were produced by Mobile Digital Arts, and were made possible through generous support from the Noyce Foundation."

"Creation-based tasks promote higher-order thinking, encourage collaboration, and connect students to real-world learning. Whether you're teaching in a project-based learning classroom, engaging students with authentic assessments, or committed to pushing students to analyze and synthesize, providing opportunities for creation is a must. Students who are "making" to demonstrate their learning can produce content that is shareable and valuable. Their creations can be geared toward a specific audience and viewed outside of the classroom. The sense of purpose that students have as creators can be leveraged to increase engagement and get learners of all ages excited about content."

"Journey Into the Arctic is a neat choose-your-own-adventure series of videos about the search for the Northwest Passage. The series of videos, produced by Canadian Heritage, puts viewers in the role of an explorer leaving England in the 19th century to search for the Northwest Passage. At the end of each segment in the series viewers have to make decisions about navigation and logistical concerns. Each decision will lead to another segment in which viewers can continue or turn back in the exploration."