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"To some people, Finland isn't a whole lot more than a chilly, northern country boasting a population of around 5 million people. Whether you've been to Finland or not, you probably haven't had the chance to take an up-close and personal look at one of Finland's greatest accomplishments to date - its high-achieving education system. Students in Finland have, over the past several years, risen to the top of the academic food-chain, and they've become some of the top scholarly performers in the world. Compared to many other developed nations, including the US and Canada, Finland's high school graduation rates have continued to grow steadily and impressively. Furthermore, a huge percentage of students continue on to earn college degrees, and students at all levels perform exceedingly well on standardized tests."

"iTooch Elementary is an app covering the official Maths, Science and Language Arts curriculum for grades 3-5. Each title contains 40-50 chapters and includes 1000-2000 activities. The apps created by iTooch are currently being used by more than 300,000 students and have been created by teachers to make sure they comply with the U.S. National Common Core Standards. You can click here to see the teachers behind the development of iTooch."

"The opportunities for learning through the use of digital gaming are diverse and massive. The speed and ease in which basic game development can be achieved using apps such as Sketch Nation can provide a platform for outstanding cross-curricular projects and really make an impact on progress, standards and pupil independence. This blog post describes one project (upper KS2) which could easily be adapted to suit Key Stage 1 or expanded to meet the needs of Key Stage 3 pupils, and to support almost any topic/subject. 1:1 use of iPods enabled maximum pupil engagement but fewer devices could have been used if pupils collaborated in groups"

"The past couple weeks my 7th grade daughter has been working on a National History Day project for her social studies class. Today she proudly showed me the display board which her group created about our president."

"With all the acronyms that determine hundreds of different areas of education, it is easy to confuse them all. Since 2001, the letters STEM have been a normal part of educational vocabulary. The acronym STEM stands for Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics. This program was started by Judith A. Ramaley, the former director of the National Science Foundation's education and human-resources division."

"BRISTOL, England-Any child in England who has turned 3 by Sept. 1 is guaranteed 15 hours a week of free childcare or preschool for 38 weeks a year, or 570 hours total, paid for by the national government. "We don't think of it as socialism at all," said the Oxford University professor Edward Melhuish, who studies child development and was instrumental in conducting the research that largely led to England's current policies. "We think of it as common sense.""

"A number of national initiatives are underway to support getting students access to maker skills and tools, including 3D printers. As schools and educators are seeking advice on what to get, it is important for them to recognize that the needs of students in a classroom are different than those of hobbyists or professional makers. Here are a few important criteria for educators to consider when evaluating 3D printers for their class:"

"The messaging app Snapchat allows motorists to post photos that record the speed of the vehicle. The navigation app Waze rewards drivers with points when they report traffic jams and accidents. Even the game Pokémon Go has drivers searching for virtual creatures on the nation's highways. When distracted driving entered the national consciousness a decade ago, the problem was mainly people who made calls or sent texts from their cellphones. The solution then was to introduce new technologies to keep drivers' hands on the wheel. Innovations since then - car Wi-Fi and a host of new apps - have led to a boom in internet use in vehicles that safety experts say is contributing to a surge in highway deaths."

"The iPad has found its way into hospitals, retail stores and homes across the nation, but it's also making a big splash in the classroom, even with some of the best online colleges. With a great selection of apps focused on everything from word processing to keeping in touch with classmates, the tablet computer can be an invaluable tool for learning - no matter your age. Online science students haven't been left out, of course, and there are a wide range of applications offering help with chemistry, biology, astronomy and even the math that comes along with certain fields. If you're a college student looking to supplement your science studies, these apps are some of the best for learning, sharing, researching and just plain having fun."

""Project based learning's time has come." Educators across the nation have been realizing the potential for powerful deeper learning when project-based learning (PBL) is employed. We have witnessed schools that are wall-to-wall with projects, blended classrooms engaging in PBL and organizations that are helping to create high leverage engagement opportunities for all students. Leaders at schools and organizations across the United States and around the world are helping to continue to build and sustain the PBL momentum. Their vision for what PBL can be in, and can bring to, their communities is astounding. At PBL World, a conference focused on innovations in project-based learning, we heard inspiring messages about what's possible in PBL."

"You know you have "arrived" when the White House honors a week just for you. This June 17-23 President Obama and his staff will host the National Week of Makers. With the support of the President, it's safe to say that making is not just a trend, rather it is a movement rapidly spreading across the educational landscape. It has become commonplace to hear of urban makers quarters, events such as Maker Faires, and schools building maker spaces in community areas. As is with most frenzies, while it can be invigorating and inspiring, it can also feel intimidating and overwhelming. If the later descriptors speak to you, never fear because there are baby steps you can take to integrate making into your curriculum."

" The Fabulous Field Trip Guide: Mobile Learning and QR Codes 7/6/2016 12:10:00 AM By Shelly Terrell "You have brains in your head. You have feet in your shoes. You can steer yourself any direction you choose."- Dr. Seuss, Oh, The Places You'll Go! In 2012, I visited the British Library with Terry Freedman. I was astounded by how much interaction I was able to have with the exhibits. I got to experience the exhibits with 3D glasses, touch tabletop screens, and scan QR codes. As I venture to more museums, landmarks and national parks, I have noticed how these sites are making their exhibits more engaging by adding a mobile component. Before planning your next field trip, discover ways the site is integrating QR codes, mobile apps, and . Check out my recommended apps and tips below along with a slide presentation (free to download) and bookmarks. Check out the rest of The Fabulous Field Trip Guide with suggested activities, virtual field trips, and virtual reality and augmented reality apps and web tools."

"As the maker movement sweeps the nation, many school librarians are in the early planning stages of incorporating a makerspace into their current programming. Some libraries are struggling to get buy-in and funding from administration, while others are still figuring out how to transform their space. What are the right tools you need to get buy-in and jumpstart makerspaces in schools?"

"Five years ago when I started DIY Girls, I envisioned a community for girls driven by an interest in making. I was inspired by the maker movement. The movement was making equipment and resources that were formerly only available in engineering labs more accessible and I wanted to teach girls to use and create with them. I was excited. Then reality hit. I started in the Los Angeles community I grew up in and I quickly ran into what I thought were barriers of working in an under-resourced public school. The classroom space where I was going to run the program for girls didn't have wi-fi, there were no computers and I didn't have enough money to buy the equipment I thought would make this a real maker program. People also thought I would prepare the girls to compete in expensive engineering and robotics competitions. That couldn't happen."

"In our innovative classrooms across America, students are using technology in ways that were unheard of just ten short years ago. In a small elementary school in Northwest Baltimore, students use their Makerspace to create 3D printed materials, learn to code and engage in other making activities. In another school in Philadelphia, a student fulfills his senior capstone project requirement by creating a "Smart Beehive" that uses sensors and a camera to track the health of a bee colony. While there are some schools of education that prepare pre-service teachers to excel in these types of technology-rich environments on their first day of in-service teaching, there is still room for growth in our teacher preparation programs as a whole, particularly as more schools shift towards digital learning. "Education-Creative Commons" by NEC Corporation of America licensed under CC BY 2.0" This is why the 2016 National Educational Technology Plan (NETP) asks us to refine educational technology's place in teacher preparation programs. It makes the bold statement that "no new teacher exiting a preparation program should require remediation by his or her hiring district."¹"

"Organized by the New York Academy of Medicine Library, #ColorOurCollections returns next week. From February 6th through February 10th, you and your students/community will be able to discover, download, print and color pages shared by more than 200 libraries, museums and special collections from around the world-among them: Biodiversity Heritage Library, Bodleian Libraries, Cambridge University Digital Library, Europeana, Medical Heritage Library, Metropolitan Museum of Art, National Library of Medicine, and New York Public Library"

"For those of you interested in learning and exploring an aboriginal language, the collection below has you covered. Curated from iTunes 'Explore an Aboriginal language' collection in App Store, this selection features 16 great iPad apps to introduce you to a wide variety of aboriginal languages spoken by First Nations in countries like Canada, Australia, USA and New Zealeand. More specifically, the languages covered are: Innu, Nakota, Ojibway, Denesuline, Atikamekw, Maskwacis and Manitoba Cree, Tlicho Dene, Mi'kmaw, Michif, and Saulteaux. "

"Creating poetry on the iPad is the perfect way to celebrate National Poetry Month and there are many engaging and useful apps for creating poetry available!  Slip some technology integration into your poetry activities this month with these 10 iPad apps for creating and sharing poems."