Group items matching

in title, tags, annotations or url

"Simply put, the key to increasing creativity in any organization is to make it start acting like a creative organization. Suppose you wanted to be an artist: You would begin behaving like an artist by painting every day. You may not become another Vincent Van Gogh, but you'll become much more of an artist than someone who has never tried. Similarly, you and your organization will become more creative if you start going through the motions and acting the part. The following are 24 suggestions to encourage you and your colleagues to jump start creativity in your group."

"The premise is simple: start with a quick tour of the facility and very brief show-and-tell of the tools (less than 30 minutes!), follow with a group brainstorming session around project ideas (less than 30 minutes!), then form groups to jump into projects. Even before lunch on the first day, groups were already sketching and tinkering with Hummingbird Robotics kits, MaKeyMaKeys, cardboard and MakeDo's, and more. For two days, I jumped in to help groups, learned new tools myself (LittleBits!), fetched tools and supplies as needed (copper tape! wire strippers!), recommended resources and suppliers (Sparkfun! DigiKey!), and acted as cheerleader for teachers pushing themselves to learn incredible new skills and create amazing artifacts of their learning. The final projects blew ALL of us coaches away! The absolute best part, from my perspective, is that every single project was immediately applicable back in the participant's classroom. Most of them are generally applicable in any learning environment! Serious high school science content, literature and history, elementary grades, even social/emotional learning… This was absolutely the most excellent collection of practical and academically-oriented maker projects I've seen!"

Typing a document on a laptop is an annoying and frustrating experience. Perhaps, you may have noticed the cursor moving or jumping randomly, whenever you are going to type some text on a document or on a Web browser or anywhere else. It reduces the typing speed and overall performance.

"Songza is a music discovery service designed to play the perfect tune for whatever mood or activity you are doing. Think about Pandora and how it designs its stations based off of other artists and songs. Songza does the same thing, but bases its music off of activities such as "Relaxing at Home" or "Cooking." Let's find out more after the jump."

"Since getting my iPad and my iPhone, my life has become more organized and much easier. I work twice as much and twice as hard - and I've become twice as productive. My income has skyrocketed, and I owe it all to becoming more organized. A big chunk of the solution has been iStudiez Pro, a universal app for all your devices. Let's find out more after the jump. "

"There has been a string of high-profile cases where children have racked up thousands of dollars in credit card charges through in-app purchases. In these cases and others like them, the iOS devices used by the children have not been properly locked down by the parents. In this three-part series, we will show you how to set up a kid-friendly iTunes account, lock down your device to prevent in-app purchases and perform some maintenance that'll prevent your tot from sending emails or tweeting on your behalf. You can jump into part two below, where we take a deep dive into the settings and show you how to lockdown your iOS device. "

"I've adopted a few different tech integration models over the years, discussed the ideas with administrators for use as a starting point for tech integration, and kept the ideas front of mind as I invent and discover new ways for using technology as a tool for learning. Discussing the stages of tech integration has led to some thought provoking and inspiring conversations, but the ideas have not gained a lot of momentum in my face-to-face teaching environment until now. As many districts jump on board with 1:1 implementation, Apple's use of the SAMR model as a framework for tech integration presents a consistent, clear and powerful message that is spreading!"

"Last year I tried my hand at having my class make book trailers. They did a decent job given that I wasn't quite sure how to jump into this new medium. Well, this year we've learned from the past and I'm proud to say that the fifth graders are creating book trailers that are better than ever! "

"One of the conversations was going back to the idea of Twitter and does it actually promote literacy.  Thinking about, jumping onto Twitter years ago has led to many amazing opportunities for me, but I also think that it has led to tremendous growth in my own learning over time.  Since I first started connecting with others through the medium, I have written over 88,000 tweets, written over 1,100 blog posts, and one book.  I am a firm believer that if you want to become better at writing, the best way to do it is to write more. Without connecting on Twitter, I truly believe that I would not have written in the other mediums.  I have started blogs before, but never made it past a few posts.  As for a book?  I doubt that was something I would have ever done without Twitter.  I am not the only one; so many educators that have connected through the medium have written and published their own books.  I have seen people criticize that so many educators are writing books now, and I think, "Wow! So many educators are writing books now!"  Educators sharing their wisdom with different audiences all over the world is a pretty powerful thing."

"You may have heard about all the cool things 3D printers can do. If you're a math teacher, maybe you've thought about letting your students make their own manipulatives or get hands-on in geometry with 3D solids. If you're an economics or business teacher, perhaps you've considered assigning students a project to design, market and sell their own 3D-printed products. Or maybe you're a science teacher interested in exploring 3D models of cells, atoms or DNA with your students. Wait! Slow down. Before you jump into purchasing and integrating this new gadget into your classroom, take a moment to consider the logistics and realities of becoming a 3D printer early adopter. Here's a basic FAQ I've developed based on my own experiences and extensive research into classroom 3D printing."

"Root looks like a smoke detector but is actually a sophisticated robot. A magnetic surface, wheels, and an impressive arsenal of sensors allow it to navigate a classroom white board. But Root isn't actually programmed to do anything. Its tasks and functionality hinge on a child's imagination. To operate - Root needs instructions, a line of code. Zivthan Dubrovsky of Harvard's Wyss Institute recalls testing out Root with kids for the first time. He asked them this: "Can you make a text based java script line follower? They go 'no that's hard, can't do that', but we can put level one in front of them and they can do it in minutes." Level one introduces kids to principles of programming using an interface of simple instruction and pictures. As they become more adept, they jump to levels 2 and 3, at which point writing computer code becomes second nature, according to Dubrovsky."

"Excitement about school makerspaces has been in the air, but many educators eager to create hands-on learning spaces in their schools still aren't sure how to get started or why it's worth the effort. New Canaan High School librarian Michelle Luhtala recently jumped headfirst into creating a makerspace in her library and documented what she learned, how her space changed and how it affected students along the way. Her experience was very different from elementary school librarian Andy Plemmons, whose makerspace started with a 3-D printer obtained through a grant and blossomed into a core teaching resource at his school."

"Most kids really appreciate today's technology. Want to know what the latest must-have phone is? What about the newest game or app? Often, you need look no further than the students in your classes. Many of them are passionate about using the coolest gadgets and tools. That's why teaching with cutting-edge technology can be a great way to connect with your students. The right app can make even the most boring or time-consuming subject seem interesting and understandable. Financial concepts like budgeting, buying a house, or running a business may not be the most exciting subjects for students, but it's important to teach kids financial literacy starting at a young age. ZipBooks is free accounting software that can help familiarize them with concepts around running a business. The interface is easy to grasp so students can jump right into the app with little instruction. It's not overwhelming like a lot of accounting software. Every element is labeled clearly, and there are in-app tips to help newcomers get started. There are lots of ways you could use ZipBooks in the classroom and we have outlined a couple ideas to get you started."

"You may have heard the educational buzz about the free app Periscope. With this app, you can record a live broadcast and share it with followers or with the public. If you aren't familiar with the it, check out this Education Closet article from the fall: http://educationcloset.com/2015/09/15/up-periscope-reimagining-arts-integration-professional-development/ Many educators have jumped on the Periscope platform, broadcasting tips after school hours or live from their classrooms. While it is easy to sign up and follow broadcasts, it can be daunting to record a public broadcast yourself. After learning about Periscope, I thought this might be a useful tool for my school district to help teachers network and learn from one another. I ran the idea by my principal, and she was immediately supportive. To help with privacy concerns, we decided all of our broadcasts would be set to private. In order for anyone to see a private broadcast, though, our staff must be mutual followers of each other. Here's the plan we followed when rolling out a school-wide Periscope community."

"Ten years ago, I walked past a newsstand and out of the myriad of multicolored covers, one jumped out at me: MAKE magazine. As someone who grew up making stuff, this magazine spoke directly to me. I bought copies and immediately brought them to the director of my school. I remember triumphantly exclaiming "We should show this to all of the teachers-think of the projects we can do!" A decade later, well-intentioned schools that create dedicated "maker spaces" worry me. For the uninitiated, a maker space often houses ultramodern tools like a laser cutter or 3D printers, mixed with drill presses, table saws, and soldering irons, or perhaps screen printing equipment or sewing machines. My fear is that stand-alone maker spaces will cause the powerful act of creation to be confined to only certain parts of the school building. I worry that yesterday's centralized computer lab-which we rightly democratized and decentralized by putting computers in every classroom-is today's maker space. When I walk past a new room being outfitted with a laser cutter or a drill press and hear, "This is our maker space!" I am tempted to ask: "What happens in all of the other spaces? What do people do there?" The act of creation is transformative. An individual's self-image is forever changed when he or she can hold up a real object-a real contribution to the world-and say, "I made this." In a time when students' lives are increasingly virtual, abstract and vicarious experiences, it is every teacher's job to make learning, and life, "hands-on." "

"Part of the benefit of jumping forward with a 1:1 iPad deployment like we have tried is that we get the opportunity to impart knowledge to other districts looking to do a similar initiative. While that might not seem like a benefit, it actually also means we can make some mistakes because there is not a long history of this type of deployment in the world. "

"For the iPad there is a great timer/stopwatch app called Minu Timer. This universal free app needs no instructions (although it does include a start up 'how to use' page appearing on your first launch). The interface is simple and the user experience proves that a well written app will let users jump right in and get started. A lack of buttons and excessive tuning options keeps things uncluttered and removes the need to tap through to layers of screens."