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The space shuttle Endeavour made its final journey last weekend, traveling 12-miles from Los Angeles International Airport, through Inglewood, to the California Science Center in Exposition Park.

Take today's kindergartner and fast forward 5,000 days: Will that same child be a confident graduate prepared to tackle his or her dreams? Stay tuned as the 5,000 Days Project follows the lives of a diverse group of students as they progress through the Issaquah School District. The participants are being filmed each year, and their final video documentaries will be posted here as they graduate.

This great video clearly outlines Genius Hour movement  happening in classrooms across the world! After reflecting for a few months on how to initiate #GeniusHour in my classroom I finally jumped i...

The book examines the underlying principles that guide effective teaching in an age when everyone,and in particular the students we are teaching, are using technology. A framework for making decisions about your teaching is provided, while understanding that every subject is different, and every instructor has something unique and special to bring to their teaching.The book enables teachers and instructors to help students develop the knowledge and skills they will need in a digital age: not so much the IT skills, but the thinking and attitudes to learning that will bring them success. [Scroll down for list of contents] Book release date (final version): 1 April 2015

"Many media have finally recognized the education bubble and the potential that it may hurt our economy more than the housing bubble. However, two experts in the field of education know this and are trying to change the way we see education - Dr. Raymund Paredes and Salman Khan."

Can tablet computers "parachuted" into remote areas transform childhood learning, asks Nicholas Negroponte .. One Laptop per Child (OLPC), even after giving out nearly 3 million laptops, is still criticised along the following lines: "Negroponte believes that you can give a child a laptop and walk away." Whether I ever believed that or not is now secondary. It became such a refrain that I finally asked myself about a year ago: "What if you could?"

"What really happened at the First Thanksgiving? Become a history detective and find out! In this fun, award-winning activity, kids take on the role of "history detectives" to investigate what really happened at the famous 1621 celebration. (Hint: It was a lot more than just a feast!) Along the way, they'll read a letter written by an eyewitness to the event, learn about Wampanoag traditions of giving thanks, and visit Pilgrim Mary Allerton's home. As a final activity, kids can design and print their own Thanksgiving exhibit panel."

Finally, a clear explanation of how to capitalize titles and kinship terms!

SUNDAY, MAY 17, 2009 Creating a Wordsearch using Google Spreadsheets I'm a fan of alternative learning and testing techniques. Back when I was the teaching assistant for the "History of Video Games" class (yes, that's a real class), I gave the final exam as an illustrated crossword puzzle. It was surprisingly hard to find software for creating that crossword, so I hoped to make a Spreadsheets gadget to make it easier. Unfortunately, crossword-solving algorithms that run entirely in JavaScript are hard to find, and I gave up and went for second best: a wordsearch gadget. (A big thanks to Robert Klein for the wordsearch JavaScript library.) Here are steps for using the gadget: Create a new spreadsheet, and put a list of words in the first column. (Or, alternatively, use an existing spreadsheet that has a column of words you're interested in). My sample spreadsheet has a simple animals wordlist: Click on the "Insert" menu and then select "Gadget..." This presents you with various categories of gadgets to choose from (similar to the iGoogle directory). My gadget isn't yet in the gallery, so you'll need to select "Custom" and then type in the URL to the gadget: The gadget will appear embedded in the current worksheet, and it will prompt you to select a range of data to send to the gadget. Select all the cells that contain the desired words, and you should see the Range text field update with the range. If it doesn't work, you can always manually type it in. You can now customize the number of rows and columns. The default is 10 by 10, but if you have more words, you likely want a larger wordsearch. Click "Apply", and see the generated output. You have a few options for how you use the wordsearch. You can play with it immediately, inside that gadget, or you can use the option on the gadget menu to move the gadget to its own sheet and use it there. Note that each time you reload the spreadsheet, the wordsearch will be randomly generated with a new layout - so

I know you have heard me say it before: "e-learning is superior to classroom based learning". And I know, that despite all the data, all the research, all the information out there on the net, in the library even on various social media channels that show this to be true, many people are not swayed.

How to tap into Creative COmmons resources

If your students are using images, video, or music in the final products that they are producing for your class, then it is INCREDIBLY important that you introduce them to the Creative Commons -- an organization that is helping to redefine copyright laws.

Finally seeing results with their MOOCS...

Digital Portfolios- are they really worth it?

Finally an article that actually clarifies the misconception about Common Core

"In this epaper, we describe a structured approach to inquiry-based learning that uses the World Wide Web as a primary information resource. Specifically, we address an intuitive 8-step process that begins with an essential question and ends with a knowledge product produced by students, typically completed in a cooperative setting. We also discuss the skills required by both student and teacher to make inquiry-based learning and the Internet a successful endeavor. Finally, we discuss the components of a Project Page, an online document that facilitates the learning process and support the reader with Web links relating to inquiry-based learning."

PISA paper describing the effects of choice and competition on social inclusion and school performance

A superb maths game set in a vast magical world, reminiscent of the early Final Fantasy games. Complete the challenges and battle with monsters by answering maths questions. There is a teacher's dashboard so you can set up and track the progress of your students. Questions are age appropriate and adapt to the ability of the child to keep them moving on.

Personalized Learning implementation recommendations