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I know that the summer months are a great time for reflection, but I also know that many of us are thinking ahead to the start of our school year.  I wanted to share an activity called, The Marshmallow Challenge, that has been popularized by Tom Wujek's Ted talk called, "Build a Tower, Build a Team."  After watching his presentation last summer, we performed this activity at a faculty meeting early in the year and I though it was a great way to have some fun and launch some great discussions.  We have worked very hard over the past few years to build a collaborative culture and I knew that this challenge would lead to a great discussion about the power of teaming.

Building a Personal Learning Network (PLN) Connecting with other educators and building a personal learning environment to support your professional learning. You'll be surprised how many educators are online sharing ideas, resources and discoveries. Need convincing? Look at some of the great ways my PLN have supported me in the last couple of months:

"iPhone, iPad, Android App Builder and Content Management System (CMS) step 1 Create a buzztouch Account It's super easy and only takes a minute. No credit card or other top-secret stuff required. We respect your privacy, no SPAM here. step 2 Login and Start Building Our free app builder allows you to build a flexible app for your individual needs (or your clients needs). Update app screens and features anytime. step 3 Download the Source-Code Download the source code, compile it using XCode (iOS SDK) or Eclipse (Android SDK) then upload it to iTunes, or the Android Market, or both. "

Online Identity Calculator What's your online identity? Over 47,108 people have already discovered theirs! Today, if you don't show up in Google, you don't exist. Whether you are applying for a new job, being considered for a board position or trying to get a date, you can count on being Googled. So knowing what Google says about you and proactively managing your personal brand online is critical to success. Our Online ID Calculator‚™ is the first and leading tool that will help you make sense of your Google results and give you advice on how to build a stellar online identity that's aligned with your real-world personal brand. Take the essential first step and assess where your online identity stands right now. Enter your name and email address to get started.

Online Identity Calculator What's your online identity? Over 47,108 people have already discovered theirs! Today, if you don't show up in Google, you don't exist. Whether you are applying for a new job, being considered for a board position or trying to get a date, you can count on being Googled. So knowing what Google says about you and proactively managing your personal brand online is critical to success. Our Online ID Calculator‚™ is the first and leading tool that will help you make sense of your Google results and give you advice on how to build a stellar online identity that's aligned with your real-world personal brand. Take the essential first step and assess where your online identity stands right now. Enter your name and email address to get started.

"10 Ways for Teachers & Students to Build Websites The lines between blogging platforms, website platforms, and wiki platforms are not always clear. I have a somewhat simplistic explanation that I give to teachers who don't have a web presence yet, but want to create one for their professional work. Here's the explanation: websites are good for providing a static resource of information, blogs are good for frequent updates and communication, and a wiki is great for collaborating on the creation of a reference site. For the teacher who wants to create a website, here are ten good platforms to try."

"Resources for building and improving teacher websites."

"Resources for building and improving teacher websites."

"Student blogging is not a project, but a process. We are continuously striving to refine, improve and re-evaluate. As I am meeting with teachers individually, I can't stress enough the importance of READING other blogs (professional, student, blogs about your hobby, blogs about other interests you have etc.). I am trying to filter and funnel quality blogs in education, their grade level and areas of interest to them as I come across them, so they can build a quality RSS Reader. BUT.. we need their help in having a basic understanding of blogs, its pedagogical uses, as a platform of a new writing genre (digital writing) and how our blogfolios fit into your curriculum and the BIG PICTURE of LEARNING. The blogfolios are not a platform to use only for a particular subject, but should give evidence of learning for each student. "

PlayScience will take you on a journey of educational fun like never before! For children studying in Grade 1 - PlayScience is the perfect way to build up their science skills. Your child will be able to enjoy a constructive, supportive, interactive fun filled environment while mastering different science concepts. Rather than downloading several disparate apps focusing on different concepts, PlayScience I is your one stop app to help your child learn all science concepts needed for Grade 1. It covers all the learning topics part of Grade 1 curriculum and has been designed with educational and child development experts.

"Hopscotch allows kids to create their own games and animations. Kids unleash their creativity with this beautiful, easy-to-use visual programming language. Inspired by MIT's Scratch, the Hopscotch programming language works by dragging and dropping method blocks into scripts. When you're done with a script, press play to see your code in action! As you get more advanced, you can add more objects and use custom events, such as shaking and tilting the iPad, to run your code. Why coding? By the year 2020, there will be a projected 1.4 million computer jobs but only 400,000 CS students. Computer Science is among the highest paid college degrees and programming jobs are growing at 2x the national average. Many of the best coders fell in love with programming as kids at the age of 8, 10 and 12 years old. With Hopscotch, kids can build and perfect their own creations while while obtaining an understanding of the fundamentals of computer science. Learn more about us at http://www.gethopscotch.com and read our blog at http://blog.gethopscotch.com. "

"Inman USD No. 448 encourages employees and students to be creative and actively engaged in the learning experience. Collaboration and team building among staff is facilitated on a regular basis and everyone in the district is involved in continuously improving the district's programs."

Great interactive site shared on Richard Byrne's Free Technology For Teachers blog.  

"iSchool: a closer look at Manhattan Beach Unified's iPad pilot program email Does Manhattan Beach Unified's iPad pilot program represent the future of education? Kindergarten students at Grand View Elementary School use iPads two times a week. Photo by Alene Tchekmedyian Kindergarten students at Grand View Elementary School use iPads two times a week. Photo by Alene Tchekmedyian Just before 8 a.m. one recent Tuesday, Andy Caine wheeled a waist-high cart into his second-floor history classroom at Mira Costa High School, as the Beach Boys' "I Get Around" played faintly in the background. On the syllabus for the day: the First Amendment. As the first period bell rang, Caine unlocked the cart. "Come and get 'em," Caine said to his class of seniors, and stood behind his podium, on which he's pasted a sticker reading, "Think for yourself. Question Authority." The students put aside their pens and notebooks and lined up at the cart to pick up an unconventional tool that school districts across the nation have been implementing into classrooms. Each student grabbed an iPad and returned to his or her seat. Caine is one of 43 Manhattan Beach Unified School District teachers chosen to try the $500,000 iPad pilot program, which started last fall. At Mira Costa, two English, math, science and social studies teachers use iPads, along with eight science teachers at Manhattan Beach Middle School and 27 teachers of different grade levels at each elementary school. The district purchased 560 student iPads (32 gigabytes and costing around $700 each), in addition to iPads for pilot teachers and administrators. A quarter of the pilot costs are grant funded, while the district supports the rest. Later this year, the School Board will decide whether, and in what capacity, to continue the pilot. Caine and pilot teachers implement iPads into their curricula two to three times a week, a total of 30 to 90 minutes. "I would use them every day if I had the po

"Capturing the Voice of Childhood Capture your child's voice and imagination with our creative story building tool and share them with friends and family. Encourages creativity and self expression Helps reinforce reading and writing skills A GREEN alternative to books NO ads, NO merchandising, NO external links Made with kids in mind! It's Fun and it's FREE for everyone!"

"A short time ago I published a list of "starter apps" for the iPad, most of them free. I've had several questions about how I created this app list, so I made a video describing the process. The method I describe isn't the only way to build an app list document or to share a favorite collection of apps with others. For example, you could save a step and just drag and drop the title of the app into a document once you find the app in the store. It will become a live link and look like this - Merriam-Webster Dictionary HD"

Extreme Speed Booking is a fun way to build book groups/literature circles. I love this method of exposure to a variety of books, authors, and genres.

An Immersive Event for Principals and Teachers The Apple Summer Learning Institute 2010 gives principals and teachers hands-on opportunities to experience how technology is helping transform learning. Led by members of the Apple Professional Development team, each principal and teacher will have the opportunity to experience the latest Apple learning tools - MacBook, iPad, and iPod touch - first hand, for the duration of the event. Over the course of two days, educators will discover how Apple products can help engage today's learners, enrich core curriculum, and build student competency like never before.

The aim of this site is to help you gain the skills to build your own personal learning network (PLN)!