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"Over the past year more and more schools across the globe have embraced the concept of making to learn.  This phenomenon trickled into schools as the Maker Movement became more popular and natural connections to learning became quite evident.  To begin to understand the educational value of making we must look at the roots of this movement."

There is growing interest from schools in the Maker Movement and Maker Education but with this have come some subtle misunderstandings about what it is all about. For one the modern maker movement is all about the mindset of the maker rather than developing a set of specific skills for making. The second confusion stems from a belief that the maker movement is all about the tools and the makerspace and that as such it involves large budgets.

3 year old Jonathan conducting to the 4th movement of Beethoven's 5th Symphony

The maker movement and with it maker-centered learning brings new possibilities and challenges into the classroom. It has spawned makerspaces and students are busy designing and making products. The danger with all this frenzied making is that it is very easy to miss the point, to focus on the product and not the journey.  

"The classroom environment truly is The Third Teacher. There are those who make a considerable effort to consider an holistic view of classroom design. Physical space, classroom displays, learning opportunities, student preferences, movement of people - all contribute to an engaging learning environment and a positive learning climate"

The Civil Rights Digital Library promotes an enhanced understanding of the Movement by helping users discover primary sources

If you are into creating crazy or funny looking avatars then you will like this new service called Eightbit.me. It helps you create an 8 bit avatar of yourself. You need to sign up with them via Twitter (uses OAuth) and then you can create a full-body avatar that shows a slight movement too. Their homepage displays some examples of user avatars.

A tool to create animations. You can animate the characters, change the background, movement, sound effects and emotions; you can add speech bubbles, interactive elements and music to your animation as well. You can resize things, delete, and move or change their places. Children can create their animated books that talk or they can write their own screenplays and turn them into animation.

A really interesting look at the Khan Academy, and more, and the bigger "Flipped Classroom" movement. The article contains a potted history of the Khan development as well as some rebuttals from Gary Stager and Sylvia Martinez. An interesting read for all wanting to know more about Khan.

"Given the prevalence of Chromebooks in schools, and the momentum with 3D Printing as a school science activity, it seems logical that people would ask "How can we do 3D Printing with just Chromebooks?". Here's some ideas for tools that will all work on the web - on your Chromebook (or in your other computer's browser with no downloaded software)."

Some universities are beginning to focus on a big-picture view of technology: making learning resources available in multimedia, integrating technology from design to delivery, using mobile technologies, and increased focus on network pedagogy. Blackboard (and LMS' in general) have been able to present the message that "you need an LMS to do blended and online learning". To counter this view, the edupunk/DIY approach to learning has produced an emphasis on personal learning environments and networks.

We have to find a way to make schools healthier places.

The Challenge of Prosperity for Australia

There is a change taking place in how schools approach ICT, one that has been coming for some time but is at the point of moving into the mainstream. A subtle but powerful shift that sees ICT build connections with the Maker Movement as a tool for solving what Bronwyn Moreton speaking at the ICT Educators of NSW conference describes as the 'I wish it would .. .moment.

Wireline Services is a subset of Groundwater Monitoring. Wireline Services is generally the electrical cable technology utilized by oil and gas extraction well operators for underground good detection, pipeline protection, pipeline integrity monitoring, reservoir testing, and spill response activities.