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Australian outfit Bridge 8, who have the admirable mission of devising "creative strategies for science and society," and animator James Hutson have created six fantastic two-minute animations on various aspects of critical thinking, aimed at kids ages 8 to 10 but also designed to resonate with grown-ups. Inspired by the animation style of the 1950s, most recognizably Saul Bass, the films are designed to promote a set of educational resources on critical thinking by TechNYou, an emerging technologies public information project funded by the Australian government. The animations - which are part Minute Physics, part The Dot and the Line, part 60-Second Adventures in Thought - are released under a Creative Commons license and cover the basics of logic and the scientific method, as well as specific psychological pitfalls like confirmation bias and Gambler's Fallacy.

Ccreative and critical thinking strategies from there to schools around the world. The Lab is designed to share actionable innovations from both worlds.

The Lost Lunchbox is the one of internet's first educational role-playing games (RPG) designed specifically for children in grades 3 -8. Conceived by Greg Nussbaum, creator of MrNussbaum.com, and designed by the team at igamestudio.com, The Lost Lunchbox is an unforgettable and exciting experience for students that incorporates critical thinking skills in multiple disciplines, problem solving, and a healthy dose of adventure and curiosity. The Lost Lunchbox is an outstanding, educational alternative to traditional video games that glamorize violence and promote mental stagnation.

It's a practical guide to building 21st century-student competency in the "4 C's" - critical thinking, collaboration, communication, and creativity/innovation. The book is designed for middle school and high school teachers, instructional coaches, and school leaders. It also shows how the 4 C's in a PBL context align with the Common Core State Standards. Sample projects, CCSS-aligned 4 C's rubrics, tips for technology in projects, notes for school leaders on building support for 21st century learning with PBL. Authors: Suzie Boss, author and BIE National Faculty, and John Larmer, Editor-in-Chief, BIE

In 2016 the web development tools are very exciting and make your working on HTML CSS and other platforms or languages of website very easy, like animations, transition, library, newsletters, boxes, games, wire frames and other important thinks now very easier than easy to do in very short time and short efforts, so every designer should also learn trends of web design in 2016 and this best new tools of web design in 2016.

Do you really 'cover' the material for a class or do you design learning experiences which lead students to discover / uncover things for themselves? PBL offers many opportunities to acquire critical thinking skills which are far more important than covering a list of standards.

The History Game Canada is a game based on Canadian history that lets anyone play the past. Based on the award-winning, best-seller Sid Meier's Civilization III, The History Game Canada is the "What If" game of Canada... and you're the author. Will you replay our history or rewrite it? History teachers and high-school students are our primary audience, but we think we've designed a game that will appeal to all ages, all Civilization players, and anyone with a passing interest in the history of North America and particularly Canada. You'll need a copy of Civilzation III Conquests (patched to version 1.22) or a copy of Civilization III Complete. (Canada pack is free)

I recently spent three days with about 25 educators gathered for a Foundations of Innovation workshop in Detroit. This post describes a few take-aways. The experience has me thinking about differences/distinctions between PBL and design thinking.

As most of you know, the uber gods of PBL are BIE. I was first introduced to the BIE PBL 'model' from mate Dean Groom who handed me over what I still refer to as my 'PBL Bible' - a ring-binder full of the BIE Freebies that help teachers plan effective projects and keep students on track as they move through the different phases of each project. The cool thing is that you can use as much or as little as you want … PBL is a very personal process that (like all good teaching) should be tailored to the expertise and needs of the teacher and students. However, there are 8 Elements of Project Based Learning that can be called the 'essential elements' of PBL … keeping an eye on these and 'testing' your project design based on them can help you determine if what you're creating isn't just a 'project'. I really like this statement from BIE contrasting PBL and traditional 'projects':

A typical unit with a "project" add-on begins by presenting students with knowledge and concepts and then, once gained, giving students the opportunity to apply them. Project Based Learning begins with the vision of an end product or presentation. This creates a context and reason to learn and understand the information and concepts.

Edutopia is offering a free month-long PBL camp (I'm facilitating). We're going to use the oil spill as the starting place for designing collaborative projects that get students thinking as problem-solvers. Great opportunities here for finding classroom partners and like-minded collaborators. Please join us!

Six math projects that integrate real-world math problems are presented as a teaching strategy for helping students develop a greater understanding of math.