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Nice article on balancing being a fun parent while maintaining control.

Colin Gallagher's fun Xmas list of online creativity and fun.... e.g. ElfYourself, Make your own gingerbread, Snowflake Maker.....

With regards to creating a video like the one above do you: Do it because it's not only fun but likely does address some cirriculuar outcomes but you might have to look them up later. Fingers crossed. Do it and to heck with the outcomes, doing joyful things with students is important.  Do it but perhaps as an extra-curricular activity because you're not sure where it fits with a robust curriculum but still think it's important. Not do it at all.  

Create little movies of your google docs stories. Could be fun for Literacy & writing workshop

For those who like to tinker! "It might be fun for you or for students to make do-it-yourself styluses. CNET shows you how to make a stylus in two minutes using a Q-tip and foil. Make Use Of has instructions for constructing a styles from foam, wire, and an old pen. Students at Anastasis Academy made with own iPad styluses for less than 10 cents using a sponge and wire. "

Summary via The Scout Report (Apr 2012): "After watching this erudite (and fun) program from NOVA, you'll never again wonder "Where's selenium?" This two-hour program is hosted by David Pogue (the host of NOVA's "Making Stuff" program) and it "spins viewers through the world of weird, extreme chemistry: the strongest acids, the deadliest poisons, the universe's most abundant elements, and the rarest of the rare." It's a fascinating way to learn about the history of the periodic table, and the discovery and properties of the elements. The site also contains fourteen additional features, such as the Name That Element! quiz, an iPad app, a chemical bonds quiz, an interactive periodic table, and an exploration of the "amazing atomic clock." It may make chemistry junkies out of neophytes, and the already-converted will find much to keep them occupied here. [KMG]"

One of our main goals at Powerful Learning Practice is to turn educators into 21st Century educators. That is, teach them how to use social media and other powerful Web 2.0 tools to transform their classrooms into learning environments that are ready for today's iGeneration students. One of the most common questions we get is, "But where do we find the time to use all this new technology?" To answer that question, we developed this infographic - A Day in the Life of a Connected Educator to show that using social media in your classroom and in your life can be integrated, easy, and fun.

I have written several posts before on the importance of making presentation meaningful and interesting. Not just creating a PowerPoint because it's the easiest tool for you to create a visual representation of your content. Comic books are what I consider to be attention grabbers. After bringing out several samples, you now have the student's attention. It's what you do with that attention that really matters. For this post I thought I would share some great web 2.0 tools that allow you and your students to make comic books. I urge you to make these assignments interesting, and relevant. Make sure that they are strongly tied to important curriculum standards and benchmarks. Just because the form of presentation and activity creation is "fun" does not mean that the substance in the curriculum is not important.

GAMING: Game-based learning has been on the cusp of being "the next big thing" for a while now. Perhaps 2012 will be the year. With the flourishing of mobile technologies, with the promise of data and analytics, and with a realization that we can create new and engaging ways to move through lessons, we are likely to see an explosion of educational gaming apps this year. The big question, of course - with this as with every new ed-tech development: does this actually improve learning? When is a educational game fun? What makes it engaging? What makes it actually educational?

A great site that allows the user to create their own tessellations. Interactive and fun.

See, for example, the ToonBook reader -- in different languages.... "The initial phase of PGF is focused on K - 3 with emphasis on reading and writing skills. Over time, the site will incorporate the areas of science, mathematics, and other core areas, first at K -3rd grade level, and systematically expanding thereafter to encompass grades K - 8. This content will be state standards-based with the intent to include lesson plans, activities, classroom ideas, and incorporate assessment methodologies - all in an entertaining and fun atmosphere for kids.\n"

"A pioneer in research on play, Stuart Brown says humor, games, roughhousing, flirtation and fantasy are more than just fun. Plenty of play in childhood makes for happy, smart adults -- and keeping it up can make us smarter at any age."

blog/website that promotes science -- for kids, for anyone - experiments, articles, fun stuff - by a physicist

such fun... even if you aren't a fan of The Office (UK or US).... re what doesn't work in the classroom in terms of motivating students.... couldn't help bookmarking here.....

"MUSIC & EAR TRAINING GAMES Train your ear with fun music games Sharpen your sense of pitch and tone Unlock the hidden patterns in music Strengthen your music theory skills

I love Instagram because it prompts me to take and share pictures of things that I might otherwise glance at then forget about. Before cell phones entered my life I rarely took pictures. Last week I took the picture that you see below. Almost as soon as it appeared in my Facebook feed via Instagram, my friend Kelly commented with, "shouldn't they be more concerned about weight than the number of people?" Kelly is a middle school math teacher so this picture was right in her wheelhouse of math prompts.

A fun resource for teaching digital citizenship