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interesting blog post from an early childhood perspective - also interesting reply to the blog post at the bottom of the page

Summary via The Scout Report (April 2012): "The Sumanas Corporation was created in 1994 to help design accurate and interesting products for higher education. Along on the way, they have seen fit to create a range of complementary online animations for students and teachers interested in biology. On this page, visitors will find 37 helpful animations that cover a range of topics. The first two on the site address meiosis and mitosis and they are a good place to start for any student of general biology. Each one of the animations includes audio narration, along with a step-by-step tutorial and a short quiz. Other favorites here include "The Scientific Method" and "Simple Stimuli Trigger Fixed Behaviors" Overall, the site is well-designed and it may pique the curiosity of those who haven't thought much about biology in some time. [KMG]"

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.

Interesting blog post from Jabiz Raisdana - do your reporting methods match our teaching methods and do the 21c learning tools we are using and expecting the students to use fit into the 'old' style report cards. Interesting things to think about

A blogpost from Jabiz Raisdana about whether or not students should unplug or disconnect from tech use. Very interesting perspectives, and a huge lot of comments, which all bring up interesting points

Great Article via Ali F. The lecture has its place. Asking students to close their laptops has its place. But, failing to explore new possibilities for education prompted by emerging technologies does not serve the interests of either group.

So Prensky was right the first time - there really is digital native generation? No, certainly not - and that's what's important about this study. It shows that while those differences exist, they are not lined up on each side of any kind of well-defined discontinuity. The change is gradual, age group to age group. The researchers regard their results as confirming those who have doubted the existence of a coherent 'net generation'. "We found no evidence for any discontinuity in technology use around the age of 30 as would be predicted by the Net Generation and Digital Natives hypothesis," says the report. What the reseachers do find interesting and worthy of further study is the correlation - which is independent of age -- between attitudes to technology and approaches to studying. In short, students who more readily use technology for their studies are more likely than others to be deeply engaged with their work. "Those students who had more positive attitudes to technology were more likely to adopt a deep approach to studying, more likely to adopt a strategic approach to studying and less likely to adopt a surface approach to studying."

"Video games are just tools, outlets for people to express themselves in as vast a variety of ways as anything else. They are still relatively new creations, and the unknown can frighten anyone, hence the uproar that's followed games for years. The same uproar and indignation that followed rock and roll in the '50s and novels in the 19th century. This is why the Violent Content Research Act of 2013 is ultimately a good thing. It will lead to, ideally, a deeper understanding of how we interact with games. For parents, children, players, academics, and everyone else with a vested interest in a gaming future, the most important thing is to maintain perspective."

interesting info graphic on the increase in multi-tasking in teenagers over the years and effects on brain activity http://t.co/kyAaq7Nb

32 interesting ways to use iPods in the classroom

list of the Google Docs which Tom Barrett has set up for people to add "interesting ways to" ..... [fil in the blank], e.g., use web conferencing in class, use wallwisher in class, use audio in the classroom....

Human Rights Watch. Lots of good info here for kids interested in Human Rights issues for exhibition

Human Rights Watch. Lots of good info here for kids interested in Human Rights issues for exhibition

This looks really interesting for non-linear presentations.

Really interesting presentation app for ipad.

A detailed animation explaining the needs and differences between cytokinesis in animals and plant cells. Beyond what we need, but interesting and visual.

Social Media for PD - interesting article.

Editor's note: An extraordinary number of species-from squid to lizards to humans-engage in play. But why? In this article, adapted from Dr. Sam Wang and Dr. Sandra Aamodt's book Welcome to Your Child's Brain: How the Mind Grows from Conception to College (Bloomsbury USA, 2011; OneWorld Publications, 2011), the authors explore how play enhances brain development in children. As Wang and Aamodt describe, play activates the brain's reward circuitry but not negative stress responses, which can facilitate attention and action. Through play, children practice social interaction and build skills and interests to draw upon in the years to come.

Interesting blog post from Jeff Utecht

lots of interesting discussion points...could be used for writing prompts

I would like to try Corkulous and Sadun's Whiteboard, both look very interesting - and can maybe be used with our IWBs...