Designing Personalized Learning Experiences The phrase “personalized learning” gets tossed around a lot in education circles. Sometimes it’s used in the context of educational technology tools that offer lessons keyed to the academic level of individual students. Other times it’s referring to the personal touch of a teacher getting to know a student, learning about their interests and tailoring lessons to meet both their needs and their passion areas. As with most education jargon, the phrase isn’t fixed, but it usually connects to the idea that not all students need the same thing at the same time.
TouchPal Keyboard Take command of your Android device's touchpad keypad with a Perfect and smart Keyboard for android. You can customize the look of the keyboard with eight different themes and add additional functionality to your device. Perfect Keyboard lets you use custom dictionaries, control background and text colors, and adjust the keyboard's vibration density. EDUCATIONAL MAKERSPACES Editor’s Note: This article, reprinted from the June 2014 issue of Teacher Librarian: The Journal for School Library Professionals, is a thoughtful and insightful examination of the philosophy and pedagogical underpinnings of the maker movement. The authors’ analysis and argument are strong, and the benefits they tout are inspiring. The authors will follow up with two more articles on the maker movement which will be published in the next two issues of Teacher Librarian. To download a PDF version of this article, click here. Educational makerspaces (EM) and maker education (ME) have the potential to revolutionize the way we approach teaching and learning.
Blog @Bintray Want to distribute your Debian packages? Bintray is the tool for you! Now it’s even better with improved support, including the current Debian repository format (a.k.a. “automatic” layout), in addition to the deprecated “trivial” layout, and signing metadata with GPG. How the Maker Movement Is Moving into Classrooms The Maker movement is a unique combination of artistry, circuitry, and old-fashioned craftsmanship. Certainly, learning by doing or "making" has been happening since our ancestors refined the wheel. Don’t treat making as a sidebar to an already overtaxed curriculum. As you investigate the principles behind teaching STEAM via making, you'll see sound research from many educators throughout history, including Jean Piaget who, in 1973, wrote:
LazyCoins Launch Highlights Challenges for UK Bitcoin Businesses A British startup has launched a cryptocurrency exchange and plans a merchant payment processor focused on businesses in London soon. Notably, the self-funded firm, called LazyCoins, is a registered Money Services Business (MSB) with the country's tax authority. That is something no other British exchange can claim. "We're trying to be as transparent as we can while waiting for the legislation to catch up," said LazyCoins' managing director Peter Heigho. Hazy regulatory landscape
The Importance of Thinking In- and Out-of-the-Box How to encourage creativity in a tech-based environment. GUEST COLUMN | by Wendy Marshall How do you teach a student to be creative? It used to be that educators encouraged innovation by telling children to “think outside the box” via a “sky’s the limit” approach. Creativity was viewed as unstructured and a result of not following rules or patterns. We encouraged students to eschew boundaries and limits, and open themselves up to the endless possibilities. What skills will you need to succeed in the future? Top 10 skills for the successful 21st-century worker Leadership Take a cross-disciplinary The Other 21st Century Skills Many have attempted to identify the skills important for a learner today in this era of the 21st century (I know it is an overused phrase). I have an affinity towards the skills identified by Tony Wagner: Critical thinking and problem-solvingCollaboration across networks and leading by influenceAgility and adaptabilityInitiative and entrepreneurialismEffective oral and written communicationAccessing and analyzing informationCuriosity and imagination
What is Connected Learning Ninth-grader Charles Raben has seen first-hand that by connecting the many spheres of his life -- peers, interests and academic pursuits -- new learning experiences can and will present themselves in both organized and unstructured ways. In the summer of 2012, Charles utilized his photography skills and the petition website Change.org to capture and share the story of Jerry Delakas, a longtime local newsstand operator who was in danger of losing his New York City license over a technicality. "I wanted to have that experience of creating change myself." The petition-making process proved to be a life-changing learning experience for the teen.
UK schools to make space apps with interstellar Raspberry Pi computers UK Space Agency astronaut Tim Peake will take two Raspberry Pi computers on his next space mission, in the hope that UK pupils will create their own app or experiment that can be deployed on the International Space Station. Peake will fly two “Astro Pi” maker-boards, which have been kitted with sensors, to the space station when he begins his six-month mission. Primary and secondary school children will compete to develop an idea for an application, which if successful, will be developed with the help of the Astro Pi, CGI and Raspberry Pi Foundation, who will code their idea. Students teaching students IT SPRINGBORO – Students preparing students for future careers was at the heart of a week long effort to promote information technology in Springboro Community City Schools. Springboro High School students enrolled in IT and digital media programs – satellite courses of the Warren County Career Center – recently taught their junior high and high school peers about computer science. “The purpose of this week is to bring awareness to the computer science field in the way of education and job opportunities,” said instructor Jenifer Conard. “Allowing our own students to teach is more effective as they are able to relate to their own peers.” According to data from the National Science Foundation, fewer than 2.4 percent of students earn a degree in computer science – and yet the need for computing skills and the demand for technical jobs is increasing. Data also shows that computing jobs are growing at a 3.6 times the rate of other fields in Ohio.