"Using a tablet to explore STEAM concepts is a natural pairing—as kids drag, draw and create they learn more about technology and the world around them. That’s why we’ve gathered 60 of our favorite apps for teaching STEAM in the classroom, with recommendations for every grade level"  Click here for more

Innovation is a trait that I desperately want to instill in my students, and many teachers I talk to seem to share that goal. In the current climate of high stakes testing, state standards, and prescribed learning outcomes, it can be incredibly difficult to foster an atmosphere of innovation and creativity that inspires students. But rest assured, it is possible.

Read more about how one teacher builds a course around the eight basic principles for the “Innovative Classroom.”  The fundamental ideas could be applied to almost any course at any level.

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Code and programming may not be the most important topics on the planet but it is an area of study that sufferers two major problems. one: an industry with millions of unfilled job positions and two: a world where not enough teachers feel confident to run programming projects. The iPad can offer a solution in these situations.


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How To Embed Just About Anything

Summary of article by Jason Teitelman · June 24, 2015

Embedding videos, photos, or other types of content in your blog posts is a relatively simple way to enhance your posts with informative, attention-grabbing content. 

In this round up post, we’ll share posts explaining how to embed just about anything into your blog!

• Use Just A Simple Link
  
• News & Stories
  
• How to use Storify’s Embed button.
  
• Google & Other Files
  
• How to embed a video file from Google Drive into your blog post.
  
• How to embed charts created with Google Spreadsheets and a few tweaks that will ensure your embedded chart looks amazing.
  
• Embedding PDFs that users cannot print, download or share without permission.
  
• How to embed your Audacity files into your blog.
  
• Imgur now provides embed code for their images that includes automatic attribution.
  
• How you can embed a TodaysMeet room in your blog post to host an online discussion.

There is an age old adage that says “two heads are better than one”.  Consider collaboration in recent history:  Watson and Crick or Page and Brin (Founders of Google). But did you know it was a collaborative Computer Club about basic programming at a middle school that brought together two minds that would change the future of computing?

Yes, those two were of course Bill Gates and Paul Allen, the founders of Microsoft.

Collaborative learning teams are said to attain higher level thinking and preserve information for longer times than students working individually.  Why is this so?

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Wonderopolis is an exciting site where the 'Wonders of the Day' will help teachers and students find learning moments in everyday life. 

This multi-discipinary approach to content aligns well to the STEM Educational Framework and Bloom's Digital Taxonomy. 

The Daily Wonders can be used as a springboard or stimulus for creative thinking. There is a collection of wonders that relates to specific themes and interests. 
Teachers can search by subject matter or year level. 

This resource is well worth  a look!  
Wonderopolis   http://wonderopolis.org/wonders/ 

For example, search 'wonders' about animals 

Embedded example:  Do Animals Play Hide and Seek?
#342 WONDER OF THE DAY

Richard Byrne explains how to use PicMonkey + Thinglink to create amazing Interactive Collages

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