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Three boys tinker with robotics at an after-school program

4 Strategies for Building a Community STEM Program

12/21/2021

Topics: Makerspaces

ISTE Certified Educator Shares Tips for Informal Learning Organizations

As more informal learning organizations begin to offer programs that engage kids and foster real-world skills, many are…

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The maker movement: A learning revolution

The maker movement: A learning revolution

02/11/2019

Topics: Makerspaces, Project-based learning

The impulse to create is one of the most basic human drives. As far back as the Stone Age, we were using materials in our environment to fashion tools for solving the problems we encountered. And in the millions of years since then, we have never stopped creating. In fact, the rise of…

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Technology meets the humanities in this tech specialist

Technology meets the humanities in this tech specialist

12/19/2018

Topics: Makerspaces

Step into a school makerspace, and you might expect to see science students programming robots, tinkering with circuits or accomplishing miniature feats of engineering.

While there’s plenty of that going on in Harpeth Hall’s Design Den, you’re just as likely to see English students…

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A boy uses a merge cube in the school library

Librarians Are Key to Education's Digital Transformation

04/05/2021

Topics: Learning spaces, Literacies, Makerspaces

It’s a syndrome seen at so many schools. As school districts face shrinking budgets, some are tempted to find savings by cutting library staff. After all, the reasoning goes, with so many resources available via laptops, tablets or phones, who needs librarians anymore?

We all do.

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4 ways to make CS for all a reality

4 ways to make CS for all a reality

05/24/2018

Topics: Coding & robotics, Computational Thinking, Digital Citizenship, Digital storytelling, Literacies, Makerspaces, professional learning

Kimberly Lane believes that in the digital age, computer science (CS) should be right up there with reading and writing as a foundational skill.

Lane, blended learning specialist for Lancaster Independent School District near Dallas, walks the talk by helping educators…

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4 ways to help students get workforce-ready

4 ways to help students get workforce-ready

01/10/2018

Topics: Coding & robotics, Computational Thinking, Digital Citizenship, Digital storytelling, Literacies, Makerspaces, professional learning, Project-based learning

Being a student should be a little like being an apprentice preparing for life in the real world. But when school is nothing like the future workplace, that goal is impossible to reach.

So what will the real world be like when students enter the workforce? We hear a lot about…

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4 maker activities to keep students tinkering

4 maker activities to keep students tinkering

04/10/2019

Topics: ISTE Conference & Expo, Makerspaces

Kids are natural makers, right? Give them a few tools, and their imaginations will do the rest. Before you know it, your makerspace will be humming with industriousness and creative energy. Right?

It could happen. Or, just as likely, students will become bored, start squabbling and end…

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Learning happens in a zigzag  and that' 's OK

Learning happens in a zigzag and that's OK

06/24/2017

Topics: Assistive and adaptive technologies, Augmented reality, Coding & robotics, Computational Thinking, Digital Citizenship, Digital storytelling, Gamification, Gaming, ISTE Conference & Expo, Literacies, Makerspaces, Personalized Learning, professional learning, Project-based learning, Robotics, STEM & STEAM

Jad Abumrad is quick to say he doesn’t feel comfortable giving educators advice, and yet his career in radio touches on many topics educators are familiar with.

Tinkering. Curiosity. Messy experiences. Failing forward. Transformation.

Abumrad, host and creator…

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Minecraft + creative passion = innovative learning

Minecraft + creative passion = innovative learning

06/20/2017

Topics: Coding & robotics, Computational Thinking, Digital Citizenship, Digital storytelling, Gaming, ISTE Conference & Expo, Literacies, Makerspaces, professional learning

It’s no secret that Minecraft taps into students’ passions. What better way to learn than by playing your favorite game?

But Minecraft doesn’t just fuel their passion for video games. Its design-oriented gameplay allows kids to explore a wide variety of interests within the…

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