Recent articles
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…
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…
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…
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.
…
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…
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…
Weigh in on the ISTE Standards for Administrators
12/18/2017
Topics: Assistive and adaptive technologies, Augmented reality, Coding & robotics, Computational Thinking, Digital Citizenship, Digital storytelling, Education leadership, Gamification, Gaming, Literacies, Makerspaces, Personalized Learning, professional learning, Project-based learning, Robotics, STEM & STEAM
“Leaders get people moving. They energize and mobilize. They take people and organizations to places they have never…
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…
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…
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…