Guest post by Lori Stahl-Van BrackleI love Maker Faire! My car is covered in Maker Faire bumper stickers. The door to my computer lab is covered in Maker Faire postcards. I run Maker Camp over the summer in anticipation of Maker Faire. It is the weekend I look most forward to in the first month of the school year. You can find me at Maker Faire from open to close, both days, and I give Maker Faire as homework for all my students.I should explain the homework assignment a little though. My school is located in Rego Park. We are exactly one mile for the NY Hall of Science, where the World Maker Faire is held. My students come from the surrounding area, Corona, Rego Park, Lefrak City, and Forest Hills. We have one of the most diverse populations in THE most diverse city in the world. That diversity includes over 40% low income students, 50+ different languages spoken, every continent represented in our student body, and every religion practiced. The diversity of my school is even more impressive when you take in the harmonious way our students, many of whom English is a second language, interact with each other.My students have been attending World Maker Faire since the first one was held in 2010. Back then kids could get tickets for free through organizations such as MOUSE Squad. MOUSE Squad still offers students who are part of the program free tickets, but it’s become harder and harder to find free tickets for other students.The price of tickets has risen as I’m sure, the cost of putting on the Greatest Show (and Tell) on Earth has risen. The faire started out in the parking lot of NY Sci and now takes over six fields. I’m not sure what the numbers were this year, but last year, when the Pope wasn’t in town, there were over 75,000 visitors each day. Among those were some of my over 300 students who had to find me and shout out "Halsey in the House!" to get extra credit.This year I was inspired by Miss Piggy and decided to add to the extra credit assignment; students could take selfies with me. You can see some of them below.Last year I saw more than 80 of my students over the course of the two days at faire. This year I saw about 30. When I asked my students who didn’t attend why they did not, the reason was disheartening:I want more »

Guest post by Jackie PatanioI never thought of myself as a maker... until this weekend. I participated in my first Education Forum and Maker Faire with my son, a mini maker in the works. Educators, kickstarters, & supporters were all at the forefront of the amazing maker movement. While there I was inspired to contemplate my passions and consider how I could make in my own life. I want more »

Here’s the roundup of what's been popular on The Innovative Educator blog.Taking the lead for another week is a new, free tool called Class Story which can be used to strengthen the home-school connection from Class Dojo. Next up was an overview of the new Google for Ed Certification Exams.  Rounding out third place were ideas to welcome parents, students, and the community into your school. I'm thrilled that post was the inspiration for last week's #Sunchat. There are a few more posts to round out the top including one that explains a learning model with no tests, teachers, or curriculum and an oldy about why we should allow students to use cell phones for learning.  I hope there's something that looks of interest to you.  If it does, check it out. Share it with your networks. If you're inspired, leave a comment.   Entry Pageviews Class Story (an Instagram for Parents) Helps Stren...Sep 6, 2015,  5050 Google for Education Certification and ExamsSep 9, 2015,  4911 6 Updates to Welcome Your School Community + Prepa...Sep 13, 2015,  3474 A Learning Model with No Tests, Teachers, or Curri...Sep 15, 2015,  3160 5 Reasons to Allow Students to Use Cell Phones in ...Jul 8, 2012,  3036 Winner! The 3 #BackToSchool Supplies Necessary to ...Aug 30, 2015,  2098 10 Tips + 10 Resources that Use Tech to Keep Wande...Sep 2, 2015,  2073 Tools, Practices, + Structures, to Guide Self-Dire...Sep 20, 2015,  2034

I took four years of Spanish during my school years, though you wouldn’t know it if you tried having a conversation with me in Spanish. My experience is not unusual. The way language is typically taught in the United States often does not result with language acquistion at the end. I wonder if things would have been different if I was a student today in a time when technology provides such terrific ways to learn languages. Here are five free digital resources, that can support modern learners in language acquisition.1) DuolingoHas become a popular app to support the learning of another language. It’s gamification elements make it both fun and addictive. You can earn points for correct answers, race against the clock, and level up. The bite-sized lessons are effective and here is proof that it works. More than 100,000 classrooms are using Duolingo. Teachers can easily track their students’ progress, run in-class activities and assign homework. Here is the "How to use Duolingo in class: the guide."I want more »

Finally! The American Academy of Pediatrics has updated their stance on screentime.  The new guidelines are better than the previously outdated ones which I critique here, here, and here, but there is still room for improvement. They continue to miss mark when it comes to the power of screens to make global connections, build learning networks, and bring people closer together. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert, File)Here are some counter-points to consider. Don’t Set LimitsThe AAP suggests parents should set limits. While that might seem like good advice, it does little to empower young people to think about making good decisions for themselves. Rather than setting limits, talk to kids about what they care about and want to accomplish and help them figure out the best ways to do that. Attentive Parenting Might Involve ScreensThe AAP says attentive parenting requires face time away from screens. What it really means is that parents need to spend time with their kids. That might very well involve screens. Maybe you read a book aloud from a screen. Perhaps you recreate a building in Minecraft together. Perhaps you are a parent that travels and you facetime with your child (via a screen). Time away from screens is not the answer. Time being attentive to your child in their worlds with or away from screens is what is important. I want more »

Here’s the roundup of what's been popular on The Innovative Educator blog.Holding the lead for the past month is a, free tool called Class Story which can be used to strengthen the home-school connection from Class Dojo. Next up was an overview of the new Google for Ed Certification Exams.  Rounding out third place were ideas to welcome parents, students, and the community into your school. There are a few newer posts to round out the top including one that explains a learning model with no tests, teachers, or curriculum and another that explains why it's important that we stop competing with social media and start integrating it.  I hope there's something that looks of interest to you.  If it does, check it out. Share it with your networks. If you're inspired, leave a comment.   Entry Pageviews Class Story (an Instagram for Parents) Helps Stren...Sep 6, 2015,  5050 Google for Education Certification and ExamsSep 9, 2015,  4924 6 Updates to Welcome Your School Community + Prepa...Sep 13, 2015,  3487 A Learning Model with No Tests, Teachers, or Curri...Sep 15, 2015,  3352 Don't Compete with Social Media. Integrate It!Sep 27, 2015,  3123 Tools, Practices, + Structures, to Guide Self-Dire...Sep 20, 2015,  2753 10 Tips + 10 Resources that Use Tech to Keep Wande...Sep 2, 2015,  2362 My Makeaways from #makeEDU #makerED #MakerFaireSep 26, 2015,  1921

As more and more schools make the decision to embrace student-owned devices for learning, it's important that they incorporate strategies for success. Lifting the ban on devices and inviting them into the school is a start, but it is also important to put building blocks for success in place. To follow are the seven building blocks you should put in place to ensure you attain success.7 #BYOD Building Blocks for SuccessStart with pioneers - Incorporating cell phones and other student devices into learning works best when teachers are on board. Find out if you have teachers in your building who want to pilot this work in your school.  Let them set the stage and support others when they are ready.  I want more »

Photo Credit: 10 Practices for Connected StudentsCORWIN connect...Kids these days. They don't know how to speak face-to-face anymore.  All they do is spend their days, heads glued to cell phones -- texting. They need to learn how to communicate in the real world. Adults who share these sentiments are missing the fact that digital communication is real. Kids aren't texting fake people. They're communicating with real-world friends in their real digital worlds.  The problem is that, even though they know should be ensuring their children are using digital resources effectively, few adults feel prepared to do that. Given that, is it any wonder that on exposés such as #BeingThirteen / #Being13, young people are engaging in unsavory behavior?  It's not that social media is causing teens to act in inappropriate ways, it simply brings their actions to light and magnifies what they are doing.  The knee-jerk reaction of some adults is to require teens to abstain from using social media for short or long periods of time, when instead they should #HaveTheTalk. Social media has no intent. It is a tool and while it can be used for socially inappropriate behavior, it can also be used for social good, social justice, social learning, and in other positive ways. The role of adults in the lives of young people is to support them in engaging safely, responsibly and effectively, regardless of the medium in which they are communicating.  These ten practices shared by CORWIN connect as part of Connected Educator month are a good start.  I want more »

Here’s the roundup of what's been popular on The Innovative Educator blog.Class Story continues to hold the lead as the hottest post.  Class Story is a new free tool which can be used to strengthen the home-school connection from Class Dojo. Next up is a post that addresses an important issue. Educators need to stop competing with social media and start integrating it.  Rounding out third place is a post about my takeaways from the World Maker Faire.There are a few more posts to round out the top including one that explains a learning model with no tests, teachers, or curriculum and ideas for making your school more welcoming to the community.  I hope there's something that looks of interest to you.  If it does, check it out. Share it with your networks. If you're inspired, leave a comment.  Entry Pageviews Class Story (an Instagram for Parents) Helps Stren...Sep 6, 2015,  5054 Don't Compete with Social Media. Integrate It!Sep 27, 2015,  4451 My Makeaways from #makeEDU #makerED #MakerFaireSep 26, 2015,  4255 6 Updates to Welcome Your School Community + Prepa...Sep 13, 2015,  3508 A Learning Model with No Tests, Teachers, or Curri...Sep 15, 2015,  3148 Tools, Practices, + Structures, to Guide Self-Dire...Sep 20, 2015,  2127

Most people think of social media as a distraction during face-to-face gatherings. But can it be used to enhance face-to-face experiences?  Yes!Whether you have a group going on a trip to a museum, a fair, a conference, or a show, there are ways you can use social media to deepen the event experience and also build relationships of those attending the event. The Maker Faire Education Forum where I implemented these ideas.Here’s how.I want more »