Unit 5 of the Coaching Digital Learning MOOC-Ed focused on Digital Citizenship. Here are my reflection question responses.Share what keeps you up at night and what steps you have taken to foster a culture of safe and responsible use in your school/district.Two of the most important things I try to teach and demonstrate for my teachers and students is Copyright and our Digital Footprint.It is far too easy to violate copyright law while on the internet, and many students, and even teachers, still don't understand how the law works and how to protect it. Just because you are an educational institution and your students are creating projects for the classroom does not mean you can use other people's work and their images freely. Copyright is more than just protecting other people's investments and money. Its about protecting the artist and the creator and valuing their work and contributions to society.I often relate the use of information and images on the web to students taking and using other students work. It's a matter of responsibility and respect. If we don't uphold the law and protect the work of the people, than less and less people are going to be willing to share.Another issue that often bothers me is disregard for our Digital Footprint. That the actions we take and information and pictures we post, no matter how old we are, creates a footprint on the internet. And this footprint can be seen by the world, not just our teachers, our family, and our friends. Many students don't understand this and many parents still struggle with this issue at home. A few years ago I sat in a conference session about digital citizenship, and a former FBI investigator talked about the misconceptions of our Digital Footprint. He brought up a good point that our students today will try to become the future leaders of tomorrow, and many of them don't understand that what they share on the internet today can follow them and haunt them when that time comes. Everyone is responsible for helping our children learn the importance of our digital footprint and what is appropriate and not appropriate on the web.What is your vision for incorporating and modeling Digital Citizenship in your school/district to strengthen a culture of digital innovation?What many schools and districts tend to do is to shield our students from the vast world of the web. Youtube has some inappropriate content, let's block it. Facebook might have some creepers and inappropriate pictures, block it.This is the wrong tactic. Shielding our students is not going to stop them from exploring it and using it on their own. I think we are finally realizing this, and instead of choosing to block, we are finally opening the gates and allow our teachers and students to explore its educational value. Websites like Youtube, and Social Networks like Facebook and Twitter can be used for learning, if used and taught appropriately.it is impossible to shield our students completely from the bad in this world, so rather than attempting this tactic and failing miserably, lets embrace it and teach our students how to use it appropriately and safely.That's why I believe in the idea of modeling appropriate uses and having students practice. Give them access to Youtube and lets talk about all the great educational and inspirational videos that we can watch. Let's talk about all the bad videos and inappropriate content and why its not ok to watch them at school. But there must also be consequences. Rules and boundaries need to be set, and if a student breaks them, punishment needs to be consistent. They need to understand why its not ok and what the consequences might be in life (not just in school).My Instructional Technology Coaching Action Plan.  Please comment on the document and add your resources, opinions, and ideas!My other Coaching Digital Learning MOOC-Ed Unit Reflections:Unit 1 ReflectionUnit 2 ReflectionUnit 3 ReflectionUnit 4 ReflectionUnit 5 ReflectionUnit 6 ReflectionCheck out my Coaching Digital Learning Pinterest Board with all of the resources and videos from the entire course!Follow Michael's board Coaching Digital Learning, #CDL_MOOCed on Pinterest.

In the final unit of the Coaching Digital Learning MOOC-Ed, we learned about the importance of and practiced evaluating EdTech tools and resources, such as iPad Apps and websites with the use of rubrics and evaluation tools.One of the these tools is +Kathy Schrock's iPad App Evaluation Form. I used it to practice evaluating the app, Book Creator, which I already know is great for students! But I liked how the evaluation form focuses on different features of apps that allow students to do certain things. You can see my evaluation of Book Creator below as well as a link to the blank form.What challenges have you faced in selecting the appropriate digital resources for your own use or other’s use? How did you overcome these issues?One of the biggest challenges when selecting a digital tool or resource for my teachers and students, is its ease of use and reliability. Teachers often want a tool that is quick to learn, easy to use, and fits in perfectly with their lesson on unit. Finding the right tools to fit this criteria can be very difficult and often impossible. I have to be careful in the way I present the tool, and it can be a delicate process in helping the teacher to figure it out. One wrong move with the tool, and teacher may lose interest without fully exploring its use and opportunities.After reviewing this Unit’s Resources and Activity, what resources/checklists/rubrics, etc. would you consider sharing with your colleagues in order to build their capacity around choosing appropriate technology to maximize learning and teaching? Next school year, I'll be working at a new school in my state that has a continuing 1:1 iPad Program.After exploring Kathy Schrock's iPad App Evaluation tool, I definitely think I'm going to help introduce the idea of an iPad App Evaluation tool to the teachers. I think it's important to think about the purpose and usability of an app. Does it fit a need in the class? Can it be used to enhance a lesson or a project? Using an evaluation tool can help teachers to better understand and think about how an app is going to fit in to the classroom. It may also help teachers to think about some aspects that they weren't aware of.+Kathy Schrock  "Critical Evaluation of a Creation iPad/iPod App" and other rubricsMy Instructional Technology Coaching Action Plan.  Please comment on the document and add your resources, opinions, and ideas!My other Coaching Digital Learning MOOC-Ed Unit Reflections:Unit 1 ReflectionUnit 2 ReflectionUnit 3 ReflectionUnit 4 ReflectionUnit 5 ReflectionUnit 6 ReflectionCheck out my Coaching Digital Learning Pinterest Board with all of the resources and videos from the entire course!Follow Michael's board Coaching Digital Learning, #CDL_MOOCed on Pinterest.

So the first column of what will hopefully be a longish running series for the elearning guild is up — it’s an effort to make learning-related academic research more available to a professional practitioner audience: http://www.learningsolutionsmag.com/articles/1021/research-for-practitioners-social-interaction-belief-and-learning Here’s the story behind it: Several months ago, Clark Quinn and I were at a workshop and we were discussing the problem of evidence-based practice. We agreed that staying connected with academic research was a critical activity for instructional designers, but we both recognized that it was really hard to do. Busy practitioners just don’t have time to sit down and read all the way through the latest copy of BJET (the British Journal of Educational Technology). The Internet is a mixed blessing in this regard—a huge number of journal articles are freely available online, but the academic publishers are firewalling them more frequently these days. And even if you can get access to articles—who has time to read them? This Learning Solutions article is the first in a series intended to address this problem. This series will present short summaries of academic research that may be of interest to eLearning designers. The Learning Solutions article authors (there are several of us) will offer a short, blog-length summary of each study and include a brief discussion of the implications for design. Some of the journal articles we summarize will be newly released research, and some will be older studies that we think still have implications for eLearning design. We are very interested in your feedback—we want to know whether this is helpful to you as a practitioner? Let us know what you think—please leave your reactions in the comments following the article!

As an educator, professional development provider, blogger, avid user of Social Media, and a Hangout host, I am often in need of URL Shorteners to easily share links, documents, websites, etc. But, which URL Shortener service is the best one?A URL Shortener is a web-based service that will take a long URL (website address) and squeeze it into a very short easier to manage URL. When a shortened URL is used, the person will be redirected to the longer URL.Shortening a URL can be helpful for several reasons:Sharing a shortened URL with students makes it quicker and easier for them to type and remember.Sharing a shortened URL during a workshop or training makes it quicker and easier for the participants to type and remember.Shortened URLs take up less space in a presentation, document, blog, or website.Shortened URLs make it easier for you to manage.There are 3 main services that will shorten URLs for you and they are all free! However, some come with added features and bonuses. The 3 main services are TinyURL.com, goo.gl, and bit.ly. Some are far better than others, but I'll break down their pros and cons below.Tinyurl.comTinyURL.com was the first URL Shortener that I was introduced to and I used it a lot early on. It's probably the quickest and easiest to use.Cons:No statistics offered on links (# of clicks, views, etc.)No account or log in = not able to manage already created TinyURLsVery simple user interface (to some, this might be a pro)Pros:Create customized URLs (rather than a randomly generated URL, you can customize the ending)Preview Feature allows users to "preview" where the URL takes them before they are actually redirected.Create a handy Toolbar Button to make it even easier to create TinyURLs.Goo.glGoo.gl is Google's URL Shortener service. If you use your Google Account frequently, you might want to give this one a try.Cons:No customization of the URL (generates a random URL w/ numbers and letters)You can't "delete" shortened URLs from your list (You "hide" them instead)Pros:Connected to your Google AccountKeeps a record of all of your past URLs (w/ log in)Each URL has its own click statistic (counts the number of clicks/visits of the shortened URL)Click statistics include clicks over time, browsers used, countries, platforms, and referrersYou can see what the original URL is and what the website looks like in the user interfaceEach URL comes with a QR CodeChrome Extension: Goo.gl URL Shortener!Bit.lyBit.ly is my new favorite URL Shortener! This service is the one that I use most often because of its many pros and lack of cons.Cons:Honestly, I couldn't find any cons for bit.ly...Pros:You can create personal account to manage and track all of your URLsYou can customize URLs & go back and change them later!Each URL has individual View Statistics (# of clicks, clicks over time, which social networks direct the most traffic, and by country)The Shortened URLs are nicely organized (clean user interface)You can add notes to URLsComes with a handy search tool to find buried URLsYou can edit the title of your bit.ly URLBundles feature (group URLs, add multiple curators, share & email)Chrome extension: bitly | ♥ your bitmarksiPhone App!Have I missed anything with these popular URL Shorteners? Let me know in the comments and I'll add them in.Which URL Shortener is your favorite and why?

Peachpit (my publishers) are doing kind of a cool little series of posts on the Best Design Advice You Ever Got. Click here to see my entry: http://www.peachpit.com/articles/article.aspx?p=1930037 What’s the best design advice you ever got? (Artwork is courtesy of Judy Unrein, the Awesome color is courtesy of Crayola, and quote is from Alex Hillman via Aaron Silvers)

This year, I wasn't able to make it to the ISTE 2014 Conference. I just had too many other engagements. But, I was excited to see a growing movement and community of others in the same situation as me! My friend and co-host of EdTech Mixed Plate, +Michelle Carlson Colte, sent a tweet my way with the hashtag, #notatiste14. I dug a little deeper into this hashtag, and found a thriving community! Here are my 5 takeaways from my #NotAtISTE14 experience:NOTATISTE14 Google+ Community - This community was created by +Jennifer Wagner and currently has 309 members. It includes so many great posts of resources gathered from ISTE, blog posts, and sharing of notes taken during sessions and keynotes.#NotAtISTE14 Participant Google Presentation -  In order for the community members to get to know each other, a Google Presentation was created and participants were invited to create their own slide. There are now more than 150 slides! This was a great opportunity to meet and connect with new people, as we shared are interests and our social network connections.Badges & Ribbons - The most fun part of participating in #NotAtISTE14 was being able to create our own digital badges and collecting digital ribbons! I'm still sorting through all the real ribbons I collected at ISTE 2013, so I was having a blast adding digital ribbons to my badge this time around. This was another fun activity that we could all participate in even though we couldn't attend the conference. It also allowed us another avenue for getting to know each other. Thanks to +Vicky Sedgwick for creating everything! (Click the link to download your own badge and ribbons!)81dash - This new service, created by +Carlos Fernandez, is a communication platform designed for teachers to use with students. Its a back channel chat tool with added features! Teachers can lock the chat room to a specific set of students, and students can insert files into the chat, take notes, and create tasks, as they work together. This looks to be a very promising tool for classrooms! +Jerry Swiatek created a great tutorial video for 81dash!Follow the Hashtags! - Even if you did or did not attend ISTE this year, the hashtags are always a great way to follow along with the action and the learning and to continue to learn long after the conference is over! Use a service like Tagboard.com to follow the hashtags across multiple social networks. #ISTE2014 and #NotAtISTE14How was your ISTE 2014 experience? What have you learned these past few days? Share in the comments or on Google+!

So, my self-appointed mission today is to encourage as many people as possible to go look at the slides from Stephen Anderson’s latest talk about things like curiosity, design, play and experience.  So so great.

Collect Parent Contact Information w/ a Google Form!Use a Google Form to gather Parent Contact Information this school year!It's not just about saving trees and going paperless, although those are good reasons! But collecting contact information digitally for your class this school year is also about making things efficient and easier to handle!A Google Form can be a quick and easy way to collect this information, but once you have it gathered, there are some bonuses to what you can do with the data!Paper FormWhile working with a group of teachers last school year on Google Apps for Education in the classroom, one of them came up with the brilliant idea of converting their outdated and difficult to handle Parent Contact Information paper form into a Google Form. I absolutely love this idea and think it's a great way for any teacher to get their feet wet with Google Apps at the start of the school year. One of the first things we typically do at the beginning of the school year is send home a form requesting contact information from the parents. I used to do this with a simple paper form. Then, as I collect the forms back in class, I would manually type the information into a spreadsheet and also create email contacts. But, of course, this was way too time consuming!Now, with Google Forms we can simplify and make this process much more efficient!How to Setup Your Parent Contact Google Form:First, you want to create the Google Form and set up the questions. Google Form uses survey questions, from open-ended, to multiple choice, to date selections, and checkboxes. Think about the information you want to gather from your parents, but also consider what you want to do with that information once it is gathered in a spreadsheet. Google Forms will automatically put user responses into a neatly organized spreadsheet for you.Create a new Google FormMake a Copy of my Example to Save You Time!I've already created a sample Google Form, with typical questions for gathering parent contact information. You can find it here. I've made this Google Form available to the public so that you have the opportunity to "Make a Copy". Please do not make changes to the actual form until you Make a Copy.Next, you will need to find an easy way for parents to access your Google Form from home. By default, your Google Form will be given a link, but it is usually long and complicated. You won't want to give your parents this difficult link. Instead, you can use a URL Shortener service, that will convert your long URL to an easier to use short link. See my previous post on which one to choose, The Pros & Cons of URL Shorteners. For example, I created a shortened URL for my sample Google Form with the service, bit.ly, bit.ly/MrFContactForm. Your parents will appreciate a shorter, easier link!Added (7/25/14): I was reminded today by a fellow teacher that you could also use a QR Code to share your Google Form with your parents. This is especially useful if you want parents to fill out your form during Open House! I blogged about this very thing at the beginning of last school year! You can find it here, Help Your Students & Parents Keep in Contact with a QR Code!Lastly, once you receive responses from your parents, you can decide what you would like to do with the information collected in the spreadsheet. Here are a couple of ideas:Copy the first and last names of your students into a separate spreadsheet to create grading checklists. This saves you the time of having to type all those names yourself!Using the parents' email addresses, phones numbers, and mailing addresses, create contacts and contact groups in your email client.Plug your students' birthdays into your calendar. Using a Google Form to collect parent contact information is a great way to get your feet wet with Google Apps at the start of a new school year! Once you accomplish this, think about how Google Forms could be used in other ways in your classroom. From Pot Luck Party sign ups, to in-class data collection for math, and even quizzes and formative assessments!Michael will be presenting at the following upcoming events:Hawaii Association of Middle Schools Conference 2014Schools of the Future Conference 2014Edcamp Honolulu 2014

Google added 2 new features to Classroom today!Google promised added features and updates and they delivered today with 2 new features added to Google Classroom! They are the "About" page and the ability for the teacher to access student files before they turn them in.The first new feature in Google Classroom can be found in the menu at the top of the Classroom page. It is the About tab! Now, teachers have a place in the Classroom to include information about the class. You can give your class a Title and a Description, include the Room Location, and even attach files, drive files, Youtube videos, and links. Think about including those important documents like a syllabus, required materials list, forms, etc.The second new feature, and a feature that I've heard a lot of other teachers requesting since Classroom first became beta, is the ability for the teacher to have access to student created files in Classroom before they "Turn In". Previously, teachers had no access to students files until the students turned in the file within the Classroom Assignment page. Now, that's changed!Once the student visits their Assignment page and creates their file, it will automatically appear in the teacher's Drive folder. And the teacher can also access student files in the Assignment page as well, as shown in the below image.Google is listening loud and clear to teachers and wants to make Classroom the best it can be possibly be. Keep sending your Classroom feedback to Google. Keep the updates and new features coming, Google!Michael will be presenting at the following upcoming events:Hawaii Association of Middle Schools Conference 2014Schools of the Future Conference 2014Edcamp Honolulu 2014

So, I just finished Reuben Tozman’s Learning On Demand, and it’s great stuff. It’s particular great because I’m working on some of the exact issues he describes right now. Specifically, we are just starting to create content for a new system, and I’m wrestling with questions like: What kind of structure should we use for the content? How do we make the content searchable? How do we make the content adaptable? How do we use the same content in multiple places without having duplicate content? How do we make intelligent content that can be recommended to users when they need it? Reuben addresses all those questions, in a really accessible way - the book is fast and very readable, despite the fact that Reuben is talking about some fairly complex stuff. I’ve been talking a lot lately about how we aren’t in the content delivery business any more, and if nice content delivery is the only tool in our instructional design toolbox, then that should be a worry.  The tools are just starting to appear to support doing something beyond pure content delivery in elearning, and Reuben’s book is a great place to start to understand that perspective. As an aside, I’m working with these folks for the next several months as their Director of Instructional Design: Altius Education It’s been *really* interesting work so far, and it gets me out of Minnesota for the winter. So if anybody is in the Bay Area and wants to get together for nerdy shop talk, just let me know

4 Reasons to Teach Your Students theResearch Process with Google DriveShow your students the power of Google Drive while conducting research!Teaching students how to effectively use the Research Process while also focusing on proper citations, copy right, proper searching, website evaluation, synthesizing of information, and on, and on, and on can be a very daunting and exhausting task for both the teacher and the students! Luckily we have a wonderful online suite of tools to help ease and manage this process, all included within Google Drive! I'll share 4 Reasons why Google Drive is such a great way to teach the Research Process to students.Reason #1 - The Research Tool!Access the Research Tool by visitingthe Tools menu.The Research Tool, in my opinion, is one of the most powerful features in Google Drive, and, if not for my other three reasons, could stand as the only reason you need to conduct research in Google Drive. The Research Tool is available in both Google Docs and Google Slides and allows the user to do several important Research related things:Students can use the Research Tool to search Google by choosing from several useful filters: Everything, Images, Scholar, Quotes, Dictionary, Personal, and Tables.The many filters of the Research Tool!Students can Preview a website before they actually visit it. This allows students to think about the website evaluation process. By using the Preview feature, they can ask themselves questions like, "Does this website contain a lot of ads?" and "Does this website have a lot of text and/or images?"Students can Insert Link directly into their document. This creates a clickable link that takes them directly to the website. This is useful when students want to visit the website again at a later time. It prevents students from forgetting the website when they need it the most.And the feature that gets the most "Ooooh"s and "Aaaaah"s is the Cite feature, which creates a footnote citation for the website, which can be changed to MLA, APA, or Chicago format. This is also one of the most important steps in the Research Process. Don't forget to cite those sources, students!Preview, Insert Link, & Cite all withinthe Research Tool.The Research Tool also allows students to easily drag in images from the side panel. And those images automatically get a footnote citation with a link direct to the source. The Research Tool can be such a time saver for teachers and students. And with the collaboration features of Google Docs, think about the possibilities with teacher and peer feedback and group projects along side the Research Tool!Reason #2 - Google Docs Add-Ons!Look for the Add-Ons in the menu bar of your doc or sheet!Add-Ons were introduced to the world back in March 2014. They are tools that you can add to your Google Docs and Sheets that allow for extra, useful features as you're working. There are two Add-Ons available in Google Docs that can assist students in the research process.TextHelp Study Skills - Highlighting ToolsTextHelp Study Skills Add-OnFeatures of the Highlighting ToolsThis is the first Add-On you will want to instruct students to add. This Add-On allows the user to highlight text in their document, then it collects all of the highlighted text into a separate document automatically for easy organization! This is a great way for students to gather keywords and important information in their research and then have it all collated for them easily and quickly!Disclaimer: The Highlighting Tools Add-On is a feature from the Read&Write for Google paid app. This Add-On will give you access to the 4 highlighting colors for 30 days, then you will only have access to yellow.EasyBib Bibliography CreatorEasyBib Add-OnEasyBib Add-On FeaturesIf you're familiar with EasyBib.com, then you know that it's a great online service that will create bibliography citations for you in any format. They've also create a Google Docs Add-On! With the Add-On, students can quickly and easily create citations for Books, Journal Articles, and Websites. Teachers can also choose to create citations in MLA, APA, or Chicago format. Then, once the student has selected the citations that they want, they can add a Bibliography to their document. It will place the Bibliography at the bottom of the document complete with a header.Reason #3 - The Comment Tool!I think many teachers that already use Google Drive, are probably familiar with the Comment Tool. I know many teachers that use this as a way to provide students with feedback. But the comment tool can be used in other ways that can aid students during the Research Process.Students can use the comment tool to annotate their research!One great way for students to use the comment tool is to annotate their research, by attaching keywords and topics to important pieces of information. Then, when they are ready to use the research for a project, they have their comments to point them in the right direction!Reason #4 - Revision History!Revision History is great for trackingstudent work!As teachers, we want to make sure that our students are being responsible and trustworthy. We also want to ensure that they are managing their time wisely while conducting research and working on a project. If the teacher requires students to share access to their Google document, which I'm sure most teachers do, then the Revision History Tool will come in very handy in determining if students are focused and responsible. Revision History will track every change a student makes to the document and attaches a date and time stamp. All a teacher needs to do is check the Revision History of a student's document to determine if they've done the work and in a timely fashion.Google Drive has so many great features built into it, that conducting research in a Google document seems like a no-brainer! But an important aspect of the research process, or with any project for that matter, is organization! While testing out these features with my students, over time I've realized that if students are not organized in their research, then these tools won't make a difference! Because of this realization, I decided to create a Research Template for students to help keep them organized and on track. Feel free to check out my template and "Make a Copy" for yourself!http://bit.ly/ResearchTemplateMy Research Project Template for students! Organization is key!Hopefully, these reasons as well as my Research Template can help teachers and students to work through the Research Process, while staying organized and efficient! Let me know if have any other ideas on how Google Drive can help the Research Process!Michael will be presenting at the following upcoming events:iTeach808 ConferenceSchools of the Future Conference 2014Edcamp Honolulu 2014

This is excerpted and expanded from a post that I wrote for the Tin Can blog  We’ve talked about WIIFM (What’s in it for me?) for years - it’s one of those things you always hear that you need to include in learning experiences to persuade your learners to pay attention. I’ve started to think that’s a really unsatisfactory view of the world - most of the people I know don’t need a sales pitch to do their jobs, or to learn something to help them do that. Instead, they need to know that the thing they are learning is actually useful and necessary. One of my favorite studies is this one from Dan Ariely called Man’s search for meaning: The case of Legos. The paper starts with a discussion of meaning and work: "Most children think of their potential future occupations in terms of what they will be (firemen, doctors, etc.), not merely what they will do for a living. Many adults also think of their job as an integral part of their identity. At least in the United States, "What do you do?" has become as common a component of an introduction as the anachronistic "How do you do?" once was, yet identity, pride, and meaning are all left out from standard models of labor supply." The paper goes on to explain "we view labor as meaningful to the extent that (a) it is recognized and/or (b) has some point or purpose." They did two actual experiments — one where they had participants do a word problem exercise, and a second where participants were constructing figures with legos. All the participants were paid money for their efforts, but some of the participants had their papers shredded as soon as they were done (without anyone even looking at the page), or their lego figures immediately broken back up in front of them (I particularly love that they labeled this last instance as the "Sisyphean" condition). You can read the details here, but essential, people worked significantly longer or for less money in the condition where their work wasn’t meaningless. That shouldn’t be the case if people where primarily motivated by what they could get out of the situation (i.e. $$$). Dan Pink talks about several similar studies in his book Drive, when he talks about the importance of autonomy, mastery and purpose. So, my issue with WIIFM is that, while it probably doesn’t hurt to let people know about the benefits of something, it’s not really a complete answer. How about WCIDWT? I think we should talk about WCIDWT (What can I do with that?).  If I have the knowledge or skill that you are trying to teach me, what will I be able to do that I couldn’t before? Kathy Sierra talks about this when she compares old school marketing ("Buy this because we kick ass") vs a focus on the user ("Buy this because we want you to kick ass"). What can *you* (the end-user) do to be more awesome, to know more and to do more. I’ve been playing around with the idea of accomplishment-based learning — using accomplishments as the fundamental organization of content and learning experiences, so that the very structure of the course is about learners accomplishing thing (*real* accomplishments - not finish-the-lesson or pass-the-test accomplishments).  For example which photoshop course would you rather take? So, my issue with WIIFM is that it feels transactional — I’m trying to *buy* your attention by waving shiny things, when instead it should be about your goals, and what you can do. WIIFM also feels disrespectful of learners for those same reasons. Thoughts? Opinions? Examples? Violent disagreement? Would love to hear about it in the comments below.

This past weekend (September 6 & 7), CUE and the Learning Revolution Project held the first ever Online Summit Featuring Google for Education. This was a paid online event which used Google Hangouts on Air to host live and recorded keynotes and presentations. In leading up to, during, and after the event, I found the whole thing to be well organized and well managed by an amazing task force!Over the past year or so, I've noticed an increase in the amount of professional development opportunities occurring online, including EdcampHOME, EdcampONLINE, Connected Educator Month, and the multitude of conferences by the Learning Revolution Project, like the annual Global Education Conference and the 2013 Global STEMx Education Conference. The popularity and the need for such PD is growing quickly. In my opinion, there are 4 reasons why this is happening.Cheap & Free! Who would be crazy enough to pass up a learning opportunity that is either extremely cheap or, in most cases, completely free!? The Online Summit was only $40 and included a 1 year membership to the CUE organization, and gave attendees access to more than 40 keynotes and presentations, both live and recorded. Conferences organized by the Learning Revolution Project, have always been free!The Technology Advances Quickly &  is Easier to Use! To have a successful online event, the technology needs to be readily available, easy to set up and use, and must fit the needs of the presenters and attendees. That technology exists today and is quickly becoming main stream. The Online Summit used Google's Hangouts On Air, which is a very popular videoconferencing tool, which allows for live events, but also records straight to Youtube. Learning Revolution conferences utilize Blackboard Collaborate for live sessions and recordings. These technologies are easy to use for both presenter and attendee and are free!What I Want, When I Want! Another important reason for virtual PD becoming so popular is because it allows educators a choice in how we want to learn and grow. We no longer have to only abide by the choices that our districts and schools make for us. If I want to learn more about Google Apps, I don't have to go and speak with my administration about PD, I can find it quickly and easily on my own. And in most cases, I can access the content on my own time after the online conference is said and done. And the content is usually available indefinitely.  I can also refer back to it over and over again. The experience is very different from attending a physical conference, where you would attend sessions, take some notes, and forget what happened the next day. With online conferences it's always available.The Driving Force Behind Virtual PD is Passionate Educators! I know that a lot of the paid physical conferences that I attend are organized and led by those with a passion for education, but the conferences can also be expensive. Maybe the cost is due to a need to make a profit, or to pay for the location, or to cover the cost of bringing in presenters. But I love virtual PD, because in most cases, they are led by people who simply and only have a passion for education, for sharing, and for helping teachers learn and grow. That's why I help plan Edcamp Honolulu! Because I just love it! And I know that the people behind other online conferences, like the Online Summit and the upcoming Gaming in Ed conference, love it to. They do it out of love and passion for the profession. And because of this reason, I choose to participate in many of these online professional development opportunities, because I know I'm going to gain so much more from these experiences.If you haven't yet participated in online professional development, now, more than ever, is the time to start! There are so many great opportunities that exist for those in the education profession and you have so much to gain from them, like me!Here are just some of the current online PD opportunities:K12 Online Conference 2014 (Oct 20 - 31)EdcampONLINE (Oct. 25, 2014)Gaming in Ed Conference (Sept. 15 - 18)Global Education Conference (Nov. 17 - 22)Library 2.014 (Oct. 8-9)Connected Educator Month (October)TeacherCast broadcasts by +Jeffrey BradburyCheck out all the Twitter chats on ChatSalad.comEdTech Mixed Plate LIVE Hangout (shameless plug)Google Rocks! Hawaii LIVE Hangouts by +Linda LindsayAny Social Network (Twitter, Google+, Facebook)If you know of any other opportunities, please add them in the comments!

Hey folks, this is a really excellent discussion of the issues and research around using extrinsic rewards as a way to motivate behavior. Chris Hecker is looking at the question through the lens of game design, but it really, really applies to learning design as well.  There’s a write-up at the website, and a recording of the talk if you scroll down.  It’s long-ish, but well worth the listen.   Found this via Amy Jo Kim on twitter: https://twitter.com/amyjokim    

iOS 8 has finally arrived! But, be forewarned, all of your favorite classroom apps might not be compatible just yet! Watch out for more new app updates with iOS 8 compatibility in the next few weeks and beyond.When you finally do update, there are some key iOS 8 features that teachers might be interested in!A Better Spotlight Search!AirPlay to Apple TV without Wifi!Inter-App Communication Will Make App Smashing Easier!A Better Spotlight Search!The new iOS is bringing an update to the Spotlight search on the iPad. You can access the Spotlight by sliding down on the iPad screen with one finger. The update will allow Spotlight to show more search options, such as: Wikipedia results, popular websites, news articles, and apps that you haven't installed. Currently, Spotlight only shows you emails, notes, contacts, and apps on your iPad. AirPlay to Apple TV Without Wifi!Normally, you can AirPlay your iPad screen onto your TV with the use of an Apple TV, but both devices need to be connected to the same Wifi connection. iOS 8 will remove the need for Wifi between devices, and instead allow you to AirPlay your iPad to Apple TV offline. This is called Peer-to Peer Airplay. Learn more at: https://www.apple.com/airplay/A New Guided Access Feature!Guided Access is a feature that was added in iOS 7. It allows a parent or teacher to lock a child into a specific app and control which app features you want the child to use. With iOS 8, a new option will be added to Guided Access. It is the Time Limit option, which allows the teacher to determine how long you want the child to use the app. When time is up, the child will get a giant notice on the screen that says, "Time Expired".Inter-App Communication Will Make App Smashing Easier!Have you ever "app smashed" before? App Smashing is when you use multiple apps to complete a project. For example, creating a document in Google Docs then moving it to Notability for annotations is App Smashing! Or taking photos with the Camera app and then using the app Pic Collage to create a collage of images with borders, stickers, and text is also App Smashing! With iOS 8, apps will now be able to work within each other to make app smashing easier! With Inter-App Communication, you can use the an app like Awesome Screenshot to take screenshots in the Safari and Chrome Browser (as shown below). Other apps like Pocket, Evernote, and Pinterest insert themselves into the Safari and Chrome browser so that you can share website resources.There are many, many, many more new features with iOS 8! If you want to learn more and explore, check out the links below!http://jonathanwylie.hubpages.com/hub/iOS-8-Education-Whats-New-for-Schoolshttp://www.macrumors.com/roundup/ios-8-features/http://gizmodo.com/ios-8-the-best-hidden-features-that-apple-didnt-show-y-1586023628http://www.theverge.com/2014/9/17/6237271/best-ios-8-features-you-may-not-know-abouthttp://learninginhand.com/blog/2014/9/16/new-in-ios-8-for-teachers-studentshttps://www.apple.com/education/it/ios8/http://www.edudemic.com/ios-8-coming-big-wins-education/http://www.classthink.com/2014/06/08/how-will-ios-8-affect-your-school/http://www.pastemagazine.com/blogs/lists/2014/09/the-15-best-updates-to-ios-8.htmlhttp://www.macrumors.com/2014/09/17/ios-8-notification-center-widgets/

Connected Educator Month BEGINS!Are you ready to join educators from all over the world? Are you already a connected educator? Want to learn how to become one? Then get ready! Start with these ten things to do during Connected Educator Month!1. Register for the Calendar & Create Your ScheduleStart with the calendar at http://connectededucatormonth2014.sched.org/. There are probably hundreds of events planned for Connected Educator Month, even into November and December! Sign up for a "Sched" account then start adding events to your schedule! You can also use legend on the right side of the page to choose specific type of events, like Twitter Chats, Book Clubs, and Webinars.Check the calendar daily for new events!Use the "Add To My Sched" to create your own schedule!Download the Starter Kit!2. Download the Starter Kit https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/8413898/CE14/connected-educator-month-starter-kit-2014.pdfThe Connected Educator Starter Kit is another great place to start your journey on becoming connected! Its a PDF document filled with 31 days of ways to get connected. It's also ties in with the badges you can earn. More on that in #3!3. Earn some (or all) of the Badges http://badges.connectededucators.org/There is a fun element incorporated into Connected Educator Month! Earn badges for yourself or nominate other educators for badges. You can earn your own badges by completed the daily challenges in the Starter Kit (see #2). If you earn a badge display in proudly on your site or blog!Earn badges throughout the month!4. Join edConnectrhttp://edconnectr.connectededucators.org/edConnectr is a online space created specifically for people participating in Connected Educator Month. It's describing as a "education matchmaking service" designed to help you connect, collaborate, and find help. It has a really amazing "Connections" view that shows you all of your potential connections to other educators.5. Join the conversation online with #CE14Of course every great educational event has to have a hashtag to follow. When you're sharing about Connected Educator Month online, use the hashtag and join the conversations. Also, be sure to attached the hashtag when you're participating in other Twitter chats that are taking part in #CE14!6. Join the Google+ Community https://plus.google.com/u/0/communities/104893890693102193318Join a budding Google+ Community with educators looking to connect and share as they participate in Connected Educator Month! You need a Google+ account to join.7. Follow the Connected Educator Month Bloghttp://connectededucators.org/innovations/Organizers of the CE blog are posting great content throughout the month, including this Launch Day blog post!8. Have a cup of Joe in the Connected Cafehttp://connectededucators.org/connected-cafe-2014/The Connected Cafe is a series of Twitter chats scheduled every Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday from 7-8pm EDT during the entire month of October and led by +Sheryl Nussbaum-Beach. Follow the hashtag, #CE14 to participate. Each Twitter chat will have guest hosts and a focused topic. Check out all the other Twitter chats happening during the month as well!9. Watch EdTech Mixed Plate throughout October!https://sites.google.com/site/edtechmixedplate/During every Sunday in October my co-hosts and I are planning 4 episodes of EdTech Mixed Plate. Each episode will focus on one of the themes of Connected Educator Month and we'll also have our own special guests! Starting the line up is +Matthew Dillon on Sunday, October 5. He'll be sharing his experience in beginning a FabLab at 'Iolani School for K-6 students. Join the event here.10. Join the Book Club!http://connectededucators.org/book-club/The Book Club will focus on books that promote connected learning and online communities. There is a Book Club NING you can join to get started. The first great book on the list is The Connected Educator.

http://www.mangahigh.com/en_us/games/bidmasblaster http://www.learnalberta.ca/content/mejhm/index.html?ID1=AB.MATH.JR.NUMB&ID2=AB.MATH.JR.NUMB.INTE&lesson=html/object_interactives/order_of_operations/use_it.html# also — william horton, and sorting shoes

The Google for Education team added 5 new features to Google Classroom on October 14, 2014! Here is the official blog post. These features have been frequently requested by educators ever since Classroom was released in August. In this blog post, I'll break down those features and provide you with video tutorials of how they work.Reveal Deleted Items in the StreamOne concern that many teachers had with the Classroom Stream was that students could create and then delete posts and comments without the teacher ever knowing that it happened. That's been fixed with a new feature that allows the teacher to reveal deleted items in the stream! Now the teacher can see their own deleted assignments and announcements and any posts or comments that students deleted. Deleted items appeared grayed out.Google Classroom - Reveal Deleted Items (Youtube)Students Can Now Turn In Assignments without an AttachmentAnother major concern from teachers was that students could only turn in their Assignments if a file was attached. So, for example, if a teacher wanted to assign the students a quiz with a Google Form, students technically couldn't "Turn In" the assignment, because there was no file attached to it. Of course, there is always a work around, but it isn't always convenient. Now, students are able to complete an assignment without an attachment just by click on the "Mark as Done" button.Google Classroom - Student Option to Mark as Done (Youtube)More Classroom Control for TeachersTeachers have now been given more control over their students in Classroom with two more added features! When teachers grade, they often want to organize their students by first or last name. That wasn't possible in Classroom until now! Also, some teachers wanted the ability to prevent students from posting and commenting on the stream. I have my own opinion on this matter, but I can understand how the stream might get cluttered with all the posts and comments from students. Some teachers want to turn that feature off, or at least "mute" one or two unruly students, and now they can!Google Classroom - Roster & Stream Control (Youtube)Invite Students from a Google GroupIf you are familiar with Google Groups, you can now access your Groups while inviting your students to your Classroom. Google Groups are a great way of sharing a variety of Google related items with large groups of people. You can create your own Google Group by going to groups.google.com. Once your Group is set and ready, you will be able to access it in the invite menu in Classroom.Google Classroom - Invite Students from a Google Group (Youtube)Now, can we all say "Thank You!" to +Google for Education for listening to teachers' feedback! There are more updates to Google Classroom on the way, so stay tuned! While you're waiting, check out the rest of my Google Classroom Video Series on Youtube!

Had a lovely time at the Learning Solutions Conference last week.  Did a full day pre-con on Gameful Learning Design with Rick Raymer, which was a lot of fun. I also did a session on Narrative Techniques for Learning.  When I was working on Design For How People Learn, I listened a lot to a podcast on storytelling techniques. A lot of learning and development folks *are* fiction writers, in the form of learning scenarios, examples and case studies, but (in my experience) it’s frequently pretty dull stuff (and I say this as someone who has written some dull scenarios myself). So this session is about pulling some of the specific strategies that fiction writers use to into learning scenarios.  There are a lot of other interesting ways to explore storytelling in terms of meta-structures, psychology and cultural constructs.  This isn’t that presentation (though I’ll probably do that one too, one of these days). This presentation is focused on specific strategies for making learning stories more interesting. Narrative Techniques for Learning from Julie Dirksen References: Storytelling podcasts: http://www.storywonk.com and http://popcorndialogues.com/ The Hero’s Journey: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heros_journey Three Act Structure: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Three_act_structure Clark Quinn on narrative urgency: http://blog.learnlets.com/?p=2931 Movie Cliches: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rbhrz1-4hN4 Article: Effects of humor on sentence memory. Schmidt, Stephen R. Journal of Experimental Psychology: Learning, Memory, and Cognition, Vol 20(4), Jul 1994, 953-967. doi: 10.1037/0278-7393.20.4.953 TV Tropes: http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/HomePage Resonate by Nancy Duarte: http://www.amazon.com/Resonate-Present-Stories-Transform-Audiences/dp/0470632011 Kathy Sierra on Building the Minimum Badass User: http://businessofsoftware.org/2013/02/kathy-sierra-building-the-minimum-badass-user-business-of-software-a-masterclass-in-thinking-about-software-product-development/    

Google brings its Geo Tools to teachers in Hawaii!On October 25 & 26, approximately 50 teachers gathered in Hawaii to learn about a slew of Google Geo Tools that teachers and students can use in the classroom. Here are my takeaways from the event!+John Bailey, the Program Manager for Google Geo Education, along with +Jim Sill, +Brendan Brennan, and +Marybeth Baldwin, led some amazing and inspiring sessions. The focus of the event was on Google's Geo Tools, which includes Google Earth, Google Maps, Google Tour Builder, My Maps, and the new Views. I thought I knew how to use most of these tools, but I had no idea what more they could do! Here are my biggest takeaways from the event:Google Acquires Skybox ImagingThis was excited to hear! Back in August, it was announced that Skybox Imaging would be acquired by Google. What this does for Google is it provides the company with its very own satellites that can capture images and even video of the Earth's surface in real time. One really cool example is of an airport in Beijing. One idea that was mentioned was the ability to track endangered elephants, not just with satellite images, but HD quality video as well!Some Little Known Features in Google MapsI've used Google Maps before to get directions or to locate a street or a business, but +Jim Sill revealed some features that I had no idea about!Did you know that the Diamond Head Crater'sperimeter is approximately 2.25 miles?First is the ability to measure distances! If you right click on the map, you'll see the option "Measure Distance", then click to create dots and have their distances measured. This option isn't saved however, it's only temporary. But I could instantly imagine how students might use this! Comparing measurements between two locations, determining area, finding perimeter; there are many possibilities!If you zoom out far enough in Google Maps, you'll see cloud cover. Did you know that the clouds in Google Map are actually in real time? I thought that was pretty cool!Another great feature that could create some interesting conversations with students is the ability to see population clusters through light pollution. If you zoom all the way out in Google Maps, you'll see night and day as well as light pollution on the side that is currently covered by the night sky.Cloud cover in real time!Determine population clusters with light pollution!Also, zooming all the way out in Google Maps reveals the option to see the Moon and Mars. Open the Explore tab at the bottom to reveal these options.Check out the Moon and Mars in Google Maps!Extend the Learning Even Further with My MapsWhat used to be Maps Engine Lite is now the new My Maps. My Maps allows you to create your own maps with place markers, data, and information. You can share and even collaborate on maps with other people (similar to how you would share a Google Doc). The ability to collaborate on a Map alone is reason enough to try it with students.I've traced the island of Oahu and compared it to the sizeof the Big Island in Hawaii!One of my most favorite features of My Maps is the option to draw and create polygons! You can draw lines on your map with the Line Tool. Then those lines can be connected to form a polygon. The polygon can then be moved freely around the map! Want students to compare the size of the neighborhood to that of their city or state? Go right head!Another useful feature of My Maps is the ability to import data from a spreadsheet or create one right inside the map. With the ability to collaborate, multiple students could be working on one map to gather information and data for locations all over the world!Create a table inside of My Maps and add information and data to your placemarkers!Access Historical Imagery in Google EarthAnother amazing feature that Google offers to its users of Google Earth (and Google Tour Builder) is the ability to view historical imagery as far back as the 1930s & 1940s (in some parts of the world). This can be a powerful tool for demonstrating change over time and to help students learn how natural disasters and population growth affect the world.There are so many great Geo Tools that Google offers, and most of them are easy enough for teachers and students to use in class. One of the most important things I learned at the Geo Teacher Institute was that these Geo Tools don't just have to be used to teach geography and history. They can also be used to teach mathematics and even enhance reading and writing.Check them out for yourself! Visit the Google Maps Education website and see if there's an institute coming to your area.

So, several conversations recently are coming together: - Judy Unrein’s post on Mike Monteiro’s How Designers Destroyed the World talk, and her discussion about how designers can’t be just be order takers (go watch the talk - it’s amazing) - A conversation with Stephen Anderson about his upcoming IA Summit talk called Stop Doing What You Are Told! about reframing the design problem (soooo looking forward to those slides) - Dan Lockton’s article in the guardian about sustainable design, which talks about how, if people aren’t doing things the way we would like, we should figure out how to solve their problems, rather than treating them as the problem. Getting to the problem So, this is hard.  I think designers are often given solutions to implement, rather than problems to solve.   I sometime think that’s half my job with clients — getting a clear statement on the problem they are trying to solve, or the opportunity they are trying to realize. It’s something where the outside perspective can really help — when you live with problems all the time, they frequently become tacit. When I was teaching undergraduates, this was a hard idea to communicate, but it’s a key skill that everyone needs to have. I used to have a really simple card sorting game that I’d have my students play to see if they were being given a problem to solve, or a solution to implement.  If it was a solution, then they had to work on a way to get the actual problem clearly stated. I think, in light of Dan’s article, I’d tweak it a bit more, and talk about strategies for unpacking even the problem statements (e.g. the card "Sales people aren’t able to answer customer technical questions" would probably be better as "Customers have technical questions that they need answered during the sales process"). I have several different questions that help me dig for the problem: "Uh huh, and what do they need to do with that?" or "What do they need to do differently?" "What bad thing will happen if they don’t know that?" "Can you give me an example?" "If you woke up tomorrow and we’d implemented this perfectly, what would be different?" "What does is it look like when they get it wrong? What are common mistakes?" Curious to know what other people do — what do you use to understand what the real problem/opportunity/challenge is?  

Nominations for the 2014 Edublog Awards is open until November 24th!For this year's 2014 Edublog Awards I made four nominations for what I consider some of the best blogs and resources for teachers.There are a lot of nomination categories for the 2014 Edublog Awards, also known as the Eddies! I chose four of those categories and submitted my nominations. The categories I nominated for are: Best EdTech Blog, Best Librarian Blog, Best Administrator Blog, and Best Twitter Chat.Best EdTech BlogFor the Best EdTech Blog, I nominate +Kasey Bell's ShakeUpLearning blog! Kasey is an authorized Google Education Trainer, an organizer of many education related events, and already has many recognitions for her work in the field of EdTech. She blogs often and her content is inspiring, informational, and full of resources, tips, and tricks! I enjoy reading Kasey's blog posts and look forward to her new ones. She is also very connected through social media and runs the North Texas Google Educator Group (GEG NOR-TX).Check out Kasey's blog at http://www.shakeuplearning.com/blogBest Librarian BlogFor the category, Best Librarian Blog, I nominate +Linda Lindsay's mauilibrarian2 in Olinda blog. Linda is a librarian at Seabury Hall in Maui, HI. She is also a Google Certified Teacher, an authorized Google Education Trainer, and runs the weekly Google Rocks! Hawaii hangout on air. Linda posts frequently about events occurring at her school and in her library, but she also posts a lot of EdTech related content as well.Check out Linda's blog at: http://www.mauilibrarian2.com/Best Administrator BlogMy nomination for the Best Administrator Blog category goes to +Jan Iwase! Jan's blog is called Collaborating, Communicating, Critical Thinking, and Creating. Jan is the principal of Hale Kula Elementary on Oahu, HI. She is also fairly new to the blogosphere, but her blog posts about her experiences and reflections on her school and her position as an administrator are heartfelt, deeply though out, and inspiring for other administrators and teachers to read.Check out Jan's blog at: http://hkesprincipal.blogspot.com/Best Twitter ChatI'm a little biased in this category (well, a lot actually...) , but my nomination for the Best Twitter Chat has to go to #edchatHI! #edchatHI is a monthly Hawaii Twitter chat for educators that I help coordinate, plan, and moderate. We started this Twitter chat in 2013 and it has steadily grown since then. We are still a very small Twitter chat compared to others, but I find it fun and engaging to connect with other educators in my state and in other parts of the world! I just love my PLN!Learn more about #edchatHI: https://sites.google.com/site/edchathi/Nominations for the Edublog Awards ends on November 24th. You can submit your own nominations here. Learn more about the Eddies here. Voting for award nominations has not yet been announced, but will likely occur soon after nominations end.I'd like to personally thank my blog nominations: +Kasey Bell, +Linda Lindsay, and +Jan Iwase! Keep blogging!

The Hour of Code will soon be upon us and it's going to be the largest global learning event in history!Last year the Hour of Code reached 15 million users and 10 million girls just within 5 days! That was an introduction. And now there is a push for more Computer Programming courses in education. This year the goal is to reach 100 million users! So how can you participate and what resources are available for you and your students? I've curated everything I could possibly find for The Hour of Code (and beyond...)!The tutorials available on the Code.org website are great! They're fun and engaging and they teach important programming skills to students of all ages through leveled activities. The tutorials are also perfect for exposing students to the mysterious and vastly unknown world of programming. But when I think of The Hour of Code and Computer Science in general in regards to the typical teacher, I can't help but think about the following questions:How can we integrate this into our existing curriculum so that its purposeful?Most of us don't even know or understand programming, so how do we  teach it and apply it in our classrooms?How can schools and communities create more opportunities for students to engage with computer science?What other resources and support exist for teachers interested in integrating computer science in their curriculum?What happens after The Hour of Code?How do we encourage more girls to explore an interest in computer science?I've curated a detailed list of resources that I hope helps answer these questions. These resources include apps, curriculum guides,  professional development, and extracurricular opportunities for students.Mobile Apps That Teach CodingIn my search for iPad apps that teach and promote programming to children, I found quite a list for a variety of age levels! Some of these apps are available on multiple devices and some of the app developers have even created teacher resources and curriculums! Daisy the Dinosaur(ages 4-8)WebsiteiTunes (FREE)Run Marco!(ages 4-8)WebsiteiTunes (FREE)Google Play (FREE)ChromeScratch Jr(ages 5-7)WebsiteiTunes (FREE)CurriculumKodable(ages 6-8)WebsiteiTunes (Freemium)Kodable for Classrooms (Paid)ResourcesCodeQuest(ages 6-8)WebsiteiTunes (FREE)The Foos(ages 6-8)WebsiteiTunes (FREE)CurriculumHopscotch(ages 9-11)WebsiteiTunes (FREE)CurriculumCargoBot(ages 4+)WebsiteiTunes (FREE)Made with the Codea iPad app!Tynker(ages 9-11)WebsiteiTunes (FREE)Google Play (FREE)CurriculumMove the Turtle(ages 9-11)WebsiteiTunes ($2.99)LightBot(ages 9-11)WebsiteiTunes (FREE)iTunes ($2.99)ResourcesCodea(middle & high school)WebsiteiTunes ($9.99)Build apps on your iPad!Hakitzu Elite(ages 9+, fantasy violence)WebsiteiTunes (Freemium)Google Play (Freemium)CurriculumRoboComBasic(ages 9 - High School)WebsiteiTunes (FREE)Google Play (FREE)KineScript(ages 9 - High School)iTunes (FREE w/ Ads)iTunes ($1.99)CodeAcademy(middle & high school)WebsiteiTunes (FREE)CurriculumKhan Academy(middle & high school)Computer Programming CourseHour of Code CourseiTunes (FREE)Web-Based Coding Activities BotLogic.us - BotLogic.us is an educational puzzle game that challenges kids and adults to tackle complex logic problems while teaching valuable programming concepts.GameStarMechanic - Gamestar Mechanic uses fun, game-based quests and courses to help you learn game design and make your own video games!Blockly Games - Blockly Games is a series of educational games that teach programming. It is designed for children who have not had prior experience with computer programming. By the end of these games, players are ready to use conventional text-based languages.Curriculum, Lesson Ideas, & ResourcesPlaying games and activities that teach and promote coding is one thing, but what needs to happen in our schools is a transformation of how Computer Science is treated and a plan for classroom integration. But we struggle with the idea of teaching Computer Science in our classrooms because: (1) we don't completely understand it (2) we don't have the proper resources to implement it. For those reasons, I've gathered a list of some of the most comprehensive curriculum, lesson ideas, resources, and articles for teaching Programming and Computer Science in your classroom at any grade level!CodeAcademy CurriculumCode.org K-5 CurriculumCode.org Middle School CS in Science CurriculumCode.org Middle School CS in Math CurriculumCode.org CS Principles High School Lesson Plans (COMING SOON)Exploring Computer Science High School CurriculumKhan Academy Computer Programming CourseComputer Science Unplugged (Lesson Activities)CodeAvengers Coding LessonsEdSurge "Teaching Kids to Code" Resource GuideGoogle’s Made with Code Resources & ActivitiesGameStarMechanic Teacher Lesson GuidesArticles:Getting Smart - "Coding in the Classroom: Here to Stay"Getting Smart - "Coding in the Classroom: How Teachers are Learning to Code"Getting Smart - "Experts Weight In On K-12 Coding & CS Resources"Getting Smart - "The Transition from Cursive to Coding"edSurge - "We Need Coding In Schools, But Where Are the Teachers?"edSurge - "Learn to Code, Code to Learn"Encouraging Girls to CodePart of this big push for more Computer Science and Programming in education is to also encourage girls to enter related career paths. According to the Made with Code website, only 0.4% of female college freshman plan to major in CS. And since the 1990s, women with degrees in CS have dropped from 29% to 18%. There shouldn't be a gender equality gap, no matter what the profession. I've gathered a list of resources and opportunities that can help school's encourage more girls to participate!Start a club for girls! Create a Girls Who Code ClubInspire girls with Women Makers and Female Mentors!Connect a hobby with CS! Have them try a Sew Electric ActivityRead how a simple introduction can hook a student for life! NYTimes "I Am Woman, Watch Me Hack"Continue to Foster that Interest in CSOnce The Hour of Code is finished and gone, what's next? What else can we do to help encourage and foster an interest in Computer Science in our students? Create a safe, engaging, and fun opportunity beyond the classroom, start a club and join a workshop! Here are some resources to get started!7 Steps to Start a Coding Club at Your SchoolGirls Who Code ClubCoderDojo ClubsCode Club WorldAfter School Tynker ClubCode.org WorkshopsFollow Michael's board Coding for Kids on Pinterest. BONUS: Decorate a Christmas Tree w/ Google's Made with Code

The last blog post I wrote was about starting design with a problem rather than a solution, and it came from a conversation with Stephen Anderson about a presentation he was putting together for the IA Summit. Here’s his presentation, and (of course) it’s great stuff: