Last May, I backed a project on Kickstarter1 for the CHIP computer. At $9, the CHIP computer is the cheapest single board computer (SBC) that is fully functional. The Raspberry Pi project released the Pi Zero at $5 during the past year, but it isn’t fully functional since you still have to buy an SD…
Nationally, 9 in 10 parents want their children to learn computer science (CS) but only a quarter of principals report offering CS with programming in their schools. Source: Google for Education: Accelerating CS Education in Local Communities: The Stats by State Computer Science is the study of what computers can do. Programming may be a…
Create interactive multimedia easily with Buncee A neat alternative to just another slide show. 6 Things Teachers Must Try This Summer! Rejuvenate and experiment. ⓔ Highlight the minimum and maximum cell in a Google Sheet column Conditional formatting in Google Sheets.
While surfing the net looking for information on running Android Apps on my Chromebook Flip, I found an interesting page, Use Android apps from the Chrome Web Store. Apparently, there are about 36 android apps that you can currently run on the Chromebooks. Kinda cool, although the experience is a little jarring. I’m hoping the final…
It’s distressing to think that the sound of a baby crying reduces our mental agility just at the moment when we most need it. But it helps to take the long view of parenthood and its effects on our intellectual capacities. In her wonderful book The Mommy Brain: How Motherhood Makes Us Smarter, journalist Katherine Ellison reviews…
Today, open educational resources (OER) are an increasingly common feature in the K–12 education ecosystem. As one example, consider the popularity of Khan Academy, whose library of practice activities and videos are accessed each month by over 10 million users around the world and in many schools across the United States. Similarly, as school systems…
Booktrack is a service that adds a soundtrack to ebooks. As you read the book, there can be added music and sound effects to enhance the immersion level of the book. Once you sign up, you can select one of their books to read, which is pretty cool in itself. The magic happens when you…
Having worked with almost 500 school districts and 3,000 school leaders over the past year, I’ve often been asked, “What type of devices should we buy?” The problem with this question, is that quite often this is the leading question – the initial area that the district is investigating. Districts that are working to purchase…
Best defined by the research and work of Carol Dweck, Jo Boaler and Eduardo Briceno, growth mindset is the recognition of the brain as a muscle that—with practice, effort, and nurturing—can continue to grow and develop. When you think of an inventor or innovator, past or present, what descriptors come to mind? Creative. Persistent. Curious….
Although I’m a little torn on the name, Buncee offers a drag and drop interface for creating multimedia. The projects can then be view-able on the web or on the iOS apps. The gallery has some great examples of seeing how you could use the tool in your classroom. While there is a free tier,…