10 Great movies emphasising STEM Skills

Apple Teacher Resources

Learn. Earn. Get inspired.

Explore more than 75 new learning resources to help you master key iPad features and apps. You’ll discover hands-on tutorials that make it easy to learn new skills and earn your badges. Find fresh ideas that you can apply in your own lessons and daily workflows. And get inspiration to take your teaching further, no matter where you are on your Apple Teacher journey. Learn something new on iPad

Add drawings in Keynote. Learn more Visualise data in Numbers. Learn more Bring photos to life in iMovie. Learn more Create flyers and posters in Pages. Learn more

Google for Education Teacher Center

Here is a great resource for teachers with training sessions on specific apps as well as certification opportunities to become a Google Certified Educator.

https://teachercenter.withgoogle.com

The benefits of Artificial Intelligence

"If you’re a gamer, you’ll already be familiar with some of the benefits of AI. No longer are ‘CPU players’ dumb, but actually play a lot like human players. That means with no unfair advantages programmed in by the designers of the game, the AI can work out strategies to defeat opponents. "

Another excellent post from Doug Belshaw's blog.

Read the full blog post

Photo by Franck V. on Unsplash

Let’s not force children to define their future selves through the lens of ‘work’

An excellent post on Doug Belshaw's blog explaining why asking children what they want to be when they grow up is a rubbish questions.

"The jobs I’ve had over the last decade didn’t really exist when I was a child, so it would have been impossible to point to them. Let’s encourage children to think of the ways they can think and act to change the world for the better – not how they’re going to pay the bills to enable themselves to do so."



full blog article

What sort of creative type are you?

Take the test and find out

Take the test and find out

The digital citizenship skills students need most

from Common Sense media

Photo by Fabian Irsara on Unsplash

1. Make news and media literacy education a priority.

As the Common Sense study suggests, teachers know that students are struggling with news and media literacy. For students to become informed citizens who are able to distinguish among fact, opinion, and misinformation, media literacy education is essential. Fortunately, these skills are broadly applicable no matter what content area you teach: whether you're digging into research projects in ELA, investigating how scientific misconceptions spread online in biology, or analyzing social media's impact on elections in U.S. history. Try adding a news literacy lesson to a relevant unit, or find ways to incorporate media-analysis strategies into your existing lesson plans.

2. Model and encourage media balance in the classroom.

Teachers' second top technology-related concern was digital distraction in the classroom. Add to this the statistic that nearly half (47 percent) of teens report feeling "addicted" to their phones and it seems clear that students need some help with media balance.

We've long advocated for device-management plans as opposed to bans in the classroom. While this can take some work for teachers to put in place, it allows the classroom to be a place to model and practice intentional and mindful use of devices. Teachers can also empower students to take control of their own media use through media balance lessons that focus on self-reflection and critical analysis of how media contributes to their lives and relationships. Students can develop individual plans for healthy media balance and practice these skills in and out of the classroom.

3. Empower upstanders with habits of mind.

Though cyberbullying and hate speech didn’t surface as the most pressing technology-related concerns for educators, the rates at which teachers observed these issues in their classrooms is significant. The frequency of cyberbullying and online hate speech increased with grade level, with nearly half of middle and high school teachers reporting that cyberbullying occurred at least occasionally in their classrooms. Regarding online hate speech, about one in 10 middle and high school teachers said it happened at least occasionally in their classrooms.

Whether you teach dedicated lessons on cyberbullying and hate speech or address these topics more informally when teachable moments arise, it's helpful to focus on what students can do as opposed to what they shouldn't do. Encourage students to pay attention to "red flag feelings": when something happens on digital media that makes them feel uncomfortable, worried, sad, or anxious. Habits of mind like "slowing down," "exploring different perspectives," "envisioning options and possible impacts," and "taking action" can prepare students to recognize and respond to cyberbullying when they encounter it.

from Common Sense media