July, 2021

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Top 5 Reasons Why Kids Should Learn Python

Ask a Tech Teacher

At a time when coding careers continue to flourish – despite the Covid19 pandemic and its adverse effect on the world economy – it is not surprising to see kids learning programming at an early age. And the coding language of Python has won what can only be described as a growing following over the years. Not just among grownups but kids too.

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4 Tools to Help Teachers Remove Backgrounds from Images

Educators Technology

Images speak louder than words. The communicative power of the visual is well documented in the communication literature. Our daily experience also attests to this fact. Visual cues draw our.read more.

educators

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Playing with Bacon's Cipher

Computer Science Teacher

Bacon's cipher is a fairly well-known and simple cipher. Its considered a form of steganography. Unlike most steganography, the code is hidden in the text and not an image. The format is a 5-bit binary encoding where each letter of the plaintext is replaced by a group of five of the letters 'A' or 'B'. This binary code has A as 00000 or "aaaaa" and Z is 11010 or "bbaba".

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STEM Everyday #210 | Learning to Code with a Picture Book | feat. Shari Eskenas

STEM Everyday Podcast

Shari Eskenas founded Sundae Electronics with the mission of creating an innovative consumer electronics brand with products that improve people’s everyday lives. She is an entrepreneur, electrical engineer, and inventor holding multiple patents. Shari enjoys brainstorming new ideas and creating novel products that involve programming microcontrollers.

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Can Brain Science Actually Help Make Your Training & Teaching Stick?

Speaker: Andrew Cohen, Founder & CEO of Brainscape

The instructor’s PPT slides are brilliant. You’ve splurged on the expensive interactive courseware. Student engagement is stellar. So… why are half of your students still forgetting everything they learned in just a matter of weeks? It's likely a matter of cognitive science! With so much material to "teach" these days, we often forget to incorporate key proven principles into our curricula — namely active recall, metacognition, spaced repetition, and interleaving practice.

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Recess quality influences student behavior, social-emotional development

K-12 Education News

Recess quality, not just the amount of time spent away from the classroom, plays a major role in whether children experience the full physical, mental and social-emotional benefits of recess, a new study has found.

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Happy Independence Day!

Ask a Tech Teacher

It’s America’s birthday and I’m celebrating. My Army Staff Sergeant son is still in Japan–Okinawa. My Navy LT CDR daughter’s still in the DC area in the next of her long line of Navy jobs. They do not leave her in one position for long! I thank both of them and all those soldiers who fought for America’s uncertain future so long ago.

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Canva Comic Strip Maker- A Great Tool Teachers and Students Can Use to Create Educational Comic Strips

Educators Technology

Canva comic strop maker is a good tool teachers and students can use to create cartoons. Comic strips can be used for a wide variety of educational purposes including digital storytelling,read more.

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Pluses and Minuses of the Unary increment Operator

Computer Science Teacher

There has been a conversation on Twitter about the unary increment operator (++) and related (+=, –, etc.). I tend to gloss over these when teaching beginners. Especially those in a first programming course. A friend of mine disagrees. It started with: Would you ever write, or teach a beginner, a = a + 1 if your language supports a += 1 If so, why? Now obviously professional programming and beginner programming are not exactly apples and apples but we should probably be teaching best practices.

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How Hands-On STEM Transforms Classroom Instruction

PCS Edventures

If there were any doubts that educators were resilient, pandemic teaching squashed them. Still, hunched over your blank lesson planner, the thought of tackling this year’s unique challenges seems daunting. But don’t crawl under your desk just yet. Perhaps you’ve thought about trying it for years, but now is the time to start. Get ready to embrace the transformative educational movement known as STEM instruction.

STEM 52
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Harnessing The Power Of Math Manipulatives

Mathematics, a subject steeped in abstract concepts, often poses challenges to students, especially those in grades 5-10. But imagine a bridge that transformed this intricate maze into an interactive adventure.

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How to Pay for College Without Loans

CSTEM

Written by: Reagan Flowers, Ph.D. As we get closer to the fall semester, many high school graduates are still deciding their paths. They are wondering how to pay for college without loans, whether to take a year off, and/or whether to pursue a college degree at all. So this month, I want to take a look at helping students achieve their STEM dreams — without landing them in insurmountable debt.

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TypeTastic for Game Based Learning

Technology Tidbits

"Game-based learning (GBL) is a type of game play that has defined learning outcomes. Generally, game-based learning is designed to balance subject matter with gameplay and the ability of the player to retain, and apply said subject matter to the real world. ( wikipedia )" Game Based Learning has stood the test of time and been going on since schools have been around.

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A Year to Remember, A Year to Reflect:  Pandemic Instruction

Ask a Tech Teacher

Ask a Tech Teacher contributor, Christian Miraglia, taught for 36 years before retiring. He has some interesting reflections on the year that was the pandemic: A Year to Remember, A Year to Reflect: Pandemic Instruction. Feeling Overwhelmed. Over the past year teachers have been bombarded by colleagues, administrators, and social media pundits on which platforms can best serve them and their students.

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6 of The Best Educational YouTube Channels for Kids in 2021

Educators Technology

In today's post, I am sharing with you some of what I think are the best YouTube channels that provide educational video content designed specifically for kids. I particularly focused on.read more.

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Downloadable Design Briefs for an Integrative STEM Curriculum

These easy-to-use design briefs outline student objectives, challenges, and materials needed to complete each 30-minute to 4-hour lesson. ITEEA’s Integrative STEM curriculum, Engineering byDesign, includes many more standards driven hands-on activities just like these!

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Notes on Day Three of #CSTA2021

Computer Science Teacher

No morning help desk duty for me today so I watches the whole “Morning Java” session. For those of you not at CSTA, Moring Java was an introduction to the day with our conference chairs and guests. Today.Michelle Lippoli, Senior Operations Manager (Events and Membership) for CSTA, talked about all the work that goes into running a conference like this one.

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The Superpowers of STEM in Out-of-School Programs

PCS Edventures

In 2020, as the coronavirus pandemic closed down schools all around the world, educators did their best to implement virtual lessons to meet their students’ academic, social and emotional needs. Unfortunately, many students struggled with remote learning and navigating unfamiliar online platforms, especially students from lower-income families who lacked the technology, educational resources and other opportunities that come with financial security.

STEM 52
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137: OTT: How to Plan Your Meet The Teacher Night Using Digital and Print

Trina Deboree Teaching and Learning

137: OTT: How to Plan Your Meet The Teacher Night Using Digital and Print Take some notes from your virtual meet the teacher night and bring them into your face-to-face Open House. Today we are talking about preparing for Meet the Teacher Night. Save some valuable time, and join me. Links Mentioned in the Show: Take some notes from your virtual meet the teacher night and bring them into your face-to-face Open House.

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Edform

Technology Tidbits

Edform is an excellent site for educators looking to easily turn their worksheets into interactive graded assignments. This is done simply by uploading a file (i.e. doc, pdf, etc), add questions or multimedia elements, and then share a link w/ students. Once the assignment has been completed it gets graded automatically, generates a detailed report, and makes it easy for teachers to differentiate instruction.

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What You Might Have Missed in July

Ask a Tech Teacher

Here are the most-read posts for the month of July. Tech Tip #63: Reset Default Font. Tech Ed Resources–Mentoring and Coaching. A Year to Remember, A Year to Reflect: Pandemic Instruction. 11 Websites for Thinking and Learning. We Landed on the Moon July 20 1969. 5 (free) Posters on Teaching I. Tech Ed Resources–Lesson Plans. Tech Tip #44: Computer Safety. 9 Websites for Comics in Teaching.

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Tips to Help You Turn YouTube Into A Pedagogical Tool to Use in Your Teaching

Educators Technology

YouTube can be a powerful educational platform if used effectively. It hosts tons of educational video content that is readily accessible and for free. As teachers and educators, we can not but.read more.

Teaching 360
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Observations on #CSTA2021 Virtual Conference

Computer Science Teacher

The CSTA 2021 Virtual Conference is in the books. I really did enjoy it and I learned a lot. Virtual conferences are different from in-person conferences and I plan a post on that. But for now I want to talk about this year. First off, the conference program was pretty awesome if I can say that as part of the conference committee that selected them.

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AI in School Curriculum : Futuristic Technology the New Normal?

Stem Education News

Artificial intelligence – we’ve all heard of the term and we know what it means. But what is all the hype about? Everywhere you turn to, you find AI or at least some mention of it in some form or another. From AI in classrooms to AI in MNC boardrooms, you can find it everywhere. […] The post AI in School Curriculum : Futuristic Technology the New Normal?

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Maydm’s new internship program gives teens summer jobs in STEM fields

Maydm

Written by Natalie Yahr. Four days a week, Elfin Wiriyan walks into the Exact Sciences campus on Madison’s west side around 8 a.m., eager to start the work day. The youngest member of the company’s data science team, she likes having some time in her cubicle before the “stand-up” meeting where she and her colleagues check in each morning. The team’s job is to analyze data to help the company make decisions.

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STEM Everyday #209 | My Grandpa, STEM, & the Moon Buggy | feat. Gene “Herb” Clark

STEM Everyday Podcast

How long has STEM been around? In this interview, Chris talks with his grandpa Gene “Herb” Clark, who was born on Christmas day in 1925. He graduated high school at the age of sixteen. While in the Navy, Gene studied radio communications and helped send and receive important information during World War II. He later worked for a company that made control cables, including the ones used on the first moon buggy on the Apollo 15 mission!

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9 Websites for Comics in Teaching

Ask a Tech Teacher

Here are a few of the popular resources teachers are using to teach writing and storytelling with comics: Book Creator –(iOS/Android) templates to create digital comic books and graphic novels. Canva –for templates. Friendstrip. MakeBeliefsComix. Marvel – Create comic strips and books with Marvel characters. Pixton.com. PlayComic –English or Spanish.

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Ready-made Back-to-School Templates for Teachers

Educators Technology

The return to school this year is different from previous years. It is a special event where teachers get to see their students after a prolonged period of physical absence during which distance.read more.

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The Legacy LTI Versions Are Deprecating. Are You Prepared?

Magic EdTech

Technology in Education is changing at a rapid pace and your product must keep pace. Very recently, IMS released the deprecation schedule for earlier versions of LTI. Yes, you read it right, IMS Global will no longer certify the legacy versions and will, in a year’s time, stop support for them as well. It is crucial for companies and institutions to migrate their platforms to LTI version 1.3 and Advantage to be able to serve their users seamlessly.

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Pumpkin Number Sequencing

The STEM Laboratory

After kids learn how to count, it’s time to stretch their number understanding by working on sequencing. Asking a simple question like, “What number comes next?” does just that. Snag your freebie below and then hop over to take our 5 Day Challenge to set yourself up with STEM centers that you students will love all year! Getting Ready.

Math 52
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136 OTT: Three Non-Negotiables For An Effective Makerspace In Your Classroom

Trina Deboree Teaching and Learning

136 OTT: Three Non-Negotiables For An Effective Makerspace In Your Classroom Today we talk about the 3 non-negotiables you will want in your classroom or school Makerspace. Come and join me. Links Mentioned in the Show: Every Classroom Needs a Makerspace: The 5 Fundamentals to Getting Started (FREE Masterclass) Mastering Makerspace: From Zero to Amazing Today we talk about the 3 non-negotiables you will want in your classroom or school Makerspace.

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Elementary Labs in a Snap

The Science Penguin

Labs. Labs. Labs. Who needs more simple, meaningful, ready-to-go labs ? WELL. Labs in a Snap is here! You’re going to love how this is organized and how easy the labs are to implement. Your students will love all of this hands-on science! There are 3 labs per topic: Engagement Exploration Elaboration with Claim/Evidence. What you need to know: Designed for 3rd grade but easily adapted to other grades. 3 labs per topic.

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What is the best video editing software?

Ask a Tech Teacher

If you’re teaching high school videography, you want your students to use the programs that will be required in the job they end up in after graduation. You don’t want an ‘easy’ program. You want one that demonstrates the student’s expertise at an interview. But what are those programs? Here are some good suggestions: What is the best video editing software for professionals?

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Toontastic 3D Enables Students To Create Their Own 3D Cartoons

Educators Technology

In a previous post I discussed the importance of comic strips in education and provided one example of an easy tool students can teachers can use to create their own comic strips. In today's post, I.read more.

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