March is International Ideas Month! Idea generation is an important skill for students. Maker education and design thinking (both aspects of making) nurture ideas in students! Students of any age can participate in making through short challenges, projects, or built-in maker opportunities—all of which allow students to generate ideas. If you would like to introduce … read more »
“I have not failed. I’ve just found 10,000 ways that won’t work.” – Thomas A. Edison As teachers, we strive to invent and implement engaging classroom experiences only to feel compelled to change and tweak them the following year to meet the needs of our new cadre of students. It’s challenging to reinvent classroom experiences, … read more »
What is maker education? In maker education, “students imagine, design, and create projects that align the content of learning with hands-on application” (Makered.org). Maker education was born from the maker movement, which believes that we are all “makers” and can be creators—not just consumers—of things. Makerspaces are specific spaces in schools, libraries, and community organizations … read more »
Today, teaching students to create media is not enough. Students must learn to create media responsibly. What does it mean to create media responsibly? According to Common Sense Media, teaching media literacy helps students to “Create media responsibly (by) Recognizing your own point of view, saying what you want to say how you want to … read more »
You may have taken part in any number of professional learning opportunities while school was out of session to hone your craft. As you think about getting this school year off the ground, take a moment to reflect and sift through your notes. Sometimes you can find themes that can help organize the great ideas … read more »