Help your child get inventive with these resources

Do you have students who love inventing, experimenting, and computing? Then check out my article on Answers.com which features quality, free or inexpensive places you can turn to help your students discover, explore, and develop his or her inner inventor. 

Visit "Help your child get inventive with these resources" to find out about more about resources like Super Awesome Sylvia, Tynker, and Makey Makey.  

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Caution banning cell phones may interrupt learning

“The only difference between smartphones and laptops is that cell phones are smaller, cheaper, and more coveted by students” (Richtel & Stone, 2009). Students, parents, teachers, principals, and elected officials know it is time to lift restrictions and embrace these tools for learning. Below is their wisdom and the research to support it.

Students

• In general, 95% of teens use the internet and 74% are “mobile internet users” (Pew, 2013).  With or without us, students are using cell phones for learning despite the perception by some parents and teachers that cell phones are distracting to kids. A national study shows that 1 in 3 middle schoolers are using their devices to complete homework and learn better (Tru, 2012). 
• "... with cell phones tucked in the book bags and pockets of three-fourths of today's teens, many high schools are ceding defeat in the battle to keep hand-held technology out of class and instead are inviting students to use their phones for learning" (Malone & Black, 2010).

• Nationally, just over half (52%) of teachers of upper and upper-middle income students say their students use cell phones to look up information in class, compared with 35% of teachers of the lowest income students (Pew Research Center, 2013).  
• More than half of the world’s population now owns a cell phone, and children under 12 constitute one of the fastest growing segments of mobile technology users in the U.S. according to the The Joan Ganz Cooney Center at Sesame Workshop (Shuler, 2009).  

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The hottest posts everyone's reading

Here’s the roundup of what's been popular on The Innovative Educator blog. Below you’ll see the top posts along with the number of page views. I hope there's something that looks of interest to you.  If it does, check it out. If you’re inspired use one of those icons below the post to share it with others and/or leave a comment.

Entry	Pageviews
How obsolete is your school? Take this quiz ... Mar 19, 2014,	4011
Is boredom the real epidemic in our schools? Mar 23, 2014,	3222
Does Twitter have a minimum age requirement? Jun 13, 2013,	2511
Google Drive gets add-ons. Yeah or Eh? Mar 16, 2014,	2370
8 Real Ways Facebook Enriched Ms. Schoening’s 1st Grade... Jul 15, 2010,	1621
10 ways the research behind banning handheld devices is flawed... Mar 26, 2014,	1594

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5 Ways to use social media to spice up your next museum trip

It’s not uncommon for today’s children, brought up in a fast-paced, digital world, to become bored and uninterested when visiting cultural institutions. It doesn’t have to be that way though. Sometimes the first step to enjoying art is to look forward to a museum visit as something that is fun. Social media can provide a great way to engage young people during a trip to museum, landmark, or other cultural institution. At the same time, it might just connect them to a new community of others who share a love of arts and culture that they didn’t know they had.

Here are some fun and innovative ideas for teachers and parents to try on their next field trip.

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#BYOD Management from the experts: @mluhtala @jksuter @hobsonjill

Listen as bring your own device (BYOD) experts discuss best practices for classroom management.  Special guests Jill Hobson @hobsonjill, Michelle Luhtala @mluhtala, and Jason Suter @JKsuter all currently work in BYOD environments and share insights about the following topics:

• Getting started with byod management.
• Preventing distraction. 
• Fostering trust in students who are using their own devices.
• The role of students in classroom management.
• Explaining this will work to administrators.
• Getting parents to support responsible use.  

Watch the video below then check out the collection of Tweets on Storify filled with insights and resources.

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The hottest posts everyone's reading

Here’s the roundup of what's been popular on The Innovative Educator blog. Below you’ll see the top posts along with the number of page views. I hope there's something that looks of interest to you.  If it does, check it out. If you’re inspired use one of those icons below the post to share it with others and/or leave a comment.

Entry	Pageviews
How obsolete is your school? Take this quiz to fin... Mar 19, 2014,	3940
Is boredom the real epidemic in our schools? Mar 23, 2014,	3047
Does Twitter have a minimum age requirement? Jun 13, 2013,	1713
Google Drive gets add-ons. Yeah or Eh? Mar 16, 2014,	1375
Face off: @Twitter verses @Remind101 for family ou... Mar 9, 2014,	1256

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Inspiring story of social media giving @CarlysVoice a #StuVoice

Carly Fleischmann hadn't communicated with many people before she started using social media. That is because Carly doesn't speak. Today however, social media has opened the door to give this very social young lady access to connecting with tens of thousands of people around the world. 

In the video below, Carly shares, "The moment when I typed on social media for the first time a sense of belonging and a feeling of being heard came over me. I was surprised how I was now a part of society in a social way. It has brought me out of my shell and allowed me to help people learn about autism straight from the horse's mouth."

Social media is an amazing tool to give us a voice, allow us to share our stories, and connect to others.  How are using using social media to open up doors to the students with whom you work?
________________________________________
Get social!
-->Follow Carly on Twitter at https://twitter.com/CarlysVoice 
-->Like her Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/carlysvoice 

Consider this...
How can you use Carly's social media presence as a model for the students with whom you work?

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