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You'll find practical classroom strategies and tips from real educators, as well as lesson ideas, personal stories, and innovative approaches to improving your teaching practice. If you have any thoughts or comments about these blogs, please don't hesitate to let us know.

Andrea SaveriJune 19, 2013

As summer reflections on the past school year turn into aspirations for the next year, it's important to keep in mind the big picture of change in education. Five shifts in how we think about schools and education in general will help to regenerate the learning ecosystem, and will provoke our imagination about new possibilities for teaching and learning.

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Ramona PersaudJune 19, 2013

As schools everywhere begin to wind down on the school year, the worry around the summer brain drain begins. But just because school's out doesn't mean the learning process comes to a grinding halt. There are no hard stops on learning; in fact, there are numerous opportunities for learning in your daily activities.

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Adam ProvostJune 18, 2013

Maker Spaces, Fabrication Labs . . . it's been going on for some time now, but it's all the buzz in education these days. And with good reason.

I've been thinking about all this more and more since walking in on a session called "Digital Fabrication in K-12" at Educon this past January. One of the presenters that day, a fellow named Jaymes Dec, said, "I wish every classroom was a Maker Space."

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Beth HollandJune 18, 2013

Let me begin this post by saying, "I agree."

I agree that students should have recess and play outside.
I agree that young children need to interact in a face-to-face setting.
I agree that it is developmentally critical to engage with paper, paint, blocks, crayons and even the dirt on the ground, because elementary students need to experience the physical world.

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Ben JohnsonJune 17, 2013

Student debate has the capacity to both deeply engage the students in relevant learning, and to encourage students to be deep thinkers. Debate is more than simply arguing. It has structure and rules that are designed to keep both sides calm.

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Suzie BossJune 17, 2013

For many teachers, summer is peak season for generating ideas. When the daily classroom demands ease up, you can enjoy the luxury of unstructured time to reflect, explore, and brainstorm about the learning experiences you'd love to offer your students.

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Heather Wolpert-GawronJune 14, 2013

In my family, Father's Day was never about letting Dad sleep in and then getting him grill dinner later. After all, Dad tended to be an early riser, and our BBQ sat untouched for years until there were some son-in-laws in the picture. But while he may have not been much for a grill, my dad was, and is, a writer. For which I am grateful. Dad has given me much, not the least of which is a love of the written word and a passion for those who are brave enough to reflect and honest enough to learn from their reflections. In other words, my father is an educator.

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Elana LeoniJune 14, 2013

It's almost officially summer, and if you’re an edtech nerd like me, you always start twitching with excitement when June rolls around (seriously, picture Elaine dancing in Seinfeld). ISTE's annual conference and exposition starts June 23 and, for me, ISTE is the best way (edcamps excluded, of course!) to meet inspiring and like-minded folks passionate about education. So how do you make the most of the conference? And how do you know if you're being realistic about your goals and schedule? And is there room for fun?

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Paul OhJune 13, 2013

What do programmable books, multimedia poetry and DIY clubs have in common?

They're all examples of ways that a growing number of educators -- in school and out, at libraries, museums and other cultural institutions, at home and at community gatherings -- are engaging in making things and leveraging the learning associated with that very human impulse to create.

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Lisa MimsJune 13, 2013

The school year is over! Yeah!

But as you know, teachers' minds immediately turn to what we can do differently next year. Considering the fact that classroom management is one of the biggest challenges teachers face, we are always searching for something that will work.

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