Learning and Leading - Feburary 2013

SySTEM Alert! is a free publication from Pitsco Education that exposes students to the relevancy of the science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) skills they are learning in class. The four-page newsletter is aimed at middle school students, though the content has interest for all ages. Articles range from news reports on discoveries and inventions to explorations of familiar technology. They draw on original interviews with scientists, developers, and researchers. The content is delivered in a colorful, engaging style. The online version is free, and print copies are available in classroom sets of 20.

MORE INFO: www.pitsco.com/SySTEMalert
Eightythree Technology has released
an app called Wireless Drive, which
turns any iOS device into a personal
wireless drive, allowing users to save, manage, edit, and
view files. Connecting via Wi-Fi to either Mac
or PC desktops allows users to transfer files via Finder or
Windows Explorer and then view or edit them directly on
the device using a variety of included in-app utilities.
The app lets educators and students use their devices as
virtual wireless hard drives to store music, photos, videos,
productivity files, and more. iCloud and Dropbox integration
lets users share or sync files over multiple devices.

MORE INFO: www.eightythreetech.com/phonedrive

Knowmia is a new online service that crowdsources and organizes video lessons from great teachers to help high school students grasp challenging topics and prepare for tests or courses. The learning platform offers a more personalized, affordable, and time-efficient solution than tutoring. Knowmia offers video lessons in numerous subject areas as well as features that can help students quickly identify areas they may need to explore further. Minicourses are teacher-curated sets of lessons, sourced from Knowmia’s library, that include teacher comments and quizzes to measure progress.

MORE INFO: www.knowmia.com
Belkin Enterprise has released a new tablet stand
for the education market. The Belkin Tablet
Stand is designed for classroom settings
where mobile learning and digital content
collaboration are the norm. The tablet stand is
made of colorful, durable, nonslip material and
enables multiple ergonomic angles for viewing or
typing. The Belkin Tablet Stand features a stackable design
for easy, compact storing when not in use and can also be
used as a stable video recording stand.

MORE INFO: belkin.com/us//B2B026/p/P-B2B026

All Agog over MOOCs! Massive open online courses (MOOCs) are luring hundreds of thousands of higher education students. Now this disruptive model of education delivery is making its way into the realm of K– 12 professional development. Author and blogger Karen Fasimpaur writes about how MOOCs have the potential to transform traditional K– 12 PD delivery.

Level PD’s Paperwork Mountain Does tracking professional development (PD) in your district create a mountain of paperwork? Author Janet Neufeld explains how her district moved the mountain aside with a PD management system that not only tracks learning activities, but also creates a seamless learning culture that aligns school, teacher, and student goals and outcomes.

Transform Your Library with iPads Since introducing iPads to the Chicago Public Schools (CPS) libraries in 2010, district librarians have used them to reinvent their approach to teaching. Lisa Perez, network library coordinator for CPS, describes the innovative ways that teacher-librarians are using the devices to engage students in reading, writing, speaking, listening, and learning.