Two ideas about Icy Tea you should know...

You know the type of article: 3024 apps you can't work without, 10 commonplace ideas bloggers use to fill a post ... etc.

It can be very intimidating, and can give you the feeling that if you don't click through, you will never keep up with the pace of change.

But I have good news:

1) There is too much in the EdTech world for any one person to know and use.
If you ignore it today, the world will not end; there will be another 127 ideas tomorrow. And if it is a good idea, it will come around again.

2) It is just an opinion, it is not fact. Some of these articles, like any other ideas, are excellent, but others are not  ("IT has changed schools forever!"). We must not abandon our critical faculties, and we should not be afraid to say: Interesting, but I respectfully disagree. 

As I said, though, there are some great writers and thinkers around. One of them is AJ Juliani. He does not lose sight of the fact that what we are doing with technology in education is not about the machines, it's about the people. He has just published an excellent 'list' article (see link below). I took away many things, but also two which I have been planning to make my colleagues aware of (now he has done it for me, but you'll have to click through to see them).

• Haiku Deck (see his #4)
• Flat Classroom Project (see #6)

Here is Juliani's blog post:
10 Commandments of Innovative Teaching

...and here is the inimitable Mel Brooks:

Can you solve this?

I love the Veritasium videos by Derek Muller, a Canadian-Australian. He covers many topics in Science and other topics which are also of interest to the lay viewer. They are at a perfect level for students too. This video beautifully illustrates how science helps us to look for patterns. It would be excellent for use in ToK classes, or any subject in the sciences or humanities where we use the inductive method. Why not subscribe to this channel?

But first, can you solve the puzzle before he gives the answer?

How many times can I say Google in one post?

At the TTT, I ran a session to introduce the idea of gaining experience and qualifications using Google Apps for Education. Below is the slideshow of that session. If you are interested, please come and talk to me. I shall be submitting a common application to the PD Committee to request payment for the exams for any teachers who would like to take part. If you want to be included, please let me know by Monday 3 March.

Steve