From Emma Roth at The Verge:

The Internet Archive calls this new collection the Calculator Drawer. There are 14 calculators to choose from, including the HP 48GX, TI-82, TI-83 Plus, and even the Electronic Number Muncher, which is an 80s-era toy calculator. The Internet Archive doesn’t just emulate the interface of each device, either; it incorporates their physical design and buttons, making it feel like you have the actual device right in front of you.

Authentic audiences are crucial for student projects because they provide a sense of purpose and relevance beyond just completing an assignment for a grade. When students know that their work will be seen and potentially used by a real-world audience, they are more motivated to put effort and thought into their project. Authentic audiences also give students the opportunity to practice communication and collaboration skills as they tailor their work to meet the needs and expectations of a specific group.

If you are looking for an authentic audience for a student project NPR has just announced the 2023 Student Podcast Challenge. The content will start on January 6, 2023 and close on April 28. The focus of the challenge is for students to create a podcast about any topic they wish to explore. Visit the NPR Student Podcast Challenge page for more details.

Alexander King at Edutopia explains how she adapted a math meme contest for her high school calculus class:

[S]tudents can participate in the same activity that organizers of the Southeastern Section of the Mathematical Association of America annual meeting in March 2020 created to preserve community spirit when their in-person meeting was canceled because of Covid restrictions: Make a math cartoon/meme contest.

The rules were simple: Create a fun mathematical image. The task was introduced by Ben Orlin of the Math with Bad Drawings blog. In short, it required creating a playful image that had to do with mathematics—research, teaching, concepts, culture, ideas, applications, etc.—without worrying about being side-splitting funny. After all, Orlin explained, the audience was an audience of mathematicians, who share similar sensibilities.

The students’ memes and cartoons can be seen here.

Vergecast just finished a series on artificial intelligence (AI) and how it is having a significant impact on the way content is being created for voice, video, writing, and taste.

Radiooooo is an interactive tool that teachers can use to listen to music from different time periods and locations. This is a great audio tool for social studies, ELA, and world language teachers to help immerse students in the musical culture across the world throughout history.

Chris Baily was interviewed on the Zapier Blog about how he defines productivity:

The biggest misconception is that productivity is about getting more done. The reason we have that misconception is because there usually aren’t enough hours in the day to do all we want to get done.

Baily goes on to discuss how technology, mindfulness, and habits impact our productivity.

K12 Six has a K-12 cyber incident map that details different levels of security breaches at schools going back to 2016. As of February 11, 2021 there have been 1180 cyber incidents. The incidents on the map include unauthorized disclosures, breaches or hacks, ransomware attacks, phishing attacks, and denial-of-service attacks. The K12 Six website also includes a video playlist of news reports about the cyber attacks. This is a great way to raise awareness at schools about the severity, frequency, and impact of cyber attacks on schools. It also helps to facilitate conversations with educators about how they can protect themselves as well as their students from cyber incidents.

Podcasts are an engaging way to expose students to topics, non-fiction, and current events. State standards often focus on improving student listening skills and podcasts are an effective way to meet these standards. If you are looking for podcasts to use in your classroom you should check out the education focused podcast website Listenwise, NPR’s Hidden Brain Podcast, and Radiolab for Kids. Once students become familiar with different types of podcasts they can begin to create their own. Here are some podcasting project ideas you can use in the classroom.

Jennifer Gonzalez recently spoke with Kareem Farah on her Cult of Pedagogy podcasts about creating a self-paced classroom. I found it difficult during my first year teaching to differentiate instruction and address the wide range of learning needs of my students. When I implemented a self-paced classroom it allowed me to provide additional support to struggling students while also appropriately challenging students who were ready for more advanced content. Jennifer’s conversation with Kareen discusses several questions and strategies teachers may have about creating a self-paced classroom.

UPDATE: Added new templates from We Are Teachers.

Jamboard is a great digital whiteboard tool that is part of Google’s suite of products in Google Drive. Just like other Google Drive documents like Docs and Slides you can create templates for your students with Jamboard. Over the past few years Google has been adding additional features including adding pictures, shapes, backgrounds, and text that have made Jamboard a fantastic digital whiteboard tool. Here are some resources and templates to help you get started with Jamboard.