ISTE 2017 is almost here, and the excitement is palpable. There’s nothing quite like an education conference to cap off one school year and rev up your engines for the next.

Back when I was a classroom teacher, I remember struggling to explain to my noneducator friends and family why I looked forward to conferences so much. It was hard for them to fully understand how it felt to be freed from the day-to-day routines of teaching, planning and marking. Getting together with so many fellow teachers to share ideas, raise questions and find out the latest education developments was invigorating.

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For the students and teachers of Northern Parkway Elementary School in Uniondale, New York, learning isn’t something that only belongs inside a classroom – it can happen anywhere.

When the school had the chance to turn one of their hallways into a learning space, they were intrigued. With the help of Phi Services, Northern Parkway added a Nureva™ Span™ visual collaboration system in this underused space. The result? A place for student creation, collaborative learning and problem solving that didn’t exist before.

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You would be amazed at what high school students can do! We are about to enter the fourth year of the Nureva summer internship program. Each year we have attracted outstanding high school students who continue to impress us with their willingness to learn, their excellent work ethic and the high quality work that they do for us. Working on meaningful projects in a real work environment, the high school students quickly become members of our team, contributing to our efforts to create, market and sell innovative technology solutions.

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A country’s 150^th birthday only comes once – it’s cause for celebration. Schools across Canada are searching for ways to mark the occasion in a way that has a real impact on students.

At Glen Tay Public School in Perth, Ontario, a full day was planned for Canada 150, complete with interactive centers, art projects and drumming. Yet teachers wanted to go further and find a way to make a deeper connection between their students and others across the country.

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In the United States, currently 1 out of every 10 public school students is an English language learner. But too often these students do not receive the quality instruction they clearly need. In fact, only 63% of ELLs graduate from high school (the overall national rate is 82%).

These realities particularly concern Della Rodrigues, who teaches beginning English language learners at Kenmore Middle School in Arlington, Virginia. She’s committed to not only helping her students thrive but also sharing her strategies with other educators looking for new ideas and approaches.

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Teachers, do you ever feel like your classroom is an island? On the one hand, you spend every moment surrounded by 20 (or 30, or 40) individuals, all with their own quirks, needs and challenges. On the other hand, finding a window of time to actually connect with your colleagues can be very tricky.

That’s why it’s so important to make the most of the teacher collaboration sessions you have – staff meetings, curriculum planning sessions, PD days. Luckily, the same tool that helps students develop ideas, share perspectives and solve problems can help here as well.

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It’s Tuesday morning, and the students in Della Rodrigues’s English language learner (ELL) math class are keen to get the day started. It’s time for Number of the Day.

When students arrive in class, Della reveals the day’s number. That’s all she has to do. Immediately students are consumed with their task – to come up with a mathematical expression that equals it. This might seem simple, but not the way Della’s students do it.

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It’s project time for your robotics students, and the room is buzzing with activity. Students aren’t sitting in desks and straight rows – instead they’re spread throughout the room, troubleshooting their designs and solving problems.

When they get an important thought – a design improvement, a bug fix, a new idea to consider – they just pull out the device they never leave home without: their phone. With a few clicks, the idea is captured on an expansive canvas. The phone can go back in the pocket. And the work can continue until the next inspiration strikes.

Your students’ favorite device is no longer a distraction – it’s integral to their learning.

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In a recent eSchool News study, 89% of educators said it was very important or important for students to lead their own learning. That’s telling – as is the fact that not a single respondent considered student-led learning unimportant.

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For Cathie MacDonell and her students, it all started with a question: why couldn’t their community eradicate homelessness? After all, a neighboring city had put in place a plan to ensure that everyone would have a place to sleep – so why not their city?

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