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Join the learning revolution sweeping the globe!

3D printers, robotics, programming, wearable computing, and Arduino capture the imaginations of today's student. When exciting new technologies combine with hands-on traditions, your classroom becomes a maker-space where learning soars. The time is now to place invention and creativity ahead of worksheets and testing.

ScratchJr is a free, introductory computer programming language that runs on iPads and Android tablets. Inspired by Scratch, the wildly popular programming language used by millions of children worldwide, ScratchJr helps even younger kids create their own playful animations, interactive stories, and dynamic games.

The Official ScratchJr Book is the perfect companion to this free app and makes coding easy and fun for all. Kids learn to program by connecting blocks of code to make characters move, jump, dance, and sing.

Help Your Kids with Computer Coding is exactly what ever parent of a budding computer programmer needs. The straightforward visual approach combines colorful graphics with step-by-step instructions, making the art of coding clear and enjoyable for the complete beginner.

From coding basics to fun projects, this unique guide will inspire children to use their imaginations and problem-solving skills to build games and animations using two different programming languages—Scratch and Python.

Understanding how computer programming works is a critical part of digital literacy for students today. Even students who aren't learning how to code can benefit greatly from knowing how programs work. This book uses highly engaging games to immerse students in the world of logical thinking and problem solving. From programming robots to writing stories that work as interactive fiction games, the lessons in this book provide ways to build digital literacy beyond the computer lab.

Games:

This report summarizes the second of two workshops on computational thinking, which was held February 4-5, 2-10, in Washington, D.C., under the auspices of the National Research Council's (NRC's) Committee for the Workshops on Computational Thinking.

This report summarizes a workshop on the nature of computational thinking held February 19-20, 2009 in Washington, D.C., under the auspices of the National Research Council's (NRC's) Committee for the Workshops on Computational Thinking. The workshop was structured to gather inputs and insights from computer scientists, information technologists, and disciplinary experts knowledgeable about how computational thinking might be relevant to their domains of expertise.

Since Don't Make Me Think was first published in 2000, hundreds of thousands of Web designers and developers have relied on usability guru Steve Krug's guide to help them understand the principles of intuitive navigation and information design. Witty, commonsensical, and eminently practical, it's one of the best-loved and most recommended books on the subject.

The world of Raspberry Pi is evolving quickly, with many new interface boards and software libraries becoming available all the time. In this cookbook, prolific hacker and author Simon Monk provides more than 200 practical recipes for running this tiny low-cost computer with Linux, programming it with Python, and hooking up sensors, motors, and other hardware—including Arduino.

We all know the Declaration of Independence was signed in 1776, but to often we forget that the colonies were almost a year into the Revolutionary War by the time of the signing. Can you replicate historical success? Or will your colonies fall back under British rule? Building upon 1775: Rebellion, an award winning board game, this book presents a week-long unit with detailed lesson plans, primary source documents, and additional instructional resources for teaching the American Revolution through play.

Slavery is a sensitive topic in American history. This book provides resources and lesson plans for a week-long unit covering slavery, the Underground Railroad, and the abolition movement built around an award-winning board game. In Freedom: The Underground Railroad, students will take on the role of abolitionists helping slaves reach freedom in Canada. Background knowledge, primary source documents, and detailed lesson plans on teaching slavery and using the game provide full support for instruction. Customized Freedom mini-game scenarios designed by Brian Mayer and Christopher Harris.

This book provides broad support for using games in middle and high school science classes including Earth science/living environment, biology, chemistry, and physics. The lesson plans and resources support a play-based approach to evolution, ecosystems, cellular organisms, elements and compounds, and vector motion. Though easy to learn, the included games provide detailed scientific accuracy allowing complex simulations and immersive learning experiences.

Games:

Evolution. Dominic Crapuchettes, Dmitry Knorre, Sergey Machin. North Star Games, 2014.

It may only be play money, but the games in this book can help students better understand how important financial literacy is in their real lives. Play-based lesson plans in the book cover topics including spending and saving, risk assessment, and return on investment using fast-paced board and card games. A larger capstone game pulls together all of the concepts in a market-driven game that places students in the role of stockholders investing in and managing train companies. Who will use financial savvy to turn the biggest profit?

Games: