It's the last day of March Break and I've been curling up with some good books. They're not the mystery or suspense novels that I typically enjoy but they are very much relevant in the world of education. These books have been piling up for a while so I decided to catch up on the ones I had yet to finish reading. They were written by innovative and inspiring educators throughout the past few years, and I have even had the good fortune of meeting some of the authors. Today I share a few of my favourite reads, all of which are available on Amazon.ca. And I've even thrown in a special giveaway, too, so you can check them out for yourself. Without further ado, allow me to present: 

The HyperDoc Handbook: Digital Lesson Design Using Google Apps by Lisa Highfill, Kelly Hilton, Sarah Landis

HyperDocs are the solution to personalized instruction using technology in today’s modern classroom. They provide innovative ways to engage students and package digital lessons on a Google Doc. The HyperDoc Handbook is a practical reference guide for all K-12 educators looking to transform their teaching into blended learning environments. This book strikes a perfect balance between pedagogy and how-to tips, while also providing several lesson plans to get you going.

Hot off the digipress: my #HyperDocs definition #sketchnote. @edtechteam #gafesummit #edtech cc. @sylviaduckworth pic.twitter.com/JFtlNv7fr4

— Diana Mancuso (@TeacherMomOfTwo) June 27, 2016

After I had first heard about HyperDocs on Twitter, I was quite intrigued and signed up for their first HyperDocs Bootcamp online course. Now, it seems so many teachers have implemented HyperDocs into their teaching practice. They're a great tool for fostering creativity, collaboration and communication skills.

Code Breaker: Increase Creativity, Remix Assessment, and Develop a Class of Coder Ninjas! by Brian Aspinall

Crack the code for your students’ success! Future-ready students need to be creative. They need to know how to communicate their ideas and how to collaborate as problem solvers. And to master these and other twenty-first-century requirements, they will need to be critical thinkers. In Code Breaker, educator Brian Aspinall shares his insights on how to turn curriculum expectations into skills. Students identify problems, develop solutions, and use coding and computational thinking to apply and demonstrate their learning.

Listening to @mraspinall talking about his first #coding club experience. Now the whole #poopmissilealgorithm makes sense! #TCDSB21C pic.twitter.com/w6sDHFWsz1

— Diana Mancuso (@TeacherMomOfTwo) February 8, 2017

I had been following Brian Aspinall for quite some time. Not the creepy kind, but the social media variety. And then I was so fortunate to meet him and listen to one of his talks at a TCDSB 21C Innovators session just over a year ago. (Fan-girl moment!) While his musings on Mitch Resnick's and Seymour Papert's respective theories were quite interesting, he had me at "poop missile."

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The Google Infused Classroom: A Guidebook to Making Thinking Visible and Amplifying Student Voice by Holly Clark, Tanya Avrith

EdTech experts Holly Clark and Tanya Avrith provide a guidebook to help you use technology to engage your learners and amplify the learning experience in your classroom—with Google Apps and other online tools. This book focuses on 20 essential tools that will help teachers to easily make student thinking visible, give every student a voice and allow them to share their work.

This book covers a variety of topics that include formative assessment tools, such as Padlet and Google Forms, differentiation tools, such as Google Classroom and HyperDocs, methods for meaningful demonstrations of learning, such as screencasting and blogging, digital portfolios and more.

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Dive into Inquiry by Trevor MacKenzie 

Dive into Inquiry beautifully marries the voice and choice of inquiry with the structure and support required to optimise learning for students and get the results educators desire. With Dive into Inquiry you'll gain an understanding of how to best support your learners as they shift from a traditional learning model into the inquiry classroom where student agency is fostered and celebrated each and every day. This book strikes a perfect balance of meaningful pedagogy, touching narrative, helpful processes, original student examples, and rich how-to lesson plans all to get you going on bringing inquiry into your classroom.

Another amazing #SylSketch by @sylviaduckworth, popping up in @trev_mackenzie's live @RecapThat webinar. Quelle surprise! #edtech #inquiry pic.twitter.com/azOOE9Hx1M

— Diana Mancuso (@TeacherMomOfTwo) September 8, 2017

This book focuses on how to help students create authentic connections to the world while fostering student voice and harnessing student agency. Be also on the lookout for Trevor's newest book Inquiry Mindset, which will become available in the coming week.

Sketchnotes for Educators by Sylvia Duckworth

Sylvia Duckworth is a Canadian teacher whose sketchnotes have taken social media by storm. Her drawings provide clarity and provoke dialogue on many topics related to education. This book contains 100 of her most popular sketchnotes with links to the original downloads that can be used in class or shared with colleagues. Interspersed throughout the book are Sylvia's reflections on each drawing and what motivated her to create them, in addition to commentary from other educators who inspired the sketchnotes.

Seven things I learned from @sylviaduckworth's #sketchnote live webinar. #edtechteam #cdnedchat pic.twitter.com/qp4xA4jR4j

— Diana Mancuso (@TeacherMomOfTwo) May 16, 2017

I have been a big fan of Sylvia Duckworth for many years and I have her to blame for my obsession with passion for all things edtech. Most notably, I've been a big fan of her sketchnotes so I just had to have this book. It has a lot of thoughtful reflections alongside her sketchnotes and the book would make for a great teacher gift.

In The Innovator's Mindset, George Couros encourages teachers and administrators to empower their learners to wonder, to explore--and to become forward-thinking leaders. If we want innovative students, we need innovative educators. In other words, innovation begins with you. Ultimately, innovation is not about a skill set: it's about a mindset.

If you like this book, head on over to immooc.org where you can sign up for a free Innovator’s Mindset Massive Open Online Course to join in the conversation surrounding this and other similar books.

Win a $100 Amazon.ca Gift Card!

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Look into the future at the Art Gallery of Ontario this March Break with nine days of futuristic programming for the whole family. Journey through time and space as you enjoy their current exhibition Yayoi Kusama: Infinity Mirrors and Kusama’s playful world of light and colour. Transform cardboard boxes into a massive futuristic city coordinated by Toronto artist Sean Martindale, make a lantern or a silly Emoji face mask, or print a kaleidoscope of coloured patterns. And don't forget to commemorate the day with a family photo in front of the interactive selfie wall!

March Break programming runs from Saturday, March 10 to Sunday, March 18 (including Monday, March 12) on a drop-in basis, and is free with General Admission. (General Admission is free for AGO members and children five and under.)

During March Break, Family Passes purchased in advance online will be discounted by $10, lowering the price to $39. Family Passes admit two adults and up to five youths (ages six – 17). Family Passes can also be purchased in-person for $49. Individual tickets are $11 for youth ages 17 and under, $16 for seniors and $19.50 for adults and can be purchased at ago.net, in person and over the phone at 416-979-6648.

One lucky Toronto Teacher Mom reader will win a Family Pass to the Art Gallery of Ontario this March Break. The Family Pass, valued at $49, admits two adults and up to five youths (ages six to 17). Children under five are free. For a chance to win, please complete the Rafflecopter form below.

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