Top trends: How to put a spark in classroom learning

Here are some of the past month’s most popular articles on improving classroom learning:

1. 4 ways I make learning fun in the classroom
As a middle school Spanish teacher, my #1 goal is to have my students fall in love with learning a language the way I did in middle school. When learning a second language, it’s important to teach reading, writing, speaking, and listening skills. Even though many of the ideas in this article have been created for a language classroom, most of them will work for any subject or grade level.

2. 11 educators share how they bring coding into the classroom
By now, most educators understand the importance of coding. Programmers continue to be in high demand, and coding improves much-needed skills like creativity, persistence, problem solving, and critical thinking.

3. Check out these 10 AR apps for your classroom—coding not required
For teachers who have always wanted to use augmented reality (AR)—tech that overlays content on top of the real world—but haven’t had the chance to explore it, Jaime Donally has heard you. In her presentation “Creating Classroom Content in Augmented Reality,” she gave attendees some inside help on which apps to use in the classroom. With programs ranging from beginner level to current AR practitioners, she offered 10 apps that can help educators get started with no coding skills needed.

4. 5 unique TED-Ed Lessons to liven up the classroom
Teachers and students might need a bit of a pick-me-up, and these easy-to-use TED-Ed lessons can help. Do you have a burning desire to learn about how imagination works? TED-Ed Lessons has a video for you. Wondering if a lottery windfall would actually improve your life? You can find a video on TED-Ed Lessons. You get the idea.