Despite conservative efforts to criminalize medication abortion using the 1873 Comstock Act, organizers continue to expand access to this necessary health care.

While Project 2025 would stymy climate data collection, a network of grassroots volunteers are braving hurricanes—including Milton and Helene—to collect and share local data that can ultimately save lives.

La poeta Julie Quiroz ofrece un hechizo de solsticio de verano que celebra la nacimiento de la luz.

Para los inmigrantes que enfrentan pérdidas desde lejos, el apoyo puede provenir de la comunidad, nuevos rituales y mejores políticas.

Tricia Hersey’s new book insists we have the power to refuse capitalism’s grind culture and instead prioritize rest. 

that's kinda nuts

a great little store that we just visited for the first time today

this really is a good list of books

In a Champions League match between his team, Paris Saint Germain, and Real Sociedad, the French forward managed to run 100m in 10.9 seconds.

Take our quiz and see how much you know about some of the most powerful women the world has ever seen.

See how much you know about the Day of the Dead with our quiz.

Lauren Layfield investigates sexism, finding out what it is and how it can affect us.

Author Nazneen Ahmed Pathak tells Press Packers, Khadija and Jackson, how real history inspires her stories.

It's Press Pack time - and this film comes from a school with a very special four legged student. Get ready meet Buddy the dog

On World Afro Day people are encouraged top celebrate coiled, curly afro textured hair and learn more about it.

Press Packer Sienna tells us all about her residential experience and her top tips for making the most of it.

Anna, aged eleven, won a competition to open Latitude Festival with her poem, The Mother Tree. She told Newsround about her experience.

It has been announced that Strictly Come Dancing Star Amy Dowden will not be returning to this year's series of Strictly.

Does it seem like there are more spiders around the house right now? And do the spiders you spot seem bigger than those you've seen in recent months? Spider expert, Dr Sara Goodacre, is here with some arachnid answers.

The largest and most advanced wave pool is opening in Scotland giving surfers the chance to ride the waves no matter what the weather.

Donald Trump has addressed his supporters as he claimed victory in the US presidential election.

Leaders around the world have started sending their congratulations to Trump.

Donald Trump has won the 2024 US election and will be president for a second time from early next year. Lots of you had questions and we asked a BBC expert to answer them.

Nina has our weekly dose of Strange news. We've got some cake, some giant masks and some apples in a bath!

Test your knowledge of recent news with our Quiz of the Week.

Nope you're not seeing double! Take a look at the new wax figure of Mary Earps at Madame Tussauds.

Beyoncé joins Taylor Swift and Lady Gaga as a subject for serious academic study.

The new series is nearly here and we now know which ten famous faces will be going into the jungle. Meet all the stars set to star in this year's show - and let us know who you're most looking forward to seeing in action.

Researchers say the fossil is a distant relative of our modern-day spiders.

New research shows the amount of carbon dioxide released into the atmosphere from private jets between 2019 and 2023.

Many schools across the UK will be marking Anti-bullying Week, but what is it all about?

More than 1.5 million children across the UK are taking their learning outside this year as part of Outdoor Classroom Day.

For Children In Need, one Gladiator is making surprise visits to primary schools around the country.

Use this printable math daily warm-up to reinforce your students' number and numeration skills.

Title: Lend & Borrow
Topic: Vocabulary
Level: Beginner
Information: Choose the correct answer.
Link: https://www.usingenglish.com/quizzes/572.html

Help students master important reading skills with a passage about the Pony Express and reading comprehension questions, in this printable warm-up.

It's unbelievable that 2016 is here and the school year is half over, but that also means we are closer to the busiest time of year for those of us in the assessment industry.

I hope everyone has created and follows a secure assessment policy, but if not, John Kleeman, founder of Questionmark, created Ten tips for Securing Your Assessment System, which provides a secure foundation for your assessment system.  It seems security breaches most often occur as we get busy and are more prone to creating shortcuts in our work, but a "system" should help minimize these errors.  Please read John's post in its entirety and address any weaknesses in your assessment security:

What can you do to make your assessment system more secure? How can you avoid a disruptive data breach where people’s personal information is disclosed? Using a vendor who takes security seriously reduces risk, as I wrote in my blog article Eight ways to check if security is more than skin deep. But security involves both vendor and user. This post gives ten good practice tips on how you as a user or administrator of an assessment system can reduce the risk of data breaches.

1. Don’t give yourself or other administrators unnecessary privileges. Follow the principle of least privilege. It may sound counter-intuitive, but most administrative users don’t need access to all capabilities and data within your system. Limiting access reduces the impact of a data breach if an account is compromised or someone makes a mistake. If you are using Questionmark, allocate appropriate roles to limit people to what they need.

2. When someone leaves the project or organization, remove their access. Don’t allow someone who has left your team to still have access to your assessment data.

3. Follow good password security. Do not share passwords between people. Do not use the same password for two accounts. Choose strong passwords and change them periodically. If someone asks you for your password, never, ever give it. And if a web page doesn’t look right, don’t type your password into it.

4. Install all the patches and secure the system. A common cause of security breaches is failing to install the latest versions of software, and attackers exploit known vulnerabilities. You need to be proactive and always install the latest version of system and application software, set up good technical security and follow the vendor’s recommendations.

If you haven’t got the time or resources to do this properly, move to a cloud solution. In a cloud SaaS solution like Questionmark OnDemand, the vendor is responsible for updating Windows, updating the application, monitoring security and ensuring that everything is up to date.

5. Install good quality antivirus / anti-malware software. Reportedly there are nearly a million new or variant malware and viruses produced each day. Protect your computer and those of your co-workers with up to date, professional software to address this threat.

6. Protect any downloaded data. Questions, assessments and reports on results are generally safer on a server or in an on-demand service than on a workstation. If you need to download data locally, set up security procedures to protect it and try to ensure that any download is temporary only.

7. Dispose of data properly. Deleting a file on a computer doesn’t erase the data, it simply erases the index to it. If you use a reputable service like Questionmark OnDemand, if a disk is repaired or reaches end of life, it will be securely destroyed for example by degaussing. But if you download data locally or use installable software to manage your assessments, you need to do this yourselves. A recent study suggested that about half of used hard drives sold online contain residual data. Make sure this is not your assessment data!

8. Be careful about clicking on a link or attachment in an email. Phishing attacks use email or malicious websites (clicking on a link) to collect sensitive information or infect your machine with malware and viruses. Such attacks could even be aimed at your organization or assessment activity directly (this is called spear phishing!). Think before clicking.

9. Be aware of social engineering. Social engineering is when someone tries to trick you or someone else into a security breach. For example someone might ring up and claim to be a student who wants their results, but really is an imposter. Or someone might spoof an email from your boss asking for the questions for the next test to review. Be wary of strange phone calls or emails that ask for something urgent. If something seems suspicious, clear it with a security professional before you give them info or ask a caller to hang up and call them back on an official number.

10. Conduct security awareness training. If you’re not already doing this, organize training sessions for all your authors, proctors, administrators and other users to help them be security aware. if you can, deliver tests after the training to check understanding. Sharing this blog article with your co-workers would be a great way to start.

To see more Questionmark posts click HERE.

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Whether you're a social media novice or not, hashtags may seem confusing and inessential. These short links (hashtags) preceded by the pound sign (#) are integral to the way we communicate online and it's important to know how to use them.

Can hashtags be fun? Absolutely!

On Twitter, the pound sign (or hash) turns any word or group of words into a searchable link. This allows you to organize content and track discussion topics based on those keywords. So, if you want to post about the NFL Super Bowl, you would include #SuperBowl in your tweet to join the conversation (or simply search for the hashtag to follow the discussion). Clicking on a hashtag will allow you to see all the posts that mention the subject in real time.

I also recommend using a social media management platform, such as HooteSuite, TweetDeck, etc., where you can create columns with hashtag topics.  I like the ability to monitor several discussions, i.e. #edchat, #lrnchat, #careerteched, at once and all on the same screen.

I've created a list of popular educational hashtags and tried to categorize them for you (see below). It definitely isn't all inclusive, but it's a good starting point and I hope you will share any new educational hashtags you find interesting and helpful!  (Also, hashtags are now a staple to social media and their use has been extended to other social media platforms.)

Popular Educational Hashtags
Hashtag	Category
	Career and Technology Education
#careerteched
#CTE
#vision15
	College
#highered
	Curriculum
#cchat
	Distance Education
#disted
#elearning
#k12online
#mlearning
#onlinelearning
	Groups and Chats
#edchat	Educational Technology
#educhat	Education Chat
#lrnchat	Social Media and Education
#oklaed	Oklahoma Education Chat
	Instruction/Learning
#blendchat	Blended Learning
#blendedlearning	Blended Learning
#education
#elearning	Electronic Learning
#flipclass	Blended Learning
#GBL	Game-Based Learning
#ntchat	New Teachers
#onlinelearning	Blended Learning
#pbl/#pblchat	Project-Based Learning
#studentcentered	Blended Learning
#teachered
#teachers
	Language
#bilingual
#efl	English as a Foreign Language
#ell	English Language Learning
#esl	English as a Second Languae
#tesol	Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages
	Leadership
#edleadership
#eduleaders
	Resources
#education
#educational videos
#educationresources
#learning
#lessonplans
#library
#research
#teachers
#TLChat	Twitter Librarians
#TT	Teacher Tuesday where educators suggest others to follow
	Special Needs
#gifted	Gifted Education
#GTChat	Gifted Education
#spedchat	Special Education
	Science
#STEM
	Technology
#1:1
#apps
#blendchat	Blended Learning
#BYOD	Bring Your Own Device
#EdApps	Educational Apps
#edtech	Educational Technology
#edtechchat	Educational Technology
#elearning	Electronic Learning
#ipadchat	iPad
#iNACOL	International Association of Online Learning
#iste	International Society for Technology in Education
#mlearning	Mobile Learning
#mobile	Mobile Learning
#slide2learn	iDevices and Learning
#vitalcpd	Effective Use of Technology in the Classroom
#web20

Want to know how sleep "resets" your brain? How memories are formed and retained?  Then watch The Benefits of a Good Night's Sleep, embedded below, and learn how sleep balances and regulates the body's vital systems which, in turn, affects declarative and procedural memory.

This short TED-Ed lesson by Shai Marcu is an important topic as school starts and students will soon be staying up late or all night in order to cram for tests and other educational requirements. Marcu goes into detail describing the neurological importance of 8 hours of sleep, but the application is interesting as going to sleep three hours after memorizing math formulas (declarative memory) and one hour after practicing music scales (procedural memory) is the most ideal.

I'm left wondering what I might have accomplished if my sleep and learning patterns were consistent during my formative years...
    

Follow us! @CareerTechTest

Nearly a year after releasing its Moments curation feature, Twitter Moments is now available to users.

Twitter Moments are curated stories about what’s happening around the world—powered by Tweets.  Originally, a user could click on Moments on their profile page to find curated stories, i.e News, Entertainment, Sports, and Fun, in a typical news format.

But now, it’s easy to create your own story with Twitter Moments.  I think this is a great way to share school events and activities and it could also assist with classroom discussion, especially when dealing with current events.

Either watch the video by Richard Byrne of Free Technology for Teachers or follow the directions from Twitter below:

How to create a Moment

There are three ways to begin creating your own Moment. You can access Moments through the Moments tab, your profile page, or through a Tweet detail. To get started all you need is a title, description, Tweets, and a selected cover image.

From the Moments tab:

1. From the Moments tab, click the Create new Moment button.
2. Click the Title your Moment field to give your Moment a name.Note: Titles can be up to 75 characters in length.
3. Click the Add a description field to type in a description for your Moment.Note: Descriptions can be up to 250 characters in length. 
4. Choose Tweets to add to your Moment: 
1. From the Add Tweets to your Moment section at the bottom of the page, quickly access content to select Tweets from Tweets I’ve liked, Tweets by account, Tweet link, and Tweet search prompts. 
2. To add a Tweet to your Moment, click on the checkmark icon 
5. Click Set cover to choose a cover image from one of your selected Tweets, or to upload an image from your computer. Drag your selected image to set a Mobile preview, click the Next button, then click the Save button.Note: To change your selected image, hover over the cover image and click on Change cover media. After you’ve set your cover media, the source will be credited below the image. 
6. Once you have Tweets in your collection, click on the up  or down arrow buttons  to the right of a Tweet to move it up or down.
7. Click on the delete button  to remove a Tweet from your Moment.
8. Click on the crop button  next to any of your selected Tweets to make an image selection for mobile viewing.
9. Click the Finish later button at the top of the page to save a draft.
10. When you are ready to make your Moment live, click on the Publish button at the top of the page.

From a Tweet:

1. Click the more button 
2. Select New Moment to add the Tweet to a new Moment.Note: Any completed Moments or Moments drafts you have in progress will also be listed in the drop-down to choose from.
3. Follow the directions above to complete your Moment.

From the Moments tab on your profile page:

1. Click on the Moments tab, then click the Create new Moment button to get started.
2. Follow the directions above to complete your Moment.

From the More menu at the top of the page:

1. Click on ••• More while in draft mode.
1. Select Choose mobile theme color if you’d like to apply one.
2. Select Mark that Moment contains sensitive material if appropriate.
3. Select Share Moment privately to copy and paste your Moment’s URL to share privately with others. Note: The Moment will only be visible to people who have the URL, it will not be visible on your profile page, or published on Twitter.
4. Select Unpublish Moment to unpublish a Moment you have previously published. 
5. Select Delete Moment to permanently remove the Moment from your profile and Twitter. Note: You will see a confirmation pop-up message to confirm the deletion.

After you’ve saved your Moment as a draft:

• You can click on the Edit button under the Moment description to continue editing your Moment.
• Click the Tweet button under the Moment description to share your Moment with your followers. Note: The Tweet compose box will pop up giving you an opportunity to edit or add to the auto-populated Moment title and link in the compose box.
• Click on the more button  under the Moment description to send your Moment via Direct Message, and to view the copy and embed links to your Moment. Note: As you scroll through your saved or published Moment you will see a menu pop-up on the left hand side to conveniently Edit, Tweet, or Message your Moment.

Frequently asked questions

Can I make my Moments private?
When creating a Moment, you can select Share Moment privately, which will only make the Moment available to those who have the link. If you would like to make previously published or shared Moments visible to only you, select Unpublish Moment.

Can content in my Moment be reported?
Yes. Content displayed in a Moment, such as photos, videos, or Tweets can be reported. To learn about the various options for reporting components of a Moment, read our How to report violations article.

What happens if a Tweet I included in my Moment is reported?
If the cover or any of the individual Tweets of your Moment is reported to us and found to be in violation of the Twitter Rules, your account may be locked—even if you did not author the Tweet.

New Lesson Plans Entry: 'Family gift suggestions: 'too' and 'enough' practice' has just been added to the Lesson Plans area of UsingEnglish.com.

MC Ride catalogs the paranoia and police brutality that drove him to the insanity the song exemplifies.

In his strangely affecting, minimalist rock paean "We Are All Teenagers," Fite sketches out a spare electric riff with a reverb-y '50s rock air as he nails the adolescent unease that lingers into adulthood.

In "That Time Is Gone," guitarist, part-time lead vocalist and pop-music legend Peter Holsapple lays bare the anxiety of re-assembling an act that was never much more than a cult phenomenon.