Am I going too far with this blog post title? I don’t think so! Every day, teachers, principals, curriculum directors, and IT directors receive a smattering of emails, postcards, advertisements, and phone calls from vendors. Appealing colors draw our eyes. Utilizing flashy slogans and cute catchy names, they get our attention. Four letters, F-R-E-E, […]
Embed from Getty Images Overview The Association for Educational Communications and Technologies defines educational technology as “[…] the study and ethical practice of facilitating learning and improving performance by creating, using, and managing appropriate technological processes and resources (Januszewski et al. 2008). While mostly straightforward, this definition begs the question of what processes and resources […]
Overview When selecting digital tools to use in the classroom I often run into the same few issues: I get caught up exploring a tool I think is “cool” and lose sight of the objective, often trying to force use of a tool that isn’t the best for the task at hand. When I realize […]
My Triggering Question: Is there a resource that I can use and share that helps teachers learn and adopt successful digital classroom management practices? I began this week posing the question above. I was in search of a single resource that I could use and share with colleagues that helped teacher with classroom management whenRead More
“Blinkers, sometimes known as blinders, are a piece of horse tack that prevent the horse seeing to the rear and, in some cases, to the side. Many racehorse trainers believe these keep horses focused on what is in front, encouraging them to pay attention to the race rather than other distractions, such as crowds. […]
Overview: At the start of next year my district will be fully 1:1 with Chromebooks. This means that all students above sixth grade will be assigned a Chromebook which they take to and from school during the school year and elementary level students will have access to Chromebooks during the school day. While this increase in […]
Stick Pick is an iPad app that helps you choose students at random to answer questions during student engagement. Stick Pick allows you to enter your class roster, or several class rosters. You can then categorize each student based on Bloom’s Taxonomy or ELL proficiency. After questions are asked, the teacher can mark the student’sRead More
Connection: This semester I began a Global Collaboration Project. A GCP takes away the walls of your classroom and connects students and teachers with others from around the world, through authentic and creative learning experiences. I made contact with a friend of mine that teaches first grade in Iowa. Our idea was to do a bookRead More
Reflection Overview Each year my school district asks graduating seniors to reflect on three questions: who am I, where am I going, and how will I get there? Since I graduated from the district in which I am now employed, I too have been asked to answer these questions both as a student and as […]
I refer to “dipping” my toe in the water above, because to me this is what my first few days of this spring quarter felt like. As usual, I was a little unsure of my actions and slightly doubtful of my skills and abilities. But, just like a lake that hasn’t quite had the chanceRead More
