Last Friday I received my Ubuntu Tablet, and first impressions are definitely mixed. For $300 the hardware seems to be pretty decent, and feels pretty good in the hand. The software, on the other hand, is definitely a work in progress. Quick summary: This tablet is for early adopters only. After visiting #ubuntu-touch on Freenode…
The Compelled Educator: May Matters! Join the #lastbell movement! In many schools, the countdown has already begun. The days until summer break… the days until the beach… the days until there’s *no kids.* Let’s throw that “tradition” on it’s head. Let’s re-evaluate the influence we have on students’ lives. Let’s all join together as an…
Start with a Question: Teach the Way You Wish You Were Taught There is a difference. If our learners want to learn, they will dive deeper, think more, and be more creative. Instructional design, student voice, and questions that matter to students can make that difference. I was lectured to, took notes, practiced on worksheets,…
Yesterday I wrote about the benefits of using an editorial calendar to plan out your blog posts and help you come up with ideas for posts that you want to write. Although there are many different ways of keeping an editorial calendar, I chose to use a plugin for WordPress called, coincidentally enough, Editorial Calendar….
Game show classroom: Comparing Kahoot!, Quizizz, Quizlet Live and Quizalize | Ditch That Textbook Now, teachers can bring that experience into the classroom when students aren’t home sick. Several digital tools created for the classroom bring those exciting experiences to students with learning as the focus. Great list of sites, I really like the pros…
Online Learning: Why Libraries Could Be the Key to MOOCs’ Success | MindShift | KQED News For all the promises of online courses disrupting education, completion rates are notoriously low. Some studies found that about five percent of those enrolled in massive open online courses (known as MOOCs) completed the course. And those who took the…
One of the arguments against blogging is the lack of time. I know this feeling all too well as I try to produce quality content. A tool that I’ve found helpful is an editorial calendar. What is an editorial calendar? An editorial calendar allows you to organize your blog posts in advance, allowing you to…
The Myth of Maximal Efficiency « Outside In It is in this narrowing that one might take issue. Because at heart, education is about relationships – a blindspot of the educational revolution which I have previously criticised – which means that it is not always efficient. Indeed, it is sometimes messy. And it is in…
You Don’t Need a Makerspace to Have a Space for Makers | John Spencer When I was a kid, my brother and I built a “roller coaster” in the backyard with a wagon, some scraps of wood, and tons of pipes. Was it safe? Probably not. Did it ever work properly? Not really. But it…
A Principal’s Reflections: Waving Goodbye to Drive-By PD There has been a great deal of knocks on professional development as of late and rightfully so. More often than not, professional development is something that is done to educators as opposed to an experience that they truly value for growth. For many, district professional development is…