It didn’t dawn on me that there might be a few holes in my education until I was about 35. I’d just bought a house, the pipes needed fixing, and the plumber was standing in my kitchen. There he was, a short, beefy guy with a goatee and a Red Sox cap and a thick Boston accent, and I suddenly learned that I didn’t have the slightest idea what to say to someone like him. So alien was his experience to me, so unguessable his values, so mysterious his very language, that I couldn’t succeed in engaging him in a few minutes of small talk before he got down to work. Fourteen years of higher education and a handful of Ivy League degrees, and there I was, stiff and stupid, struck dumb by my own dumbness.
Step into any college lecture hall and you are likely to find a sea of students typing away at open, glowing laptops as the professor speaks. But you won’t see that when I’m teaching. Though I make a few exceptions, I generally ban electronics, including laptops, in my classes and research seminars. That may seem…
“But that’s not what I meant” There’s no more urgent reason to write. Source: Seth’s Blog: “But that’s not what I meant” Seth Godin is the master at putting complex thoughts and idea in the minimum number of words.
Cloudpets sound like a cool idea. Use a teddy bear as a microphone and speaker to allow children to communicate with loved ones. It’s such a great idea that over 800,000 of the stuffed animals have been sold. How do we know this? Because the company has no clue how to do security. A maker…
Teachers need feedback for growth just like our students. Yet, any administrator will tell you there’s simply not enough time to visit classrooms and provide teachers with meaningful and effective feedback in a timely manner. As a professional development liaison, I travel to K-12 schools in Hillsborough County and see what support systems are in…
Educators are eager to know how the computers popping up in their classrooms actually affect student learning. Much of the research has focused on how computers and other digital devices increase thetemptation and likelihood of multitasking, leading to lower comprehension and reduced productivity. But until now, few people have looked into whether the method of…
Highlights • An abundance of toys present reduced quality of toddlers’ play. • Fewer toys at once may help toddlers to focus better and play more creatively. • This can done in many settings to support development and promote healthy play. Source: The influence of the number of toys in the environment on toddlers’ play The…
