I’m an idea guy. That is, I have a lot of ideas. As a teacher I would constantly improvise, come up with new projects, lesson ideas, tweaks to traditional assessments, and have an organic approach to learning in my classroom. But they were still my ideas. I was failing to value, foster, and spark ideas…
I’ve done a lot in the past year. I earned two Oracle Java Certifications, two CompTia Certifications, and freeCodeCamp’s Front End Certification. Each of these take most people many months of preparation, but I did them all in three weeks each. And last but not least, I completed all the coursework necessary to earn a…
Students can easily publish ebooks with My Storybook. Once the students have accounts created (if the students don’t have email addresses, My Storybook has directions on what to do), the creation process is pretty straight forward. On the left side of the screen are the four tools that are available. Items – Built-in clipart sorted by…
A great deal has been written about the future and the importance of preparing students with the skills, mindset, and attributes necessary for success in a rapidly evolving world. Truth be told, this is quite the harrowing task and one that should compel us all to pause and critically reflect on not only where schools…
“All this time, I was doing it wrong.” Since Erin and I released Hacking Project Based Learning this past December, we have been happy to hear from teachers and students who are benefiting from what we wrote. At the same time, we have received several messages that look like the one above. These are messages…
Easily create QR Codes in Google Sheets with the QR Code Generator add-on. To use the add-on, put the data you want converted to QR Codes in cells in column A. The data can be text, email address, website addresses, etc. In column B, put a description of the QR code. This will be used to name…
The system is getting in the way. Sir Ken Robinson has counseled education leaders all over the world. He’s seen what works and what doesn’t. And there’s a lot we can do in the United States — and in other countries — to improve. Take standardization and competition. We’re mass-producing lessons and units for the…
The world as a whole has become increasingly reliant on science to provide its technology and inform its policy. But rampant conspiracy theories, fake news, and pseudoscience like homeopathy show that the world could use a bit more of the organized skepticism that provides the foundation of science. For that reason, it has often been…
Super Quiz adds brilliant functionality and assessment tools to a quiz made with Google Forms. Source: Super Quiz – Google Sheets add-on Super Quiz adds the ability to auto grade quizzes, provide item analysis of questions, and personalized feedback to students. Although it takes a little bit of work to set up, it offers a…
How often do you find yourself quietly on your own in this noisy world? Even when you’re at work, out of the 7 to 8 hours, how many of them are your own quiet hours? A study at the University of California, Irvine, found that a typical office worker’s focused quiet time is only 11 minutes…