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 from my students. In fact, I would sometimes hurt their creativity and flow by moving on too quickly.
Two years ago, I was practically begging a student to read a novel in my high-school English class. This isn’t an unusual problem. The girl, who’s a relatively bright, college-bound athlete, told me that she “just gets too distracted after five minutes” of reading. When she promised that she would listen to the audiobook of…
I’ve made a promise to myself and my students: I have decided this year that I am making over my classroom into a “21st century” classroom. “What is a 21st century classroom?” you ask. 21st century classrooms include flexible seating, 1:1 technology, and student-led learning—in my opinion. But as in all classrooms, moving into the…
What a mundane list. Online hand-in is the next big thing? Really? A thinner, screen? Is this what excitement over educational technology has come to – more surveillance cameras? Source: The next big thing(s) My idea for the next big thing? When technology is viewed as a integral component in allowing students to pursue their passion and…
Over the years, there has been considerable discussion of Google’s “filter bubble” problem. Put simply, it’s the manipulation of your search results based on your personal data. In practice this means links are moved up or down or added to your Google search results, necessitating the filtering of other search results altogether. These editorialized results…
During a professional development session a while back I thought I killed someone. He didn’t respond when his name was called. He didn’t respond I tapped his shoulder. Finally, he responded when I shook him a bit harder. Lucky for me (and him) he was just asleep. But it was a wake up call to…
Maryland’s legislature is considering a bill to allow computer coding courses to fulfill the foreign language graduation requirement for high school. A similar bill passed the Florida State Senate in 2017 (but was ultimately rejected by the full Legislature), and a federal version proposed by Senators Bill Cassidy, Republican of Louisiana, and Maria Cantwell, Democrat…