Not another expensive paperweight
Articles
School of the Future Part 3: Administration
Mar 10th
After taking a short hiatus from social networking due to the birth of my daughter (cutie), I return to the school of the future series with a fury. In this post I would like to discuss educational hierarchy in general and school administrations in particular. Some recent events taking place within my PLN have made this subject even More >
School of the Future Part 2: Infrastructure
Feb 19th
The way I see things, in the school of the future there will either be a building where everyone meets to engage in learning, or there won’t be. Let’s look at both possible scenarios.
Scenario 1: A building.
A far less radical scenario than the one to follow, let’s imagine for a moment that the school of the future is More >
School of the Future Series: In Defense of Daydreaming
Feb 19th
After generating a little interest in this series and a some scorn, I need to answer one question for myself before I continue this fantasy. That question is, why waste your time daydreaming about the future when the present state of education is in such disarray? The inquiry is a fair one to be leveled, and I answer in this way. More >
School of the Future Part 1: Funding
Feb 15th
I am taking certain things for granted even discussing funding when it comes to the school of the future. Mainly, that education will continue to be mandated by the federal government. I certainly hope that as a society we continue to value education and require it of all our citizens, but when thinking of the future More >
School of the Future Series: Introduction
Feb 15th
My PLN and I spend a great deal of time talking about the future. We often bandy about phrases like 21st Century Skills, Digital Citizenship, Digital Native and others. We also spend a great deal of time bemoaning the current (undeniably broken) state of things in the educational system. After many conversations I started thinking, ‘what does this More >
I Was Wrong: Google Wave is Just Underwhelming
Feb 11th
A number of posts ago, I felt compelled to defend Google’s (then) newest tool against a barrage of what I deemed to be hasty criticism. Feel free to refer to that post for some context if you wish. The crux of my argument was that because we were teachers, we were used to just making things work More >
The Quest for a Quiet Mind
Jan 27th
Its fourth period, about 10:45 in the morning. I have been at school for about three and a half hours and taught three classes. I ease into my desk chair as the last of my students file out of the room and into the hallway, with a mind for being as productive as possible in the 40 minutes More >
Teachers: Go Back to School, In Your Own Building!
Jan 18th
In this golden age of global communication and collaboration I sometimes forget that I teach in a very small district (except of course during gloomy budget meetings), with really great people. On Friday I did something that I have been meaning to do for a long time, but have continued to put off for one reason or another, I attended a class More >
Maybe We Need to Cut Our Administrators Some Slack
Jan 10th
I often bemoan, if not openly criticize the seeming slowness with which administrators are leading (or not leading) the charge to transform our schools. From my perspective as a teacher, they are an easy target, having voluntarily placed themselves squarely in the bull’s-eye after all. But just the other day I had a conversation with my superintendent More >
Interactive White Boards: Engagement Is Not Interaction
Jan 6th
Summer break has ended; you are feeling refreshed and renewed, ready to tackle the New Year and all of its new challenges. You enter your room after your morning meeting to discover an interactive whiteboard (IWB) hung neatly in the front of the room where your white board used to be. The district is More >
