Category: Uncategorized
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Go Ahead and Play With It
While in school one day, I caught my son playing with a document camera. I was amazed by his adventurous curiosity; he had no fear playing with the ELMO – trying to figure out what it can do and how it works. To me, there is no better professional development in learning new technology than…
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Even M&Ms Make Typos
at right). Of course, everyone knew that it WAS an M&M, and that a mistake was made when the candy was made. Nonetheless, I started thinking about when typos matter and when they don’t. Our district has been implementing a writing initiative, realizing the importance of writing and communication in our students’ futures. Personally, I would have advocated for a…
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If We Expect Students to Compromise, Why Not Coffee Makers?
Recently, a local school district decided to start charging teachers for personal use of “refrigerators, microwaves, coffee makers, pizza ovens, toaster ovens and toasters” in an effort to save over $12,500 per year in energy savings (read full story). The cost for using a coffee maker? $10. While this is a seemingly small fee for a…
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Periodic Mosaic
Recently, students at my school created clay tiles to make this mosaic, which is hanging in the foyer between the second and third floor hallways. In the upper right hand corner, I smiled to see this tile:
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Demo Cam
After being frustrated with my students not being able to see all of my demonstrations, I decided to make a demo cam with some of my electronic junk. The demo cam is simply an old Sony Handicam Digital 8 camcorder mounted on an inexpensive Videosecu Universal Camera Mounting Bracket. The camera has an adapter that…
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Protect Student Information from Surveys
At the beginning of each year, I usually receive an onslaught of survey material for my students to fill out. These surveys are not supplied by the school or district, and usually query students about their backgrounds, interests and future plans. While some teachers diligently have students complete them immediately, others simply use this material…
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Education is not a Business
In the latest issue of Newsweek, Jonathan Alter discusses education reform in an article entitled “Obama’s No Brainer on Education.” While making a few sound points (teachers should focus on student learning over job security, assessment can be effective and beneficial, etc), Alter suggests an oversimplified solution on how to fix education in the U.S….
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Grant Writing Tips
With shrinking school budgets, educators might consider looking to grants for project funds. Here are some tips (from the links below and from personal experience) for you if you are thinking of applying for a grant. Preparation Make sure your idea fits the grant criteria (location, non-equipment, etc) Look for full grants and mini-grants too…
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Struggling… to Teach Better
In the recent issue of Edutopia (Nov/Dec 2007, Vol. 3, # 8), Mitch Martin describes about how a good teacher must be bad at something to be good at teaching (Mr. Martin’s Oopses, page 10). I must admit – I’ve been thinking about this article a lot lately in both teaching and beyond. Martin describes…
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Rule the Web, One Day at a Time
For those of you following Dale Basler’s blog, you’ll remember that he recently posted about Mark Frauenfelder’s book Rule the Web (how to do anything and everything on the internet, better, faster and easier). While I realize that some of you still open books and read them cover to cover, Mark has created a blog…