12 ideas to prepare students for jobs that don’t exist yet
The career frontier is an ever-changing one. Sixty-five percent of today’s schoolchildren will eventually be employed in jobs that have yet to be created, according to this U.S. Department of Labor...
View ArticleEp. 2 and 3: Modern education and student voice [PODCAST]
The Peace, Love and EdTech Conference at Southmont High School this week has been a thought-provoking and toolbox-building experience. International speaker/author Will Richardson encouraged listeners...
View ArticleWhat online learning CAN’T do: Why face-to-face still reigns
As a Spanish teacher, I hear it time and time again. “What do you think of Rosetta Stone?” I hear it from parents of my students mostly. Family and friends ask sometimes, too. When they ask me that...
View ArticleThe value of knowing instead of Googling
“Your curriculum shouldn’t be Google-able.” I’ve heard different versions of this at conferences, on blogs and in Twitter posts during the last year. The world has changed, many education pundits...
View Article10 things that happen in a Twitter chat
Social media always has the same knock against it. “I’m already so busy. I just don’t have time.” Twitter chats — and Twitter itself — seem to be the same, which is too bad. For me, participating in...
View ArticleSir Ken Robinson’s 10 most motivational quotes
If I need my soul stirred about education and creativity, I turn to Sir Ken Robinson. He’s an internationally renowned speaker on education and creativity. He has given several phenomenal Ted talks...
View ArticleTeaching in students’ digital worlds or the world of Academia
My students often impress me with how tech savvy they are. They manage multiple social media sites and have learned the nuances of writing messages there to really get their ideas across. They curate...
View ArticleSchool 2.0: What if …
Our schools are based on a framework to create good little factory workers. Much of traditional school paradigm that’s used today is based on the principles that helped the Industrial Revolution...
View ArticleReal change is slow. It’s discouraging. But it’s worth it
I have come across so much inspirational material recently. There’s Grant Lichtman’s TED Talk about his trip around the country to interview people at 60 schools and his revelation that John Dewey’s...
View ArticleCreating the schools we need: Learning from Chris Lehmann
When Chris Lehmann didn’t see the qualities he wanted in schools, he didn’t just turn to Twitter to complain about it or sit idly. He created the school he envisioned. Lehmann is the founding principal...
View Article10 ways Google’s philosophy can guide teachers
Google sums up its philosophy in its “Ten things we know to be true.” There are great lessons for education in most (but not all!) of them. Google has become a household name and has infiltrated almost...
View Article10 thoughts on how to go digital and why we should
Our world is becoming more and more digital, but our classrooms look much the same as our ancestors’ classrooms. Desks. Students seated. Chalk. Chalkboards. Teachers up front. If education is going to...
View ArticleWhen they ask for creative, just not computer creative
It hit me a couple days ago. It hit me on a day when things were going really well in all of my classes. I was finding new ways to give my students choice, from choosing vocabulary for their lists in...
View ArticleAfter visiting classes, 5 reflections on the life of my students
I’ve been a teacher for nearly 11 years now. It’s been more than 15 years since I’ve been a high school student — moving from class to class, trying not to arrive late, doing my best to let several...
View ArticleA blueprint for the future of relevant schools
Let’s see if you’ve heard this story before. Students enter school in the morning and go to a class with dozens of fellow classmates. They all receive the same instruction. When class is over, they all...
View Article10 edu-books to inspire and stimulate
I love checking Twitter and Google Plus for new ideas for teaching. I love to see what other teachers are talking about and what they’re interested in. I also love reading blogs. I love to see how...
View Article12 mindsets for creating innovative classrooms
College football coach Lou Holtz once said, “Ability is what you’re capable of doing. Motivation determines what you do. Attitude determines how well you do it.” In the classroom, the same is true. How...
View ArticleSkills of the future: Pushing the conversation forward
We have no idea what the future holds for today’s students. We don’t know what their workforce will look like. As educators, it’s still our job to prepare them for that future. Now, we have a little...
View ArticleThe one thing that will change a teacher’s hardened heart
At the two schools where I’ve taught in my career, I’ve been branded as the techie teacher. That’s been a good thing and a difficult thing. It’s been great because students get excited to try some of...
View ArticleEngaging classes vs. test prep: Can we have both?
Teachers are so buried in requirements, paperwork and other demands on their classroom time. To make matters worse, high-stakes tests can sap the joy out of teaching very quickly. When there’s more...
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