Start with a Question

Our children are eager to try out the devices they see their parents and older siblings using. Adults worry about how much time they are spending with screens. As an educator, I understand the importance of incorporating technology in learning so that our students are prepared for the future jobs that await them. As a parent, I understand the desire many parents have for their children to explore the natural world and use their hands to create. It is possible to balance these two important goals. Here are a few ideas for parents and teachers of young children. (I've tested them with my own small children!) Storytelling The Simple Shift My 2nd grader accesses Drive through her school district's portal. My second grader sees me typing blog posts, watches my fingers move over the keyboard, and asks questions about how I use formatting features like headings and creating and adding images. Of course, now that she can read and write, she wants to record her own stor...

Some criticize technology use in the classroom as a way to draw kids in with flashy colors, sounds, and games that don't promote hard work and deep learning. I see technology use in education as a way to inspire our learners to want to dig deeper into everything they learn. It can also help our students access resources and experts from the world beyond their school. So how can we make sure the EdTech is working for you and your students , and that it is not just another thing to add to the list of "things to do" in your classroom? 1. Better Professional Learning If school and instructional leaders want teachers to take risks with new teaching strategies and technology in their classrooms, they have to model that risk-taking when we design their professional learning experiences. Instead of having "technology trainings" we should embed technology into all professional learning . After all, we want teachers to embed technology only where it fits well i...

It seems the universe wants me to think more deeply about school culture this week. So, I'm asking myself: How can we achieve the best school culture? I attended Edcamp Leadership Massachusetts on Monday (see #edcampldrma for the live tweets from the day) and the dominating theme was school culture to promote positive change and to address the current climate of unrest and inequity nationally and globally. The participants there asked themselves and one another what responsibilitie s schools have to intentionally shape their culture so that our students have a healthy environment to ask tough questions. Then, of course, I read a few chapters in Revisiting Professional Learning Communities at Work as part of my summer learning with a few colleagues at school and the focus was on school culture. As I read, I found myself returning to the Cultural Shifts table in Chapter 3. This and other reproducibles from PLC books can be found here . Overall, the trend I noticed ...

I guess they are more like reminder lessons than brand new lessons, but through my students' eyes it became clear that these values are more important than ever. As educators and learners, we are always moving, connecting, sharing, and experiencing the world around us thanks to this Renaissance of innovation, thanks to this digital age. It is important to stay grounded, even when we are feeling like we are in a whirlwind of progress. Here are the clear focused reminders from my students of the Blue Ribbon Schools of Excellence Leadership Institute , which occurred in Walt Disney World last week. We are all in this together. As the week started, the students entered the orientation room together. They chatted amongst themselves and even partnered quickly when asked to tackle their first leadership task. I was impressed that, even though they were thrown into unfamiliar circumstances and were being directed by unfamiliar educators, they shared resources and ideas and encouragemen...

If you are reading this blog, you surely know that I am an educator who sees technology as an opportunity to open up the world to my students, to connect them with content and experts not available at school.  On the other hand, it is important to teach them how to responsibly and effectively leverage technology so they are both learning and protected. A passion I have been working to share lately is to allow students themselves to have a voice in the digital citizenship discussion. ConnectSafely has invited me to write for them and add to their rich collection of posts from experts in safety, security, privacy, digital literacy, and bullying.  I'm honored to contribute.   Click here to read my first post about publishing student work online.

I had the amazing opportunity to attend and present at the Blue Ribbon Schools of Excellence National Institute in Walt Disney World last week.  The thing is, I'm still a teacher and my students were still going to be in my classroom.  They also still need to be having valuable collaborative experiences, even in the absence of their teacher. I wasn't willing to cook up filler activities.  So I asked myself, "How can I teach without being present?" Step 1:  I set up the necessary resources online so that all students could access them.  Students were going to study the rise of democracy in early 19th century America and the controversial presidency of Andrew Jackson .  I also made sure to post QR codes that bring kids to those resources throughout the classroom. Step 2:  Of course, while I'm being inspired by other educators and experience the Disney Magic, I don't want my students to have a miserable week.  It made sense to let the...

Four of my current and former students helped me write an article about the importance of student voice at EdTech conferences.  In their portions they went even further and called for student input into lesson plans, app designs, and professional decision-making. Click the image below to read their words.  Thanks for sharing! Click this images to read the article.

Tessa and Melanie talk about how apps like Evernote and Google Drive make organization and collaboration so much easier for them. Our students make us laugh, drive us crazy, and inspire us to better ourselves.  They shouldn't just be the reason we teach, they should be a part of the teaching.  Yesterday I had the opportunity to present at MassCUE with 6 of my current and former students.  Watching them present was a proud moment, but it wasn't my favorite moment of the conference.  I knew they would blow the presentation out of the water. I knew they had prepared well and that their session attendees would learn something.  The BEST part of my day was watching them experience, learn, and network because of the unofficial opportunities the conference creates. Networking My students had met members of the Burlington High School Help Desk via Google Hangout a couple of times thanks to the vision and urging of Jennifer Scheffer .  Meeting face to ...