It’s tough to write a blog for teachers in the final days of June. Some of you have been done with your 2012-2013 school year for almost a month. Some of you are looking at your last few days. Retailers are blatantly guilty of starting their back-to-school promotions. And we will not give you even…
Technology
Theory Into Practice
Some things are good in theory but pale when put into practice. I’m thinking, of course, about a family pack of high-powered water guns as a Father’s Day gift. Or the platypus. Or teaching a class of seventh graders the word masticate. On the other hand, there are good ideas that end up being even…
To Code or Not to Code
One of the most beautiful things in the world is the IBM Selectric typewriter. It looks like a work of Mondrian, sounds like a tango, smells like the future, and responds like a thoroughbred beneath one’s fingertips. (That covers four out of five senses. I’ve never tasted a Selectric.) When I was quite young, I…
It Was Black and White and Read All Over
Newspapers. You may have heard of them. You may remember them. Some of you may still receive them at your home every day. On television and in the movies, they’re something dad reads every morning over breakfast while the family buzzes around him, or on the subway to work as he is jostled and pickpocketed….
How to Celebrate in Style?
How would you like to see a photo of all The Mailbox editors wearing aluminum foil hats? I’ll make it happen before the end of the school year. But you have to do me a favor. I need lots of ideas for how a teaching staff can wrap up its school year in style. In…
Life, the Universe, and School Supplies
For me, the answer is always 42, unless the question is “How many times per month do you buy school supplies with your own money?” In that case, my answer would have had to be “between three and six.” What would your answer be? Submit a comment with your answer to my previous blog post…
Showering You With Appreciation!
How’s Teacher Appreciation Week goin’ for ya? Superbly, I’m hoping! Today’s fun begins with a teacher poll. Leave your answer on this blog before midnight EDT on Friday, May 10, and your name will be entered in a drawing for a free book of your choice from The Mailbox! And remember, there are two other…
Take the Tech Outside
It’s that time of year. Take your students outside for fresh air and supercharged STEM learning! Courtesy of the STEMblog, here are “5 Ways to Take Technology Outdoors.” 1. Mobile Devices – Smartphones and tablets, with their wide array of apps, a camera, and GPS abilities, are great tools for documenting outdoor observations. As a…
How Fast Is the Future Arriving?
Mix tapes. They were the best. I used to spend hours and hours putting together what I consider to be some of the world’s best music mixes ever. Ever. Without dispute. I was to the mix tape what a modern deejay like Deadmau5 is to electronic dance music. The advent of the recordable CD (or…
Siri Said…
Has Siri been helping your students with homework? Picture this. Students are sharing the results of the previous night’s vocabulary assignment. There is discussion about whether or not a real word is formed when the re- prefix is added to an assigned base word. Some students find definitions, some do not. One student uses his…