Shortly before I set about writing today’s blog post, I came across several articles on the Internet about technology in the classroom, a favorite topic of mine. There was a particular angle to all of these articles (which came from three very different sources), and that was high-speed Internet access in our schools. We may…
tablets
Your Turn
I worked for a principal who was noted for saying she wished she taught in an orphanage. Her reasoning, of course, was that she easily could achieve longer school days without the occasional meddlesome parent. I suspect she may have also preferred it if all the teaching staff lived in nearby barracks, where we could…
End-of-June Randomness
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…
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…
The Unknown Future of Hand-Generated Communication, part 2
I thought for sure that there’d be a bit more debate in the wake of my most recent post about the future of cursive writing. You know, that writing “they” have now decided should be called hand-generated communication. Since we last exchanged ideas, I have read some of the information that was presented at Handwriting…
Calling All Creative Technophiles!
I have seen teachers dumbstruck by the marvel that is the interactive whiteboard. A demonstrator flips the switch, lights dim, and The Beatles’ “Got to Get You Into My Life” seems to play quietly in the background. Manipulating terms, circling important ideas, playing multimedia, allowing students to play the role of educator, getting instant feedback…
The Next Great Debate? Probably not.
The next great cataclysmic education reform debate is about to erupt with the power of several hundred burning suns. Or maybe not. Perhaps the next great education reform debate will fizzle out like a damp firecracker in a rainstorm. Cursive handwriting: in the standards or not? Mrs. Worthy, Mrs. Singer, and Mr. Winters all managed…
Everything Old Is New Again?
I read this morning that the last typewriter manufacturer is closing its doors. Then I read that the last typewriter manufacturers are, in fact, still open. The one reported factory closure is in India, so there are no more Indian typewriter manufacturers. But they still build them in China, Japan, and Indonesia. Erroneous reports of…
A Can of Worms: Education Reform and Technology
Despite the risk of opening a can of worms in our third post at the Upper Grades Exchange, I am going to talk about two things. Here, there, and everywhere in education circles, two refrains are heard over and over again: “Reform is a must” and “It’s technology or bust.” Recently over at our sister blog, Be…