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.”

Calling All Creative Technophiles!

The Mailbox upper grades editors (myself included) are looking for your classroom-tested ideas, tips, and activities for using new technologies in the classroom. How do you get the most out of your interactive whiteboard? Do you keep a digital camera holstered to your hip? What great suggestions do you have for using a document camera or tablet computer or even your smartphone to help you in your job? Are you a technophile, creating new ways of teaching using the latest in high technology? We want to know, and we want you to share with us.

Honk If You Teach Social Studies

Honk if you use GPS. Ring if your smartphone app gives you driving directions. Raise your hand if you go geocaching. Heck, raise your hand if you even know what geocaching is! Jump up and down until I call on you if you know which country has the largest volume and value of trade with the United States….After reading about the Department of Education’s recently released national geography survey results, I was left wondering how much social studies education was making its way into a student’s learning day.

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. Cursive handwriting: keep teaching it or not?

Everything Old Is New Again?

As a teacher, I used an antiquated overhead projector when document cameras were making inroads. Is there any antiquated classroom item you cling to? Perhaps you rush to embrace all new teaching technologies, from smartphones to tablets. Maybe you happily wear the label of School Luddite. Share your thoughts on tech in the classroom!