We all know about maps, right? You know, Google Maps. We all use Maps to figure out how to get somewhere, what’s the best route, or how long it will take. I remember that first time, at a Cue Conference, when a collegue showed me that if you type “nearby pizza” into Google on a phone, youContinue reading “Why Maps?”
Category Archives: Uncategorized
Passion
Now that I have been in my new job for a half of a year, it is time to start getting back to the blog. One of the things that bothered me about being a classroom teacher was the isolation. A teacher never gets to go out and see what other teachers are doing. SureContinue reading “Passion”
Project Management
This last week our school held our first-ever open house, followed the next day by our expo. The open house was an opportunity for people in the neighborhood to come see what our students have been doing. Really it was a recruiting event; we are a school of choice, no one comes to our schoolContinue reading “Project Management”
Do
This year I am taking on the #youredustory blogging challenge. The short version is one blog posting a week about a suggested topic. Or you can use your own topic, just share once a week. Oh, and comment on other peoples’ posts. Sounds like something I can handle, so here goes! The topic this weekContinue reading “Do”
But I don’t know how to do that!
One of the things that I have noticed changing in class recently is the student response to a new project. In the past I would hear a lot of “but I don’t know how to do that” as an excuse for why a student was participating. There were a lot of versions of the same thing; “IContinue reading “But I don’t know how to do that!”
Why Can’t They Start Now?
It was one of the last days of the school year and Alex, one of our seniors, said it: “I just can’t wait to graduate high school, go to college and finally work on what I want to be in life.” He was so excited. As he talked to his friends it became apparent that heContinue reading “Why Can’t They Start Now?”
Trying never works
I had the opportunity to spend the last week in Redlands, California, at the headquarters of ESRI learning about spatial thinking. In the last several weeks ESRI announced, as part of the ConnectedED initiative, a billion dollar donation of software to k-12 education. I spent the week better learning how to use that software in the classroom.Continue reading “Trying never works”
Stuff Changes
My wife and I both love doing yard work. Really, we do. Give me a weed whacker and a compost pile and I am in heaven. When we moved to our house over 15 years ago we had a 10 year plan to make our home the most wonderful garden we ever had seen. Well,Continue reading “Stuff Changes”
You Want Me to Teach Like a What?
A few summers ago I learned about teaching like a rock star. I took a drive down Highway 49 and spent a couple days at Minarets High School, met some amazing people, and continued to change the way I think about what I do in the classroom. If you have never gone to one of theseContinue reading “You Want Me to Teach Like a What?”
Showing Student Work in Public
I have long been a believer in students making their work public. When I started teaching my school was working with some of Ted Sizer’s ideas, and “public exhibition of mastery” was an important one of those ideas. I came to believe that when students control their learning and are expected to show the resultsContinue reading “Showing Student Work in Public”
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