Viewing: Educational Policy
New Edutopia Post: 7 Tips for Digital Learners
My latest post on Edutopia just went live. “7 Tips for Digital Learners” picks apart some of the skills that students of any age should have in order to succeed online. Of course, that’s not to say that there aren’t
Teaching Beyond the Bell
In celebration of The California Writing Project and Digital Learning Day, I was asked to write a post on some of what I’m doing with technology in the classroom. So I decided to write about what I’m actually doing
Tweenteacher Class on Project Based Writing
Hey all, Guess what? I’m going to be facilitating a class for Sheryl Nussbaum-Beach’s Powerful Learning Practice. The six-week course is on Project Based Writing, a strategic way to bring in authentic assessments and meaningful learning into any Language Arts
Edutopia Post: Trying Something New in Your Classroom for 30 Days
I’ve just recently posted a new article on my Edutopia blog, one that challenges teachers to try something new in their classroom for 30 days. As many of my readers know, my students are currently working on their Advocacy/Memoir speeches
A Tribute to Tony, our School Counselor
At times, I find myself in awe of some of the dedicated and self-sacrificing individuals that have devoted themselves to our students. These are the diamonds, the people who live this work, who breathe it, who take home the lost
Sharing the Responsibility: Should Senior Citizens be Exempt from Funding Education?
I work in a Title I school district some 15 minutes away from home. I live in a school district, however, that is ranked in the top 4% of those in my state. Our state assessment scores rank 125 points
Choosing a Topic for our Ted.com Speeches
I’m currently prepping my classes for another research unit, this one a blend of Memoir, Advocacy, and Speech Writing. After all, never in real life are genres categorized. They blend together; and the Common Core assessments to come recognize the
Edutopia Post: Common Core Standards and Persuasive Writing
My new post at Edutopia, “Persuasive Writing is a Key Focus in Common Core Standards,” has just gone live. I’m in high hopes for this new wave of assessments because I see more authenticity and real world application. For one
The Parent Portal: The Pros and Cons of Transparent Gradebooks
The Parent Portal is now open. No, this isn’t some Dr. Who vortex waiting to suck away all parents who can’t seem to drop their kids off on time. It’s the 24/7 online access to a teacher’s grade book. A
How the Interactive Whiteboard is Really Ed Tech’s Laserdisk
I’m taking a class at Walden University right now, and a recent prompt asked us to identify a future technology. I took a moment to reflect on this country’s current enthusiastic roll-out of Interactive Whiteboards, and why I feel strongly
Free Tweenteacher Webinar: Moving Beyond the Bubble: 21st Century Assessments
On Monday, Oct 17, I will be presenting a free webinar for my publisher, Eye On Education. You can register here. In it, I’ll be sharing what I have learned about the upcoming Common Core standards and how they will
Huffington Post: “Student Tributes to Steve Jobs”
I just posted “Student Tributes to Steve Jobs” at The Huffington Post. His passing will be a “Where were you when?” moment that I felt my students needed to pause and acknowledge. Wonka has left us with questions about his
Teaching the Executive Summary: Applying Real Life to School Life
OK, so there they are: Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie. They are in your audience and have their checkbooks out looking for a new cause to fund. Will it be yours? So began my schpeel on writing an Executive Summary
DARPA project con’t: Research and Questioning
As my readers may know, my students are planning for the future of the human species. This year, as I have described in an earlier post, I am dedicating much of the year to Project-Based Learning and trying to make
The Power of Teaching Something You Know Nothing About
This year, I have decided to teach solely in Project-Based Writing. I’m defining Project-Based Writing as a series of constructed units built around authentic assessment, authentic audience, and authentic learning that incorporates the multiple writing genres. That is, it’s all
Prayer to My Child’s First Teacher
I had almost forgotten what it felt like to wait with anticipation for the name of my teacher to be posted on a school window. This year, however, I waited for the first time by the side of my entering
Edutopia post: Open Letter to a New Principal
For those of you who don’t read my Edutopia blog, I just wanted to put this particular post on your radar. As a teacher in a school that has seen tremendous administrative turnover in the last few years, I thought
Changing The Teacher Reputation
I was at a wedding two weeks ago where someone asked me what I did for a living. “I’m a teacher,” I replied. “Ohhhhh, teeeeeching,” he said knowingly. “Must be nice to have so much time off. Out at 3:00,
Start of the Year Nuts and Bolts: Checklist for the First Day
Introduction Handout with expectations and grading procedures. Check. Publishing Release Form. Check. PG-13 Video/Clip Release Form to cover me for the whole school year. Check. Set up YouTube Channel even though I have no idea how to use it yet.
Frontloading for the school year: Setting up my classroom website
One of the things that many people don’t know about me is that, while I wear the costume of a tech savvy teacher, I’m really tech tentative at heart. In other words, I so recently became a convert to using
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