Applying tech tools to meet classroom needs.
UPDATE – Now that it is announced that Jamboard will be going away next year, Figjam is a great alternative. I would highly suggest you check it out and Figjam has a lot of great resources already for your transition from Jamboard to Figjam. Check out their information today! https://www.figma.com/jamboard-edu/ One of the big reasons…
I have been taking a deep dive into the AI craze of late and while there is still a lot to figure out, I have a huge hope about how we can use this tool in the classroom as an learning aid. One issue that I have seen in so many classrooms, including Physics classes…
I am a huge fan of optical illusions. How two people can look at the same exact thing but yet see two different things, just shows how complex our brains can be. I used to use them in my science classes as we would talk about how people can look at the same data but…
The Building Blocks feature in Google Docs can make it very easy to create tables that support students when assigning large projects or assignments. You can easily create a table that has the major components or checkpoints of their assignment, a section for descriptions or notes, a drop down to indicate where they are with…
One of the best metaphors I have heard when it comes to talking about identifying those barriers that are created around student learning in our instructional design has to do with fish and the water they swim in. A fish may not be fully aware of the water they are swimming in as it is…
About 10 years ago, I was in a Master’s program at Iowa State for Curriculum and Instructional Technology. As part of that program, I had to write a lot, and I recently uncovered one thing I wrote that I had to post to a site I made back then. The interesting thing about this post…
One of my weakest traits as a learner revolves around my poor working memory. This impacts me as a learner and as a teacher. Working memory is basically how you handle that information you only need for a short period of time. A great example of this is when people try to give me a…
Although it is only almost spring break, I am looking forward to summer and days when my schedule is whatever I want it to be and I will get the chance to slow down for a bit. One thing that I will keep doing throughout the summer, though is revolved around my desire to continue…
I am a huge fan of using different media formats in order to give the best possible feedback to students. Feedback is not all created the same and I do think that we waste a lot of time by creating ineffective feedback that never helps the student learn and improve. If our feedback does not…
Today I had the pleasure of taking our Overwatch 2 team to the state tournament as part of the Iowa High School Esports Association (https://www.iahsea.org/). We finished the regular season 6-1 and entered the tournament as the #3 seed. We won the first round against Williamsburg HS but would lose the next round to Linn-Mar,…
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