Ideas related to the big picture of teaching and learning as well as reflections from the learning process.
As someone who has worked for a while now helping others learn about effective use of educational technology for teaching and learning, I have seen a number of reflective frameworks, but none of them really hit the spot with me. I just want a framework that will help focus us on whether or not that…
Back in August of 2020, I wrote a blog post called “Beware the Pendulum Swing” where I talked about my fears that the after-effects of so many teachers having to use technology for teaching and learning without the right training and support, was going to lead to a pendulum swing effect away from using any…
One of the biggest pieces of advice I give to teachers during any training or presentation is: Don’t marry technology, just date it.” The reason for this is that I have seen too many educators get very attached to a piece of technology, whether an actual tool or online tool, and when that tool is…
In preparation for attending my first FETC conference (January 28th-30th) this year in Orlando, I wanted to try out a new way of sharing my learnings and reflections. I firmly believe that we have a duty, as professional learners, to share out our own learning with those we work with. The sharing of new learning…
As more and more schools have gone 1:1, giving a device to each student, you hear many schools talking about going paperless. Too many focus on the paperless part of using more technology instead of how using technology effectively can drastically improve learning. Technology won’t always be the best tool for the job but it…
This year I was lucky again to attend the annual ISTE conference which this year happened in Chicago, a short 5-hour drive away from home. This was my fifth straight ISTE conference I have attended, and my third in a row that I presented at. I was even lucky enough to attend a full day…
Kahoot is an engaging and fun tool to have a review or a quick formative assessment. I see it being used in a lot of classrooms, but it is not always the best tool for the task, depending on the task. While it is an easy tool to use to do that quick review or…
Last night while my son was trying to catch Ho-oh, a video game creature in Pokemon Go, I had to remind him to stop and take a deep breath. He was getting anxious and was wasting his chances to catch it because he was not focusing on the task. This is an important piece of…
It has almost been a week since I dipped my bike tires into the Mississippi as I completed (well, 6 of 7 days so mostly completed) another Ragbrai. Ragbrai is a bike ride across Iowa which this year’s route meant over 400 miles with a difficult last day due to the biggest hills I have…
Another week being surrounded by 20,000 other educators is over and it is time to decompress and reflect over what I have learned. ISTE is a large conference and there is a lot you can learn and take away. #1 – New Challenges Keep You Learning This year I challenged myself to present multiple…
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