Guys and gals, can we talk? With the rise of emojis, I know it’s tempting to use those pretty letters in your Twitter handle, but you may be damaging your educational brand. Emojis are based on something called the Unicode standard. This standard is occasionally updated by a group of nerdy-type web people, and the
“Mom, we want to start a YouTube channel.” This is the statement my 12-year-old and her sister lay on me a few weeks ago. My first reaction is “NO WAY, YOU’RE TWELVE!” I like to refer to that as my “mom” reaction. But the tech teacher reaction is just the opposite: “That’s a GREAT idea!” Producing
Many teachers have told me, “Oh, we don’t teach tech, so there’s no reason to talk about 3D printing.” If you think that, you’re wrong. One of our biggest challenges is getting kids to get engaged with our subject matter. 3D printing encourages a boatload of desirable qualities: critical thinking, problem solving, & a bunch
Okay, I’m kind of a tech snob. If everyone else is doing it, I’m moving on, because I’m always looking for the next big thing. But Kahoot has some staying power; even now, my kids still love it. So I’ve been looking for applications that have the same Kahoot BANG, but, well, just aren’t Kahoot.
I’ve struggled through the years with interesting ways to showcase my students’ work. Online portfolios are a great resource that can actually help demonstrate that not only do my kids possess technology skills, but they can REALLY rock them out. My first recommendation, if you’re truly serious about a portfolio-type site, would be a website. But
You see them everywhere in education; these peculiar little squares have blasted onto the classroom scene to deliver content with a simple scan. They can whisk you away to a website. They can play an audio file. They can display text. Now they can even download applications, share information, and make a phone call for you!
As you probably already know, I teach junior high students. You probably also know that the junior high attention span is equivalent to a that of a gnat. Enter the block schedule, which is designed to give teachers longer periods of time to cover more standards. I have 90 minute class periods. 90 minutes. Junior
I teach three different subjects over a 10-period/2-day block schedule that also includes a built-in intervention period (so technically, 11 periods). I teach under three separate career clusters that have a few things in common, but ultimately, my classroom is a MESS. I’m always on the lookout for new and innovative ways to stay organized
I’ve been an active blogger since 2005, and the experience has created countless connections and opportunities. A personal “mommyblog” lead to a permanent gig with The Houston Chronicle which, as a journalism major, helped me check “journalist” off my bucket list. I use that experience to let my students know that their voices have power
I’m a kickboxer; this requires quite a bit of self-discipline. Every time I go to the gym, I stand directly across from a sign on the wall that says “ATTITUDE,” and when I start to feel whiny (which is pretty often) I say the word over and over again. My dojo emphasizes positive reinforcement,
