curriculum, innovation, maker, making

Learn innovation from the heart of American innovation: The Henry Ford

Why should you apply for the Henry Ford Teacher Innovator Award? You might think the title and accolades would be nice, and of course you’d be right. Even better, a beautiful award crafted in the glass blowing shop in Henry Ford’s Greenfield Village sure beats the suitable-for-framing document usually given to teachers. But the real reason you should apply is for the week-long, all-expenses-paid, innovation … Continue reading Learn innovation from the heart of American innovation: The Henry Ford

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21st century, Collaboration, Connected Educator, Heroes of Education, Visions of Education

When teachers gather together

I’ve learned that when attending an education conference, it’s a success if I come away with two, maybe three great new ideas to try in my classroom. The conference experience is so overwhelming, both inspirational and exhausting, that it’s easy to get lost in the flood of creativity, innovation and enthusiasm from all those amazing presenters. I’m not sure how that sage advice applies to a weeklong … Continue reading When teachers gather together

Unknown's avatarLaura6 Comments
21st century, Collaboration, My Story

21st century collaboration: put ’em on wheels

After just one day with our new furniture, I experienced one of those “ah-ha” moments that I’m sure resulted in a light bulb exploding over my head. OK, maybe no visible light bulb, but certainly there were flashes of light in my eyes. As I had predicted when our new furniture first arrived, my students were most enthusiastic about the chairs on wheels, which not … Continue reading 21st century collaboration: put ’em on wheels

Unknown's avatarLaura2 Comments
#YourEdustory, Connected Educator, My Story, Visions of Education

It’s not enough to #teach

Share #yourEdustory, week 2: Inspired by MLK: how will you make the world a better place? It’s too easy to assume that because I’m a teacher, I make the world a better place. Everyone from Einstein to Steinbeck, Aristotle to Andy Rooney, Lee Iacocca to Steve Jobs to Bill Gates to Dr. Seuss has given us reason to believe that simply by being teachers, we are … Continue reading It’s not enough to #teach

Unknown's avatarLaura1 Comment
#oneword, #YourEdustory, Connected Educator, My Story, Writing

#oneword for 2015

Share #yourEdustory, week 1: What is your #oneword for 2015? In spite of the ongoing attacks on public schools and teachers; in spite of too many students in my room; in spite of too many papers to grade; in spite of never enough time or resources, my one word for 2015 is this: POSITIVE There are so many factors beyond my control that affect my … Continue reading #oneword for 2015

Unknown's avatarLaura5 Comments
Reading, Writing

Give your students a New Year reboot

The start of a new semester can feel a lot like a do-over, like a chance to start fresh, with the wisdom of the first semester to inform us. But after two long weeks away from the classroom, my students need time to reflect on the previous semester, revisit what they learned, and recharge their academic batteries. Here are some welcome-back, New Year strategies that have … Continue reading Give your students a New Year reboot

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Connected Educator, Ed Tech, Reading

Macbeth & Musical Chairs: The Power of Teachers Connecting

I have read some great posts this month about the benefits of being a connected educator: Tom Whitby’s on collaboration, another from Tom featuring six educators’ journeys to connectedness, and Edutopia’s valuable set of resources to help educators become more connected. As I pondered my own journey to being a connected educator, I couldn’t think of much I could add to the discussion. And then I had a day … Continue reading Macbeth & Musical Chairs: The Power of Teachers Connecting

Unknown's avatarLaura3 Comments
Uncategorized

Student agency: voice, choice and making

In anticipation of the new Common Core Smarter Balanced Assessments, which students will take online, teachers are being asked to help students prepare by giving them more time on computers. After all, if the testing environment is all online, students need to be familiar with and comfortable using basic computer commands and options, as well as keyboarding and computation. But as with any significant shift in classroom … Continue reading Student agency: voice, choice and making

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curriculum, English, making, My Story, NaNoWriMo, Writing

It’s beginning to look a lot like #NaNoWriMo!

The first time I introduced National Novel Writing Month (a.k.a. NaNoWriMo) to my 8th graders, I was terrified. One of my teacher friends had said, “They’ll run screaming from the classroom in tears!” Some students did later confess to a brief moment of panic (“I almost lost my lunch!”), but the end result was resoundingly the most powerful and successful writing project I have ever … Continue reading It’s beginning to look a lot like #NaNoWriMo!

Unknown's avatarLaura2 Comments
CUE, Digital Media, Ed Tech, ISTE, Visions of Education

Get off the stage, sage

I have a confession to make.  I don’t know how to write computer code.  I don’t know how to animate digital art.  And I don’t know how to create 3D architectural designs. So how could I possibly teach a class in which my students are learning these skills? If we waited until we had coding teachers and animation teachers and architectural design teachers, our students would … Continue reading Get off the stage, sage

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