PBS recently aired a documentary called the “Digital Nation”.  It does a terrific job of outlining the concerns of many educators about students growing up with the digital medium and relying so much on it.  It also presents the topic from the point of view for students.  The students claim they are expert multi-taskers while teachers claim they are not.  Read more... (197 words, estimated 47 secs reading time)

My previous post about iPads mentioned the power the iPad has for dramatically changing the way that teachers teach and students learn.  I also casually mentioned that the success of the iPad will depend greatly on the apps that will be developed for the iPad.  There are apps out there for the iPod Touch and the iPhone that may be similar to what I will describe below, but my intention is not to copy what others have already created.  Instead, my intention is to provide the conceptual framework for three apps the iPad will definitely need in order to succeed as a game changer in schools.  The three concepts relate to note taking, studying and reviewing, and individualizing curriculum.  In my previous post I outlined how the iPad can impact these areas.  Below is a description of the function of the apps necessary to make this work.  Read more... (1327 words, estimated 5:18 mins reading time)

I have recently become aware of two documentaries about education that will be coming out later this year.  The two documentaries are Waiting for Superman and Race to Nowhere.  Both of these talk about the current state of education in America and what needs to be done to fix the problem.  These two documentaries may have just enough punch and support behind them to finally get America’s schools back on track.

Waiting for Superman  Read more... (385 words, estimated 1:32 mins reading time)

At the end of January I wrote an article about the iPad and it’s potential impact in education.  Since that time I have done more research and pondering on the topic.  I have also convinced my wife to allow me to purchase one when it goes on sell.  I can hardly wait!  Read more... (1854 words, estimated 7:25 mins reading time)

The term “21st century skills” has become a cliche in public education and education reform.  It has been tossed around during the past two decades to describe the set of skills people will need to succeed in the 21st century.  Many educators still do not quite know why there is the need for a different set of skills.

What are 20th Century Skills?  Read more... (887 words, estimated 3:33 mins reading time)

Late last week I found two articles written by Marc Prensky about something he refers to as digital natives and digital immigrants.  I will briefly outline and describe both of these articles below, as I feel it is important that educators realize there is a huge difference between the students from twenty years ago and students today.  Read more... (712 words, estimated 2:51 mins reading time)

I came across an excellent article written about a few teachers who use cellphones in their classroom.  I totally agree with what they are saying here.  Due to my school’s policy I am not able to use cellphones in my classroom, so I cannot speak from experience.  There are huge educational benefits of allowing students to use cellphones in the classroom.  Of course there will always be the cheating and other things as well; but these things existed before cellphones anyways.  To read more about using cellphones in the classroom visit this Yahoo! News article.

Throughout history the art of storytelling has changed drastically.  Stories began as oral traditions passed on from one generation to the next.  Then the stories began being accompanied with crude drawings.  Soon people learned how to write and began writing stories down.  Eventually stories began being acted out on stages in front of an audience.  Eventually the still camera and video camera were invented and allowed stories to be told with moving pictures.  With the invention of the computer, people eventually were able to create totally digital stories.  Although the tools and tricks of sharing stories have changed throughout history, the thing they all have in common still exists.  Stories need to be told.  Read more... (1016 words, 5 images, estimated 4:04 mins reading time)

In the near future I will be compiling a list of my ten favorite websites for educational purposes.  Below you will find two resources which I consider to be in the running for the Top 10 List.  Until the time I actually compile my Top 10 List, I will periodically share a few websites at a time just so you can start to enjoy the benefits of the many resources available to us as educators.  This is truly a terrific time to be alive and to be teaching.  Read more... (478 words, 1 image, estimated 1:55 mins reading time)

It is great to have students make Powerpoints, websites, blogs, videos, etc. but often our students will go to random websites and “steal” images, videos, music, and sound clips from these resources WITHOUT the permission of the creator.  This is in violation of copyright laws.  We should highly discourage our students from doing this.  If you are doing it, you should stop as well.  Read more... (489 words, estimated 1:57 mins reading time)