the third rail

We recently got Interactive White Boards (IWB’s) in my district and they are pretty nifty. They came complete with student response systems (SRS or clickers), distributed sound system,  and a document camera.  All in all pretty great.
After using the board for a couple of months this is what I have noticed so far:
~ I’m still [...]

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No matter which side of the health care debate you are on, the town hall meetings have been interesting to say the least. What I have noticed more than anything is the apparent inability of our “leaders” to deal with us common folk. Seriously, in some of the meetings our representatives have been astonished that [...]

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As summer is winding down educators are going back to school and that means “back to school workshops” for most of us. Recently I sat through a two day session to to learn how to use some new technology in our district.
Yeah, sat through is what I meant to say.

We literally sat…for hours…not touching the [...]

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It’s been a busy summer and I have had this post in mind for a while, just took a while to make the time for it. recently we went on a quick trip up to California’s Gold Coast to start our summer vacation. Great trip and if anybody travels with dogs I have some recommendations [...]

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Philosophy of Teaching

I believe in sharing.
Sharing like in kindergarten as well as sharing knowledge. As an educator, I am not a font of knowledge but I can share what I do know with my students and fellow teachers. When we participate in sharing (collaborating) the result is stronger relationships, mutual respect, and deeper learning. One [...]

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It’s been a while since my last blog post. No real reason to be honest. Yeah there were report cards, some meetings, etc, but no real GOOD reason.
It has been good for me though. During my hiatus I have done some reflecting, thinking, and changing. Usually all of those are good things. This year I [...]

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Well its been a few weeks since I read this post about using a 2 X 10 method instead of a 2 X 4, and it inspired me to take a different approach to one of my own “troublesome” students. The 2 X 10 method is talking to the student for 2 minutes every day [...]

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I just saw the FaceBook page for Abe Lincoln and it struck me, what a great way to do a biography report. Have you seen these Tweets from historical figures?  Students could also use comic creators for short book reports. I know that these may not be 21st century skills, but teaching kids how to [...]

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As you might know I got a new netbook last weekend. I love it! The specs are here so I am not going to go on about that but rather, how this could be the gamechanger that nobody notices.
Netbooks are new and only about $300. As time moves on these should get cheaper, say, $150. [...]

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I had a student tell me I was boring. I have had students tell me they are bored, the subject is boring, or even school is boring. I have never had anyone tell me I am boring before! I was really surprised, and, honestly, a little hurt and upset. This child has been difficult. Kicked [...]

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