A couple of days ago, the Twin Cities Pioneer Press featured an article called “Minnesota students, teachers find iPad becoming go-to tool“. When Apple first announced the iPad, I was initially pretty skeptical. I thought it was just a big iPod Touch. During the time in between Apple’s announcement and the iPad’s ultimate release, however,… Read more

Art Along the Santa Fe Trail (Google Earth .kmz file) In my opinion, one of the aspects of Google Earth that is most powerful is its ability to put things into perspective (literally as well as figuratively). Giving students the ability to measure distances on the map quickly and easily is incredibly empowering and puts… Read more

I know my students will be ready for their future because… …I was. When you progress through your teacher education, you hear warnings like, “you teach just like you were taught.” In my case, I respond, “I certainly hope so.” I was not taught the techniques of individual tools in my education. In other words,… Read more

Just mere days ago, I wrote an article discussing the possible benefits of using open source tools in education. Today’s School CIO e-news features an article that talks about that very thing. This particular article, by Pam Derringer, goes beyond the usual “open source saves you money!” and looks more at the potential there is… Read more

<soapbox> In researching information regarding the U.S. Supreme Court Case United States v. American Library Association, I was truly amazed how many people (blogs, etc.) are terrified that the government is about to take away their freedom to look at porn. I’m sorry folks, but pornography is not what our founding fathers had in mind… Read more

I feel to answer the question of “would you use open source tools in education?” is like trying to answer the question “would you use a screwdriver?” My answer to both questions, naturally, is “yes, depending on the goal I’m trying to achieve.” If I’m trying to drive a nail into a piece of cedar,… Read more

The Tech & Learning blog featured an article today by Lisa Nielsen called The Secret to Getting Every Student Excited About Writing. It’s a very well-written article about an issue that we have been discussing in my graduate courses lately: authentic assignments. The key to getting kids excited about writing is to make it so there’s… Read more

Reposted with permission from the author (me!) from EdTechApps (edtechapps.blogspot.com): A growing trend among educators (particularly of middle and high school aged students) is to include regular blogging as a writing activity for classes. As with every classroom activity, there are positive and negative outcomes from blogging, and it must be a decision made with… Read more

So far this semester, I have made over 50 posts–in a various combination of blog posts, comments, and discussion board posts. How do I know this? I keep a log using our school-issued Google Docs. I have a running spreadsheet that I add to every single time I make a post or comment. That way,… Read more