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Dominant logic often isolates higher learning research from the teachers who need to apply it. There are pay walls that keep average everyday teachers like me from nosing around in matters reserved for ivory towers. It sort of ticks me off sometimes. Why can't ivory tower people "adopt" classroom practitioners (like me and many others) who really "get into" reading research and applying it in our classroom so we can actually access the material we need to read? You would think that people would want "real" teachers to read the research on learning and teaching. Instead we often get insulted for not knowing it or using it when we don't have access in the first place. No entry allowed Today I was perusing around research around what makes learning meaningful to students and came across this article " Phases of Meaningful Learning " but have to be a "member" or pay a one time $25 to access the article. Well it may just b...

And thus school has begun. I have a mysterious little bird - always writing these messages on my board. I know who the bird is but turn my back and let it happen. But I thought of it this morning as I thought of an apparent major decisionmaking fail brought to my attention this week. This week a teacher came to me asking me to help a friend. "The best AP lit teacher I know has been 'demoted' because she isn't using technology. The administrators are afraid that they'll 'get in trouble with the state' if they see she's not using any. Give me ideas to help" So, that's it...no coaching... no advice...no help - just BAM - you're going to teach a younger grade even though we know you're the best AP lit teacher we've ever seen. It is always about what technology helps you DO not technology itself If you read my blog, you know that I love and enjoy technology and using it with my students. But I find this repugnant and ridicu...

Music has so many uses in the classroom. After being jolted awake by Dave Burgess ' Teach Like a Pirate wisdom - I realized that there are so many aspects of the mood I need to use in my classroom. Music sets the mood I now use music for many purposes. When students are doing something a tad stressful, the Carribean calypso music is so relaxing, they just relax and get it done. When they are brainstorming, peppy music that they like gets them thinking. If they are making - it makes them more creative. There's a time for all types of music in my classroom. Like some choose wine for the meal, I choose music for the task. Sometimes that means the students pick. Other times it means we create a special station on Pandora and enjoy it. Music makes a great timer Here's what I've found that I love the most about music. I have always used a timer in my classroom to keep us on track. Otherwise, we'll just spend forever brainstorming - which isn't a bad thi...

The Maker Movement is here. Invent to Learn by Sylvia Martinez and Gary Stager  is the definitive book on the Maker Movement in Schools What do 3D printers, Rasberry pi programing units, scrapbooks and woodworking have in common? They are all part of the Maker movement a growing effort to reinvent creativity by letting kids and people create. Libraries are incorporating maker spaces and many people are reading the book  Invent To Learn  by Sylvia Martinez and Gary Stager. If you want to know more about this movement, take a listen to Sylvia Martinez (see below on how to listen). We talked about how this method can positively impact our "STEM pipeline" and how we can foster the love of problem solving in many ways in the classroom. We also discussed managing maker spaces in the classroom and the many technologies being used in the maker movement. I learned a lot and highly recommend the book. My thoughts on the book, Invent to Learn Don't think this is ...

I have a second generation Kindle. I will use it until it won't run for a few reasons: These Kindles are newer than mine but still offer a focused reading experience without notifications. I can operate it with one hand (I like to read everywhere.) I get no messages or notifications of any kind, meaning I can focus on what I'm reading. Silence is really golden, especially when it comes to reading. I can organize my reading in intentional and powerful ways. Brian Tracy shares in several of his books that if you want to be in the top 10% of any field that you should read an hour a day in field. That is my goal. Michael Catt , my pastor says "Leaders are readers." I'd like to lead and encourage others, so reading is important. It brings new ideas. It motivates. It encourages me when I'm down. Now that I've written one book and almost done with a second, I see that a book is really an author bleeding on a page. It is that much of your li...

When you set your goals for the fall, don't forget your soft goals. There are hard and fast things you must do in the classroom. There are tasks, standards, and objectives that must be met. However, it is easy to be so busy as a human doing and forget that you're teaching human beings. This is why I like the Classroom Habitudes so much. (Read the book by Angela Maiers ) It gives us a "to be" list before you hit the to do list. Students need to know what we want them to BE as we reach to do the things that they need to do. They need to see the purpose behind the plan. Make a list of the things you want your students "to be" Even more so, we, as teachers, need to be intentional about what we want to help our students be. Thankful. Passionate. Curious. Ethical. Perseverant. Creative... and the list goes on. Intentionally think about your soft goals because these give you a canvas upon which you will paint your class activities. They should influe...

If I had a wish for everyone at ISTE 2013, it would be:   Iste 2013 has opened just now in San Antonio. It is already Trending on Twitter. #iste13 Remember your students . Look for practical methods to teach. Remember your students . Technology doesn't engage - YOU DO when you use it well. Remember your students . Take notes for ACTION ITEMS you'll do when you return. (I keep a list of my big three.) They should see you learning and engaging at #iste13 like you want to see them engage in your classroom. Remember your health. If you run yourself down and you get sick, that isn't good for anyone. Pacing yourself is so hard, but take time to get sleep, eat, and rest. Remember your friends . Take time to say hello to those people who encourage and inspire you. Remember your friends. Not everyone could go. When you tweet good thoughts and ideas to the #iste13 hashtag, you join the #iste13 pln and inspire and reach others. Remember to make new f...

First grade teacher Karen Lirenman (@ klirenman ) has won the Kay L Bitter Award for innovative leadership in the K-2 classroom. She'll receive this award at ISTE 2013 in a few weeks in San Antonio. You'll want to see what the younger classroom can be by listening to what she's doing. Wow! Karen Lirenman is a grade one teacher in Surrey, British Columbia who loves to provide her students with choice in how they learn, show, and share their knowledge. She engages them globally through video conferencing, twitter, and blogging and uses technology as seamlessly as possibly to make this all happen. She started teaching in 1992. Professional blog http://www.learningandsharingwithmsl.blogspot.ca/ Class twitter @ MsLsClass . Class blog. http://www.mslirenmansroom.blogspot.ca/ Listen to the show Essential Questions You joined Twitter in 2011 and it changed your life. How? You have your first grade students create hashtags. How? How do you hav...

When my nephew, Mark, used his birthday money and money he'd earned from working on his Mom & Dad's gator farm to buy a Microsoft Surface, I asked him to tell me why. It is important that we cover all platforms and make up our minds. I've used Windows 8 and have a touch-enabled Lenovo m90z at home and at school and believe that Microsoft has moved forward. I've asked Mark to share here on my blog on an ongoing basis. Mark is also one of my students and came to show me his new Surface the day he bought it. Mark bought a "Windows RT Surface." When I look at the Computer information it says the manufacturer is Microsoft. When Mark bought his surface, he brought it to school to show me right away. by Mark, guest blogger I bought the surface for many reasons. But these four are the main reasons why I decided to work hard for weeks on my dad’s alligator farm to earn the money needed to purchase this device. I had a very hard decision to make. I had to de...

Alfred Thompson (@ alfredtwo ) "Mr. Computer Science" spent some time talking with me and the listeners of Every Classroom matters about how we should be teaching computer science at all levels. It can be simple. Students should know how to cause the computer to do things starting at a very young age. In 10 short minutes, you can learn all about this topic and how you can put some concepts in your classroom. Are you teaching students about advanced searching? Start there. Alfred serves on the Computer Science Teachers of America board. He's my go-to guy for questions about how to teach Computer Science. I've been a faithful reader of his blog since the first month I started blogging in December 2005. Alfred, though, isn't just a PLN resource, he's my friend. He's a good man and a great servant leader to the cause of Computer science and STEM education and is a wealth of knowledge. Take a listen, follow Alfred on Twitter, and understand how Computer Sc...

Flipboard is a fantastic ereading tool which has also become a premier curation tool. I've created a magazine Education Inspirivation that you can subscribe to in Flipboard by clicking on the Flipboard link: http://flip.it/WaRGT Curation is Evolving Curation continues to evolve and this is just one way. I created this magazine just a few days a go and almost 200 people are following the magazine. For me, a sharer by nature, I gravitate to places where it is easy to share. Make a Custom Magazine for your course and students using Flipboard If you have 1:1 ipad program, you should consider creating a magazine for your students, what a cool way to have "required" reading. Same for college professors, imagine a neat, cool, beautiful magazine where your students can easily retweet and comment. How does it work? You set up Flipboard. Then, there is a plus in the bottom right hand side. Use it and it will ask you to set up a magazine and you can flip content to ...

"I don't know how else to make a movie except to find some aspect of the experience that I haven't done before," he says. "Because if I've done it before,  I'm fearless , and I don't work well when I'm fearless." Steven Spielberg, when interviewed about making the movie Lincoln.  Oprah, Spielberg, Daniel Day-Lewis Talk About 'Lincoln' (VIDEO) I think it is hard for many people to realize that fear is a natural part of being innovative. If you do ANYTHING at all, fear is often part of that.  Every time we start a Flat Classroom project , every time I get ready to get in front of an audience, really, even, every time I get up to meet my day and kiss my husband and kids goodbye, there is an element of fear in my life.  But fear can't and shouldn't paralyze us. The existence of fear isn't what cripples us, it is the preeminence of fear and the resulting paralysis that can cause us to be unable to function. ...

Chris Lehmann at the Guggenheim at yesterday's announcement from Apple The world is buzzing with the Apple announcements about their move into eTextbooks. As I listened to Leo LaPorte and Sarah Lane's podcast about the announcement in the car coming home from the basketball game last night, my son said, "Mom, don't just listen to what people are saying, but try it out yourself." Of course, he's right. I haven't had a lot of time but let's rundown the facts as I know them today and as I played with these tools. Just remember, that there are some great things but there is also a whole lot of commercialism in these new apps and ebooks for education. iBooks 2 This is an upgrade to the iBooks you already have. Update the app. Here is my live blog of my first experience with an interactive iBook, maybe it will save you some time. I downloaded the Beatle's Yellow Submarine Interactive book and it took 7 minutes to download. Expect intera...