Cool Cat Teacher Blog is at coolcatteacher.com

Image by Getty Images via @daylife "We'll help you maximize your blog's reach." "We want to exchange links with you." "Here's an announcement you'll want to cover on your blog." "We've got a new infographic we'd like you to share on your blog." "I'd like to write a guest post on your blog." "I emailed you last week. When are you going to write about my..." Over 5,000 messages and counting have accumulated since I last hit inbox zero the first week of October. Meeting Chris Daughtry: Be Careful What you Wish For As I was coming back from South Africa ready to board the plane from Johannesburg to Atlanta, GA I went wide eyed with surprise.  Chris Daughtry, the last person my husband and I had voted for on American Idol (Kip stopped watching after Chris got voted off as he said America didn't know talent - what can I say - Kip has the remote most nights.) Well, Chris Daughtry and ...

 While doing Black Friday shopping online, I came across Chris Betcher 's Post This is Not Amazing and was struck by his feelings towards those he is working with: "It’s time to stop being so “amazed” at things that are just part of the technological and cultural landscape of life in the 21st century.  It’s not “amazing” that computers can edit video, manage numbers or manipulate digital images. It’s not “amazing” that mobile phones can stream live video or GPS your current position.  It’s not “amazing” that you can make phone calls to the other side of the planet at no cost. None of these things are really “amazing” any more… they just “are”. To be “amazed” at this sort of stuff is to fail to recognise the invisible role that technology plays in all our lives these days. To anyone working in education, working with young people, you need to realise that simple tasks performed with technology are not something to be “amazed” at, marveled at and gushed over.  For ...