This is a test for email notification. Continue reading EN Test

We received a request to unblock a web site yesterday. The justification went something like this: I received an email message containing some inappropriate content. The message said that I had signed up to receive this content, but this must be a mistake. I tried to unsubscribe, but when I clicked the link, the site was blocked. Please unblock the site so I can unsubscribe … Continue reading Don't Click That Link

“When I finally write my textbook, this is how I’m going to explain systems of linear equations.” Mr. DeLorenzo was always deviating from the textbook in our Algebra II class. “Forget what the book says, and listen to this.” He had a plan for just about every topic. Having taught Algebra for more than twenty years, he knew how to a explain it in a … Continue reading New Textbooks

When I first saw Scuttle, I wasn’t impressed. It’s essentially a replacement for del.icio.us. It allows you to store and manage bookmarks. You can tag the links, and then sort and filter by those tags. You can grab RSS an feed for any tag or any user. You can share links with other users. You can annotate links, inserting your own notes about the site. … Continue reading Pop Goes the Scuttle

RSS takes three tries before you start to understand it. The first time, it goes completely over your head. The second time, you start to get some kind of idea what they’re talking about. The third time, you start to really understand what’s going on. It’s a lot like photosynthesis, or trigonometry, or irregular verbs in romance languages, or all of those other things I … Continue reading Feed Me

Remember Marco Polo? I still have a couple training binders for it on my bookshelf. Back in 2000, the WorldCom Foundation partnered with renowned educational organizations to create a collection of Internet resources for teaching K-12 content in every academic discipline. They did everything right. For the math resources, they partnered with the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics (NCTM), the professional organization that changed … Continue reading Marco Polo = Thinkfinity

I thought I was finally getting it. After spending the last eighteen months working with Web 2.0 tools, I finally have a good understanding of how technology can change education. I’ve become part of several communities online. I regularly communicate with people all over the world. There are even a few people reading my blog. Last week, I was catching up on some old podcasts, … Continue reading Keeping Up

During the EdTechWeekly postshow last Sunday, we ended up looking at my blog. A few people commented on the theme, and I explained that I had it custom designed for use in our district. Many of our teachers have expressed an interest in blogging, but were frustrated by the theme choices available. Especially at the elementary level, teachers felt that there weren’t enough kid-friendly themes … Continue reading WordPress Themes

Apple really wants you to believe that they matter as a computer company. Every time they make a product announcement, the tech industry buzzes with discussion. All they have to do is announce a press conference, and the pundits come alive with wild speculation about what Apple is up to. In the current episode of This Week in Tech, Leo and the gang spend 6 … Continue reading Nobody Uses Macs

There’s a lot of talk in the edtech community about transforming teaching and learning by using web 2.0 technologies with students. With things like blogs and wikis and social networking and all of these neat, new, interactive tools, we can improve the way teachers teach and students learn. I’m even taking a class called “Transformational Connections With Blogs and Wikis.” But I’m not quite buying … Continue reading What's New About Blogging?

Last week, Michigan state Democrats faced a firestorm of criticism after proposing a budget that includes $38 million to purchase mp3 players for all school-age students in the state. Presumably, these would be used for “educational purposes,” but there aren’t any details about how such a program would be implemented. The Detroit News immediately attacked the idea in an editorial (An iPod for every kid? … Continue reading Better Gadgets

I was composing an email about our upcoming curriculum mapping project. I try to be grammatically correct most of the time. It really annoys me when people mess up subject-verb agreements or possessives. I’ve read Eats, Shoots and Leaves. I listen to Grammar Girl. I even tuned in to The Word Nerds for a year or so. Most of the time, I can put words … Continue reading Write Right