This is the first part of a three part series chronicling my family’s experience with a potential child predator. Parts two and three will be posted within the next few days. It was late on a Friday afternoon in February, and I was packing. We were set to leave on a vacation to Disney World the following morning, and there was still a lot to … Continue reading Part 1: It’s Someone You Know
I think I first became aware of the school game in middle school, though I was certainly playing it long before that. Do what the teacher expects of you. Don’t cause trouble. Complete the work that’s given to you. It doesn’t have to be your best work, but it has to be on time and “good enough” for the grade you want. Do your homework, … Continue reading The School Game
It’s been a grand couple of weeks. Our pilgrimage to Grand Canyon has been filled with mind-numbingly grand values of time and space. We traveled by train — our first time doing so — taking Amtrak from Cleveland to Chicago to Williams, Arizona. The journey, 1,944 miles from home to hotel, took 44 hours counting delays and layovers. From the Grand Canyon to home, the … Continue reading The Grand Picture
After a successful EdCamp Cleveland 2013 and a very hectic end to a challenging school year, the last thing I want to think about is hosting another big event at my school. But last week, four separate people mentioned that they’re interested in starting their own EdCamps, and it’s probably better to get some ideas down now while they’re fresh in my mind. It’s really … Continue reading So You Want to Host an EdCamp
It’s a funny thing about social media. Sometimes, it can be kind of social. That’s fantastic. It’s great for democracy. It’s a monumental shift in how information is managed. It changes the structure of power. Everyone has the means to widely disseminate ideas. Everyone has the ability to engage in the conversation. Everyone can reach a global audience. The gatekeepers are gone. No one is … Continue reading Listen: We Need a Community
This week’s Spark included a piece on data longevity. These days, we’re posting a LOT of content online. Every minute, 72 hours of video is uploaded to YouTube. In that same minute, the Internet gains 700,000 Facebook posts, 100,000 tweets, and 571 new web sites. Much of that is stuff we care a lot about. Nearly every photo I’ve taken in the last five years … Continue reading The Semi-Permanent Internet
I’ve been talking about online learning for over twenty years, ever since I realized the power of online discussion forums in which anyone could participate from anywhere in the world. I did research studies in the 1990s on the effect of anonymity in the quality of online discussions among middle school students. I have been a curator of online professional learning networks longer than we’ve … Continue reading Blended Learning
One of the trends right now in educational technology is a move toward individual computing devices for each learner. Whether you go with a 1:1 program, a Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) model, or a hybrid approach with several different solutions, it’s clear that we are moving to a world where computers are assigned to people, not places. This personalization of technology is a trend … Continue reading Places to People
I’ve had the great fortune over the last few days to engage in several conversations about ideal schools. One of the wonderful things about Educon is the serendipitous mingling that happens. Even though the sessions go through a proposal and approval process, and are meticulously planned by the facilitators, there’s always an element of unpredictability when they can go off EdCamp-like in any direction. So … Continue reading Culture of Caring
I’m a Partridge Highlander. I live in the Partridge Highlands subdivision, precinct 2-H of ward 2 in the city of Stow. So I guess I’m a Stowite. And since Stow is a city in county Summit in the state of Ohio, that makes me a Summitian (?!) and an Ohioan, though we sometimes call ourselves “Buckeyes.” Our sworn enemies, here in Partridge Highlands, are the … Continue reading The Global Citizen
One of the more recent Thanksgiving traditions is the playing of The Game. The Ohio State / Michigan rivalry is one of the strongest in college football. On 22 occasions since 1935, the winner of this game has been crowned the Big Ten Conference champion. On 18 occasions, the winner won a national championship. The winner went to the Rose Bowl 34 times. At both … Continue reading Legends or Leaders
On the Internet, nobody knows you’re a dog. In 1993, Peter Steiner captured the sentiment that I was trying to convey to my students. The Internet was the great equalizer. Middle school students can be pretty judgmental. If you don’t have the right clothes, or the right hairstyle, or like the right kind of music, or have the right body type, or reject the right … Continue reading My Word
Taste of Tech 