In the job interview, they asked if I knew Linux. Sure. I’d played around with it a little. I used it as the operating system for a “server” that I set up in my classroom. I was running a MUD for my students. It worked, too. But it was tough to get eighth graders interested in text-based adventure games, even in the 90s. So I … Continue reading Problem Solving
When we got word that we weren’t going back to school, I made a pot of coffee. I went to the basement with my laptop and notebook, and I jumped on the first of many Zoom calls with my instructional coaches and curriculum director. It was early evening. On a weekend. We were just starting to get the idea that things weren’t going to be … Continue reading Stress Less
I’m pretty old. I was thinking about my first job interview. It was 1993. I was asked what I thought about Microsoft Windows. I told them it wasn’t a real operating system. It was just a shell that sat on top of MS-DOS. It was a resource hog, and it was unreliable. It made computers harder to use rather than easier, and it wasn’t worth … Continue reading Nostalgic Optimism
For years, I used the same company to buy most of my technology supplies. If I needed printers or cables or memory or consumables, I would always go there. The company had pre-negotiated contracts with several different agencies and consortia, so their pricing was reasonable. They had a fantastic database of products that allowed me to easily compare products and prices and options. Ordering was … Continue reading Friction
John Hattie wanted to answer a very simple question. We’ve been studying school improvement for decades. We’ve tried all kinds of new initiatives, programs, philosophies, and approaches to improve student learning. We’ve spent millions of dollars on research, and thousands of graduate students have wrestled with the question of how to make our schools more effective. If we really want to improve student learning, where … Continue reading Effect Size
Years ago, I put together some professional development workshops for teachers centered around using “web 2.0” technologies in the classroom. At the time, the idea of the World Wide Web as an interactive, participatory tool was pretty new. The classes addressed things like blogs and wikis and video conferencing and personal learning networks. They were offered in June, right after school let out for the … Continue reading Because We Want To
The first time I used a computer was in 1981. I think it was an Apple IIe, but it might have been a Radio Shack TRS-80. My middle school had both located in a “math lab.” I don’t remember why I was there. There were only a few kids in the room, and 3-4 computers. Maybe it was an optional indoor recess activity. It was … Continue reading Worksheets and Flash Cards
“This is America. It’s a free country. You can do anything you want to do.” My football coach was explaining how life works. “But,” he continued, “you have to be willing to pay the price for it. There are always consequences to your actions.” I’m not sure why he brought this up, or whether he even had a point in mind. But the connection between … Continue reading Freedom
Mom and Dad were away for the weekend. It wasn’t really a party, per se. It was just a couple friends coming over for the evening. A little get together. A few close friends. We should have known better. You know how this story ends. The few friends invited a few friends, and before we knew it, the house was overrun with people we didn’t … Continue reading Who Asked You?
Remember 21st Century Skills? Back at the turn of the century, we were all abuzz about the needs of our students as we moved into the new millennium. We knew we had moved from an industrial society to a service economy, and we were transitioning into the information age. We knew that schools had to adapt. And we had some pretty good ideas on what … Continue reading Blended Hybrid
I’ve been thinking about Y2K lately. Back in the late 1990s, the technology industry faced a serious problem with how computers stored dates. The societal norm was to use two digits for the year. Pearl Harbor was attacked on 12/7/41. The first moon landing was on 7/20/69. MTV started broadcasting on 8/1/81. As the 1990s progressed, people started realizing that we had a problem. Because … Continue reading Ready for Anything
“I saw student choice. The kids were writing their own songs. It was definitely DOK-4.” We were debriefing an instructional rounds experience after observing a fourth grade music class. The teacher-observer was pretty insistent that this was engaged, student-directed learning that required students to employ extended thinking skills to create something new. “The students were all doing the same thing. The teacher walked them through … Continue reading The Starting Point
Taste of Tech 