This post will kick around ideas based on one of two questions that I posed yesterday (Simulations In The Classroom- Two Questions). Before we dissect the first question, everyone should check out the links that Bill Chapman left me yesterday and today. He was kind enough to share the following simulations from his website: Classroomtools.com. [...]

As I sat at TedxNYEd this weekend, a thought kept recurring in my head, which I eventually tweeted: @aaron_eyler: My observation: Big problem with schools is most still haven’t outgrown the backpack. It restricts learning to a sack. @ 11:34 a.m. Now I am sure that there are a lot of people who read (or [...]

I hope that you never tell kids something to the effect of “that’s not a good idea” (unless it relates to their behavior or something that could be physically harmful to them). I don’t think there is any way to kill people’s ability to be innovative or unique than to chastise them for poor ideas [...]

In another post I wrote about how assignment structure is detrimental to teaching kids “how” to think and how we are creating a generation of students that are incapable of completing a task without an assignment sheet, rubric, models, or constant guidance. I think it is important we take that one step further and investigate [...]

When you were a kid and you wanted to make friends, how did you go about it? Whichever way you went, your pool of potential friendships was automatically restricted to those that you came in physical contact with. No one jumped on the phone every day with a friend, chatted up for a while, and [...]

Dr. Kevin D. Washburn (@kdwashburn) recently posted an article on the Edurati Review that discusses thinking about thinking. Definitely read that article if you haven’t gotten the opportunity to do so. Dr. Washburn hits on a topic that I think is extremely important for us to consider. Here is an excerpt from his article: “Few [...]

In any assignment, the first Boolean search that a kid engages in should be a cognitive one. Regardless of the increase in connectivity and the ability to “Google” answers from an increasing number of electronic devices, it doesn’t eliminate the need for developing a strong frame-of-reference and ability to sort information mentally according to easily [...]

I support standardized testing and so do you even if you don’t know it or want to admit it. What you don’t support is standardized testing in its current form or for that use that has become synonymous with the term. Imagine if standardized testing was not mentioned in the same sentence as the “No [...]

Once of the keys to utilizing technology in the classroom is finding ways to hybridize the platforms being used. As a technology coordinator, I am constantly looking for ways to provide appropriate technologies for teachers that reach the maximum number of platforms with the minimum amount of effort. I call this type of integration a [...]

It is rather intriguing to look around the world of education and listen to the varying beliefs on “what” should be taught in schools. Curriculum is always a favorite target of mine, and many of you who read my work regularly know my feelings on our inflated, overstuffed, irrelevant curricula that emphasize a need to [...]