This isn’t just about education; it’s about society as well. We have a legitimate obsession problem with technology and the amount of it that we utilize on a daily basis. The concern should only be heightened by the results of a recent study.  Consider the following excerpt from a recent Pew Research Center article on [...]

Class size discussions fascinate me especially when we start talking about making students “independent learners” and when we want to expand learning “beyond the walls of the classroom” by introducing technology and, especially, social media tools. It even fascinates me so much that I wrote a post in early January talking about “How Class Sizes [...]

Isn’t it fascinating how there is more reading material and alternative viewpoints available to students, teachers, administrators, and society in general today than any other time period in the history of the world yet we continue to perpetuate a system of compliance and uniformity instead of questioning and original thought? Not really. I would surmise [...]

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. [...]

Yesterday I was standing in Colonial Williamsburg when one of the artisans came over to me and said, “no Spring Training for Ramapo Baseball this year?” I looked at him startled, and he motioned down to my jacket. I had forgotten that I was wearing my Adidas travel jacket from my baseball playing days at [...]

Forgive me for my boardgame reference if it is wrong but, other than scrabble and Rummicube, I don’t play very many games so I am just giving this a shot. In his book Linchpin, Seth Godin discusses Candyland and why it represents everything that is synonymous with the old way of thinking about humans and [...]

I’m starting to believe that there is no such thing as “large-scale” education reform unless the government steps in and mandates it. Quite frankly, I don’t think large scale reform should exist anyway (especially by bureaucrats). Right now, the educational world has thousands of people who all have the answers to the question of what [...]

Before the first group assignment that I work on with my kids every year I make sure that they understand two guiding principles about cooperative learning or group projects. The “All Flash & No Cash” mentality should not and must not exist. Somewhere along the way, we became more concerned with the glitz and the [...]

There is constant discussion in all circles as to “how” to infuse more technology in the classroom. People are enamored with its capabilities as well as how “engaged” students are with the new medium. As teachers, it should be our job to work on getting kids engaged with the learning; not the technology. My concern, [...]

I want to start the conversation off with a question: if we are working diligently to create lifelong learners, does an emphasis on exclusive teacher accountability denigrate the efforts of the system to cultivate this trait in kids? By the way, I am NOT talking exclusively about standardized testing. In my mind, I am ALWAYS [...]