My husband asked me why I wasn’t using my new Chromebook last week. Even though I didn’t tell him, I couldn’t even remember where it was in the house. When I first got my Chromebook 11, I was so excited about the newer, slicker model. I loved the white, but two weeks passed, and it …
As I watch my phone update to the newest operating system, I think about the fact that as humans we rarely (if ever) allow ourselves the extended time to do a full system update. Shutting down and shutting out all the notifications and needs of people and things. If Apple operated as we did, then …
I was unsure at first whether I was going to like Google Chromebook. I knew that I used Chrome and my Google account for almost all the work I did, but I was just worried I would be missing something that my Macbook Pro offered. I’m not. This is the best decision I’ve made, not …
In teaching my second set of students in the Social Media conference, I encountered two unique situations. The first was that another adult entered the classroom and told the students that they needed to put up their cell phones and pay attention. It took me a couple of seconds to respond, but then I looked …
I learned early on when I began to blog with students that if you allow too much time to pass between the experience (whether that’s reading, a guest speaker, a field trip) and writing about the experience, then students’ writing becomes stagnant and lifeless. To truly capture their voices, students need time during the experience …
After one day of my Sexting, Facebooking and Tweeting seminar, I am shocked and amazed, as I always am, by how astute students are. We began our discussion by asking, “Why do teachers/adults feel like they need to limit access to devices?” They responded with nice, safe answers like “because they want us to be …
Maybe working with students isn’t about what we want: Yet many teachers are not comfortable with their student’s media: they don’t listen to the same genre of music; they don’t play video games; they don’t watch the same TV shows or movies which appeal to their students. But they should. Allow me to elaborate. When …
Sometimes, I feel like the conversations about Twitter center around the impact that it can have on professional development too much. I certainly value it for that reason, but I don’t think that students will use it in the same way. Although I have heard that some teachers are exploring with Twitter in the classroom …
In preparing for a seminar for youth on social media, I have hit a brick wall. This is not uncommon, I often hit a brick wall in preparing to teach something new, especially when technology is involved; however, in this case I am stuck in the middle. I have no idea if my students will …
It is because I know, and have known since graduating from High School that the challenges faced by the education system are many. Everything from chronic funding shortages at many schools and Universities, to a fundamental disconnect between the way education is delivered and the 21st Century. Preparing your students for University/College has traditionally been …
