Guest Post: Sarah Wenger

It’s time for the old adage that women neither like nor do well in math and science be put to rest …

Women are increasingly involved in the tech field, both as consumers and as practitioners, which shouldn't come as a surprise since over half of social media users are women and the average social gamer is a woman in her 40s.

This trend is also reflected in education. Of the computer science majors graduating in 2013 from Harvard, women make up 41%. And although only 25% of science, tech, engineering and math (STEM) jobs are currently ...   more...

When you think of a school setting what comes to mind? If you went to school anytime during the 1990’s or earlier you likely think of sitting in a classroom with your textbooks, pencils, notebooks, and backpacks. However if you’re a child of the 2000 era then your view of a traditional school setting is probably a little bit different. Technology has seeped into more and more aspects of the traditional school setting and slowly changed them to fit the emerging trends.

1.      From Libraries to the Internet

Before we had access to anything and everything ...   more...

Here is another technology guest post. This one comes from Elaine Hirsch – elainehi86@gmail.com .

When you think about the term "educational technology," you probably think about computer labs and digital presentations. You probably don't think of simple things like pens and overhead projectors, and you may not think about tablet computers and social media. However, all of these things are educational technologies. This range of examples illustrates that educational technology is a changing field that will continue to alter both what and how students learn. However, whether in elementary school or PhD programs online, only when used in ...   more...

My last post was on relationships trumping data. I’m not saying to forget data because it is a tool that successful teacher learn how and when to use. I was saying that relationships are more important to student learning than data.  I now have a wonderful example of what I was trying to convey. Mrs. Ripp is one dynamic fifth grade teacher in Madison Wis. She knows that to maximizing student learning she must connect with her students and build personal relationships. Look at the activity she has for her students on the first day of school. Do you think these kids will be jumping out ...   more...

 Those of us growing up in the card-playing era of Bridge and Pinochle really understand the value of trump cards. These cards rule in other words they have the most value. To be successful at these card games you must not only have trump cards but also know how to play them. I see the same connection with the ingredients that make for successful students learning in our classrooms. Most of us as parents and educators would agree that planning, curriculum, data, organization, and relationships are essential elements successful teachers use to assist students with their learning. As an educator, ...   more...

Beth Still, a passionate educator, from Scottsbluff,  Nebraska started the ISTE Newbie Project in 2009. She started the project to show the value and power of a Personal Learning Network (PLN). Each year for the Newbie project,  Beth finds someone that has not attended an ISTE conference and organizes a fund-raising campaign to raise money to help that person attend the conference.

Look at the first two selections she made: Richard Byrne and Jason Schrage. You can see she has a great eye for educators that are making a difference with kids! Richard and Jason are both social studies teachers. They are making a difference not only with kids, but ...   more...

I have read it on twitter and seen it in many blogs: Let’s let the students take the lead with teaching some of the Web 2.0 tools. It recently happened in a large suburban San Antonio, Texas school district, North East ISD. Each semester the district sponsors a Saturday staff development day called Super Saturday. The technology session included the GT class of Mrs. Kimberly Ball from Wetmore Elementary School. These fifth graders were very excited about having the opportunity to present to teachers. They were so pumped in fact that they spent hours on their own time during the weekends creating a web site titled “Teachers Come to Learn”. The Saturday ...   more...

I saw this terrific video last week and thought this is a must share item. Like some many thoughts that race through one’s head, it was in and out as I moved on to something else. Checking my Google Reader this morning, I read Larry Ferlazz’s post “You Can’t Miss This Video”. There it was again “200 Countries, 200 Years, 4 Minutes” by Hans Rosling. My best learning takes place with a visual presentation, therefore this piece of work really appealed to me. I think you will find the information most interesting.

Hans Rosling's famous lectures combine enormous quantities of public data with a sport's commentator's style to reveal the story of the ...   more...

George Couros “The Principal of Change” wrote a short article on fear for his December 1^st posting. He had just returned from a conference, which included a session with Will Richardson. A question from the session ignited a reflection in George: “What’s one fear you’re going to have to overcome to lead your school forward?” He then went on to list twelve fears that drive him.

I can relate to all twelve, but his last, “fear that our students and staff are not having fun” really resonated with me. I envision ...   more...

Last week I posted about passion and passionate educators after reading Silvia Tolisano tweets on passion and watching her video titled Passion in Education …make a difference! Little did I know that passion was now a huge buzz subject on my PLN? I guess I’ve been more focused on activities at school than I realized. Angela Maiers has been featuring guest bloggers on the topic Passion Driven Conversations. I invite you to visit her page and check out the list of guest bloggers like Larry Frelazzo and George Couros. You will find some great reading.

 My PLN has many individuals that would qualify as passionate educators. In putting together my list of passionate educators last week, I know I could not include ...   more...

I cannot get the word passion out of my head after watching Silvia Tolisano’s video, Passion In Education. We have all know teachers that could accomplish the most unimaginable task or project. Most of these same teachers seem to turn around students placed in their class that lacked any desire or love for school or learning. You have known some I’m sure. It is a marvelous, awe-inspiring experience to be around them when they are working with children. What do they possess that allows them to make that connection with kids that others seem to be lacking? I submit that the main quality missing is ...   more...

I would like to give credit to the person that tweeted about The Edutainer but short-term memory has left me. Saw the tweet and was off to Amazon. The book just arrived and I found the first chapter most enjoyable. Time to stop and blog a short introduction to The Edutainer – Connecting the Art and Science of Teaching – by Brad Johnson and Tammy Maxson McElory. These two are veteran teachers who understand the lives of contemporary classroom practitioners. It appears from the acknowledgments of the book that a great deal of their information came from the state of Georgia USA. A cleaver table of contents reveals: Edutainer Program, Act I: The Vision, Act II: The Rehearsal, and Act III: The Performance.

Passages ...   more...

I am or have been the following: parent, grandparent, teacher, school administrator, school board member, small business owner, and life long learner. These are my qualifications to give a view of public education in America. I believe many individuals and groups offering opinions have an ulterior motive for the view they share. I also believe there is and has been for a number of years a group or number of groups in America trying to privatize education. Their reasons are varied and for many they are self serving. Let’s leave that for another writing.

It appears, if you can believe the ...   more...

The September 2010 edition of the Teacher Net Gazette has a compelling article on the changing role of today’s teacher. Dr. Brad Johnson and Tammy Maxson McElroy have written a powerful piece titled “The Changing Role of the Teacher in the 21^st Century”.

Here are a few statements from the article:

This means that children entering kindergarten today have been exposed to more information than their grandparents were two years after graduating high school.

This innovative educator of today utilizes authentic relationships ...   more...

We have a great group of teachers at Longs Creek Elementary School in San Antonio Texas. The teachers know that for students to maximize their potential they must be excited and engaged in learning in and out of school. Knowing that their students love technology, the staff has gone back to the drawing board to create more engaging pages on their teacher webs. I am very proud of the efforts they are putting forth to connect with their students and parents. They are also very interested in connecting with other classes around the world by way of Skype to become 21^st century global learners. If you ...   more...

The Art of Education

Life Long Learning Made Easier

The picture at the top is a plaque that hangs outside by office at school. Back in the 60s with the decoupage craze in full bloom, I created this plaque to remind me of one of my goals in education. Little did I know the impact this statement would have on my life! During my educational career I have experienced the following transitions: purple ditto machines to the zerox copiers, Underwood typewriters to computers, crank phone on the wall to the iphone in my pocket, USPS (snail mail) to twitter, Dick and Jane readers to www.Starfall.com My, have I ...   more...

I have been interested in digital story telling for many reasons but the most important reason is because I believe it connects with students and increase their learning. Confucius had this to say way before the digital age:

I hear and I forget.

I see ...   more...

I wrote the following note to Kathleen McGeady, a teacher from Geelong Australia, after reading a story about her in The Age, an Australia newspaper.

Kathleen, not only are the digital natives restless, I believe the entire educational community is restless. Digital classrooms are essential for our students to receive the quality education necessary for them to be productive citizen when they become adults. There appears to be a ground swell movement going on with this issue. While governments and individual states are moving toward digital classrooms, the most effective advancements are ...   more...

The latest from Steve Miranda's blog "Re-Educate". This will challenge your thinking about American education.

http://www.diigo.com/annotated/c9dfa4e5d93b16e3ce847d33cfd3d4ea

2010 Reform Symposium

I just completed a fabulous weekend of educational technology by participating in The 2010 Reform Symposium. Where did this wonderful experience take place and at what cost? Let me share a little secret with you. Location: the comfort of my home, in my office with plenty of coffee at hand. Cost: $0.00 FREE. Impossible you say! Not so because of the following terrific, industrious people in my PLN: Shelly Terrell - @shellterrell, Chris Rogers - @MrROg3rs, Kelly Tenkely - @ktenkely, and Jason Bedell - @jasontbedell. They worked with Steve Hargadon and Elluminate who ...   more...

Looking Ahead at Social Learning

Andrew Barras (Educational Stormfront) has posted another very interesting blog on Social Learning for the next ten years.

AKA crudbasher says:
I really liked this article. Basically the authors are predicting how learning will change in the next 10 years. Interestingly they aren’t talking about this in the context of education, but in the context of workplace continuing education. I think that industry will take the lead on innovative learning techniques in the future.
It’s important to remember that learning can happen without schools. If schools want to ...   more...

On the Learning Today Blog, Amanda Kenuam, has an excellent post titled Web 3.0, Networked Literacy, and Information Fluency | #ISTE10. She reports on information from Gary Hayes (Web 3.0 & Social Media Counts), Jeff Utecht (Networked Literacy), Anglea Maiers (21^st Century Teaching and Learning), plus tidbits from #ISTE10 and ebc10. Wonderful reading for all in education!

http://bit.ly/dofMSl  

Last fall I viewed an Alan November video “Myths and Opportunities: Technology in the Classroom”. Two comments by November that spoke to me were: kids need to make contributions in the real world community and let students have more control of their learning. Along with being inspired, the video challenge my thinking about teachers and their control of student learning.

Today Kyle Pace sent the following RT: Awesome...RT @mbteach: So inspired by this video of/by Alan November http://vimeo.com/3930740

I took a second look at the video and continue to be impressed with its content. What about you?
Myths and Opportunities: Technology in the Classroom...   more...

New Children's Book - Riley's Lost Tooth

As a husband, I certainly have the right to do a little bragging on my wife. Diane's second children's book was released in the spring of 2010. The book is titled Riley's Lost Tooth and was written for our granddaughter as a Valentine's gift the year she lost her first tooth. As with her first book, Goodbye Baby Max, the illustrator is Heather Castles. The illustrations have been captivating to those reading both of the books. Do you have a child or grand child soon to be losing their first tooth? Riley's Lost Tooth might be just the perfect gift ...   more...

ISTE 2010 - Ian Jukes & Lee Crockett on Education the Next 10 Years

Greg Mortenson

Greg Mortenson and Edutopia Webinar

Number One in Education is Relationships

Mr. Connelly was a great principal because of the relationships he built with our families and the atmosphere of excellence he fostered among the staff.

I want to share ...   more...

Hole In The Wall Project

Edna from the whatedsaid blog once again has my mind buzzing with a fascinating set of ideas and values dealing with education. She has introduced me to Dr. Sugata Mitra and his data on technology, children, and learning with children in India. The Hole In The Wall Project shows us the power of what children can learn if they have access to technology. The links below will reveal Dr. Mitra’s work and expand your thinking on children with access to technology. Exciting material!

http://bit.ly/at7MIG 

http://bit.ly/beai9V

http://bit.ly/cVGPRL