Category: Learning
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Ten Year Plan: One-to-One Programs Are Not Worth It
Perhaps I’ve gotten your attention with the title. Please take the time to think about what’s on my mind here. If I look out over the next ten years, pushing and prodding toward better learning, dedicating time and resources to implementing a one-to-one computing program is not worth it. That is not to say that…
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TechYES
We introduced the TechYES program to a pilot group of students today. The Gifted Programming teacher and myself are taking a group of 12 students through the certification process this semester to get a full understanding of how this can work. The initial reaction from the students was very positive. When they understood that THEY…
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Sage Advice
During our Monday morning school reading period, I like to read through the pile of educational technology magazines that normally stack up (and until we began this reading time were often ignored…). Top on the pile this week was Edutopia (one of my favorites). In the monthly feature, Sage Advice, the question put to readers…
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Raw Materials for the Mind
I just finished David Warlick’s book, Raw Materials for the Mind. David is a terrific writer (and speaker) and lays out how the digital age has transformed how we can (and should) learn. Two of his summary points stand out: Citing Sources (p.192): Always cite your sources Seek permission when possible Seek Professional Development (p.288-9):…
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A School is People Learning: Revisited
Forgive me for waxing a bit philosophical here, but I want to spend a bit of time revisiting my mantra for education…A School is People Learning. I first wrote about it here during NYSCATE last year, and reaffirmed it here just before this school year started. This year’s NYSCATE brought it back again. At Milton…
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Learning is Everywhere
I continue to be amazed at how learning opportunities are all around, and sneak up when you least expect it. Tonight I was co-teaching an inservice class, and while watching my colleague demonstrate something, I was learning many new insights and ideas for a topic I was already familiar with. One of the great joys…
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While We’re on the Topic of Science
Following up immediately on the previous post, and speaking of great science teachers… Another lesson today was with Mr. Trombley and Mrs. Krieger (current gifted programming teacher and former science teacher). The three of us and another teacher are working together on our Professional Study Plans. We are in year 3 , which means we…
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An Answer to the “Copy and Paste” World
Just finished a lesson today with our excellent science teacher, Mrs. Merlino. She is starting a unit on photosynthesis, and we introduced the students to the notecard tool within NoodleBib. The notecard tool allows the students to copy and paste direct quotations from a source, and then provides scaffolding for them to put what they…
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Harsh – But Gets the Ball Rolling…
In David Warlick’s book Raw Materials for the Mind (4th ed.), he has the following quote in the introduction: “IT Departments do not work for the technology. They work for the teachers, to make sure that teachers can use the technology to produce the learning experiences that they know need to happen in their classrooms.…
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The Beginning
My summer reading list did not get too long, but the books I read were awesome! See the recently read list in the sidebar at right for my book list. Interestingly, two of the books, totally different in nature, ended the same way. Each had as the closing, “The Beginning,” instead of, “The End.” Peter…