One of the arguments I hear from time to time against the expansion of 1:1 technology in the classroom is that too much technology will turn students into passive learners who have their eyes glued to a screen all day. I think it’s helpful, therefore, to consider the difference between consumptive technology vs. creative technology.… [Read more…]
May 21, 2012
Some wonderful former students who are now graduating seniors came back for a visit. The conversation drifted back to my time with them in elementary school. Student A: “Do you still teach cursive?” Me: “Yes.” (Students A and B begin laughing) Student A, trying to be polite: “Yeah… no one uses that.”
March 16, 2012
Last Sunday, 60 Minutes ran a lengthy segment on Khan Academy. The edublogosphere reacted powerfully to that episode. Most intriguing was a post from Dan Meyer, who notes that kids don’t actually like watching Khan Academy videos (that is, they prefer to try to conquer new problems without video help, then turn to the videos… [Read more…]
February 27, 2012
Writer and blogger extraordinaire Seth Godin offers his long-awaited “manifesto” about education in this free ebook entitled “Stop Stealing Dreams.” Godin writes, as always, as a big-picture thinker whose goal is to get you inspired to cause change, although he’s always (intentionally?) vague about what exactly that change would look like. I guess that’s for… [Read more…]
February 24, 2012
Today, the New York City Dept. of Ed. released teacher ratings for over 12,000 teachers who taught fourth through eighth grade English or math between 2007 and 2010. These “value-added” ratings compared student test scores from one year to the next, and teachers were graded on whether their overall student scores advanced or declined for… [Read more…]
February 18, 2012
For some time now, I’ve been befuddled by the national education rhetoric here in the United States. Why would anyone want to put so much emphasis on standardized tests, effectively narrowing the curriculum and virtually ensuring that students learn only about things that can be measured by a Scantron machine? Why would anyone compare the… [Read more…]
February 15, 2012
Back in 2008, I posted what I called a Student Bil of Rights. This was a 10-point list of “inalienable” rights I felt should be afforded to all students in all schools. I included things like, “All students have the right to be safe throughout each school day” and “All students have the right to… [Read more…]
February 13, 2012
The success of any 1:1 program — whether for a classroom, school, or entire district — is dependent on much more than just the computers themselves. Today’s New York Times piece about the highly successful 4th-12th grade 1:1 program in Mooresville, North Carolina, does an excellent job of pointing out some of the other factors,… [Read more…]
February 10, 2012
Is there any educational website that generates more strong reactions than Khan Academy? One very thorough, well-written post over at Mathalicious from this past week went so far as to say that Khan Academy “may be one of the most dangerous phenomena in education today.” It continues: “By all measures, Khan Academy offers substandard math… [Read more…]
February 10, 2012
The folks over at www.worldeducationgames.com are running a 3-day extravaganza this year: World Spelling Day on March 6th, World Math Day on March 7th, and World Science Day on March 8th, 2012. These fun contests allow students to compete in online spelling, math, and science challenges against students from around the world. The best part… [Read more…]
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May 21, 2012
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