Watertown 1 to 1

The new MacArthur Foundation study is, as Will Richardson says, a “must read” for all teachers. As a tease, here are the salient points:

There is a generation gap in how youth and adults view the value of online activity.

Adults tend to be in the dark about what youth are doing online, and often view online [...]

Read Full Post »

Wayne Gretzky, whom some say is this greatest hockey player of all time, was asked a question many sports greats are asked: “How do you account for your excellence?”
Gretzky’s response was simple, yet profound. He allegedly said, “I skate to where the puck is going to be, not where it’s already been.”
Call me Pollyanna but [...]

Read Full Post »

I was sitting in front of one of my computers yesterday afternoon and I accidentally activated the built-in camera and my own face stared back at me. The person I saw looked very tired.
I have talked to over 30 teachers in our school this week about a variety of issues and I have noticed that [...]

Read Full Post »

A teacher walked into my room yesterday and, without any prompt from me, said, “You think I’m a dinosaur, don’t you?”
“What do you mean?” I asked. And he went on to say that the session I hosted about social networks and the seminar I held on millennial learners imply that the “tried and true” [...]

Read Full Post »

Last night I hosted our first “Thursday Chat.” We have had few colleagial discussions about the technology we are using and I wanted to provide a forum. Present at the discussion were 7 educators and (to my great surprise) 4 students. The students are members of my Student Laptop committee.
The general topic was the young [...]

Read Full Post »

I was at an Apple training seminar yesterday in Sioux Falls and for a moment my interest waned and I went online to check my my school email and my favorite blogs. And the first thing I came across was this entry at Will Richardson’s Weblogg-ed. (Oh, and yes, I was multi-tasking!)
Because I figured it [...]

Read Full Post »

In October I set up an information booth at our 1st quarter midterm conferences with the hopes that parents might stop by with questions and comments. I didn’t have many customers that night but one parent inadvertently taught me something that has changed my thinking and which had added to the mission I and others [...]

Read Full Post »

As technology integrationist, I am inclined to be frustrated from time to time. To me, the word “progress” means that teachers are using technology in powerful and creative ways and that they are working to further their understanding of both the technology and their students. Why the frustration? I’ve found that progress is hard to [...]

Read Full Post »

I am in my early 50s and when I say “facebook” to most people my age I get a limited set of responses. One response is the blank look. The look says, “What’s that?” A more common response is the frown and then: “Facebook is bad,” “internet predators,” or “waste of time and frivolous.”
Because I [...]

Read Full Post »

After a bit of a break (3 months?) its time for me to revive this blog. And my first blog entry of the new school year is an email message I sent out to the staff. Perhaps you’ll get some insight into our growing pains:
The phone rings. I answer.
Me: “Good morning”
Caller: “WebCT. . . .”
Me: [...]

Read Full Post »