Posted inClassroom Management, Parents, Technology

Communication: It’s Not Just Newsletters Anymore

[fusion_builder_container hundred_percent=”yes” overflow=”visible”][fusion_builder_row][fusion_builder_column type=”1_1″ background_position=”left top” background_color=”” border_size=”” border_color=”” border_style=”solid” spacing=”yes” background_image=”” background_repeat=”no-repeat” padding=”” margin_top=”0px” margin_bottom=”0px” class=”” id=”” animation_type=”” animation_speed=”0.3″ animation_direction=”left” hide_on_mobile=”no” center_content=”no” min_height=”none”] The first newspaper was published in America in 1690.*  This changed the way information was shared: from tales and gossip to written word.  Beginning in 1885, newspapers were delivered daily by train. […]

Posted inBook Review, Technology

“Interactive Whiteboards in the Elementary Classroom” – A Book Review

Book:  Interactive Whiteboards in the Elementary Classroom Author: Tony DeMonte Publisher: ISTE, 2013   [fusion_builder_container hundred_percent=”yes” overflow=”visible”][fusion_builder_row][fusion_builder_column type=”1_1″ background_position=”left top” background_color=”” border_size=”” border_color=”” border_style=”solid” spacing=”yes” background_image=”” background_repeat=”no-repeat” padding=”” margin_top=”0px” margin_bottom=”0px” class=”” id=”” animation_type=”” animation_speed=”0.3″ animation_direction=”left” hide_on_mobile=”no” center_content=”no” min_height=”none”] Technology is popping up everywhere in our world.  My two-year-old grabs my phone and knows the apps he […]

Posted inFeatured, Instruction & Curriculum, Technology

Flipping My Classroom With Edmodo

By guest columnist Leanne Hudleston [fusion_builder_container hundred_percent=”yes” overflow=”visible”][fusion_builder_row][fusion_builder_column type=”1_1″ background_position=”left top” background_color=”” border_size=”” border_color=”” border_style=”solid” spacing=”yes” background_image=”” background_repeat=”no-repeat” padding=”” margin_top=”0px” margin_bottom=”0px” class=”” id=”” animation_type=”” animation_speed=”0.3″ animation_direction=”left” hide_on_mobile=”no” center_content=”no” min_height=”none”] When my principal approached me and asked if I’d ever heard of “flipping my classroom,” my initial chuckle was soon replaced with confusion because I wasn’t familiar […]

Posted inInstruction & Curriculum, Literacy, Middle School, Technology

Using Technology in the English/Language Arts Classroom for "Sophisticated Responses"

The headline in The New York Times (6/13/2013) was a little misleading: “Study Gauges Value of Technology in Schools.”  The topic of gauging the value of technology is particularly significant given the investment by school districts everywhere in laptops, tablets, computer labs, Smartboards, whiteboards and projectors; but the article only referred to the use of technology in math […]

Posted inInstruction & Curriculum, Technology

Computer Programming in the Elementary Classroom, Part 2: The Reality

Last week I wrote an article about teaching computer programming in elementary classrooms.  I know, there are things you have to cover that seem to override computer programming.  It seems like something extra to do at the end of the school year, after testing, when your curriculum has been covered.  And administrators like to see results […]

Posted inInstruction & Curriculum, Middle School, Technology

Computer Programming in the Elementary Classroom (Part 1)

[fusion_builder_container hundred_percent=”yes” overflow=”visible”][fusion_builder_row][fusion_builder_column type=”1_1″ background_position=”left top” background_color=”” border_size=”” border_color=”” border_style=”solid” spacing=”yes” background_image=”” background_repeat=”no-repeat” padding=”” margin_top=”0px” margin_bottom=”0px” class=”” id=”” animation_type=”” animation_speed=”0.3″ animation_direction=”left” hide_on_mobile=”no” center_content=”no” min_height=”none”] We teach our students to prepare them for their futures.  Elementary educators know it goes beyond our classroom walls and what our students learn inside these walls.  We see the path […]

Posted inCurrent Events in Education, High School, Literacy, Middle School, School Improvement, Teacher Branding, Technology

School is Out for the Summer – What is Next?

“What is next for me personally?”  is great question.  In its simplicity and sincerity this question has  left me believing that someone actually cares about my answer.  Our middle and high school have already begun its professional development for next year’s fall semester and a move towards implementing 1:1 IPads  for students.  Because this carries […]

Posted inElementary School, Featured, Instruction & Curriculum, Kindergarten, Technology

Paper or Paperless Classrooms?

Ready or not, my rural high school is preparing to deliver 1:1 iPads to our entire middle and high school populations next fall. Furtive conversations abound in halls and at lunch gatherings as we debate the possibilities and traditional needs of classroom learning. There has always been a fine line between reliance on products that facilitate […]