On June 29, 1956, President Dwight D. Eisenhower signed the Federal-Aid Highway Act, creating a “national system of interstate and defense highways.” The work to create a national system of highways, now something we seemingly take for granted, was nearly an unprecedented public first waged by President Franklin D. Roosevelt with a bill of the […]
technology
Posted inInstruction & Curriculum
Don’t Be Tooled by Your Technology
Technology can be a tool, but also a trap The tools technology has brought to education can come with conveniences and learning opportunities. For example, many classrooms in my district, if not most, now have a SMART Board. I didn’t even know what a SMART Board was until just a few years ago. Now my district […]
Posted inInstruction & Curriculum
Keep That Smartphone Out: Teaching in the Age of Technology
Most educators in today’s world remember a time when access to technology was difficult to come by. For instance, my family didn’t have internet access until I was in junior high, and even then, those were the days of “dial-up”, where things took forever to load and where you couldn’t be on the phone and […]
Posted inInstruction & Curriculum
Back To School Hacks: Digitize Your Syllabus and Lesson Plans!
This year I’m going back to school with a twist – I’m going to digitize my syllabus and lesson plans! A few years back, I experimented with different ways to engage students on the first day – and first weeks – of school. Building relationships, engaging my classroom, and creating a sense of excitement helps […]
Posted inInstruction & Curriculum
Making STEM Matter in Schools
I just got back from a fascinating conference about the state of STEM in U.S. schools, sponsored by U.S. News and World Report. I was compelled by the idea of making STEM matter in schools; as a middle school teacher, I know this is the prime time to hook kids into STEM. This is the […]
Posted inHow to Fix Education
The STEM Revolution in Higher Education
I just got back from a fascinating conference about the state of STEM in U.S. schools, sponsored by U.S. News and World Report! I was compelled by the idea of a STEM revolution in higher education; as a middle school teacher, it really didn’t occur to me that colleges would be reacting in a similar […]
Posted inHow to Fix Education
The State of STEM in U.S. Schools
I just got back from an exciting conference about the state of STEM in U.S. schools, sponsored by U.S. News and World Report! As an AVID teacher and coordinator, I was invited to San Diego to learn more about how to include STEM into AVID’s college and career readiness program. STEM is an acronym representing […]
Posted inCommon Core
Teaching Writing With Hyperdocs
If you’re looking for a new approach to teaching writing, you’ve got to try teaching with hyperdocs. What are hyperdocs? According to their creators, Lisa Highfill, Kelly Hilton and Sarah Landis, hyperdocs are “a transformative, interactive, personalized engaging too to help facilitate student creativity and collaboration” (The Hyperdoc Handbook). And I can testify that hyperdocs […]