I have been blessed to have spent the last 3-4 months working with eleven 7th and 8th graders as they create projects for the annual PA Middle School Computer Fair. We are now only a couple of weeks away from the Fair and I can’t help but reflect on the way my role working with…
Right now my students and I are in the middle of a research project. One of the most important things that we are delving into right now is honing our skills in evaluating websites for accuracy and bias. We did the traditional exercise of evaluating the Northwestern Tree Octopus and then I gave them the…
I recently heard a conversation on the BAM Radio Network entitled, “Teachers, Tattoos, Piercings and Provocative Dress: Fashion Anarchy vs Fashion Fascism?” As someone who has spent a large portion of her life as a non-conformist, I definitely connected with the topic. First, let me say that I believe that the way teachers dress for…
Z loves everything about the planets, the stars, black holes, and anything Space-related. He can rattle off facts and is a very bright child. He is also disorganized, can lose focus easily and works fairly slowly. In a nutshell, he doesn’t “play school” well, but in a different learning environment, he’d thrive. T is bright…
It’s that time of the year again. The closing of another year, time spent celebrating with friends and family and often a time when we pause and reflect on many things. During Thanksgiving we harken back to the celebratory feast in Plymouth Colony and give thanks for all we have. In a month or so,…
A little over a month ago, fate brought me and Jonathan Leung from University of Pennsylvania together at a PhilaSoupevent. I was sitting next to Jonathan at the event and when I found out he was a Computer Science major, I began to share the details of an exciting project I’ve been working on. We…
I am always proud to be a Philadelphia educator as the annual Educonconference approaches. It’s a magical time of year when educators from across the US gather to explore deep pedagogical questions, network, laugh and enjoy some of the best restaurants on the East Coast (no bias!) What makes Educon so special? Size Educon, unlike…
On Saturday, I had the wonderful opportunity of leading a workshop on Digital Citizenship at the National Liberty Museum here in Philadelphia. One of the most important conversations to have at the start of the day is about the meaning and importance of citizenship in general. We spent the morning coming up with a common…
First of all, I have to thank my friend, Kim Sivick for sharing this awesome gadget with me. ————————————————————————————————————————————– Today I received my Makey Makey kit in the mail and I haven’t stopped playing with it. First, I opened the box. Once I had it all plugged in, I immediately got some bananas and got…
I just finished reading the 2nd edition of Using Technology with Classroom Instruction that Works, a guide for educators who already are familiar with Classroom Instruction that Works. I must confess, I haven’t read Classroom Instruction that Works (it’s been on my to-read list forever), so while I was familiar with many of the strategies in the book,…