Several people have asked me what I do with my students for the first few days of school. So, I thought I would take some time and share what we did to get this year off to a great start. We read The Dot by Peter H. Reynolds. This book always sets a great tone for the beginning of the school year. It has great life lessons about never giving ...

It's all around us: the negativity about what's wrong with education, what must be repaired. I've written several blogs explaining some of the practices that my students and I have put into place because there are things that need to be re-evaluated. However, in the last month I've had the great fortune to hear stories from some of the most ...

Yes, I used the ''F'' word in my title...fun. Fun is a word that has been banned from many individual's vocabulary when speaking about education. People tend to feel that the word ''fun'' means that there is a free-for-all playground going on in the classroom with little to no learning occurring. That is unfortunate because fun, humor, cartoons, ...

Last week, I was in a training session where we were observing a mock lesson that modeled explicit teaching. Once it was over, we were led into a group discussion about what we had observed. Immediately negative comments were made placing the blame solely on the students. As the negativity escalated, I knew I needed to speak up. I also knew how ...

There’s been a ton of conversation in our office lately about what the future of education looks like in Kansas. With economic issues, core curriculum standards and NCLB concerns on their plate, it seems as if schools are moving backwards towards a 1950s instructional model rather than one focusing on the 21st century. It’s a concern that I know ...

Educators, what are some strategies for connecting the classroom with the outside world? NOTE: I’d like to share responses in an upcoming workshop/presentation and on my blog and wiki. You can submit your ideas using the form below, share your text/audio/video reply in the Comments section of this post or respond via Twitter, Plurk or on [...]

Please take a moment to enjoy this thought provoking reflection on the role of technology in education. This article contains my thoughts on the National Middle School Conference 2009 and its potential impact on 21st century learning and technology. It covers some of the featured speakers along with thoughts,  links, and videos to allow you to ...

FREE Interactive whiteboard activities available. They are fun and interactive. Looks great on the whiteboard and desktop computer. www.aartpack.com/aartpack/time www.aartpack.com/aartpack/clock

Hi all, I came across a great webinar hosted by Google next week - it's free and online -- check it out!! Google Webinar: Teaching Search in the Classroom Date: August 19, 2009 Time: 5:00PM – 6:00PM Panelists: Googler Dan Russell (Google Search Quality Expert); Google Certified Teachers Lucy Gray, Kathleen Ferenz, and Cheryl ...

This video is worth your time since the speaker is a key person at the J. Paul Getty Foundation which studies education. Education is supposed to ready our future leaders .... is that getting done? What are the accomplishments of schools and how does school nurture creativity? I think this is an excellent talk and well worth your 18 minutes to ...