3 outstanding tips for training new and veteran teachers
Research tells us that students’ attention spans correlate to their ages, but did you know that this applies to adults as well? In fact, humans have less of…
A 3-step recipe for personalized learning
What are the ingredients and directions in a recipe for personalized learning? Take one learning platform (because we want only one place to go for everything) and add…
It’s time to change our learning model
As a 22-year-old first-year teacher, I was introduced to one of the biggest challenges within our schools. While setting up my classroom, my principal came by to deliver…
10 districts with awesome brands
No one is great at everything, but everyone is great at something. These 10 school districts identified why their district is awesome, then structured everything they do around…
Get the most out of LinkedIn
Until recently my professional social media presence was exclusively on Twitter (@matthewxjoseph). That was until I had a conversation with a successful and reputable professional—Rita Oates—who told me…
Does your district’s PL measure up?
Is your current professional learning (PL) program aligned with the federal definition of professional learning? Can you measure your progress against your organizational goals? How does your organization…
9 things schools can do today to improve attendance
Excused absences, unexcused absences, suspensions—all contribute to chronic absenteeism, which is defined as missing 10 percent or more school days per year. While the causes vary, chronic absenteeism…
5 best practices for teaching challenging subjects
One of the most effective ways to cultivate skills such as empathy, problem solving, and emotion management is to help students productively struggle through an examination of the…
6 things you need to know about digital badges
Today’s classrooms use a variety of learning approaches, some formal like lectures and some informal like watching videos. As a teacher, your learning is no different and your…
Now is the time to transform how we teach students with autism
America, we may have a problem. The CDC recently announced new prevalence rates for autism. The increase from 1 in 68 to 1 in 59 children identified as having…
Edtech expands to the stadium
Video scoreboards have long been an important feature of professional and college stadiums and other sports facilities. Now high schools are eyeing these boards as a way to…
Data-driven learning, not instruction, is the future of education
Data-driven instruction may be the popular catchphrase in education, but in a recent edWebinar, the speakers advocated for data-driven learning. The student, they said, should be at the…
The New Librarian: How to build a face-to-face PLN in 3 easy steps
By now the term professional learning network (PLN) is used very often, but much of the time it refers to the virtual type, meaning our online colleagues and…
A look inside an innovative high school
High school graduation is one of the big milestones of life. Regardless of the destination, the transition is a major one. To ensure the transition is successful, schools…
4 tips for making your coaching experience impactful
Professional development is changing. There are numerous new models: blended learning, personalized learning, culturally responsive teaching, and more. There is new technology: learning management systems, apps, websites, and…
5 steps to guarantee your PD for PBL is on point
What kind of professional development (PD) is needed in order for project-based learning (PBL) to be done well, spread throughout a school, and stick? Short answer: a lot.
How Wearables, AR, and VR Help Students Develop SEL Skills (Part 1)
In her post, “Now is the Time to Redefine Readiness,” my colleague Katherine Prince detailed how the world of work is changing, creating an urgent need to redefine…
4 terrific teacher communities for summer PD
Keeping up on skills over the summer isn’t just for students. The summer break is a great time for teachers to take advantage of those professional development (PD)…
Beware of ransomware: Here’s how to protect your district
A new, disturbing pattern has cropped back up that is reminiscent of some nasty behavior from the early days of Internet nefarious exploits: targeting schools and students and…
5 ways Quizlet helped increase test scores and morale in my classroom
With growing classroom sizes, it can be tricky to ensure that every student is motivated and challenged with activities tailored to their specific needs. While textbook readings and…
3 ways I instill a growth mindset in my students
For my math students, having a growth mindset—the belief that intelligence can be developed through application—removes the idea that some students are good at math and some students…
5 educators share their ISTE experiences
ISTE18 for all students: The mindset & top 5 tools for inclusive best practice One size fits none when it ... Read more
How to start a virtual coding boot camp in five easy steps
It never ceases to amaze me when I see a middle school student excelling at virtual robot simulations, a seventh grader using computer code to solve a STEM…
App of the Week: Sworkit Kids
Sworkit Kids What’s It Like? Both physical education (PE) and classroom teachers can use Sworkit Kids to get kids exercising. ... Read more
4 ways to make high-impact teaching a reality
I’ve been very fortunate to travel the world and work in classrooms in the United States, Australia, Asia, and the U.K., and have seen phenomenal teaching everywhere I…
One way to manage stress: Focus on self-care
In 1995, Robert Kegan, now emeritus professor at Harvard’s Graduate School of Education, wrote a book entitled In Over Our Heads: The Mental Demands of Modern Life. He…
It’s time to become the storyteller-in-chief for your school
When polled about public perception of K-12 schools in the United States, attendees of the recent edWebinar, “Transform Your School’s Brand by Becoming a Storyteller-In-Chief,” offered mixed results.…
How schools can address mental health to reduce school violence
With another school shooting just down the road from me last month, it was sobering to see parents and community members leaving positive Post-it notes and sidewalk chalk…
Best practices for developing proficient writers
Too often when teachers say they are teaching writing, they mean that they are assigning writing work to their students, but they aren’t actually helping students master the…
It’s not your grandfather’s SAT prep
From a rise in test-optional schools to redesigns that move away from being a test of “how well you can learn how to take the tests,” the last few…
10 tools for blended schools
With many schools now practicing blended learning, it can be helpful for educators interested in blended-learning programs to know which edtech tools are being used. For over five…
Why design thinking isn’t just for techies
I was really intimidated when I first heard about design thinking. I also had a lot of questions: What is design thinking? Isn’t it just for techies? How…
App of the Week: Human Resource Machine EDU
Ed. note: App of the Week picks are now being curated by the editors of Common Sense Education, which helps educators find ... Read more
Got STEM funding? Here’s how to use it
Schools lack the resources they need to properly offer coding education to students. So it’s not surprising that U.S. employers have only been able to fill 10 percent of…
Great podcast episodes for students and teachers
There are lots of teachers who love listening to podcasts and want to share that passion with their students. But many aren’t sure how to justify using podcasts…
Calling all leaders: Hope is not a strategy
Hope is critical to greatness but not the strategy to achieve it. Hope is not wishful thinking—as in “I hope I win the lottery.” It is the core…
5 modern education myths debunked
In the industrial setting, Industry 4.0 is a term that analysts use to describe the automation and data exchange that are used in manufacturing technologies, and this involves…
Sneak peak at 3 new product launches at ISTE 2018
I had the opportunity to get a sneak peak look at some ISTE 2018 vendor launches before the ropes were dropped at the expo. STEAM “The price of…
How can we make personalized learning work?
Educators around the country are excited about the potential of personalized learning, but before we can make it an everyday reality, we first need to agree on what…
App of the Week: Mentimeter
Ed. note: App of the Week picks are now being curated by the editors of Common Sense Education, which helps educators find ... Read more