IT #1: Greatest lesson: Teacher buy-in is overrated
One of the greatest lessons my 30 years of experience in education has taught me is that teacher buy-in is, sometimes, overrated.
#4: 5 ways teachers can improve student learning based on current brain research
Educators can positively influence students’ learning by understanding how the brain is shaped by their early experiences—and how it can be rewired and reorganized to work more quickly…
#5: 5 big takeaways from redesigning learning spaces
The U.S. Department of Education and the Illinois State Board of Education had already recognized our schools in Kildeer Countryside Community Consolidated School District 96 in southern Lake…
#7: Greatest lesson: Teacher buy-in is overrated
One of the greatest lessons my 30 years of experience in education has taught me is that teacher buy-in is, sometimes, overrated.
How school IT pros can use BYOD principles to ace the BYOA test
Just when school IT administrators thought they were on level ground after wading through the murky waters of BYOD (bring-your-own-device), a new challenge has emerged.
#8: 3 must-have skills for today’s librarians
It’s the 21st century, and school librarians are no longer just “the keepers of the books.” Librarians and media specialists are highly trained, highly versatile staff members, whose…
#9: 4 good computer habits every teacher should have
They say computers make life easier. I say they sometimes make our lives miserable. During the past two years, I've visited Apple’s Genius Bar eight times. I've watched…
Are gifted students now an underserved population?
With all of the focus on helping struggling students achieve grade-level proficiency, students at the very top end of the academic spectrum often aren’t getting the challenges they…
Are you Dyslexia aware? Take this short, 10 question quiz
Dyslexic learners struggle in school and often do not receive the help they need due to a lack of educator and parental awareness. In order to reverse the…
Block and tackle: How to mitigate a cyberattack on your school
Cyber-attacks have been making headlines after massive data breaches at Fortune 500 companies. According to a recent report by the Business Continuity Institute[1] and the British Standards Institution,…
Why this school is thriving after implementing a 100% blended learning model
Located in downtown Providence, Rhode Island, 225 students along with the faculty and staff of the Village Green Virtual Charter High School (VGV) have been pioneering the school…
The biggest lessons librarians learned in 2017
For the sake of our students, we must embrace the changing role of the school librarian. 2017 was a year filled with makerspaces, student engagement, personalized learning, and…
Innovative tech standards want your feedback
None of us would leave for a destination without a plan of action, without a direction and the right equipment to complete the journey. We all know that…
This “open” innovation may indicate the future of learning
My hometown of Gastonia is a quiet place. Scant traffic. Nice neighbors. Folks still offer you a sweet tea when you visit. By most accounts it’s a sleepy…
Why keeping parents and kids connected in the early years is critical
In more than 60 percent of all two-parent households, both parents work, and in nearly all of these households, at least one parent is employed. This means that…
Why, and how, warranties should guide edtech purchasing
School technology leaders are faced with the buying decisions of products for an entire school or district. These types of edtech purchases are a sizeable investment and, unfortunately,…
4 ways to improve STEM professional development
In Charlotte County Public Schools (CCPS), all 10 of our elementary schools have a STEM lab. As early as kindergarten, students begin engaging in hands-on learning and exploring…
3 apps that lead to improved executive functioning skills
According to LD Online, the formal definition of executive functioning is “a set of processes that all have to do with ... Read more
How to protect school district servers from overseas cybercriminals
Educational institutions must be prepared for cyber attacks. Cyber criminals are increasingly sophisticated and are non-discriminatory in their target selection as long as they believe they can make…
How to reach high achievement through listening skills
I worked on the skill of being an effective group member and continue to do so. Many of my consulting colleagues, within their work on coaching, collaborating and…
8 top YouTube channels to boost classroom lessons
With so many videos on YouTube, how do you find the good stuff? You know, those perfect, one-of-a-kind, just-right-for-your-lesson videos--the ones that make you think, "Oh, my students…
Incredible: Teachers are forming job-specific collaboration networks. Here’s why and how
A large percentage of public school districts across the U.S. are comprised of 15 or fewer schools; 46 percent of districts have fewer than 1,000 students and a…
Language Arts teacher: These are “My Tech Essentials” for high schoolers
Being well-versed in literature means to be able to use the power of imagination to support and describe the essence of the subject. This is where the task…
4 exciting trends that will define the 2018 education industry
The education industry saw so many notable, significant changes this past year–from an increased focus on augmented reality and other visual technologies to make learning come alive, to…
How to use engineering practices for more effective STEM learning
“What if schools could offer a different approach to STEM education that provided students with truly immersive learning opportunities?” That question came to Ethan Berman, founder of i2…
Edtech is booming-but does it make better teachers?
Kids are natural learners, but sometimes schools create an environment where learning does not happen naturally. Many children are struggling with such essential skills like problem-solving, creative thinking…
The top 5 cybersecurity threats for schools
You’d be hard-pressed today to find a school that doesn’t consider safety a high priority. We go to great lengths ... Read more
Wow! District creates revolutionary computer science program for K-12 students
Through a partnership with nonprofit Nextech and a collaboration with Apple, the Metropolitan School District (MSD) of Decatur Township in ... Read more
Are these preschools changing the future?
Since 2008, Utah has given its families an alternative to preschool called Upstart. Developed and administered through a state contract with the Waterford Institute, the Upstart program provides…
A new generation craves this kind of curriculum
The generation in school now is the first generation raised entirely in the Age of Technology. They are digital natives, many of them using computers, smartphones, and other…
Student: When will we start teaching kids how to hack? Soon, I hope-here’s why
The recent Equifax security breach, which affected essentially every other person in the US, is just the latest example of our vulnerability in the face of cybercriminals–and further…
3 educational technology tools to be thankful for
The three Ts: Thanksgiving, turkey and tech. It’s a given we’re all thankful for the first two – spending time with family and friends and devouring a giant…
How to step up IT maturity for success at a large school district
Denver Public Schools (DPS) has nearly 14,000 employees-just about as many as IKEA does in the US or Facebook does in total. DPS is among the 50 largest…
Hey educators: Are you trustworthy? Here are 4 vital signs for identifying and assessing trust in schools
Trust is a big word. It may be just one syllable and it’s certainly not a word the Spelling Bee organizers would consider a great challenge (or have…
Textbooks optional: What unbundling and BYOD mean for learning technology
The days of overhead projectors and chalkboards are behind us. Today’s educators are looking to Chromebooks, smartphones and maker spaces to enhance their teaching. Other tools going the…
3 reasons to introduce kindergarteners to robots
The children we teach were born with technology as a part of their lives. They don’t know a world without touchscreen phones and computers in every room. In…
Fascinating: Can analytics help schools hire the best teachers?
As K-12 school administrators know, finding the best talent for their schools is becoming more challenging, with fewer people entering the teaching profession and more teachers retiring. With…
4 tips for learning retention
Is there a secret to retaining what we learn? What about our children? Children, particularly those in grammar school, are extraordinarily able to learn and recall, but there…
3 free technologies to take PBL to the next level
With more than 20 years in the classroom and at schools, I have always aimed to inspire students and teachers to make learning authentic and relevant to the…