The Bridge International Academy (BIA) came across my gaze this week in a feature article from Wired Magazine. Guest edited by Bill Gates, the issue highlights several of his philanthropic investments around the world. What strikes me about the model of BIA is the conspicuous lack of edtech in the hands of the students. In […]
The Challenge of Managing Student Data in the Cloud
Call it what you want; the digital revolution, the cloud migration, one-to-one. The move to pervasive use of computing as the medium for education is underway. Schools around the world have moved beyond teacher websites, and are empowering students to both access curriculum and create products to demonstrate their learning entirely in the digital medium. […]
Why the Chromebook Matters..
In 1998 I attended a mini conference at Sun Microsystems in Redwood City, California. I was there because a more seasoned teacher, Larry, who had taken me under his wing, told me it would be fun. We sat in a small conference hall with a bunch of engineers while a bespectacled, big-haired guy at the […]
What would Maria Montessori Say About Edtech?
What would Maria Montessori say about the use of the edtech available to us as we approach the year 2013? Heaven forbid any actual Montessori educators should read this post. My summaries of Montessori ideas and structures most certainly do not do justice to the wonderful body of work Maria Montessori left behind, nor do […]
What Arne Duncan Said to Me Last Week
On Wednesday of last week, several members of the US Department of Education kicked off their Back to School Bus Tour at the high school where I teach science in Redwood City, California. The visit was an edtech themed visit, and spotlighted a panel discussion that included edtech pop stars Sal Khan of the Khan […]
Entrepreneur Education to Save Our Dominance
Four weeks ago I was sitting at Sharon Park Starbucks in Menlo Park chatting with two colleagues about the currently ongoing Connected Educator Month. A young man with a Cheshire Cat grin approached our table with a, Yes, there are raffle tickets in my back pocket that I would like to sell you, look on […]
Questions at the Beginning
Motivating questions have been used by master teachers probably for as long as humans have inhabited their neocortex. An inspiring question targets the background, interests, and capabilities of a student. Such a question can be a launching pad for discussion, inquiry, and a starting place for a learning trajectory. This summer, I have the privilege […]
Summer of Video
Is there a difference between watching Sal Khan on the internet and having him teach you face to face? According to Sal’s cousins there is. In his TED appearance, Sal reveals that his cousins told him they prefer his internet videos to his in-person tutoring. The reason they prefer their virtual cousin to the real […]
Why “Just How Small is the Atom” Has the Most Views on Ted-Ed..
..and why we should be concerned. Love. That’s what I felt when I first landed on TED’s new site for educators and students, Ted-Ed. From the hosts of the 18 minute talks that have inspired some of the most interesting lunchtime discussions in my classroom over the last few years, comes a site brimming with equally […]
Translating Krug’s Usability to Edtech
I am half way through reading Steve Krug’s, Don’t Make Me Think: A Common Sense Approach to Web Usability.” First published in 2000, “Don’t Make Me Think” is a practical guide for web designers, providing advice congruent with the title. I approached the book curious if web design principles from 2000 translated to design appropriate […]
Teaching Anger Management with Game-Based EdTech
This is just too cool to spoil with a long critical analysis. I came across this video and the corresponding brief project description while doing research on GameDesk (a SoCal-based research nonprofit) for an upcoming post on a study GameDesk did on Motion Math. It seems that the goal is to teach anger management to […]
Action Collabs and Rapid Fire Presentations at Big Ideas Fest 2011
It is almost six o’clock on Tuesday and I am sitting in the lobby of the Ritz Carlton in Half Moon Bay at the Big Ideas Fest 2011. At the core of this unique conference is a product development process called an Action Collab. Think Startup Weekend with a focus on big ideas in education, […]
Gooru: The Future of STEM Education Resources
The former head of Google India is drawing with a whiteboard marker on the glass cover of his white office desk. He is showing me the organizational structure of his STEM education resource, search, and curation portal called Gooru. Prasad Ram — Pram to his friends — started Gooru as a 20% time project while still at Google. Like the […]
The Alchemy of EdTech – Predicting Future Trends
Prognostication is an occult art usually left to wizards, be they charlatans or visionaries; Nostradamus or Kurzweil. In EdTech, however, there is a global cooperative engaged in predicting future trends on a yearly basis – and they’re pretty good at it. The New Media Consortium’s Horizon Report is an annual view into trends in education […]
Data Dashboards Crash into Education – Will It Matter?
Soon may be sepia-toned memory the professional development days when groups of number-phobic teachers sit around a spreadsheet attempting to divine something about their practice from the non-existent causation patterns they conjure out of the data presented to them. The data dashboard, a tool that has been employed for twenty years by the business community […]
BYOT to school is going to happen – K12 is bracing for impact
I received a survey in my school email inbox today. The administration is considering changing the school cell phone policy and they want faculty input. The leadership recognizes that times are changing, and they are not alone. I carried out an anonymous survey in my five science classes last year to determine what percentage of […]
Imaginek12 is about to change your teaching career. What is it?
To understand this post anywhere outside of the Silicon Valley/San Francisco Bay Area requires some qualification. Despite the talk of a double-dip recession, despite the tenaciously high unemployment numbers, and despite Standard and Poor’s choice to move the U.S. credit rating one step closer to junk bond status, creativity and ingenuity are in full swing […]
Blow Up Standardized Testing, Please. #EdTech #k12 #Education
Really. There is an inferno of activity in the EdTech sector right now. Many teams are attempting to use technology to address problems that have existed since the beginning of compulsory schooling. A few of these teams are onto something. Witness the use of online video to free up class time for more interactive student […]
Beginning of end for ETS? Notes from the SF EduTech @Meetup #EdTech #k12
One thing is for sure. There will be no dearth of choices for adaptive learning math-in-the-box tools. This was my fourth SF EdTech Meetup, and included my 13th, 14th, and 15th encounters, respectively, with young, bright-eyed founders developing cloud-based learning environments for basic math instruction. Why wouldn’t they do this? Math instruction, at the lower […]
Lock cell service, maintain wireless capability in the classroom @lightspeed #EdTech #mlearning
Went to the Edutech meetup (Meetup.com) at Parisoma last night. This was my third time attending, and the size of the gathering seems to double every time. A mix of edupreneurs, educators, and investors mingled in a small, hot room with poor acoustics and unflagging enthusiasm. I spoke with three technical founders, each working on […]
Question Tank 