2020, February: Jupiter, Saturn and Mars in a Morning Planet Parade

February Highlights: Jupiter and Mars in the morning sky during early February 2020 Moon Eclipses Mars on February 18 Saturn joins Jupiter and Mars later in the month Moon passes Jupiter (Feb 19) and Saturn (Feb 20) As Jupiter and Saturn head toward their once every generation Great Conjunction on December 21, 2020, they … Continue reading 2020, February: Jupiter, Saturn and Mars in a Morning Planet Parade

Digital Learning is About Flipping the Teacher

Image Credit Much has been written about Jon Bergmann's movement around flipping the classroom. Digital learning is more about flipping the teacher. As illustrated above, traditional education is centered around the expert delivering information to a large group. In this setting, the teacher speaks to large groups up to 80-90% of the time and less … Continue reading Digital Learning is About Flipping the Teacher

Technology Integration: Stuck in an Infinite Loop

Recently, the advertisement above appeared in a national educational technology magazine. I sent out a tweet, asking "Why would I want do this in my classroom?" One response was, "You're looking to create ICE in the classroom! Independence, Challenge, Engagement! Differentiated classroom with open objectives." I replied that I could do that with a book. This … Continue reading Technology Integration: Stuck in an Infinite Loop

Notes From Techcon 2012

Techcon 2012 Techcon occurred October 26, 2012 at the Naperville Campus of Northern Illinois University. Over 160 local school administrators, technology leaders, and classroom teachers convened for the one-day session. Google's Jaime Casap (Twitter: @jcasap) was the keynote speaker. His presentation focused on the crisis of low expectations and that even though the jobs that … Continue reading Notes From Techcon 2012

Virtual School’s Symposium 2012 Summary

The student panel at the Virtual Schools Symposium 2012 Over 2,000 conferees assembled in New Orleans, Louisiana for iNACOL's edition of its Virtual Schools Symposium held October 21-24, 2012. Across the program, presentations looked at research in the field, instructional models, administrative successes, and policy proposals. This year's conference focused on the trends in the field that … Continue reading Virtual School’s Symposium 2012 Summary

Where’s the Education Leadership on Technology in Schools?

Image Credit In 1988, Congress' Office of Technology Assessment (OTA) reported the "most promising current uses and demonstrations" (pp.12-13) for computers: Drill and practice to master basic skills. Development of writing skills. Problem solving Understanding abstract mathematics and science concepts. Simulation in science, mathematics and social studies. Manipulation of data. Acquisition of computer skills for general purposes, … Continue reading Where’s the Education Leadership on Technology in Schools?

Innovation and Democracy

Image Credit Is innovation a democratic process? Innovate: to introduce something new; make changes in anything established. (reference) In Disrupting Class, author Clayton Christen informs school boards that introducing digital learning into schools may be hampered by purposeful democratic processes that are part of schools' cultures. Cooperative tools like "financial incentives, negotiations, vision statements, training, performance metrics, and even litigation . . … Continue reading Innovation and Democracy

Good Advice for School Technology Leaders

Image Credit In the May 21 issue of Forbes, the article “Thrifty Does It,” describes how Christian Gheorghe Hates started a billion dollar company with a shoestring budget. School leaders tell their communities that they must do more with less. Hates' strategies show how he cut costs nearly 90% while he was able to deliver … Continue reading Good Advice for School Technology Leaders

With Technology in Schools Nothing Has Changed

Image Credit With technology in schools nothing has changed. Several years ago, I performed some original research about technology in schools (reference). While this study occurred in a limited scope with a few school districts and I stated it could not be generalized, the results appear to be similar to what is appearing in popular … Continue reading With Technology in Schools Nothing Has Changed