Author: Jacqui

This is a new Ask a Tech Teacher series on College and Career with a focus on military options. 

High school students contemplating a military career should research extensively, speak with recruiters, and perhaps participate in preparatory or introductory military programs to make an informed decision. Each branch of the military has unique offerings, so aligning personal goals with the branch’s culture and opportunities is crucial. There are several pathways for post-HS: opportunities for personal development, education, and professional training. Here’s an overview:

• Join directly from High School:

  • Enlistment: Students can enlist in one of the six branches of the U.S. military: Army, Navy, Air Force, Marines, Coast Guard, and Space Force. This path typically requires passing the Armed Services Vocational Aptitude Battery (ASVAB) to determine suitability for specific roles. High school graduates can start as enlisted personnel, gaining hands-on experience in various military occupations.

  • Benefits: Enlisting offers benefits like tuition assistance, health care, housing, and retirement benefits. The military provides training in over 150 career fields, many of which only require a high school diploma or GED.

  • Programs for Experience: Programs like the Junior Reserve Officers’ Training Corps (JROTC) in high schools can provide students with early exposure to military life, teaching leadership, citizenship, and discipline.

• Attend college before entering the military:

  • Service Academies: High school students can apply to one of the U.S. military academies (e.g., West Point for Army, Naval Academy for Navy, etc.), which offer a combination of college education and military training. These are highly competitive and require congressional nomination. Graduates earn a commission as officers.

  • ROTC (Reserve Officers’ Training Corps): This program allows students to attend college and receive military training simultaneously. Upon graduation, ROTC participants commit to a period of service as an officer. The program offers scholarships that can cover tuition, fees, and other expenses.

This series will delve into making the military part of college-career choices. Here are some of the articles you’ll see with links to those already published:

• 5 Must-do Skills to Accomplish During High School
• 9 Secrets for Getting into a Service Academy
• 11 Ways to Become a Navy Officer and a Gentleman
• Apply for a Military Academy
• Average USNA Candidate
• ASVAB or a Service Academy? You Decide.
• College Bound: Take Inventory
• Didn’t get into a Military Academy? Try NAPS
• Goal Setting for a Fourteen-year-old
• OCS–an option
• STEM at USNA
• Successful USNA Graduates
• You’re a Sophomore and Interested in USNA

Copyright ©2025 askatechteacher.com – All rights reserved.

Here’s the sign-up link if the image above doesn’t work:

https://forms.aweber.com/form/07/1910174607.htm

“The content presented in this blog are the result of creative imagination and not intended for use, reproduction, or incorporation into any artificial intelligence training or machine learning systems without prior written consent from the author.”

Jacqui Murray has been teaching K-18 technology for 30 years. She is the editor/author of over a hundred tech ed resources including a K-12 technology curriculum, K-8 keyboard curriculum, K-8 Digital Citizenship curriculum. She is an adjunct professor in tech ed, Master Teacher, freelance journalist on tech ed topics, and author of the tech thrillers, To Hunt a Sub and Twenty-four Days. You can find her resources at Structured Learning.

Natural disasters is a related discussion to any number of topics–geography, ecology, Earth Day, even problem solving. Here are 17 websites that bring the power of these natural forces to students (click here for updates to the list):

• Avalanches
• Earthquakes
• Earthquakes–an animation
• Earthquakes for Kids

• Earthquakes–USGS
• Every Natural Disaster Explained in 12 Minutes (video)
• Flood—hugefloods.com

• Hurricanes
• Natural Disasters–for kids–video
• Natural disaster videos

• Natural Hazards–from Crash Course–video
• Savage Earth
• Storm Chasing

• Top 10 Natural Disasters for Kids–video
• Tsunamis
• Volcano videos
• Volcanoes

Click image below for slideshow of many natural disasters

(more…)

Virtual high schools have become increasingly popular as technology has advanced and educational needs have evolved. Here is an overview of key data and trends associated with them:

Enrollment and Growth

1. Enrollment Numbers: Virtual high schools have seen significant growth in enrollment. In the United States alone, millions of students are now taking at least one online course.
2. Growth Rate: The growth rate for virtual school enrollments has been steady, with a marked increase during the COVID-19 pandemic, as traditional schools shifted to online formats.

Demographics

1. Student Demographics: Virtual high schools serve a diverse range of students, including those who need flexible schedules, have health issues, are involved in professional sports or entertainment, or have experienced bullying in traditional schools.
2. Geographic Reach: Students from urban, suburban, and rural areas are enrolling in virtual high schools, with significant growth in rural areas where access to advanced courses may be limited.

Academic Performance

1. Performance Metrics: Studies show mixed results on academic performance in virtual high schools. Some students excel due to the flexibility and self-paced nature, while others may struggle without face-to-face interaction and structured environments.
2. Standardized Test Scores: Virtual high schools often have varied results on standardized test scores compared to traditional schools, with some performing above and others below average.

Curriculum and Instruction

(more…)

In these 169 tech-centric situations, you get an overview of pedagogy—the tech topics most important to your teaching—as well as practical strategies to address most classroom tech situations, how to scaffold these to learning, and where they provide the subtext to daily tech-infused education.

Today’s tip: 

Category: Parents

Here’s how to turn on SafeSearch on Google:

1. Open https://www.google.com/ in a web browser.
2. Click Settings at the bottom of the page.
3. Check the box for Turn on SafeSearch.
4. Click Save.

For those who use Duck Duck Go, here’s how to turn on safe search:

Use safe.duckduckgo.com: Searches always have safe search set to “strict”.

Three ways:

1. Using the Search Results Page:
   • After performing a search on DuckDuckGo, look below the search bar for settings options.
   • There should be a dropdown menu labeled “Safe Search.”
   • Select either “Moderate” or “Strict” from the dropdown menu to activate Safe Search. “Moderate” will filter out explicit content, while “Strict” will provide a higher level of content filtering.
2. Using the DuckDuckGo Settings Page:
   • Navigate to the DuckDuckGo website.
   • Click on the three horizontal lines in the top right corner of the page to open the menu.
   • Select “Settings” from the menu.
   • Under the “General” tab, find the “Safe Search” section.
   • Choose either “Moderate” or “Strict” from the dropdown menu to enable Safe Search.
3. DuckDuckGo Browser:
   • If you are using the DuckDuckGo browser app on mobile or desktop, go into the settings by clicking on the three horizontal lines or the gear icon.
   • Look for “More Search Settings” or a similar option.
   • Here you will find the “Safe Search” settings where you can choose “Moderate” or “Strict.”

Sign up for a new tip each week or buy the entire 169 Real-world Ways to Put Tech into Your Classroom.

What’s your favorite tech tip in your classroom? Share it in the comments below.

(more…)

This post has little to to with technology in the classroom but a lot to do with the launch of my latest prehistoric fiction, Endangered Species, Book 1 of the trilogy, Savage Land. Join the Blog Hop over at my writer’s blog, WordDreams!

Curious? Not sure you want to invest your time yet? Here’s the trailer:

Alright! Here’s what’s going on:

I’ll be visiting writer friend blogs January 6-26, 2025, and then continue with the occasional “I’m Traveling” visits throughout 2025. We’ll chat about Neanderthals, early man, Endangered Species, and writing in general. Here are articles you can read in alphabetic order: (more…)

–image credit Deposit Photo

I’ll be taking a few weeks off to edit/format my website, work on projects with a deadline, prioritize life, and wish my two adult military children could come home to visit. I may drop in on you-all as you enjoy holidays, but mostly I’ll be regenerating.

I wish you a wonderful season, safe and filled with family.

(more…)

Here’s the outline for a seminar I teach in schools before the holiday break, to excite teachers about what they can accomplish “the second half” of the school year:

Every year, I make New Year resolutions and ignore them. I don’t promise to fulfill them. I don’t even check my progress and revise as needed. I make-and-forget, check it off the New Year’s To Do list and move on.

This year, I’m trying something different: resolutions that aren’t quantified, that won’t take extra time from my too-busy schedule. Resolutions that are, instead, about my teaching mindset. Here’s my list:

I will learn one new tech tool a month

There are so many. I get massive lists of webtools, websites, apps, extensions, and links in my inbox, mostly proclaimed as “the tool I can’t do without”. Every month, I’ll pick one and try it.

Just to be clear: Today’s tech ed tools aren’t like they used to be. The ones I’m interested in are easy-to-use, intuitive, easily differentiated for varied student needs, and free or inexpensive. Anything that requires a time commitment to learn and buckets of creativity to use is off the list. My schedule is too packed for that sort of commitment. And, I’ll unpack them with the students, authentically, as part of a project we do.

To get me started, add a comment with your favorite tool — the one I should start in January.

(more…)

Ask a Tech Teacher is a small group of tech-ed teachers with a big goal: provide free and affordable resources and insight to anyone, anywhere on how to integrate technology into education. It’s an ambitious goal and we rely on donations from readers like you to make that happen.

About this time of each year, when several of our larger bills come due, we give a shout out for help. This year, we thought we’d share some of the costs of running Ask a Tech Teacher:

• Site hosting–we use GoDaddy–an excellent company that keeps the site up and running over 99% of the time.
• Domain name hosting--for that, we also use GoDaddy. They always take my calls, walk us through how to fix problems in terms we understand. we’re teachers, not network geeks, but they don’t hold that against us.
• Legal images–to avoid problems with illegal images, we buy ours through a service.
• Constant and chronic techie problems–such as IPNs and plug-in updates and so much more. Again, we’re teachers. This double geek stuff makes our heads hurt. We have a monthly maintenance service for that who can solve 99% of the problems we face.
• Plan B–problem solvers for techie stuff beyond the monthly stuff, including hardware issues
• The geeky tools and programs that deliver content–like the apps we review and the programs we use for webinars.

We could sell ads (like Google does), but clutter on the pages distracts readers from why they arrive at our destination–to search out resources for your classroom. We rely on donations. Any amount you can contribute–$5… $10… using the PayPal Donate button below or in the sidebar, would be appreciated.

BTW, we love sponsors!  If you’re an edtech company interested in helping spread Ask a Tech Teacher resources to everyone, contact us at [email protected]. We can add you to the sidebar, review your product, or another sponsor sort of activity.

(more…)

Watch this video and come away educated:

(more…)