I get thousands of visitors a day–over six million since I started. The most common reason why you-all drop by is resources. I have lots of them–lesson plans, tips and tricks–but one area I have not enough depth is the experiences of fellow teachers:

• your personal teaching
• your informed take on tech ed topics
• education pedagogy

If you’re interested in guest posting on this blog or start your own column, email me at askatechteacher at gmail dot com (comments often don’t work) and I’ll be in touch. It’s a challenging time but one we-all can get through if we talk to each other.

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How Parents Can Inspire Curiosity and Spark Lifelong Learning in Kids

Parents of young children often start out with a front-row seat to nonstop questions, experiments, and wonder, then slowly notice childhood curiosity getting replaced by hesitation or “just tell me the answer.” The tension is real: busy routines, pressure to perform, and adult expectations can accidentally train kids to chase approval instead of following their own questions. When that happens, motivating children’s education can feel like pushing a cart uphill rather than watching interest pull them forward. Nurturing natural curiosity now protects a child’s love of learning and sets the stage for confident, self-driven learners.

Understanding How Curiosity Drives Learning

Curiosity is a motivational drive to seek out information when something feels new, tricky, or surprising. Across child development stages, that drive pushes kids to notice patterns, test ideas, and build stronger thinking skills. When children practice asking their own questions, learning starts to come from the inside.

That matters because self-directed discovery creates attention and effort you do not have to “buy” with stickers or grades. External rewards can help kids start, but they rarely teach kids how to keep going when work gets hard. Engaged learners stick around longer because they want to close the gap in what they know.

Think about a child building with blocks. A reward-focused kid asks, “Is this right?” while a curious kid asks, “What happens if I add one more?” That second question turns play into problem-solving, and problem-solving into confidence. This is where a parent’s visible learning habits can quietly make curiosity feel normal at home. (more…)

For career changers, college students nearing graduation, and aspiring teachers drawn to meaningful work, the teaching profession can look like a clear way to make a difference. The hard part is that a career in education brings real tradeoffs alongside the rewards: daily responsibility for students, constant decision-making, and a role that doesn’t end when the school day does. Early choices, such as where to teach, what age group to serve, and how to shape long-term educational career paths, can open doors or create friction. Clarity on teaching motivation makes every next decision easier.

Jenny Wise, idea maker behind Special Home Educator and Ask a Tech Teacher contributor, can help with that:

Map Your Path From Degree to Teacher License

This process helps you go from “I want to teach” to a clear, workable route through education degree requirements, teacher certification requirements, and a realistic grade and subject focus. For general readers, it reduces guesswork and helps you avoid detours that cost time and money. (more…)

Ask a Tech Teacher contributor, Jenny Wise, has navigated the complexities of raising a growing family, supporting her children through life’s difficulties, and finding strength through faith, resilience, and connection.

If you’re interesting in homeschool ideas, Jenny shares family homeschooling experiences, practical advice, encouragement, and resources for parents considering or navigating homeschooling through her platform, Special Home Educator. Her mission is to support and inspire other families by honestly sharing the ups and downs of creating a personalized education at home. Today, she’s exploring down the education journey–to a Masters:

Key Factors to Consider When Going Back to School for a Master’s Degree

For prospective master’s students weighing a returning to school decision mid-career, the question isn’t whether learning matters, it’s whether the degree will truly change what comes next. Career advancement considerations can point toward a credential that opens doors, but the financial investment in education can be hard to justify without clarity on outcomes. The time commitment can also pressure work obligations, family responsibilities, and education life balance in ways that don’t show up on a course catalog. A smart choice comes from treating the master’s degree ROI as a concrete tradeoff, not a leap of faith. (more…)

Top of mind–right after quality of educational tools–is security. Here’s a great article from Ask a Tech Teacher contributor, Melissa White. She is a technology writer and security specialist at TechCommuters. With extensive experience in digital safety, data protection, and threat intelligence, she creates insightful content that helps readers navigate the evolving technology landscape. Melissa focuses on online privacy, secure computing practices, emerging risks, and practical solutions for businesses and individuals.

This is longish, but worth the read–in a sentence:

Is your laptop camera spying on you? Learn the warning signs, how to check for spyware, and simple steps to protect your privacy right now.

How To Know If Your Laptop Camera Is Spying On You?

Your laptop camera may look harmless. It sits quietly above your screen. Most people barely notice it. But in some cases, it can become a privacy risk.

Hackers and harmful software can sometimes access your webcam without permission. Certain apps may also use the camera in the background. The worst part is that you may not notice anything unusual while it happens.

This type of attack is often called camfecting. It happens when someone remotely takes control of your webcam. They may watch you, capture photos, or record videos without your knowledge. In some situations, the camera light may not even turn on. Security experts continue to find many devices affected by these attacks every year.

The good part is that there are warning signs you can look for. There are also simple ways to secure your laptop and block unwanted access. In this guide, you will learn how to spot suspicious webcam activity and what steps to take if something feels wrong. (more…)

For those already thinking about next year, Ask a Tech Teacher contributor, Jenny Wise, has ideas on managing class projects without burning out. This time of year, we all feel on the edge. Jenny has great ideas to prepare for summer school classes if you teach them, or the new school year. She has navigated the complexities of raising a growing family, supporting her children through life’s difficulties, and finding strength through faith, resilience, and connection.

If you’re interesting in homeschool ideas, Jenny shares family homeschooling experiences, practical advice, encouragement, and resources for parents considering or navigating homeschooling through her platform, Special Home Educator. Her mission is to support and inspire other families by honestly sharing the ups and downs of creating a personalized education at home.

A Teacher’s Guide to Managing Creative Projects Without Burnout

For busy classroom teachers who also lead clubs, performances, showcases, or other creative work, the real strain isn’t the project itself, it’s the extra layer of coordination piled onto an already full day. Teacher workload challenges grow fast when student team coordination, shifting expectations, and last-minute questions keep spilling into planning periods and evenings. That pressure can make managing extracurricular projects feel like a personal endurance test instead of a normal part of the job. The good news is that stress management for teachers often starts with educational project planning that makes responsibilities, communication, and follow-through predictable. (more…)

As you prepare to regenerate for the next school year, Ask a Tech Teacher contributor, Jenny Wise, has some ideas on strengthening your school community with collaborative projects. Jenny is a homeschooling mom of four children, including her youngest daughter, Anna, who is on the autism spectrum. She and her husband chose to begin home-educating when their oldest was just four years old, embarking on a journey filled with both challenges and meaningful rewards. Along the way, Jenny has navigated the complexities of raising a growing family, supporting her children through life’s difficulties—including the recent loss of her father—and finding strength through faith, resilience, and connection.

Through her platform, Special Home Educator, Jenny shares her family’s homeschooling experiences, offering practical advice, encouragement, and resources for parents considering or navigating homeschooling, especially those raising children with special needs. Her mission is to support and inspire other families by honestly sharing the ups and downs of creating a personalized education at home.”

How Collaborative School Projects Build Stronger Campus Communities

K–12 educators working to integrate technology often face a tough mix of social challenges in schools and uneven digital habits that can quietly weaken day-to-day connection. When engagement slips, classroom tech can feel like another management problem, and student-staff relationships can become transactional instead of trusting. Collaborative school projects offer a practical way to bring students and adults back into shared purpose, giving learning a visible, collective reason to matter. Done well, these experiences strengthen educational engagement and set the conditions for lasting campus community building. (more…)

I get thousands of visitors a day–over six million since I started. The most common reason why you-all drop by is for resources. I have lots of them–lesson plans, real stories, tips and tricks–but one area I always welcome new ideas is from the experiences of fellow teachers:

• your personal teaching experiences
• your informed take on tech ed topics
• pedagogy

If you’re an educator interested in guest posting on this blog or start your own column, leave a comment below and I’ll be in touch.

(more…)

Spelling Force by EdAlive:

A Smart Solution for Mastering Spelling

Spelling Force, developed by Australian edtech company EdAlive, is a powerful and engaging platform designed to boost spelling proficiency in children through interactive learning, intelligent adaptation, and curriculum alignment. With a proven track record in classrooms across Australia and beyond, Spelling Force is a valued resource for teachers, students, and parents alike.

What is Spelling Force?

Spelling Force is an online spelling program designed for students from Year 1 to Year 10, although it is most commonly used in primary and lower secondary classrooms. It combines dynamic learning activities with a powerful adaptive learning engine that tailors content to each student’s individual needs. Students work through interactive spelling exercises, games, and quizzes that are designed not just for repetition, but for true understanding and mastery.

Unlike many spelling tools that simply drill lists of words, Spelling Force offers a much richer and more strategic approach. It identifies each student’s weaknesses and presents targeted exercises to improve their skills, building confidence and competence along the way. (more…)

I get thousands of visitors a day–over six million since I started. The most common reason why you-all drop by is for resources. I have lots of them–lesson plans, tips and tricks–but one area I have not enough depth is the experiences of fellow teachers:

• your personal teaching experiences
• your informed take on tech ed topics
• Education pedagogy

If you’re interested in guest posting on this blog or start your own column, leave a comment below and I’ll be in touch. It’s a challenging time but one we-all can get through if we talk to each other.

(more…)