Category: Teaching

Tech Tip #140: 10 Ways to Become a Better Geek

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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.

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If you’re the tech teacher, this is a must. If you’re a classroom teacher trying to infuse your class with technology, here are ten steps to help you geek out:

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

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10 Unexpected Truths About Teaching

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The best rules for teaching aren’t found in a textbook, a teacher training class, or even the advice of older colleagues. It’s found inside of you, in your gut, your instinct, your intuition. Here are ten rules no one will teach you, but will get you through the darkest times in your teaching career:

I HODL which is nothing like Yodel. It’s an acronym for Hold On for Dear Life. If I hang a sign around my neck saying, I’m HODLing. Leave me alone, everyone knows to avoid me.
When coloring between the lines doesn’t work, I try a bigger paintbrush. What I mean is, when those multitudinous rules about genre writing bog my story down, it’s time to try breaking the rules.
If something that used to work no longer does, change it. My husband used to kill flies by snapping them with his fingers. Then he got old(er), tired of his miss rate, and switched to a dishrag.
Every once in a while, I sit in a hard chair and reflect. I don’t do this one often.
I pick carefully who I trust about my teaching. That’s also my attitude toward boneless fish.
For difficult days, I don my I Am a Teacher t-shirt, take half a baby aspirin, and howl at the detractors.
Don’t get tricked into measuring what you can’t define. Know the problem. Investigate solutions. Ask for help if necessary.
Take advantage of the most important of human freedoms: You have the ability to choose your attitude in a given set of circumstances. If others are frustrated, you can be positive, others angry, you can smile.
Figure out your North star and stick with it. It doesn’t move. Don’t pretend it does.
Help students see around corners.

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What You Might Have Missed in July–What’s up in August

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Here are the most-read posts last month

Here’s a preview of what’s coming up (more…)

What You Might Have Missed in June–What’s up in July

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Here are the most-read posts for the month:

Here’s a preview of what’s coming up (we slow down in summer so you find less articles): (more…)

Need a New Job? Here’s What You Do

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You’ve been teaching for five years and love what you’re doing. You consider yourself darn lucky to be working with colleagues that are friends and a boss who always puts your needs first. Most of the teachers at your school have been there years — even decades — and you have no doubt that, too, will be you. So, you don’t bother to keep your resume up-to-date or expand your teaching skills other than what is required for your position. In short, you found the square hole that fits your square peg.

Until the day that changes. There are dozens of reasons, from new bosses who want to shake things up to your husband gets a job in a different state. The only good news: Your boss told you already, giving you time to job hunt for the new school year. For many schools, if they’re going to make staffing changes, early Spring is when they start looking for the new people. For you as a job hunting educator, this becomes the best time of year to find a job.

Digital portfolio sites

Rather than a two-page printed document that can be lost and serves only one user, a digital portfolio posts your resume online, in an easy-to-understand format. This makes it more available, transparent, robust, and quickly updated. This tells future bosses you can use technology as a tool and can give you an edge in a competitive job market. It organizes your qualifications, evidence, and background in one easy-to-reach online location. Interested parties can check it without bothering you and decide if the fit is good. You do nothing — which can save the disappoint of sending out a resume and getting nothing but silence back.

Here are suggestions for digital portfolio sites:

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What You Might Have Missed in May–What’s up in June

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Here are the most-read posts last month:

Here’s a preview of what’s coming up next month (our publications will be slower in summer to reflect readers): (more…)

Tech Teacher Appreciation Week

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Tech Teacher Appreciation Week

If you wonder what’s so hard about being a teacher, look at this list of challenges they faced the last few years: (more…)

What You Might Have Missed in April–What’s up in May

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Here are the most-read posts for the past month:

Here’s a preview of what’s coming up: (more…)

Tech Tip #125: Basics in Every Lesson Plan

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Today’s tip: Basics in Every Lesson Plan

Here are four skills to be included and reinforced in every lesson plan. Don’t teach them! Blend them into your core lessons, as part of the workflow. Include them as you do when you teach reading (in non-reading classes), using a pencil, and handwriting:

Keyboarding
Digital citizenship
Vocabulary
Problem solving

For the other two, watch this video:

–summarized by NoteGPT

Summary

In this informative video, Jacqui Murray discusses effective technology integration in K-8 classrooms, highlighting the current supportive landscape for using technology in education. Murray emphasizes that this is an ideal time to be involved in teaching technology, whether or not one considers themselves a tech expert. The discussion begins with an introduction to Murray’s extensive experience in education, focusing on technology’s role in lesson delivery and integration into the curriculum. She introduces six key topics or “strands” that are essential for creating engaging lessons that reflect modern educational standards, blending subjects together rather than treating them in isolation.

The six strands include digital citizenship, keyboarding skills, problem-solving, research skills, vocabulary expansion, and publishing and sharing. For each topic, Murray offers practical strategies for teaching and integrating them into existing lesson plans. She talks about how to establish a foundation of digital citizenship by making students aware of online safety and etiquette from early grades. Murray discusses the necessity of keyboarding skills in today’s tech-driven world and how to incorporate them seamlessly into instruction.

Murray further explores the importance of problem-solving skills, encouraging students to troubleshoot and find solutions independently. She emphasizes safe and effective research tactics, urging students to critically evaluate sources. Expanding vocabulary through digital tools is highlighted, as is the critical element of sharing and publishing student work for collective learning and empowerment. Ultimately, Murray encourages teachers to view these strands as a cohesive framework that enhances learning and prepares students for future academic challenges.

Highlights

🎓 The importance of blending subjects to create cohesive lessons that reflect modern educational standards.
💻 Digital citizenship is essential from an early age, requiring ongoing discussions about online safety and etiquette.
⌨️ Keyboarding skills should be integrated into lessons, enhancing students’ competency with technology.
🛠️ Problem-solving skills transform students into independent learners who can troubleshoot tech issues.
🔍 Research skills empower students to critically evaluate sources, making them more informed consumers of information.
📚 Vocabulary expansion is essential in education, encouraging students to actively engage with words and definitions.
🔗 Publishing and sharing student work creates a sense of community and enhances collaborative learning.

Key Insights

🌐 Digital Citizenship is Essential: Murray highlights that it’s crucial to integrate discussions about digital citizenship into lessons at every grade level. This approach trains students to navigate the online world safely and responsibly, emphasizing that education about digital behavior is continuous and should evolve as students progress in their understanding of technology.
💡 The Role of Keyboarding Skills: Teaching keyboarding isn’t merely an added layer; it’s essential for enhancing classroom efficiency. By embedding keyboarding education into daily lessons, teachers equip students with necessary tools for success across subjects. This practice fosters dexterity that will serve students well in their digital interactions, allowing them to focus more on the content rather than the act of typing.
🔄 Encouraging Problem-Solving: Murray’s emphasis on fostering problem-solving abilities reflects a shift toward student autonomy in learning. By guiding students to find solutions independently, teachers streamline classroom management and empower students to take control of their learning experiences, ultimately making the educational process more dynamic.
🔍 Effective Research Skills: Educators must emphasize the importance of teaching students how to ascertain reliable information online. By preparing them to discern reputable sources from biased or misleading content, students become not only consumers of knowledge but also critical thinkers capable of navigating the complexities of information on the internet.
📖 Vocabulary Matters: The intentional teaching of vocabulary through multiple mediums can enhance comprehension and engagement. Murray suggests that using technology to aid vocabulary acquisition allows students to seek definitions and gain deeper understanding dynamically, rather than superficially glossing over complex content.
🌐 Collaborative Learning Through Sharing: Emphasizing the importance of publishing and sharing work transforms how students interact with their learning. In fostering an environment where students contribute to a collective body of knowledge not only democratizes learning but also leverages peer feedback for continuous growth, helping students to learn from one another.
🤝 Integration Across Subjects: Murray’s call for the integration of the six strands across disciplines underlines education’s interconnectedness. Teachers should consider these elements as intertwined rather than isolated, optimizing educational outcomes by enhancing student engagement and contextual understanding across subjects.