This is a post I wrote in 2013 that I recently revisited while touring universities with my daughter and reflecting on the best advice to give her as she ponders her future choices. This alternative viewpoint on following your passion is still contentious but I think worth considering. For the first time in many years, … [Read more…]
I have recently been enjoying reading a newsletter from the Emergent Futures Lab. From what I can tell they are an innovation design consultancy who uses a systems lens to unpack a lot of things we take for granted in schools. Like thinking. My most recent read is called Thinking is Not in Your Head. … [Read more…]
The more I use Google Classroom with students the more convinced I become that adding graphics and video to Google Classroom instructions and assignments is something all teachers should be doing. The addition of graphical elements to announcements and assignments makes them easier for students to access and understand. This means they expend less energy … [Read more…]
I have been a Year 7 (Grade 6) tutor (advisor) for almost 7 years now, and every year I am asked to have my students set SMART goals for each term. Initially, I thought this sounded like a great idea; I even made a slide deck with cool icons from the Noun Project. But over … [Read more…]
One joy of being back in the classroom last year was plenty of opportunities to try out different Google Classroom strategies with my students. By the end of the year I was feeling very pleased with my use of topic headers, mark up tools, rubrics, video and audio feedback etc, to improve my communication and … [Read more…]
Like many design teachers this year I have had to figure out how to teach CAD skills to my students using free online tools. After much dithering I finally committed to using OnShape Free with our IGCSE and IB students and Sketchup for Schools with out Year 7 to 9 students. OnShape was a great … [Read more…]
If you scroll back to my first blog posts in 2008 you will see that I have had a weird and eclectic teaching career. After being trained as a science teacher, I got dragged into teaching math and learned I loved it. I then became a technology teacher and coordinator because everyone else I was … [Read more…]
Note: This post is part of my online coursework for the ISTE Certified Teacher program. I have spent a lot of my career teaching Math and Design Technology and in my experience both of these subjects involve a lot of analog work with paper and pencil. In Math it is working out solutions and in … [Read more…]
Tomorrow I am presenting at the 6th Annual SENIA Malaysia Conference on Digital Assistive Technologies. I am focusing mainly on Read&Write, Immersive Reader and iOS Apps and Settings. I owe a big thanks to Eric Curts for sharing his very useful presentation on Google Tools for Struggling Students, as I reference parts of it more … [Read more…]
One of the questions at the back of the Reflection chapter of Innovate Inside the Box is: What do you feel guilty about as a teacher? Reflect on that and consider how to move forward. Well, upon ‘reflection’ I can honestly say that I feel guilty about all the times I have handed my students … [Read more…]
