Blog posts
Teaching Programming in Every Subject
Thanks to Erin Wilkey Oh for inviting me to cross-post this from my blog. DML 2012, March 4, 2012 I gave an Ignite talk (20 slides that auto-advance every 15 seconds = 5 minutes total) yesterday at DML 2012. My topic was “Teaching Programming in Every Subject” which was on one level about cross-...Comments0
Gaming the Writing Process
What would happen if we rethought the ways that we think and talk about writing and the writing process to use the kind of language and thinking that people use when they play games? That’s the question I’ve been pondering during the several weeks since Katie Salen’s webinar, Making Learning...Comments0
On "digiship"
This year we begin our spring testing with civics and economics - the course I teach. Since we test first, we have several weeks of classes left after testing. In hope of sparking each student's drive, I've invited them to undertake capstone projects in government, politics, economics, or career...Comments0
TEDx Talk: On Humor and Education
If you are so inclined, and you have 8 minutes to spare, please watch a TEDx talk that I gave, on students using humor as an act of resistance. I talk about how my 11th grade students used humor transgressively, to stand against the high-stakes testing regime in Tucson, AZ. Mirth is mighty. Watch...Comments2
Amanda Lenhart: An Analytical Take on Youth, Social Networking, and Web 2.0
Amanda Lenhart, senior research specialist at the Pew Research Center's Internet and American Life Project, talks about her research in a recent interview for the DMLcentral Newsletter. Lenhart and her team focus on teens, social networking, and web 2.0, and have released several reports of...Comments0
3 Challenges for a game design school
3 Challenges for a game design school Maybe the most inspiring thing about listening to Antero Garcia, a young teacher who has pushed on the boundaries of pedagogy in a very difficult teaching environment, is that words like “problem” and “challenge” seem to have only the best connotations when he...Comments1
Can Connected Learning Make A Curriculum Relevant?
Usually when I teach a composition class, I create a syllabus that covers a range of essay genres or that explores methods of critical thinking. I structure the course so students write narratives, descriptions, arguments, and research projects. At the end of the class, I expect students to be able...Comments2
Scratchers— Scratch 2.0 is on the horizon
Just in time for Scratch Day on May 19, 2012, Scratch announces version 2.0. You can see some of the new features in the video below. And don't forget Scratch Day, the annual global celebration of all things Scratch. Scratch is five years old this year, and you can see Scratch Day wishes from the...Comments0
Conversations about Technology: digital literacy, access and equity, and more
(This is collected from a few posts at my blog, Kevin's Meandering Mind) I have had the privilege of working with some teachers at another elementary school in the past month through the work of the Western Massachusetts Writing Project, and I spent one whole day there recently, modeling some...Comments1
Building a Case
I had the pleasure and privilege of being in a Connected Learning Google Hangout today with a bunch of very smart people. Antero Garcia, a Digital Is author, was the featured guest and he framed the hangout by titling it: "A Discussion on Transforming Classrooms, Schools, and the Teaching...Comments2
Three wishes for Mozilla's Open Badges
Three wishes for Mozilla Open Badges After watching latest web session on connectedlearning.tv in which Erin Knight of Mozilla discussed the company’s vision for their Open Badge infrastructure, I discovered that Knight’s guarded optimism about the project was contagious. Here are three...Comments1
My TED-ed Experiment
(This is adapted from a blog post at Kevin's Meandering Mind) The other day, I read about how the new TED-Ed site was experimenting with ways to remix, flip and otherwise redo their own lessons and video content, and since I am curious about new tools, I dove in and gave it a try. The tool is set...Comments3
Mapping out the Cognitive Choices of Make Your Own Adventures
I have long been fascinated by the genre of Choose Your Own Adventure books (and how to flip that interest that kids have in those stories by having them plan and write them). I’ve used wikis to have my students create their own, and will probably do that again before the end of the school year,...Comments2
Examples of Connected Learning Activities
I’ve been talking about connected learning for several weeks now, trying to define the model and think about how it might work in the college classroom. This week, I shared three specific activities that demonstrate what goes on in a Connected Learning project: The Harry Potter Alliance...Comments2
Game design and rethinking failure in school
Game design and re-thinking failure in school I’ll be blogging in response to a webinar series offered by connectedlearning.tv at the invitation of the National Writing Project’s Digital Is . Katie Salen, executive director of the Institute of Play , offered principles for instructional...Comments3
Join Teachers Teaching Teachers to discuss Net Smart: How to Thrive Online
This week and next, join Digital Is members as they talk about +Howard Rheingold's new book Net Smart: How to Thrive Online. You can join the discussion on +Teachers Teaching Teachers this Wednesday, April 25, at 9:00 PM Eastern / 6:00 PM Pacific / World Times: goo.gl/3eOxS. Or, participate at http...Comments0
Seeing Connected Learning
Last week, I shared some photos that demonstrate what I think students engaged in connected learning look like. Ultimately, I had to admit that the images might only complicate the issue, especially since none of the photos matches what you’re likely to see in the writing or literature classroom....Comments0
Now You See It: Highlighting Cathy Davidson's Talk at MSU
As we continue to enrich our thinking about education and digital literacies, I had the chance to attend a valuable talk about attention, learning and shifts in education. Information on Cathy Davidson's talk follows: Cathy Davidson of Duke University visited Michigan State University on...Comments0
When Computers Do The Writing
There’s been a lot of discussion recently in the educational communities that I am part of around computer-based assessments of student writing, and what that means for the teacher (less work?) and students (inauthentic audience!) and companies (profit!) when writing is put into a computer program...Comments1
Crowdsourcing: Harnessing the "Power of the Crowd" in Our Educational Landscapes
“Crowdsourcing poses a tantalizing question: What if the solutions to our greatest problems weren’t waiting to be conceived, but already existed somewhere, just waiting to be found, in the warp and weave of this vibrant human network?” -Jeff Howe, author of Crowdsourcing: Why the Power of the...Comments0
