Point A to Point B

Category: Learning

  • Fear of Google Docs

    This fall we will be rolling out Google Apps for Edcuation district-wide. With the snap of a finger, all 12,000 students and staff will have access to Google’s cloud services. OK, so it’s more than the snap of a finger, but with the skillful work of our dedicated IT technicians and developers, it will appear […]

  • MUVEs Finally Make Sense in Education

    Multi-User Virtual Enrionments (MUVEs) have been around for a number of years. Second Life is by far the most well known. For at least a couple of years I have had a Second Life avatar (Coffee Roffo), and participated in a number of different events “in world”. As hard as I have tried, I have […]

  • 21st Century Classroom

    As part of a class I am taking at Canisius College right now, we had to create a presentation on building a 21st century classroom. Here is my project, done in VoiceThread. Its about 15 minutes long – enjoy it if you like!

  • Touch This – Tactile Learning and Technology

    A few weeks back when the iPad became available for pre-order, I investigated and decided not to order since my current OS does not support it. Getting the iPad would send me into that unforgiving and expensive upgrade loop where I would have to get a new OS, and hence a new computer, etc. just […]

  • Teaching and Connecting with Students

    For our staff development day on Friday March 19th, I had the opportunity to present to the faculty alongside Mr. Jachlewski, our Assistant Principal, on the topic of teaching and connecting with students. The idea for the topic (and the day overall) was generated by Mrs. Keipper, our Principal, after viewing the video Did You […]

  • Why are organizing and brainstorming tools hard to integrate?

    The research is pretty clear. Organizing and brainstorming tools provide students with support to structure their thoughts and learning. I’m thinking specifically about Inspiration software since that is something we have had for years. It continues to be one of the most useful and least used tools we have. I count myself number one in […]

  • The Research Process: Simple Wikipedia

    February begins a big push for research projects at school. 6th grade students learn about the Middle Ages, while 5th graders are researching a famous person. With all the great new tools for research and inquiry, I sometimes long for the days of index cards, an encyclopedia, and a few books. (not really…don’t worry) When […]

  • Online Learning is Big Business

    I recently attended a presentation by online learning vendors who have been awarded a contract by our local BOCES. They offer online courses for students who need to make up missed or failed classes (credit recovery) or want to get ahead or take a low-enrollment class (credit accrual). The vendors offered to us through this […]

  • The Writing Process

    Clear, articulate, concise writing is important for our students. The mind of a middle schooler may often be anything but clear, articulate and concise 🙂 (and that is OK). What strategies can we use to help students acquire and integrate learning of the writing process? Better Answers is a writing program we are working on […]

  • Worksheets and the Internet

    Content Tech Ideas for Technology Use in the Classroom Using a worksheet to research information on the Internet and fill in the blanks is a popular activity. In its most fundamental state, this is a form of the strategy cues, questions, and advance organizers. Students use questions on the worksheet to (hopefully) guide them through […]