Recent articles

Artificial intelligence has infiltrated our lives. Can it improve learning?
06/14/2017
Topics: 1:1, Assessment, Assistive and adaptive technologies, Augmented reality, BYOD, Computational Thinking, Curriculum, Gamification, Gaming, Makerspaces, Mobile learning, Personalized Learning, professional learning, Project-based learning, Robotics, STEM & STEAM, Technology infrastructure, Tools
When third grade teacher Brad Upshaw brought an Amazon Echo into his classroom, students spotted it immediately. Like reporters at a press conference, they swarmed the device and began shouting out questions.
“It was plugged in behind my interactive…

Epic LEGO wall allows anytime tinkering
06/14/2017
Topics: Advocacy, Assessment, Corporate innovation, Education leadership, Makerspaces, professional learning, Standards
What if making wasn’t something students did only at certain times of the day?
What if, instead, it was built into the fabric of their lives — or even the very walls of their school?
Employees at innovative companies like Google use tinkering to recharge their…

3 tips for developing a digital content plan for maximum impact
06/03/2017
Topics: Advocacy, Assessment, Assistive and adaptive technologies, Corporate innovation, Education leadership, Mobile learning, professional learning, Standards
The Innovator Solutions section includes contributions from corporate sponsors and advertisers representing education organizations, businesses, policy-making bodies and other influencers dedicated to transforming education.
The research is in, and it’s clear that…

When students become teachers
04/27/2017
Topics: Advocacy, Assessment, Corporate innovation, Education leadership, professional learning, Standards
Students in the Kenai Peninsula Borough School District (KPBSD) in Alaska were familiar with videoconferencing. After all, distance learning via videoconferencing technology (VCT) had become a regular event in their remote rural schools, connecting them to professionals and other students…

6 ways edtech makes learning more accessible
01/17/2017
Topics: Assessment, Assistive and adaptive technologies, Literacies
After 40 years as a speech-language pathologist working with students with special needs, I've seen a lot of educational fads come and go. In fact, few tools get me excited anymore. But three years ago I stumbled across an app called…

Five reasons why the 2016 ISTE Standards for Students matter
07/13/2016
Topics: Assessment, Curriculum, Education leadership, professional learning, Standards
Many people thought we were crazy when ISTE announced a refresh of the ISTE Standards for Students. Some felt that the 2007 student standards were still…

Learning by Design: The idea that moved a district
04/11/2016
Topics: Assessment, Essential Conditions, Personalized Learning
This is an updated version of a post that published on Nov. 20, 2015.
You could say Elisa Carlson became the director of instruction, curriculum and innovation at Surrey Schools in Canada at the worst possible time. But in the long run, it turned out to be just the…

3 ways to increase student engagement in your classroom
10/27/2015
Topics: Assessment, Digital Citizenship, Technology infrastructure
“There is now a massive amount of evidence from all realms of science that unless individuals take a very active role in what it is that they're studying, unless they learn to ask questions, to do things hands on, to essentially recreate things in their own mind and transform them as is…

Twitter in the classroom? Make formative assessments fun with digital tools
10/27/2015
Topics: Assessment, Tools
The emphasis on assessment in education isn’t going away anytime soon – and that’s a good thing, says Patricia Brown, elementary technology integration coach at Old Bonhomme Elementary School in Olivette, Missouri.
“Right now, there’s a lot of emphasis on data, a lot of…

Teach students to learn from their failures
11/13/2019
Topics: Assessment, Gamification
By the end of this post, there’s a good chance that you may fail to get the point.
That’s because the education world — and society in general — falls short on understanding failure. Dictionaries define it as “not meeting a desirable or intended objective.” Thesauruses list it as an…