I’m not a fan of the “75 Ways to Use __________” blog posts. I’m pretty sure that I’ve said things like, “It’s about the learning and not the tool” or “Kids should be blogging to learn and not learning to blog.” On some level, I…
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Creativity needs to be real to the person engaged in it. Someone challenged me to "curate" my blog posts on a subject and link it into one post. I'm still not sure what to think of it, but I found it interesting to get a…
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The picture above is an example of a game where students have to shoot a soccer ball past the goalie (moved by the opponent). The ball drops down and they get a shot again. It is visually-appealing and fun to play. This was part of…
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some of the best moments are low-tech Sometimes my view on technology seems paradoxical and messy. Sometimes it feels like cognitive dissonance. I hang with Luddites and Technophiles. I join #chats and write blogs and yet I frequently criticize technology. So, this list might seem…
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It started out with a standardized writing prompt and was never intended to move outside of the small testing window. However, when students finished writing a persuasive text on whether students should be allowed to have cell phones and MP3 players (a student aptly pointed…
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It's a few days before Christmas and I expect a challenge. Students will be checked-out or hyper. However, to my surprise, they are fully engaged in a project that combines reading, writing, global awareness and critical thinking. I've mentioned before that this year has been…
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This is my ninth year of having students create their own blogs. Initially, the student blogs were nothing more than a class journal posted online. They were digital notebooks. However, over time, they became a place for student voice. They evolved as my thinking about…
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I don't think I've ever known anyone else who uses a spreadsheet as a calendar. For me, it works, though. I have the date, the day, the task or event, the type of task and the location. For recurring events, I simply write "every week"…
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I know that all tools are technically technology. However, for the purpose of this post, I'm thinking computers, tablets and mobile devices. This is not a comprehensive list and I admit that it's limited entirely to my own experiences and my own local context: #1:…
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Christy and I are picking orange blossoms. Unlike the desert plants, the blossoms don't affect my allergies one bit. Between the heavy scent and the thrill of dodging bees, it is hard to imagine that anything else exists in our world beyond the moment. We…
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Dr. John Spencer
I’m a professor and a maker. Sometimes I make things. Sometimes I make a difference. On a good day, I get to do both.
