Building something with technology” makes people think of 3D printers and science fair robots. In the information age, building must extend to ideas. One of the most important skills students need to master to succeed in modern world is ability to effectively synthesize information into a coherent and persuasive thesis. As such, every year myContinue reading “Chapter 10: Something students have built with technology.”
Author Archives: Pat W
Chapter 7: Roadblocks to implementation of technology
The roadblock at our school is the local education authorities. In many ways our area is quite conservative and technology is no different. Students of all ages are not allowed to have phones on campus. Only students in grades 11 and 12 may have a laptop on campus with their parents’ permission. As a result,Continue reading “Chapter 7: Roadblocks to implementation of technology”
Chapter 6: Moving away from the “Campfire” method of teaching with technology
David Thornburg described The Campfire (one-to-many), Watering Hole (many-to-many), and Cave (one-to-one) methods of teaching (Couch & Towne, 2018). These methods align closely with the Think-Pair-Share method most teachers should be aware of by now. One way I have promoted Think-Pair-Share with my students is with the CommonLit website, http://www.commonit.org. CommonLit is a large collectionContinue reading “Chapter 6: Moving away from the “Campfire” method of teaching with technology”
Chapter 5: “Personal definition” of learning
I define learning as “combining pieces of knowledge to create something new.” I want my students to analyze and reply to the work of others. I have been teaching English as a Second Language for ten years which makes the “create something new” aspect of learning easy. The entire purpose of all second language curriculaContinue reading “Chapter 5: “Personal definition” of learning”
The Usual Santas – Mick Herron
Eight mall Santas walk into a buffet. It sounds like the set-up to a joke and it isn’t too far off. The Usual Santas by Mick Herron is a funny short story about the Christmas Eve adventure of eight mall Santas who have sat down for dinner to exchange holiday stories from the mall. IContinue reading “The Usual Santas – Mick Herron”
Dark Souls on Your Desk? – Ragemore
I must first admit I’ve never played Dark Souls. Through geeky osmosis I’ve gathered it is a highly regarded dark fantasy video game and the punishing difficulty is a feature, not a bug. From this limited perspective and squinting carefully, Ragemore hits those same themes in a tiny package fitting in your backpack and onContinue reading “Dark Souls on Your Desk? – Ragemore”
Chapter 4 – Helping students persevere
There is a scene from the HBO show The Wire that took ninety seconds showing how to help students persevere. In the scene, students in math class are rolling dice and “gambling” with Monopoly money. A student, Randy, makes a bet loses. The teacher comes by and asks why Randy made such a bad bet.Continue reading “Chapter 4 – Helping students persevere”
Chapter 3 – Being “realistic”
Every fall semester I need to be “realistic” about my incoming grade 10 students. Where I teach high school begins at grade 10. At the end of grade 9, all students across the country take a massive standardized test and are admitted to different high schools based on their scores. The government is trying toContinue reading “Chapter 3 – Being “realistic””
Chapter 2: One problem in education technology that needs debugging
Access to broadband internet needs to be improved across America before any true technological revolution in education is possible. Broadband internet is expensive in America costing an average of $61 per month (BroadbandSearch). Why is internet expensive? According to Segan (2017), seventy percent of American zip codes “have either zero or one option for 25MbpsContinue reading “Chapter 2: One problem in education technology that needs debugging”
Coast to coast with Ticket to Ride
Ticket to Ride is another great game I love to play for real and to play with my son. He’s still far too young to understand the game as a concept, but he likes to play with trains. The plastic train pieces of TTR have great table presence, especially at higher player counts with differentContinue reading “Coast to coast with Ticket to Ride”
The Keasy Depot 