If you teach technology, it’s likely you’re a geek. Even if you didn’t start out that way–say, you used to be a first grade teacher and suddenly your Admin in their infinite wisdom, moved you to the tech lab–you became a geek. You morphed into the go-to person for tech problems, computer quirks, crashes and freezes. Overnight, …
Too often, like it or not, technology makes parents squirm. Few moms and dads embrace questions that start, ‘How do I use this program to…’ They’d rather describe the smell of the number eight or get a root canal. But, the digitization of education requires anyone with children possess a basic understanding of hardware, the …
A few weeks ago, I polled you-all about your interest in online training. The results were mixed. Setting aside the obvious reason that online classes are much more affordable for both offeror and offeree, here are some of the comments I got (I’ve summarized): For students can attend class from a car, their home, a …
Every year, I have 4th grade students compare handwriting speed to keyboarding speed. We run it like an experiment. we discuss the evidence–pros and cons we develop a hypothesis we test the hypothesis (with a series of four tests) we revise if necessary I wanted to test some of the reasons students come up with …
What is a parent’s greatest fear that first day they drop their precious child at kindergarten? You might think it’s whether they’ll get along with new friends or handle academic pressures. Or even that their eyes will be opened to the vastness of the Universe and no longer see their parents as the Answer to …
Every month, subscribers to Ask a Tech Teacher get a free/discounted resource to help their tech teaching. This month: K-8 Scope and Sequence This is two documents–one for K-6 and one for 6-8. If you have the 5th edition of the K-8 textbooks, you already have these. Don’t buy them again! Here’s some detail (more …
Here are 84 math websites for grades K-8, including mental math, facts, money, business, economics, more: A Plus Math Adding Decimals Alien Addition Angles Arithmattack Be Your Own Boss Build a bug math game Cool Math – Coffee Shop Cool Math for Kids Count us in—variety of math practice Dimension U—math team play Estimating Flashcards …
If you teach technology, it’s likely you’re a geek. Even if you didn’t start out that way–say, you used to be a first grade teacher and suddenly your Admin in their infinite wisdom, moved you to the tech lab–you became a geek. You morphed into the go-to person for tech problems, computer quirks, crashes, and freezes. Overnight, …
Summer is for change. Out with routine, in with spontaneity. When you were in high school, that meant relaxing, seeing friends, going to parties. In college, it likely meant a summer job to make the money that paid for college. Now, as an adult, living your future, summer is a time to rejuvenate, to enrich, …
Ah, summer. Is it really that time again? It’s hard to believe those amazing children I started with in September are about to move on. Which means I must come up with activities to keep myself busy until I return to the next classful of eager faces. Truth, I know exactly what I’m doing this …
It used to be simple to post grades. Add up the test scores and see what the student earned. Very defensible. Everyone understood. It’s not that easy anymore, especially in technology. Here are all the factors I take into consideration when I’m posting grades: Does s/he remember skills from prior lessons as they complete current …
This is always challenging, isn’t it? Finding evidence that students have learned what you taught, that they can apply knowledge to complex problems. How do you do this? Rubrics? Group projects? Posters? None sound worthy of the Common Core educational environ–and too often, students have figured out how to deliver within these guidelines while on …
Dear Otto is an occasional column where I answer questions I get from readers about teaching tech. If you have a question, please complete the form below and I’ll answer it here. For your privacy, I use only first names. Here’s a great question I got from Joe : I am a tech teacher at …
If you teach technology, it’s likely you were thrown into it by your Admin. You used to be a first grade teacher or the science expert or maybe even the librarian and suddenly, you walked into school one day and found out you’d become that tech person down the hall you were always in awe …
…to Ask a Tech Teacher (click for new address). Click to go to my new home All I did was move to a self-hosted site. The name is exactly the same–just hosted somewhere else. The new site has everything the old one did, including old posts resources lists current posts contact info everything To encourage … Continue reading
Here are some great projects to keep your children tech-involved over the holidays. They take lots of critical thinking, problem-solving, and are worth the effort! Let me know how these go: 19 Holiday Websites For Your Students Holidays Book Review: 16 Holiday Projects Monday Freebies #24: Holiday Newsletter #20: A Holiday Card in KidPix #16: … Continue reading
I’ll be taking a week (or so) off–until after the New Year–to prepare for my son (visiting from Kuwait), edit/format my website, work on writing projects with a deadline, prioritize life. I may drop in on you-all as you enjoy your holidays, but mostly I’ll be regenerating. I wish you a wonderful season, safe and … Continue reading
Watch this video and come away educated: _________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Jacqui Murray has been teaching K-8 technology for 15 years. She is the editor of a K-8 technology curriculum, K-8 keyboard curriculum, K-8 Digital Citizenship curriculum, and creator of technology training books for how to integrate technology in education. She is webmaster for six blogs, CSG Master … Continue reading
This week, I’m providing tips for end-of-year technology maintenance. Sure, you should do it once a month if you’re active on your computer, but AT LEAST do it yearly. Like today. For most writers I know, life zooms by with few breaks to pause, glance around at the surroundings and clean up the clutter and … Continue reading
This week, I’m providing tips for how to prepare for the New Year–that pesky end-of-year technology maintenance. Sure, you should do it once a month if you’re active on your computer, but AT LEAST do it yearly. Like today. Tech Tips for Writers is an occasional post over on my Writer Blog, WordDreams, on overcoming … Continue reading
This week, I’m providing tips for how to prepare for the New Year–that pesky end-of-year technology maintenance. Sure, you should do it once a month if you’re active on your computer, but AT LEAST do it yearly. Like today. This one’s from Tech Tips for Writers, an occasional post over on my Writer Blog, WordDreams, … Continue reading
