I teach 5th and 6th grade STEM in the lovely Pacific Northwest in a small, rural town called Chimacum. My goal is to help students discover that all learning is life-long and that 21st century tools can be used for work as well as fun.
May 02
I struggle with reading. It’s not that I can’t decode or that I am dyslexic or anything like that. It’s not even that my first language was Spanish and now I’m fluent in English (I can barely get out a complete thought in Spanish without having to switch to English, so English is my dominant …
Permanent link to this article: https://educatoral.com/wordpress/2012/05/02/reading-ability/
May 01
It’s not like I have the money to buy any more iPads or any more Netbooks but I’ve been thinking about which one to recommend if the question comes up at our district tech meetings. I’m basing this pro and con comparison on my classroom. I have 14 first generation iPads and I’m borrowing five …
Permanent link to this article: https://educatoral.com/wordpress/2012/05/01/ipads-vs-netbooks/
Apr 30
Classroom management is not an easy thing. If something works one day it won’t necessarily work the next day. Sometimes blowing the beginning of the year sets the stage for a difficult year. Sometimes no matter how bad things get there are still good times. In 21 years of working with kids ages 9 to …
Permanent link to this article: https://educatoral.com/wordpress/2012/04/30/student-discipline/
Apr 29
Last year our middle school standardized tests went online. The test changed from being called the WASL (Washington Assessment of Student Learning) to the MSP (Measure of Student Progress). A huge change from the WASL to the MSP was cutting out the four point extended response questions. They were actually pretty good questions asking our …
Permanent link to this article: https://educatoral.com/wordpress/2012/04/29/time-spent-on-test-prep/
Apr 16
It’s testing time. That one time each year that should not be a big deal. I mean, really, it’s just a test. Well, that’s the way it should be. It should just be a test. One more, little bit of data added to the data we collect all year to determine how our students are …
Permanent link to this article: https://educatoral.com/wordpress/2012/04/16/two-sides-to-testing/
Apr 04
Students, teachers, and schools can have access to cell phones, smart phones, iPods, tablets, netbooks, or even laptops to learn. Any of the aforementioned devices allow for learning on the move, which means anytime, anywhere learning. The technologies have the power to expand the classroom and transform learning and education to something it has never …
Permanent link to this article: https://educatoral.com/wordpress/2012/04/04/beyond-the-textbook/
Permanent link to this article: https://educatoral.com/wordpress/2012/04/02/plea-for-education/
Apr 01
I wrote two grant proposals this year and did NOT get either of them. With that came an end to an incredible 13 year streak of getting at least one grant per year. I have been very fortunate. But with failing and broken equipment and the threat of losing the 1:1 environment that I have …
Permanent link to this article: https://educatoral.com/wordpress/2012/04/01/the-end-of-a-great-streak/
Mar 31
Thursday, March 29, 2012 my advisory class hosted our school’s March assembly. The theme was the Month of the Young Adolescent. It was the first assembly I’ve attended at my school where there were no monthly or student of the month awards given to students. That’s the first out of the 132 monthly assemblies that …
Permanent link to this article: https://educatoral.com/wordpress/2012/03/31/assembly-sans-awards/
Mar 27
Just a couple of years ago this is what my progress reports looked like. This is what I would give students every three to four weeks for the whole school year. This was what I thought would motivate my students. A majority of them were never motivated by this. And those who got “good” grades? …
Permanent link to this article: https://educatoral.com/wordpress/2012/03/27/grades-and-feedback/
I'm a Curipod Ambassador! :)
I've presented at NCCE
2016, 2017, 2019, 2022,
2023, 2024, and 2025!
I presented at WSTA 2015!
