These blogs have to do with education as a whole. I write about different topics concerning ed reform and educating our 21st century youth.
May 22
I blog and share posts about my dislike of standardized tests. I especially hate when these tests are made high stakes to determine what kids know and how well teachers are teaching. And yet both my kids take them. Why don’t I opt them out? My son is 15 years old, a freshman in high …
Permanent link to this article: https://educatoral.com/wordpress/2012/05/22/my-own-children/
May 21
This week, May 21 to May 25, 8th grade teachers at my school will be taking over 85 8th graders along with 20 HS counselors to Camp David, Jr. on gorgeous Lake Crescent for an Olympic Odyssey outdoor education experience. One aspect of this trip that stresses out a bunch of our students, including yours …
Permanent link to this article: https://educatoral.com/wordpress/2012/05/21/week-long-field-trip/
May 12
This is so cool! Go from the observable universe to a hydrogen’s proton! Copyright 2012. Magnifying the Universe by Number Sleuth.
Permanent link to this article: https://educatoral.com/wordpress/2012/05/12/magnify-the-universe/
May 08
I’ve had mixed results using social networking media for class discussions. Because of that I haven’t even tried to have students use it for backchanneling. It’s hard enough to get them to listen as I give instructions and I don’t lecture all that much anyway. I’ve had this vision of engaging more students in class …
Permanent link to this article: https://educatoral.com/wordpress/2012/05/08/how-to-make-social-networking-work/
May 07
Ronnie Burt wrote a blog post about a debate he’s been having with Sue Waters, Edublogger Debate: Scaffolding vs. Struggling – Can You Be Too Helpful? I found the topic quite intriguing as it fits perfectly into what I spend a majority of my time worrying about, Student Engagement and Student Discipline. So the question …
Permanent link to this article: https://educatoral.com/wordpress/2012/05/07/the-scaffolding-vs-struggling-debate/
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/
I'm a Curipod Ambassador! :)
I've presented at NCCE
2016, 2017, 2019, 2022,
2023 and 2024!
I presented at WSTA 2015!
