Jun 12
Last year I wrote some posts sharing all the problems we have using a mix of different devices, some of which are beyond their prime. – Problems with Tech – Google Classroom on Older Devices – Android Tablet Accessing GAFE Tools – Multiple GAFE Accounts, Shared Devices It’s been over a year since my last …
Permanent link to this article: https://educatoral.com/wordpress/2017/06/12/tech-fails/
Jul 29
In 2001 I worked on a proposal that got us a grant from the Gates Foundation for what they called back then Model Schools. Unfortunately, they found the Model Schools framework a failure so they dumped it in favor of their current efforts to test and measure to death. I couldn’t even find any info …
Permanent link to this article: https://educatoral.com/wordpress/2013/07/29/common-focus/
Jul 03
With regards to the 8 characteristics of Game-Based Learning (GBL) [CORRECTION: this should be Quest-Based Learning (QBL) as GBL is something different entirely] mentioned in 3DGL: Choice (Autonomy) Failure Progress Bars Multiple long & short aims Reward ALL successful efforts (XP points) Prompt, meaningful feedback Elements of uncertainty/awards Socialization schools need to embrace these, probably …
Permanent link to this article: https://educatoral.com/wordpress/2013/07/03/characteristics-of-gbl/
Jul 01
This past year I tried my hand at gamifying my classes after reading Lee Sheldon’s Multiplayer Classroom. It was quite a failure. The class didn’t feel like a game. Kids didn’t show the level of engagement I was after. After going gradeless and offering kids more and more choice to take charge of their learning …
Permanent link to this article: https://educatoral.com/wordpress/2013/07/01/gamifying-take-2/
Feb 16
One of my 8th graders showed me this thought piece she wrote (this is what she decided to call it since it made the most sense, I called it a story and she said that it wasn’t exactly a story). It was just the kind of piece that I thought would fit perfectly in this …
Permanent link to this article: https://educatoral.com/wordpress/2013/02/16/inspiring-our-students/
Jun 11
This past Thursday Nicholas Provenzano hosted a Twitter chat at #NerdyChat on the topic of Gamification (see transcript here). Gamification is the idea of using the best of video gaming in the classroom. Why? Watch a kid play a video game. Video games hook the player and motivate the player to persevere through failure and …
Permanent link to this article: https://educatoral.com/wordpress/2012/06/11/alternate-reality-game/
Jun 04
We talk a lot about preparing our students for real life. We entice them with the reward of high marks (A’s, 100%’s, 3’s and 4’s) and we threaten them with failure (F’s, 0’s, 1’s and 2’s). It’s easy to think that enticing kids with high marks works because of the kids who work hard for …
Permanent link to this article: https://educatoral.com/wordpress/2012/06/04/real-life/
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/
Oct 24
This post has been updated slightly – go here to read the updated version. I have learned the benefits of grant writing. In my career I have gotten a lot of grants, I’ve gotten at least one grant a year for the past 13 years straight (now it’s 17 years straight, 15-16)! I have …
Permanent link to this article: https://educatoral.com/wordpress/2011/10/24/sample-grant-proposal/
Mar 06
As our 2nd trimester comes to an end and I prepare final grades I’m left wondering if grades and marks like grades help or hinder learning. I began to wonder about grades and homework after reading some articles written by Alfie Kohn. After reading, Changing the Homework Default I bought Kohn’s book, The Homework Myth …
Permanent link to this article: https://educatoral.com/wordpress/2010/03/06/do-grades-help-or-hinder-learning/
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I've presented at NCCE
2016, 2017, 2019, 2022,
2023, 2024, and 2025!
I presented at WSTA 2015!
