Why Gossip can suck the culture right out of a school: The part of this post that really caught me off guard was this: “A large number of teachers haven’t ever really left school.” I think that this is absolutely true. It is both amazing and difficult to swallow. Gossip …
There really is a difference in the way you approach student access to social media: I really like the way that you have framed this as a case of “modeling” rather than of “gatekeeping.” I don’t see the need for a digital content ‘license to drive’ as much as the …
An amazing piece from a teacher who is trying something new in the classroom and feeling understandable pushback from students and parents: I think this fear is absolutely understandable. You are doing something amazing, and that is scary. My favorite thing that you have done about this fear is face …
A wonderful rebuttal to the Education Week article decrying differentiation: I had similar issues with the Education Week article, and I am so glad that you have framed differentiation as difficult but still worthwhile. I think your list of “maybes” is the most compelling argument for defining differentiation in a …
Very disturbing privacy statements from Edmodo, Schoology, and Coursera: Thank you so much for compiling these three excerpts from the policies of tech companies. I think that most of us are blissfully unaware about these kinds of practices, but I’m not sure that we can use ignorance as an excuse …
An honest reflection on how to build a PLN from scratch from someone who is less than a year in: This is probably one of the best statements made about building a PLN that I have heard in years: “This is perhaps my most important lesson of all: You need …
What a wonderful critique of academia: As someone very much within the K-12 learning landscape, I am struck by just how many people I work with are in the positions they hold by simply being good at “the game of school.” When they have made such wonderful strides at their …
Another collaborative challenge for making and creating the future of teaching and learning: I am really excited about this idea of “Walk my world”, but I am more excited about just how many ways you are modeling for others how to capture their environment and their learning. I am particularly …
A great example of connected reading and writing in the high school English classroom. There is something extremely powerful going on here within both your autonomy and your ability to express the need for feedback. I do believe that “being left alone in your classroom” is possibly holding the rest …
When personalized professional learning goes so right: I am so glad that you are okay with folks asking you to “stop” for all the right reasons. I think that very often we hear that word and we think that we need to press right on through. I love that this …