My Google Chrome Extensions

My Google Chrome Extensions

Last week Google Chrome updated itself on my MacBook and now allows Chrome extensions. I’ve almost completely moved over to Chrome as the speed of the browser just blows both Firefox and Safari away in my experience…and the way it handles gmail, gdocs, gwave, and the rest of G is just smooth. What’s been holding me back from making the […]

Bring Buzz to Edu Apps

Bring Buzz to Edu Apps

Google Buzz has been out for a while now and has been slowly making its mark on the social-networking scene. As I’ve been investigating Buzz (a.k.a. playing with it…but investigating sounds so much more important!) and how it changes social-networking, it hit me the other day how this might just be the communication tool I’ve been looking for in schools […]

Proper typing out, thumb typing in

Proper typing out, thumb typing in

Just as I’m having conversations again around why we should or shouldn’t teach typing in our schools technology has once again moved us into another typing realm. The thumb typing. I’ve watched more videos than I care to count about the iPad (my thoughts here) and in a recent survey to our students here at ISB revealed that almost 70% […]

Learning 2.010 Conference: Where do we go from here?

Learning 2.010 Conference: Where do we go from here?

In a world where content is continually changing, and you can learn almost anything for free, what’s the point of going to a conference? This is the question we started with in designing your Learning 2.010 Conference experience. The content is free and easy. If you want to learn how to use Facebook in your classroom, a simple search on […]

You mean the teacher still matters?

You mean the teacher still matters?

Four great articles have come to light lately that point to research being done and what many of us in the Ed Tech community have been saying for a long time might just be on the horizon. That is that this technology stuff can improve education. So let’s start at Mashable one of my favorite Web 2.0 blogs to read. […]

The iPad: Not the Right Product for Education

The iPad: Not the Right Product for Education

I’ve been reflecting the last couple days on Apple’s new iPad. The product that, before it’s announcement, some had claim would revolutionize education. If it does…..it will be a shock to me. I have nothing against Apple (I’m typing on a MacBook that I love), I just think this piece of hardware is not what we need in education. I […]

Help a Newbie get to ISTE10

Help a Newbie get to ISTE10

Beth Still grabbed me at NECC in Washington D.C. this summer and introduced me to Richard Byrne who was attending his first NECC conference. We had a nice chat and Beth reminded me that Richard was here because of her Newbie Project. She told me then and there she’d be hitting me up to spread the word when the new […]

Active vs Inactive Screen Time

Active vs Inactive Screen Time

A New York Times article was released this week. How did I find it? Our 23 year old Kindergarten teacher forwarded it to me from her iPhone. She only has the “essential apps” on her new iPhone….Facebook and the NYTimes. 🙂 I’ve read the article a couple of times now and have rewritten this blog post no less than 3 […]

Tool or Toy? The Blurred Line of a Computer

Tool or Toy? The Blurred Line of a Computer

Andy Torris is back writing again after the New Year’s break and his first blog post about computers being a toy has me wondering about the blurred line between tool and toy. The fact is that the students are, in our 1:1 program, really enjoying having full, unfettered use of their computers.  I believe the same holds true with the […]