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Category: Learning

Change is Ahead

Change is Ahead

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The Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE) had just release new draft standards for Digital Literacy and Computer Science.   These, if adopted, will replace the current standards adopted in 2008.   ISTE is also undergoing a refresh in the standards draft standards should be released in Jan 2016. It will be interesting to see what changes will be made. I am excited to see the addition of computational thinking and computer science.  I strongly believe these are necessary for success in our…

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Expectations

Expectations

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My daughter’s birthday was yesterday and I spent a good portion of that day thinking about how far she has come.  It occurred to me that she has not lived up to the expectations set for her and I could not be more proud!!! She started life with a double knot in the umbilical cord, and multiple health related obstacles ever since. From the earliest days in school people held limited expectations for her success. As an educator I know…

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Everything Old is New Again

Everything Old is New Again

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I feel like I am stuck in an episode of the twilight zone doomed to repeat past mistakes. It is as if someone has put my professional life on a loop. I just can’t break out of the cyclical madness of educational programs and trends. Let’s take a walk down memory lane. There are many terms, phrases and programs that keep reappearing in education. Below are a list of some that have appeared in recent times, though likely they are…

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Getting Ready for the New School Year

Getting Ready for the New School Year

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As soon as one school year ends it is time to get ready for the next.  For me that means that I start getting materials ready for new teacher orientation and set up new professional development for the teachers.  This year we are developing our self-serve PD using Schoology and will be adding badges to mark staff successful completion of the various topics. In prepping my material I review the old sites we recommend for teachers, as well as, look…

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Game Design and the High School Curriculum

Game Design and the High School Curriculum

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Game Design has come up a lot in these last few years in both my professional and personal lives. My youngest will attend college next year to study game design. My eldest will be a college senior looking forward to a career in the game industry. Both are interested in different areas of the process and are taking vastly different roads to get there. Each road requires a very broad and diverse skill set (see below). Game design to me…

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Updating the Diploma

Updating the Diploma

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Updating the curriculum is grounded in preparing students for today’s job market and the elusive future economy.  It is also about providing students an opportunity to explore their passions, develop a love of learning not to mention the skills a learner needs to keep on learning.   When developing curriculum we often ask two questions (1) what do we want the student to be able to do (2) how do we know they know it?   The ultimate proof of completing a…

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Updating the Curriculum

Updating the Curriculum

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Many school curricula have remained pretty much unchanged for decades some could argue centuries. The basic common elements of English, Math, Science and History are constants, it is the other curricular options that seem to come and go over time. When I was in middle school/ high school we had a choice of home economics options; sewing, cooking, money matters, early childhood education. There was also a “shop” track; woodworking, automotive repair, metal working, business accounting, keyboarding, and short hand.  …

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