It’s true.  After spending a day eating free delicious food (Googlers told tales of gettting the “Google 15”) and cramming my brain with Google-Goodness, I’m Google Certified.  It was a great and intense day, and I met a lot of very innovative forward-thinking teachers that question everything.  I’m generally wary of being some sort of [...]
Monday night, I drove aaaaaallll the way up to McHenry Community College to do a workshop for McHenry’s Teaching American History grant. TAH is a grant that I think is doing great things, putting the focus on concepts and universal ideas rather than dates and forgettable facts in history. Plus, federal support for a solid educational program that doesn’t just focus on reading and math scores is okay in my book. How about we get kids excited about reading by letting them read cool stories about brave indigeonous people, dudes in wigs and tights, and riveter-weilding women who shaped this country?
McHenry is implementing the money they received for this grant in innovative ways, using the Collaboratory to have teachers exchange lesson plan ideas and reflections based on the speakers they have heard and the field trips they have taken. Their mentors can look at their lesson plans and comment on the different elements they think could use work. It’s a great use of technology for professional developement.
Looking for something to do on a Saturday morning that will give a little pep to your teacher step? Come visit me at the McCormick Freedom Museum 3rd Annual Resource Fair! I’ll be talking about how iVOTE! ‘08 can bridge the gap between civic engagement and democratic participation and how you and your class can be a part of it! I will be joined by a number of excellent exhibitors, including my good friends and partners in iVOTE!, Natalie Brouwer from the Citizen Advocacy Center, and the good people at the Constitutional Rights Foundation of Chicago.
See you there!
Next week, we’ll be celebrating the 3rd birthday of my little cousin, Xavi. Not only is he adorable, but he’s dedicated to saving the world. Or at least, wearing the appropriate outfit (complete with cape). All of the time. His mom decided to throw him a party that celebrates his devotion [...]
Exciting news: On September 24th, I’ll be at the Google offices in downtown Chicago collaborating with a diverse group of teachers at the Google Teacher Academy! I was selected, along with 49 other educators to participate in an an “intensive, one-day event where participants get hands-on experience with Google’s free products and other technologies, learn about innovative instructional strategies, receive resources to share with colleagues, and immerse themselves in an innovative corporate environment.”
Part of the application required a one minute video on “Motivation & Learning.” My submission was a minimalist approach using the look of the retro chalkboard.
