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Technology should expand minds, not fill them…

 

So many of our conversations are about the coolest new thing that we can do with our technology. Like most of you, I enjoy finding new things that I can do and finding inspiration from the devices that I carry around in my pocket. Out of all of the conversations that I can remember about technology, I cannot remember any conversations where we discussed if we should be doing all of these new things with technology. That is the conversation that we need to have, and the conversation that I am making sure to have (with administrators, teachers, and students around the country). We have reached a point in society where we need to evaluate our movement towards technology and weigh the costs of that technology on our socity. Education is where the battle is being fought and we all know that forcing more technology into education only lessens the impact of that education. Our children are in the middle of a war for privacy, creativity, and the environment and it is our job to help forge they way forward! When technology, education, and psychology meet it creates a perfect storm of conditions that can rapidly accelerate or retard learning.

This is where I work, where I play, and where I spend my time: in the world where technology is both the hero and the villian. I personally hate those sites that focus on providing you with a set of apps that you can use in your classroom. It is not enough for us to focus on which app is the the silver bullet for students (or for our own personal productivity), but we need to focus on if the apps are worth giving to our children. Everything that I do and everything on this site is geared toward helping students – preparing the next generation to understand and use the tools that we are leaving behind (which will be the real legacy of the millenials).

On this website, you can see all of my work exploits: projects, rambles, exemplars. More than that, on this site you can see a glimpse into my life, the life of a technologist, husband, researcher, project manager, and father. Thank you for visiting, and welcome!

 

 

Project Showcase

The projects below speak about my desire to work with students and with institutions to integrate methods and strategies that improve learning and development.

BYOCDesign LabGAFE

Bring Your Own Curriculum

Over the past few years, I have been fortunate enough to work with some wonderful people in the field of Mobile Learning. Through my work as the Technology Director for the Mobile Learning group at ISTE, I had the opportunity to help design some of the larger movements in Mobile Learning: the MobilistNation, and the Mobile Learning Network. Through that work, I have become very passionate, and very cautious when it comes to BYOD – because we tend to focus too much on the device (as the name would imply).

Some of the most important discussions I have had about Mobile Learning were with PhD Researcher Elliot Solloway from the University of Michigan. For the past 5 years, Elliot and I have been working together… read more…

Designing a lab to design…

DesignCirclesExamples

Two years ago, I had the pleasure of working to create a “Design Thinking Lab” for my school. Many of you may be wondering what I mean when I say that I am creating a “Design Thinking Lab.” Fear not, I am going to walk you through exactly what a DTL will be for us and what it will mean if you want to create one at your school. This page will include our changes to systems, infrastructure, and training to accommodate teachers and learners (or Cowboys and Millennials)… read more…

Google Apps for Education

GCILogo

Among other things, it means that I get to have the title Google Certified Teacher and get to be a part of the Google Certified Teacher Community. Now it falls on me as a GCT to do a better job of documenting what actually happens when we use the Google Apps Suite in Education (or Google Drive for Education as it is now branded). On a more concrete level, this means that I have worked to integrate Google into my School and my Profession through hands on and applied usage and training. I entered, and was accepted to the Google Teacher Academy in Manila this past October (2014) and will be working on my GCT Action Plan in my current school. This page is now the place where I will collate the meta-data of my Google presence. If you need anything Google Related, please reach out to me on Google+ and connect… read more…

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