Gamifying the History Classroom: A Black Death Choice Simulation

History class does not need to be boring, despite the stereotype in pop-culture. Indeed, who can forget the infamous scene from Farris Bueller’s Day Off and the cringe-worthy monotone economics lecture from Ben Stein? History does not need to be like this. One can still have depths of information, insight, and skill-development while having fun […]

ASSESSMENT CREATION AND CANVAS

Designing creative assessments and facilitating critical thinking through choice in the mode and expression of learning is fundamental to my approach in this assessment. I have been developing an assessment checklist to assist in designing learning experiences and assessments that align with these values. This assignment was designed for AP World History and World History […]

ASSESSING CANVAS ASSESSMENT TOOLS

Canvas is perhaps one of the most popular and quickly rising stars among the online learning platforms being used by colleges and K-12 schools. The company prides itself on being composed of former teachers who know education and know first hand what teaching and running a classroom is like. They claim that this is what […]

Personalized Learning: A Wicked Problem Solved?

Personalized Learning is a wicked problem. That is, it is a problem so complex that it is nearly unsolvable. Personalized Learning, the educational philosophy wherein student learn and proceed through their content at their own pace according to their own interests and needs, is just one of these problems. My team and I, organized through […]

A PASSION FOR CREATIVE HISTORY TEACHING

Starting out as a teacher, I went right back to that which I had become accustomed. Throughout college, professors would assign reading and then in class would tell us about the text in two hour lectures. I loved it. I enjoyed reading. I enjoyed talking about history. And so did most of the other students […]

10 COMPLEXITIES OF PERSONALIZED LEARNING

Personalized Learning is complex, so much so that it indeed is a wicked problem that seems to be impossible to solve. There are many layers of complexity and considerations from various stakeholders in the education of students—from parents to principals. Three central questions that drive further exploration of personalized learning are the following. 1. Why […]

Killing Confirmation Bias in Ed Tech and Personalized Learning

Like most in this social media and smartphone age, I get a lot of my information—either news or stories—through Facebook and Twitter. Indeed, I don’t read the paper nor do I even go to a news website. Instead, I follow news agencies and “talking head” political analysts on social media. I must make a public […]

FLIPGRID AND DYSGRAPHIA MODIFICATION

Flipgrid fever has struck many teachers. One need only check the hashtags #flipgridfever to catch a glimpse of the excitement. In the age of Snapchat, memes, and gifs, students can often feel disengaged with old-school handouts. Flipgrid is an app used on Microsoft, Apple, and Google products that allow teachers to create digital classrooms for […]

THE EDTECH JOURNEY SO FAR: MAET and CEP810

This year has been a blur. It has been a banner year of transformation and challenge, and the year isn’t even over. In March of 2018, I started a trajectory of new thinking inspired by several PD experiences. I attended my first EdTech conference, a small gathering called Cue in Palm Springs. I also served […]

Vetting “Fake News” with Flipboard and Flipgrid

21st-century technology demands a 21st-century approach to teaching and learning. The ways things worked in the past will no longer work. It is not so much that students have changed (as the disgruntled teacher down the hall complains. Our society has transformed thanks to the internet and compact computing devices, like smartphones. How we consume […]