Finally…A (technological) Breakthrough

A few weeks ago, I met with Todd Whitten, the Burlington High School Social Studies Department Chair. Todd has a reputation for trying new technology in the classroom. I was eager to chat with him about a few apps and web tools that I thought he might want to integrate into his classes. When we met, I showed Todd the

Day 31: Connected Educator Month

I started Connected Educator Month with a blog post. I will end with a blog post… Meaningful conversation. Some have been thought-provoking and intellectually challenging, others have just made me laugh. Some have been frustrating and have left me with more questions than answers. All have contributed to my continued professional development as an educator. I won’t earn PD hours for the

A Pledge Not to Print

For the rest of my career as an educator (and I’m a lifer in this industry) I pledge never to print again. I started “going digital” early last year when I worked at Pinkerton Academy. As soon as I discovered “the cloud” I realized it was a place I needed to be (I’ve often been accused of being a dreamer).

Day 1: Connected Educator Month

Today I had the opportunity to visit the Google office in Cambridge with my Help Desk and Digital Literacy students. We had an office tour, a Q & A session with a panel of Googlers, a great lunch and even got some Google swag! Five Googlers, engineers and sales team members, encouraged my students to take computer science classes, learn how

Back to School Night at Burlington

Next Thursday is Back to School night at Burlington High School. To introduce myself and the BHS Digital Literacy course curriculum to parents, I decided to create a short video using the tool Video Scribe. I plan to incorporate this tool into my teaching this year, as I know it could be used to create flipped lessons. If you haven’t given

New Beginnings

Today was my birthday. I spent it with my new colleagues at Burlington High School in Burlington, Massachusetts. I am honored, humbled, and down right giddy to be joining the BHS faculty and to be working as their new Instructional Technology Teacher! If you are not familiar with Burlington High School, it is truly an amazing place. Burlington High School

Innovation in Schools: One Teacher at a Time

Two days ago I received an e-mail from a colleague who teaches tenth grade English and also serves as a reading specialist. She inquired about meeting with me to discuss how she could shift her students from writing their reading responses in spiral notebooks to some kind of online resource. We met yesterday. When we met she explained that she

The Real Lessons We Teach

“Down and around and a hat on top.” That is how my first grade teacher, Mrs. Beachard, taught me how to make a five. I will remember that FOREVER! Many of us became educators because we too wanted to impact the lives of our students forever. You have probably created something equally clever (or silly) in your classes that your

Thoughts from an Edcamp Rookie: Educators Connecting And Making Progress

If I were asked, “what is Edcamp?” My answer would be this:   What I experienced at my first Edcamp was exactly that…a group of educators who want to connect and collaborate with their peers in order to move education forward and have the greatest impact on the lives of the students they teach. Edcamp Basics: Edcamps are professional development

Why Bother with Blogging?

Remember when you were a kid and you had a journal and the best part about it was that no one would ever read it? You could write whatever you wanted and your secrets would be safe. You probably even had a lock and key for it! You could doodle in it and write down your hopes, dreams, and deepest