I recently sat down with 8 of my colleagues at Burlington High School for a candid conversation about Google Classroom. I wasn’t surprised to hear that Classroom has had a significant impact on workflow and communication with students. Below is a summary of what Burlington teachers had to say: English teacher Krista Roberts has been using Classroom since September. She
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Last August, when Google launched the Slides app for iOS I was ecstatic. I immediately authored a post on the BHS Help Desk blog to share the big news. My excitement quickly turned to disappointment when I realized, after I had already published the post, that the app lacked the ability to add images. The whole point of a presentation
Read moreDespite significant advances in digital technologies, email continues to be a dominant communication tool used in virtually every industry, including education. Fortunately for Gmail users, there are loads of tricks designed to alleviate some of the stress associated with a flooded inbox. Some of the lesser known Gmail organization tools can be found in Labs. Gmail labs are experimental features
Read moreShe was my coach. The first significant failure in my life occurred when I was eight years old. I remember it vividly. I tried out for my town’s Pop Warner cheerleading team but didn’t make it. Back in the mid-80’s, children were actually cut during the tryout process, or at least they were in my hometown. Only the most talented kids
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When recommending digital tools to teachers in my district, I often lean towards those which can be integrated almost immediately. Educators want to focus on pedagogy and student learning, very few wish to spend time teaching the technology. My colleagues appreciate apps and web 2.0 tools that are intuitive, increase their productivity, promote student creativity and enhance communication. Confidence levels rise and more risks are taken
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Roughly two weeks ago I was checking the updates section of my inbox from my phone and noticed a message from Rae Pica. The portion of the message I saw read: “Jennifer L. Scheffer has been nominated for a Bam…” “Congratulations, Jennifer L. Scheffer has been…” I thought, “What…? Huh…?” I opened the email and continued reading. “Congratulations, Jennifer L. Scheffer has
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It was an honor to receive an invitation to attend the Future Ready Summit in Rhode Island and represent Burlington Public Schools as a local area expert. I had the opportunity to share the success of Burlington’s student run Help Desk and talk with school leaders about how they can develop a similar program to support their own 1:1 initiative. I
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“Don’t use your cellphone for the next hour” This was the “Dare” card I randomly drew at the TED Active Dine Around event on Wednesday, March 18th. I couldn’t help but laugh. My phone was dead, the wi-fi was weak and I was with brilliant company, so it really wasn’t a challenging dare. I disconnected for the majority of my time in
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I recently returned from the TED Active conference in Whistler, Canada where I had the distinct honor of learning alongside 700 other attendees. I listened in awe and at times disbelief to some of the world’s most innovative thought leaders who shared their ideas on a variety of topics. Several of my favorite talks included: What if 3D printing was 100x faster? by John
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If you took the time to understand what Digital Learning Day truly stands for, then you know it wasn’t about a single day, nor was it exclusively about technology. And it certainly wasn’t a technological dog and pony show. Digital Learning Day’s partnering organizations including the Center for Digital Learning Policy, the Alliance for Excellent Education and Project 24 provide in-depth resources on a wide
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Jennifer L. Scheffer 