I am an avid reader of The Philadelphia Public Notebook, a non-profit newspaper and website dedicated to all things related to public education in Philadelphia. The most recent issue focused on Charter Schools. This piqued my interest as I will be going to a Charter School next year after almost 7 years in the Philadelphia…
I have been graciously asked by Andrew Marcinek to participate in a panel at ntcamp 2010 on Personal Learning Networks (PLNs) with my friends and colleagues Tom Whitby, Kyle Pace and Steven Anderson. One of the most important resources that a new teacher can have is other teachers. Without a strong base of support, many…
In a little under 2 weeks I will be attending ntcamp 2010 in Philadelphia. What is ‘ntcamp’ you ask? Here’s the run down: an unconference modeled after edcamp and barcamp a day of conversation based around topics relevant for new teachers (ntcamp!) a day of participant-run sessions I was an organizer of the inaugural edcamp…
One of the most practical and powerful books I’ve ever read as a teacher that has directly affected my practice is The Power of Our Words by Paula Denton. In it, Denton describes, using specific examples, how what we say and the words we choose with students can transform our teaching and our classroom. It…
Tonight’s #edchat conversation both invigorated me and irritated me at the same time. Don’t get me wrong, it had nothing to do with #edchat itself, but rather the topic. We have talked ad nauseam about reforming education. We have hashed out what needs to be done, what education should look like and why it’s important…
If you are a teacher, parent or anyone invested in education in the Philadelphia area, I want to introduce to THE source of information for what’s going on in public schools in Philadelphia. The Philadelphia Public School Notebook is “a nonprofit news service serving thousands of supporters of the Philadelphia public schools. The Notebook serves…
As many of you may know, I was given the honor of being named this year, along with 3 others (Chris Craft, Lisa Sjogren, Adam Bellow), an ISTE Emerging Leader. My new colleague, Julie LaChance was awarded ISTE’s Outstanding Young Educator Award. I was excited to meet the awardees as it was certain that we…
I’ll be honest. I didn’t really plan on attending a lot of sessions at ISTE this year. However, the one I attended today was one of the few on my schedule. It also happened to exceed all expectations. The session, moderated by Ken Shelton and featuring a variety of educators, including Paula White, a member…
As I was sitting in the Bloggers Cafe and listening to the hubub around me I was empowered by the conversation. Why do people come to ISTE? Why do they convene here in this space with few chairs and even fewer tables? To find solutions. We all come across struggles and dilemmas in our daily…
Are you coming to ISTE’s annual conference in Denver this year? Are you a Foursquare user? (if you’re not, check out the bottom of the post for more about what it does) Make sure you participate in the Foursquare Scavenger Hunt to win prizes and explore the city of Denver and the Convention Center! Here’s…