Cybersecurity As Curriculum

Last week I was lucky to have the opportunity to participate in a round table discussion with a handful of other technology leaders in independent schools and as we hashed out ideas and shared our experiences I began to realize that, without really realizing it, I have been working within the realm of cybersecurity for…

Deepfakes in the Classroom

Just this past week, a video of Facebook CEO, Mark Zuckerberg emerged on Instagram that featured a real video address with lip synced audio that refers to the power that Facebook has built using its users’ data. The dubbed voice, unlike the deepfake released of President Obama by researchers at the University of Washington in…

The 2014 ASCD Annual Conference: There is Hope

Reflecting on a busy weekend of conversation and learning at this year’s annual ASCD conference in Los Angeles, a few bright spots stand out for me. I attended ASCD two years ago in Philadelphia and I couldn’t help but notice that while conversations haven’t necessarily shifted too much (school leadership, school transformations, teaching strategies, assessment,…

The Internet According to 9th Graders

To start off the year, I decided to make sure that all of my 9th graders understand what the Internet really is and how it works before they get their Internet-ready laptops in a few weeks. When they came in, they had the first five minutes of class to “draw the Internet.” I got a…

WebSLAM is Here!

For those of you who may have been wondering where I’ve been for the last few months, I can tell you, I haven’t been resting. Over much of the last three years I have taken on endeavors outside of Philly, but I have spent this past year entrenched in the tech community in my home…

Thinking Beyond the Textbook

I am thrilled to have been invited again to Discovery Education’s Beyond the Textbook discussion at Discovery’s offices in Silver Springs, MD. Last year’s event was an inspiring and energizing experience, and I am excited to continue this conversation a year later. A lot can change in a year. One of the biggest disruptors I see…

Defining Digital Citizenship

On Saturday, I had the wonderful opportunity of leading a workshop on Digital Citizenship at the National Liberty Museum here in Philadelphia. One of the most important conversations to have at the start of the day is about the meaning and importance of citizenship in general. We spent the morning coming up with a common…

Lifelong Kindergarten

First of all, I have to thank my friend, Kim Sivick for sharing this awesome gadget with me. ————————————————————————————————————————————– Today I received my Makey Makey kit in the mail and I haven’t stopped playing with it. First, I opened the box. Once I had it all plugged in, I immediately got some bananas and got…