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Snowballs from T+L
I flew into Denver this morning, just ahead of a slow-moving snow storm, and made it over to NSBA's T+L conference by mid-morning. I'll admit to being a trade show junkie; I was looking forward to browsing the show floor, seeing what's new, eying the competition and running across some familiar faces. I was especially keen since T+L is one of the first ed tech shows of the "season", coming…
Read MoreNeed a Classroom Technology Plan? Who You Gonn’a Call?
The mandate is issued, the funds are secured and it’s time to move the notion of 21st Century Classrooms from theory to reality. It’s an exciting time for technology directors fortunate enough to work for districts undergoing school construction or renovation, as you get thrown into the process of defining your unique version of a modern classroom.
From 30,000 feet, tasks always look easy. Interactive white boards, projectors, some…
Lesson Plan Management Standards.
There's an old joke about standards that says if they're such a good idea, everyone ought to have one. OK. Not much of a joke, but it's about as good as it gets when you're dealing with engineering humor. The point is, standards get a lot of lip service, but often fall short when it comes to delivering the type of universal value they could create. The reality is that…
Read MoreNECC Candor from the DOE
Though it required an early wake-up to make the 7am SIIA Education Division breakfast last Wednesday morning at NECC, it was worth the effort. Tucked into a small room at the Renaissance Hotel across from the DC Convention Center, the group consisted of SIIA leadership, various education software publishers, several varieties of industry consultants and one ed tech hardware exec. The speaker that morning was Jim Shelton, the DOE's Assistant…
Read MoreLow Hearing. High Classroom Impact.
Years ago I was involved in scientific research on the effect of vision loss on the everyday tasks we take for granted, such as reading and walking around. After finishing my graduate work at NYU, I moved to Minnesota to join an esteemed research facility known as the Laboratory for Low Vision Research, run by a brilliant scientist named Gordon Legge, who himself had extremely "low vision". The term "low…
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