Thinking Out Loud: Blog

Elizabeth Green in the NYT Magazine of March 10th comments on how to build a better teacher. With the headlines screaming a new age of "carrots" from the revision of the NCLB legislation by Team Obama, how does this fit in? Uncommon Schools' Doug Lemov has an answer - or rather 49 of them in his Taxonomy being published in April, Teach Like a Champion. I counted 9 examples out of 49 in the article and on the website:

1. Strong Voice

2. Cold Call

3. Precise Praise…

After Reading Shakespeare with the Ninth Graders

Working as a substitute, I had 15 minutes and no lesson so I asked the 9th graders to write on Love and War after reading a passage from "Romeo and Juliet". I never ask my class to do something I would not attempt. Here's my 15 minutes with no editing. Such fun! Linked by passion, Love and War are siblings. The seemingly softer sister, Love, can be as cruel as her stronger brother can be filled with tender regret. The bond of the soldiers in…

Having been on both sides of the room so to speak, I am perplexed as to how to engage the "social capital" of online students who don't - just don't. In a classroom I would stand beside them or ask them questions but with a "class" of 100 or so, how can an online instructor keep up with who's sleeping in the back of the room or who's just checked out and is texting their boyfriend? In a physical classroom I have a sense of juggling the plates. Keeping everyone spinning at once, I enjoy the tension. But…

I just went to a webinar at Adobe (free) that was discussing engaging millineums by using avatars for teaching. The jist was that for a 21 year old who has spent more than 10,000 in video gaming their expectations of content delivery are different. They expect an environment that is multitasking, media rich and with short attention requirements. So they are suggesting training with a second world using avatars and polls for testing and an experiential game-like anywhere anytime online world for the…

http://deadspin.com/5477230/nyu-business-school-professor-has-mastered-the-art-of-email-flaming

Anyone dare to comment? or just cutpaste the email and send it out to your own xxxx students!

Check out my summer adventure Reunion 2009 in the January 2010 issue of Helmet Hair Magazine.

Ever thought about tire wear? Not that bored? Well...

Once you get down to a certain point on a tire you can see the interior of the tire. If you have put down that many miles on your bike, you begin also to get down to the base of your own riding. When I went to investigate tire wear, I ran into an article that explained that front tires wear more on the left side because there are more riding miles on that side in a left driving country. So as I go into the left turn I tend to swing out away…

Trapped in a cubicle, I wait out the time until unemployment.
All it took was one person saying honestly to me that there was a lot of competition for the new job and I had “some bad press.” If I cry at work people will look at me. The girl down the hall has just yesterday gotten a diagnosis of breast cancer. She’s arranging her surgery, at work, smiling – a little sadly but not crying and I feel like such a *censored*. I should just let go but I’m afraid of a big fall. Who would catch me? Ok, I’ll…