CLASS
Classroom tips without big price tags.
Smile: It’s Your Best School Year Ever
Back to school season is expensive, but one thing that's free is a smile. Studies show a smile makes life better. Smiling puts your brain in a very different space. Teaching is hard. I often say it's like playing dodge ball but I'm the one in the middle and...
Happy Teacher Appreciation Week!
An alum of mine posted a picture of drinks on my Facebook wall for Teacher Appreciation Week. She told me I was awesome and said she'd buy me "tea," but she suspected she'd put something else in the tea. I wonder if she thought I needed it. The absolute best...
To Email or Not to Email… That is the Question
"I delete your emails," said a friend. "They're too long." They were. These days, I'm embarrassed. My old emails would've been perfect--if I were writing a research paper or Ph.D thesis. They're way too long and deserved to be filed under #nobodycares. I...
“I Want to Smash Their Phones”
"I want to smash their phones." This is the number one complaint I hear about middle and high school students with phones. It often gets directed to me. "I know you wanted students to have phones, but..." I'm a big fan of BYOD*--Bring Your Own Device--for a number...
Get Organized: Use Calendars & Project Management Tools
"When's it due?" students ask. "When did I say it was due?" I answer. "I don't know." It's either that or "I forgot." That's how it goes. Not anymore! No kid with a computer, tablet, or smartphone gets to say "I forgot" anymore. Set them up with calendars and...
Pinterest in the Classroom
Do you use Pinterest in the classroom? If not, you should. Pinterest used to be a place for dumping pictures of all the cool things you wanted to buy and projects you never got around to finishing. Not anymore--Pinterest is the place to be for research,...
Evernote Saves Lives
Evernote could have saved this student's life. "My brother peed on my science notebook." The student was frantic. Science is serious, and they have a serious notebook full of labs, tables of contents, and lots of things. She had a little brother with autism who...
You Need to Get Connected! Twitter 101 for Teachers
Are you on Twitter yet? If you're a teacher, you should be. "No man is an island." Someone really great said that. Teaching often feels like one. I have a saying, "If you're more than two rooms past me, or farther than the bathroom, I won't see you till June."...
Excuses Bringing You Down? How To Be a Productivity Ninja
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DB2Q1Jt_Kd4 "You're late again." I've got a student who's late every day, each time with a better excuse. We don't use the clock anymore--class officially starts with a round of applause when he arrives. Then we all get to...