As graduation season rolls around once again, I thought I would compile a list of videos that I’ve found over the years that eloquently describe the hopes and dreams I have for my students in the future. I’ve placed the length of each video beside it. Not all of these are graduation speeches, but they … Read more
A couple of weeks ago I stumbled on a #makered Twitter chat and somehow the conversation turned to using the Sphero robots to paint. I was hoping to do this with my 4th graders because we are studying mathematical art and I thought it would be a good way to tie it in with the … Read more
I first posted about Canva about 18 months ago when it was in its beta stage. Since then, this amazing graphic design service has: become a full-fledged website, launched a mobile app, and unveiled its education services (which include sign-in with Google Apps for Education). I was one of the educators approached by Canva to write … Read more
When I realized that last week was National Engineering Week, the week was practically already over. I tried to salvage things by doing some engineering with my 5th grade last Thursday – Introduce a Girl to Engineering Day. Ironically, there are only 5 girls in my 5th grade class of 18. But that’s still a … Read more
I think I can safely say that rocket scientist was never in my radar as I considered different occupations growing up. It was never suggested to me and, quite frankly, I probably didn’t even know rocket scientists existed. If I did, I’m pretty certain I didn’t entertain any notion of attempting that career path. If someone had … Read more
I found this video originally on Upworthy. It is so exciting to see the students’ enthusiasm as they work the real-world problem inspired by a train puzzle their teacher found at the store. The teacher, Justin Solonynka, truly knows how to engage the minds of his 7th grade students! You can see the sequel to the … Read more