My year in numbers

I feel like I'm behind this year. There's a constant feeling of playing catch-up. I'm in my 11th year of teaching and while I don't have all the answers, and I'm constantly trying out new things, I feel like I should have a better handle on everything. I use to be great and knowing every name, first and last, of every student at first glance. This year I find myself pausing more and more to recall names. I'm not as instantly quick as I use to be.

Am I getting older? Am I slipping in some way? Or is it a numbers game and I'm hitting my data limit...?

Why tech equity isn't always equitable...

Everyone should have iPads!

Everyone needs a SmartBoard!

They got a Chromebook, why didn't I get a Chromebook?!

I'm sure we've all heard similar laments from staff, or directives from higher-ups. I understand the desire to make everyone feel included, make everyone feel like they're involved. But is it always the best idea to strive for equity?

Equity isn't always the answer.

I'm quitting teaching & going into healthcare reform...

Yup. Quitting teaching. Going in to healthcare reform. I mean why not, right? There's all this hullabaloo about Obamacare or the Affordable Care Act or whatever it's called, or, more to the point, mis-called by the masses...

... so I think it's ripe for some real good, grassroots, healthcare reform.

And I'm just the guy to do it.

Why?

We tweet @PS10Brooklyn. A lot.

This post was originally written as a resource for parents on how the staff & students use Twitter as part of the instructional day. It originally appeared on the PS10Tech blog

Tweeting @PS10Brooklyn has become a core component of many classrooms. It has been great to see teachers, students, and parents alike embrace the power of Twitter as a communication, collaboration, and connection tool.

For example, @MsKertesz in the 4th grade has used Twitter to connect with a class in Liverpool, England. They do weekly Skype sessions and our 4th graders have developed a great working partnership with their English counterparts. Without Twitter these two classes, separated by an ocean, would never have connected.

Twitter has also gotten PS10 recognition outside of New York City...

The PalmOS is all I need

No. It's not. While the Palm OS was in many ways ahead of its time, it is currently the furthest thing from what I need.

But as I was looking at a PalmOne Tungsten E2 recently (yes, recently... dug up from a supply closet during an inventory audit) it got me thinking about tech, the evolution of tech, and the frequent resistance of users to adopt new technologies.

But I'm glad it's not just in education...

Perspective is an interesting thing

In life we tend to get use to seeing things a certain way. We expect things we see to look & act the same, the way we're use too, all the time. Sometimes, however, it is possible to look at things differently. Looking at things differently, from different angles or with a different mindset, is called perspective.

I found this great video that I think demonstrates the importance of perspective.

Screen time - my Grandmother would love this debate

When I was a but a boy I remember my grandmother telling my to stop reading so much. Constantly having my head in a book was bad for my eyes, she said. My parents' rationale for a two hour per week TV allotment was that any more and I'd go blind and rot my brain.

Has anyone gone blind from too much reading or TV watching? Are there documented cases of rotted brains due to too much ESPN or Nickelodeon?

Sunshine'd on #edtech

This post has seen many titles around the interwebs: "Sunshine Awards" or "You've been Sunshined" or "The Blog Homework Meme," but they are essentially all the same thing.

I was looped in to this by Beth Holland of EdTechTeacher. I first "met" Beth over a year ago when I was chosen as a presenter for the EdTechTeacher iPad Summit 2013 in Atlanta. I didn't have the opportunity to actually meet her in person until NYSCATE this year in Rochester. I have long been a fan of both Beth's blogging/tweeting and that of her organization, EdTechTeacher. I was quite humbled when she included me in her "I've been Sunshined" blog post.

So, thank you, Beth, and my apologies for taking so long to get my own post up...

The problem with Common Core? No lobbyist...

As the Common Core State Standards take hold of the collective masses, I have come to a realization as to why there is such vehement vocalization about it...


... they don't have a lobbyist. Or social media manager. Or press secretary...

Hour of Code - I don't get it...

December 9th starts the big Computer Science Education Week and "Hour of Code," and while I'm not against learning to code per say, I find it ironic, and unnecessary, there is such a push within education for all students to code.

When I tell people I disagree with the notion that all students should learn to code, I generally get confused looks in return. My background is in tech. I worked for Ziff Davis Publishing in the late 90s producing streaming media content in the early days of online video. Back then the big player on the web was the Progressive Networks player, which became Real Player. Who here still has Real installed on their systems...?

No one? Hmmm....

Not exactly my point, but making it's way there...