All Blog Posts (869)

I recently watched this amazing video:

http://www.isteconference.org/ISTE/2011/program/search_results_details.php?sessionid=60716586&selection_id=82458334&rownumber=1&max=54&gopage=  (Actually, to be honest, the video has two minor technical issues. I had problems with watching it on the site, so I…

Teaching today is kind of like acting. Children, at least young children are expecting a show. It is getting harder and harder to get away with traditional style of teaching. Today, it is all about the visual affects. Children want bells and whistles, they want to be amazed. I have been using youtube in my classroom more and more in my class and I am always thinking of new and improved ways to wow our students. This week I used Animoto for the first time. I was always intimidated by these…

Social networking has become the buzz in technology over the past few years. Teens have been using it for better or for worse and it has become the way to connect in the business world and the like. Teachers and educators are relatively new to the world, but the impact has already been profound. Over the past few weeks our educational technology class has created their own group via Edmoto and it became viral throughout the group. It was amazing to watch my peers interact with each other,…

I love technology and I believe it has and will continue to have a tremendous impact on education. But I also believe that just because something is technology, doesn't mean we must find a way to stick into the classroom.



One example of this is the concept of a virtual environment platform such as Second life. Second life is a program in which students create for themselves an avatar in which they build, interact and explore with…

This week I have been focusing on using wikis in the educational setting. I had created a Wiki to use for my professional use, but I never considered of how I could use this in the classroom.

In my research of educational wikis, I came across two wikis that I really enjoyed. The first one is located at http://bookleads.wikispaces.com. This wiki provides award winning books, suggested reading lists, and a variety of other subject areas…

Today I was introduced to Second Life, a world of virtual reality and hundreds of destinations one can choose to explore. I know that these destinations could be used as educational tools and I'm sure I can think of ways to incorporate them, but frankly I was quite repulsed from what I saw on Second Life. To me, it seemed to be a place that is used by most people to waste time and enter into a world of make-believe, an escape of some sort where people dream up their ideal look and…

The students entering our classrooms are not the same as they were 20 years ago.  Therefore, our expectations of what our students are able to do and what they know should not be the same as they were back then.  In regards to educational technology, we are no longer living in the "Computer Age," to the surprise of many people.  We are now living in the "Digital Age," and according to others, the "Interactive Age."   All we have to do is click - and we're there.  Many teachers are…

I like to consider myself a healthy cynic.

On one hand I’m extremely excited about what the future holds for easy and vast information sharing. I see statements like this: “The district’s assessment system could alert administrators and educators when students are in danger of failing so that they can provide intervention quickly.” (Solomon & Schrum, 2010, p. 165) I start picturing the amazing possibilities about a student transferring schools and the new teachers at the click of…

I have been teaching in a day school for the better part of 20 years.  It is a place of kedusha, ritual, halacha, morality, a safe harbor from the assault of the outside world.  I firmly believe that Second Life has no place in the Jewish day school. For the very brief time I spent there, it was a place of vulgarity and crudeness. It took me a very long time to find an avatar I would be comfortable with.  Even though I found one dressed in long sleeves and a skirt, she looked like and moved…

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One of the difficulties skeptics have with blended/online learning is the fact that the learning takes place outside the walls of the traditional classroom.  Traditional synchronous learning occurs when two or more people are communicating in real time (live).  They could be sitting in the classroom, talking on…

Social networking sounded really scary to me. I keep hearing about the dangers
involved and how careful you have to be about your personal information. I never
knew how easy it is to set up a private social network. It can even be free! I
love edmodo. It is so easy to use. I want to set one up for each of my classes
and use it to communicate out of school. Maybe also for homework. I think I
should start with just one class though. We will see how it goes!

Virtual environments are new to me, but this week I was able to experience Second Life. I first began underwater looking for treasures and had difficulties navigating and locating the treasures. I gave up on my first day and when I came back to it, I found it much easier. I was able to locate the hidden treasures and the big treasure at the end. I additionally explored four different worlds in Second Life. I explored Roma, Paris, Vasser Island, and Jokadyia. These areas were on land and…

As we educators are aware, our jobs in the classroom do not get left behind in school when the dismissal bell rings.  Rather, our jobs come home with us.  From calling parents during the evening hours, to grading papers, to preparing our lessons, it's as if teachers are always "on call."  To complicate our lives even more, we live in a world of instant gratification; we are constantly waiting for an phone call, an e-mail, a message, a text, or a tweet.  In short, a teacher's job never…

I had the opportunity last week to go to an iPad Boot Camp given by Sam Gliksman. Sam runs the popular iPads in Education Ning (http://ipadeducators.ning.com/) and recently published iPads Apps for Education for Dummies (http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1118375386/?tag=wwwwileycom-20). He gave a fascinating class about effectively using the plethora of different iPad…

For all those PC users out there, I think Windows Movie Maker is a wonderful, free and easy to use tool. You can create anything from simple drag and drop slide-shows to more detailed and involved videos, which I have personally used numerous times at work. Whether approached to "quickly" create a slideshow of the days events or put together a school dinner video, I was able to create all types of videos with one program.

If you are looking to create a quick, non-labor intensive…

Every week, I am introduced to new tools that open up new avenues for me as an educator. This week, I discovered a remarkable way to have my students tell the stories we learn about through digital storybooking online. I already have several ideas of assignments that I would like to give my students. For example, in my 9th grade history class, we are about to learn about the French Revolution, and at the end of the unit, I require my students to make a timeline of 10 important…

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RABBI MIKE'S ED TECH BLOG

“ I've found a new hobby… creating websites!”

“What??”

“Yea, it’s great. I can’t get enough of it!”

“But all that coding and those complicated command lines how do you have time?”

“Nah, it’s easy, just a click…

My first digital story, created for #etmooc in tribute to #educoach: Friends Who Have Never…

I have had a perpetual block against collaborative learning that goes all the way back to my days as an undergraduate student. I had a teacher who assigned us our groups, wouldn’t change my group upon request, faulted groups when any member didn’t do their part, and faulted individuals if she saw evidence that some students were compensating for others. So, I worked really hard on behalf of my lazy dopy group, only to receive an undeservedly low grade, one which I appealed for 1 ½ years…

Our school wanted to start a 1:1 iPad program in our Middle School for several reasons. The obvious reasons were similar to the ones you all know about. We wanted to take our school to the next level; we wanted to enhance and improve learning outcomes by introducing a tool to our digital native students; and we wanted to keep up with 21st century learning. Yes, all of those things were catalysts to launching our program but of course, we are a private Jewish Day School and we just wanted to…