Recently I had the opportunity to present at ETC 2019 in Bangkok with my colleague in MYP Design, Nik Madalinski. Our workshop, called Cre8 Design, was a weird one. We gave participants the chance to pick from 8 micro-presentations around current trends and topics in design technology over the course of 80 minutes (If time … Continue reading 3 Big Ways Schools Can Enable A Culture of Creativity and Design Thinking
10 Year Olds Ask You to Play Their Games for #HourofCode
The #HourofCode is a special time that is meant to demystify the skill of coding for all ages of learners. In previous years, my students have created a Caine's Arcade-style event for the community where the frames of the arcade machines were made out of cardboard and the screens were the students' iPads. You can … Continue reading 10 Year Olds Ask You to Play Their Games for #HourofCode
After 100 Years of the Same Teaching Model It’s Time to Throw Out the Playbook
Thank you for visiting educationrickshaw.com! My name is Dr. Zach Groshell and... I wrote this blog a while ago and I no longer agree with many of the points in here! I could delete it, but then I'd never be able to go back and compare what I used to think with my current beliefs … Continue reading After 100 Years of the Same Teaching Model It’s Time to Throw Out the Playbook
Empowering Students to Take Creative Action
Action can come in many forms, and, depending on the group of kids you're given, students' attitude towards action ranges from the enthusiastic to the idealistic to the unsustainable to the irresponsible. While taking action is a major component of the IB PYP, it can be tricky for teachers to get it right. https://youtu.be/WN0yCYVBD5U In … Continue reading Empowering Students to Take Creative Action
That digital program your school bought will never transform learning
It seems like most teachers and students have access to a paid-for digital learning program. You know the kind - RAZ kids, IXL, Spelling City, any one of those listed in the featured image of this article - and they all promise to raise achievement while making learning "fun". These CAI (computer assisted instruction) programs … Continue reading That digital program your school bought will never transform learning
Student Inventions Face Evaluation in the Shark Tank
This week, my students will be presenting their inventions to an audience of parents and community members. Instead of doing a traditional exhibition, where students stand for an hour and answer questions next to their display, we are doing something different: A Year 5 Shark Tank. Many of us already know the reality show, "Shark … Continue reading Student Inventions Face Evaluation in the Shark Tank
Ways to Enhance Reading and Writing Workshop with Technology
Our school recently made the switch to Columbia University’s Teachers College Reading and Writing Project. Although Stephanie and I received some surface level training on the project in our previous school, this has been the first time that we have been asked to follow the program with a high level of fidelity. Like with any … Continue reading Ways to Enhance Reading and Writing Workshop with Technology
What Does a 21st Century Classroom Look, Sound, and Feel Like?
Part of a technology coach's role these days is to convince teachers that their job description has changed. The industrial model of education is well past its expiration date, and the generation of students born today are going to graduate into a world that will look completely different than our own. In order to train … Continue reading What Does a 21st Century Classroom Look, Sound, and Feel Like?
5 Quick Projects That Make Use of Green Screen
It might come as a surprise to some teachers that all it takes to replicate the green screen effects that we all see in the movies and on the news is a free green screen app and some green butcher paper. Once I put up my own DIY green screen in my classroom, my students … Continue reading 5 Quick Projects That Make Use of Green Screen
“The What” vs. “The How” of Education
After reading the above tweet, I've been thinking a lot about this idea that we may very well spend too much time talking about what we should teach rather than how we should teach. And the more I think about it, the more I crave conversations that concern the how of education. Learning-focused conversation is learner and … Continue reading “The What” vs. “The How” of Education
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