The iTeach Blog

These days, when pressed for time to deliver content with the pacing guide, the digital tools and techniques we use with our students are sometimes limited to online activities, video resources and unit projects.  But we forget that it is often just as easy to incorporate new technology into those three old school learning areas:  reading, writing & arithmetic!  Our students sometimes struggle with seeing the relevance of what we do in the classroom with what they experience in the real world, having to often shut themselves down when they enter class and getting hooked up the moment they get home.  But what if there were a way we could use tools like  Seesaw ,  Skitch ,  Google Classroom  and  Office 365  to motivate kids to complete their work while using it to demonstrate what they have learned at the same time?  As teachers, we often have difficulty finding time to fit in just one more thing, but are also guilty of forgetti...

It’s no secret that the #MakerMovement has taken U.S. K-12 by storm. I think that more than any other ‘trend’ in my 12 years in education, embracing what it is to be a #Maker has had the most profound impact on culture, but not just for students…for TEACHERS! Here are MY 3 reasons why #MakerEd will save teaching. #3 -  Permission to make a mess and not clean it up is LIBERATING! I can’t even begin to tell you how many of my afternoons have been lost to the deadly ‘I’ll just pick up a bit before I leave’ curse. The expectation that classrooms should look pristine and Pinterest-ready every morning is just too much pressure, and its such a time-suck. Instead, honoring the fact that when the bell rings doesn’t impact when kids are done with what they are working on, gives teachers the appropriate permission to skip the Clorox Wipe and recycling bin barrage at the end of the day…giving them back some of the TIME they are in such desperate need of. (Disclaimer: This d...