Recent articles

Should schools be responsible for teaching character dispositions, such as grit and adaptability? No
09/10/2015
Topics: Curriculum, Digital Citizenship, Personalized Learning, Project-based learning, Standards
Each parent has a different set of ideals for their children, including where they want them to go in life, how they want them to act and whom they should associate with. These ideals are based on norms from their community, where they live, the religious views of the family and beliefs they…

Should schools be responsible for teaching character dispositions, such as grit and adaptability? Yes
09/10/2015
Topics: Curriculum, Personalized Learning, Project-based learning
As we all know, when babies learn to walk, they fall. A lot. We don't throw a cushion under them to soften the blow or grab their hands to keep them from failing, because if we did, they wouldn't experience — or learn from — defeat. This is how they learn perseverance, the value of taking risks…

5 standards-aligned lesson plans
08/24/2015
Topics: Curriculum, Standards, STEM & STEAM
In June, I wrote about five fabulous lessons you could “steal” from…

Hotly contested: Should coding be mandatory?
06/30/2015
Topics: Coding & robotics, Curriculum, Education leadership, ISTE Conference & Expo
Schools in industrialized countries across the globe are having a debate: Should teaching coding and computer science be a mandatory part of curriculum? That discussion took place on a smaller scale at ISTE 2015, where four experts weighed in during a modified Oxford-style debate session titled…

Time to redesign curriculum for the digital age
12/03/2014
Topics: Curriculum, Standards
In too many schools, technology integration has come to mean retrofitting new technology to outdated curriculum. Digital tools are tacked onto lessons, simply replacing functions that were once performed with traditional tools, such as pen and paper.
There's a wide gulf between…