This is one of those easy options for vocabulary. I thought of it when I saw the 2011 Mediocrity commercial embedded below. Essentially, they pick one of the vocabulary words and use it as a car name. The students would draw up a one page ad1 (with relevant copy) for the car that plays off […]
I went and saw one of my former students in jail this past weekend. Hakeem has been sentenced to 23 years with no chance of parole. He was arrested when he was 17. He still looked like the 6th grader I knew. Same smile. A number of new tattoos. I wasn’t sure how this was […]
I should be able to cut and paste this from the Neuromancer ebook1 I have on my freaking iPhone but I can’t. So here is the hand transcribed passage that reminded me of edupunk and surrounding nonsense. Not sure if the parallels qualify as irony but it’s at least interesting. …but others (including many who’d […]
As an English or foreign language teacher I’d be all over the “small people” quote by BP Chairman Carl-Henric Svanberg. It’s not going to be useful much longer so act now. Questions: Should this comment make people mad? What did he mean? What should he have said? It’s a beautiful entry to arguing about word […]
Survival guides have some interesting potential for a variety of historical and literary analysis needs. This idea was jump started by the Brighid Survival Manual which was found via Super Punch. Here’s a quick example for the Witch in The Wizard of Oz. I’ll see if time allows me to make one for a Jamestown […]
I despise Animoto‘s use as evidence of learning in the classroom. It produces a veneer that implies intent but requires none. It allows people to put on the facade that their students are doing intelligent work. They seem to trick even themselves. That being said, I finally came up with a use that would require […]
cc licensed flickr photo shared by bionicteaching Here are a few of the things I’m thinking about after a great time at Faculty Academy. Raw notes are below. The big picture stuff is pretty simple. Work that is student driven, public and has a real audience results in all kinds of good things happening. We […]
I think about where we spend our money. We’re constantly trying to find easy ways out of holes, easy ways to scale metaphorical mountains. We look for processes to remove the chores of thought and decision. Education is floundering. We lost our faith in teachers. It is every politician’s easy drum to beat- after all. […]
cc licensed flickr photo shared by bionicteaching My son decided to make a slingshot the other day. He disappeared for a while and showed up with this. He’s six. It’s not rocket science and it’s not perfect. That’s not the point. I love the spirit that drove him. He believes he can make things. He […]
Currency Redesign This would be a fun way to look at our government (and other countries for that matter). It’s simple but complex. How do you redesign our currency so that it reflects our history and current values? There’s a lot of interesting analysis potential there. Partnering with an art class would give you some […]