I want to talk about the future of professional development. COVID19 has completely disrupted our world. Education will never be the same. We’re all moving into those online spaces. We have Google Classroom, Zoom, Skype, all of those places. We exist there these days. Only there is many regards. So what does that mean for professional development moving forward?  Listen below for the full episode! Click here if it does not show. TwitterFacebookPinterestLinkedinemailReddit

What is even happening right now?  I’ve asked myself that question more times than I can count in the last five days. I have no answer. And anyone I ask is also looking for the answer. I stood in my classroom doorway on Friday afternoon saying goodbye to each one of my kids as I […]

​Hello, world!  I am partnering with NextLesson to bring affordable STEM / STEAM content to schools! Lesson plans, resources, books and much much more! NextLesson offers standards‑aligned K‑12 projects and lessons that engage students in real world problem solving through topics they love. Our projects and lessons provide students with opportunities to develop and apply critical thinking skills […]

My latest educational read has been Risk Taker by Brian Aspinall.  The book is filled with relatable and thought-provoking stories and lessons written in a way only Brian can.  When I read books like this, I often write down thoughts or quotes that leave an impression.  So…here we are.  In one of his accounts about his first year teaching […]

I remember the year a SMART Board was installed in my classroom.  It was a game changer at the time.  I ditched the blackline masters and accompanying teacher’s manual and made my own program.  My way.  Everything we did from then on was interactive.  I loved my SMART Board.  Next came iPads.  I had access to an entire class set of iPads. […]

A former administrator used to say “if school was a business we would all be bankrupt because we are so slow to change.” A bold statement that carries validity. In this rapidly changing world, the rate of change right now – as you read this – is the slowest it will ever be. This holds […]

Hello, world! It has been a while since I have written my own blog post. I am grateful to my friends and colleagues who contribute here and have picked up my slack the last few months! Truth be told, I have been writing elsewhere. Last weekend my book Risk Taker was released. A book I […]

We are celebrating the release of Risk Taker with another Bonfire campaign! Grab your gear here! Future-ready students need to be creative. They need to know how to communicate their ideas and how to collaborate as problem solvers. To master these and other twenty-first-century requirements, they will need to be critical thinkers. Engaged students are […]

It’s Computer Science Education Week.  My social media feed is filled with amazing things happening in classrooms around the globe.  It’s filled with ideas, resources and endless opportunities for educators to network with one another and add to their teacher toolbox.  It’s filled with facts and figures about computer science, and why it’s important for […]

Good.  Neither am I. I wanted to make this clear are the beginning.  I am a math teacher. I am not a computer programmer.  My colleague and mentor for all things code, Dan Shuster (Twitter: @simicodesquad) will disagree.  However, please indulge me while I elaborate on how I started teaching Math With Code. Full disclosure, […]

This year I wanted to carry on the tradition of carving pumpkins and sharing the joy of the season with the kids that I teach. I always attempt to help students find joy in learning and upon arriving to the classroom with a trolley full of pumpkins, there was no doubt a lot of joy in the […]

WHY CODE?  What makes students so engaged that when the end of the day on a Friday, learning is still taking place and not one student in a class of 25 even notice that the bell is about to ring? Here’s why: I was introduced to Brian Aspinall through a colleague. Brian and I are […]