Each mission in my new book, Hacking Digital Learning Strategies: 10 Ways to Launch EdTech Missions in Your Classroom, shares an example of the Mission in Action by a teacher I admire. When I was writing the Mission: Remix Learning in a Digital Textbook, I immediately thought about my good friend from Germany, André Spang, […]
Month: September 2017
Every Student Deserves a Hero Moment
“I believe there’s a hero in all of us, that keeps us honest, gives us strength, makes us noble….” – May Parker, Spider-Man II Every student should experience a hero moment when they are challenged to accomplish a grand feat to improve the lives of others. All students should be presented with missions that require […]
Hack the Textbook
Textbooks are an important part of instruction and curricula. Often, textbooks are the main way students learn the course content. Textbooks need to evolve. Many are too expensive, unengaging, lack diversity, present limited perspectives, aren’t relatable, and are uninspiring. Outside of school, students learn via video, interactive images, games, virtual reality, augmented reality, apps, curated […]
Selfie Activities to Inspire Reflection on Digital Identity
“The most exciting breakthroughs of the 21st century will not occur because of technology but because of an expanding concept of what it means to be human.” – John Naisbitt Taking selfies has become a cultural phenomenon. Selfie was the word of the year for 2013 (Brumfield, 2013). Taking selfies is an important part of a […]
How Do Your Students Share Their Knowledge with Others? #EdtechMissions
I invite you to share your ideas, tips, and resources for this week’s #EdtechMissions chat on Flipgrid, an easy to use video response web tool and app. Click here (code: 04c535) to record your response to this week’s topic, “Students as Teachers.” It’s free and takes less than 2 minutes to share! We have 2 guiding questions. […]
Teaching Students How to Debate Intelligently and Respectfully
Debating issues online brings out the worst in people. We often see disagreements turn into personal and frightening attacks. Our students need to learn the value of stimulating debate, which focuses on issues and strays from personal attacks. Additionally, our students need the skills to deal with online trolls and bullies. These skills can help […]
Digital Footprints Leave Lasting Trails
Students don’t realize their digital footprints leave a lasting trail. Many believe what they post on ephemeral apps, like Snapchat, disappears or is kept secret. Some of their posts will disappear. However, our digital learners need to realize that posting and sharing so much on multiple networks is bound to leave a lasting trail. Moreover, […]
Every Student Should Be Given the Opportunity to Teach Others
One of the best ways we learn is by teaching others. By playing the role of the teacher, students demonstrate understanding and learn about instructional design, delivery, and presentation. They begin to reflect on the learning process, because they will know if their peers learned the material or not. Unfortunately, we don’t have enough time […]
Tap into the Power of the Crowd
Our students have access to a worldwide audience through their social networks. This audience can provide them knowledge, support, advice, resources, or funding. Tapping into the power of the crowd is known as crowdsourcing and crowdfunding. Our digital learners need to understand the role crowdsourcing and crowdfunding plays in promoting causes, startups, and innovation. This […]
Developing Global Citizens Who Champion Change
“If we have no peace, it is because we have forgotten that we belong to each other.” – Mother Teresa More than ever we need our learners to be global citizens who help make the world a better place. This is why one of the learning missions in my new book, Hacking Digital Learning Strategies: 10 […]