Reading Well(s)

At 2 am one morning in 2015, a loud alarm startled me out of my sleep.  My alarm clock was not on. It was in my head. The beeping would not stop but eventually changed to high pitched buzz. Sleeping was difficult.  I was only 35. Seven years later it is still there. Constant ringing in your ears is called tinnitus. In my case, the cause of tinnitus is unknown. Since that morning my hearing has steadily declined. I wear two hearing aids (which are ridiculously expensive devices). Even with the aids, I regularly do not hear what people say---it depends on the room acoustics, the pitch of the person's voice, and where they look when they speak.  In recent years, as my hearing has gotten worse, I've learned to advocate for myself. I ask people to speak up,  to look up, even to remove their masks. I ask professors for captioning on videos, and I get special headphones when I go to movie theaters. Sometimes I get what I call advocation exhaustion. If I have repeated my req...

Technology in schools is both a necessity and an inspiration. And the best technology integration plans acknowledge both roles. Consider Hughes' R.A.T. model of technology integration ( it was designed to help teachers develop a framework for their"growing competencies in technology integration").  According to Hughes, the transformation step is the most elusive.  I think I've found a technology for classrooms that will almost always be transformational-3D Printers. Students' learning processes while using the printers will change: they will be more involved, they will be required to think creatively, and they will be forced to accept failure sometimes and then problem solve.  Teachers will also be required to alter their instructional practices. They will have to move from a knowledge-sharing role to a learning-along-with-you role because 99% of teachers will not be able to predict how all printed models will turn out. Let's start with some basics.   What is ...

In my 3rd-5th grade building, teachers are overwhelmed. Last year, kids were either remote or in person. Classes were smaller. This year, classes are back up to around 30, teachers have to teach in person, and manage web cams for kids who are quarantined due to COVID. They are exhausted.  Yet, we need to add digital and informational literacy to daily instruction if we want to prepare our kids for the future. . Currently, most digital literacy happens by trial and error, not planned lessons. It is sporadic because it is not part of the curriculum. We have to stop assuming kids know how to use technology because it has been part of their lives since birth. Just because kids can share funny cat videos on TikTok does not mean they know how to troubleshoot if a piece of technology is not working (try shutting if off?), or how to organize papers and notes into folders so they can be found later, or how to determine if information on a website can be trusted. Honestly, many kids cannot e...