Greenhaus Education and Other "Effects"

I just read this article in Forbes by Emily Canal entitled " Zombies Infiltrate Classrooms to Bring STEM Back to Life" about how The National Academy of Science and Texas Instruments  have created a new program that provides STEM lessons through the lens of zombies, superheroes, space and forensics called STEM Behind Hollywood . Wow - I wish I were back in the classroom cause I would be all over this!  What a great way to get students really excited about learning. Kids are into movies, particularly with those focused on zombies, scifi and superheroes, and here's a way to connect that interest to learning about math, science and technology....win, win, win! Similar to my post last week about real-world curriculum and technology connections, the message here is real-world learning is important and needed in classrooms. It's not that hard to find amazing resources out there that help make learning topics such as math and science engaging, exciting, relevant and W...

Didn't think I would have a chance to write today. I am sitting in my parents house, surrounded by 42 years of 'stuff', as I help them pack up for their move to a retirement community.  Two days left to finish cleaning out years of accumulation. Emotional, stressful, and overwhelming to think about the amount of things we acquire over time. And as you sort through it, what do you take and what do you throw away? (If my mother has her way, NOTHING will be thrown away!) So - my contribution for the day is a  'real-world' problem related to moving. Just a few thoughts as I gather my sanity before the next closet clean out. If you saved every National Geographic magazine since 1969, how many magazines is that and how many pounds would it weigh? And, if you now have to take this to the recycling bin, how many trips will this take? You might ask your students what additional information might be needed (see list below):  How many magazines are printed in a year? Wh...

As a person who believes in the integration of technology in instruction, my thoughts about online learning/schooling are mixed.  I read this article "Online Grade Schools Becoming a Popular Alternative"  by Mark MacLaughlin  about parents having their elementary children enrolled in an online grade school and it just got me wondering about what might be some disadvantages to this approach. While I completely agree that it gives children more choice in what and how they learn, does it impact other important aspects of actual brick and mortar schools?  These other aspects include interacting with peers, learning 'rules' and limits (expectations of the real world), learning respect for differences and how to deal appropriately with those differences (in other students, in teachers, etc.)?  I am a proponent of online learning, don't get me wrong, but I just wonder if a mixed approach is better.  I know from my own personal experience with my doctorate course...