Blog - Page 38 of 46 - John Spencer

Apr 11 2016

We often hear about the problems in education. What about the solutions?

By John Spencer Teacher Life 3 Comments

This morning, I logged into Twitter and noticed a stream of education articles. Several described how homework is ruining childhood. A few mentioned why schools are crushing creativity. I noticed my own blog post describing how "kids aren't tired of learning but they're tired of…

Apr 07 2016

Kids Aren’t Tired of Learning. They’re Tired of School.

By John Spencer Creativity 6 Comments

Toward the end of the year, I remember feeling absolutely exhausted as a teacher. Once the testing is over and the pressure is gone, there's this sense of relief. However, this was nothing compared to what my eighth graders experienced. You could see it in…

Mar 30 2016

Frequently Asked Questions About Design Thinking

By John Spencer Design Thinking 2 Comments

For the last 12 years, I've used design thinking as a teacher, an author, an educational technology startup founder and an artist. I've used in in the non-profit world in program development and I'm currently using it right now as I lead a team of…

Mar 28 2016

Who are the Jerry Gergiches of your building?

By John Spencer Uncategorized One Comment

Disclaimer: This post just barely tiptoes toward education. It's mostly a post about my all-time favorite television comedy. About a week ago, I watched the final season of Parks and Recreation. It struck me, at the end of the series, that this might be the…

Mar 22 2016

Teaching Should Be Fun

By John Spencer Teacher Life 4 Comments

Note: I'm sure my thoughts on this topic have been heavily influenced by Dean Shareski. If you don't read his blog, go check it out. For the last four days, I have been back at home with my family. We have had deep conversations.…

Mar 20 2016

Is this the new digital divide?

By John Spencer Technology and Media Literacy 10 Comments

"Hey dad, can I have a YouTube channel?" my son asked."What kind of a channel would you create?" I asked."Maybe a channel showing how to create things in Minecraft. But there's already a lot out there. What if I had a channel showing kids how…

Mar 10 2016

The Real Issue in Tech Integration Is Self-Efficacy

By John Spencer Technology and Media Literacy 3 Comments

Seven years ago, I did a research project on blended and personalized professional development. There were a few big take-homes that I hadn't considered before. For example, I learned that "personalized" only works when there is a collaborative and creative component. I also learned that…

Mar 07 2016

We Need a Bigger Definition of Creativity

By John Spencer Creativity 3 Comments

Subscribe to YouTube Channel When you the word “creative,” you might think of a painter or a playwright or an author or a photographer or a filmmaker or a chef. In other words, you might think of people who make things. I think it’s…

Mar 03 2016

I Want Students to be Better Consumers

By John Spencer Creativity 4 Comments

“We need kids to be creators, not consumers.” I’ve heard this statement so many times at conference and in Twitter chats and in blog posts. I get it. We want students to be creative. But is consumption actually a bad thing? See, every person I…

Mar 01 2016

Can Technology Transform Learning?

By John Spencer Technology and Media Literacy One Comment

When I was a kid, I remember hearing that computers would replace teachers. I didn't like this idea, unless they could guarantee that my teacher would be like Data on Star Trek: The Next Generation. However, technologists promised us that computers would radically transform our…