Blog - Page 47 of 47 - John Spencer

Mar 05 2013

When Kids Craft BYOD Policies

By John Spencer Uncategorized 10 Comments

It started out with a standardized writing prompt and was never intended to move outside of the small testing window. However, when students finished writing a persuasive text on whether students should be allowed to have cell phones and MP3 players (a student aptly pointed…

Dec 20 2012

Ten Things I’ve Learned in Going Project-Based

By John Spencer Project-Based Learning 13 Comments

It's a few days before Christmas and I expect a challenge. Students will be checked-out or hyper. However, to my surprise, they are fully engaged in a project that combines reading, writing, global awareness and critical thinking. I've mentioned before that this year has been…

Sep 10 2012

Thirteen Ways to Boost Student Blogging

By John Spencer Technology and Media Literacy 17 Comments

This is my ninth year of having students create their own blogs. Initially, the student blogs were nothing more than a class journal posted online. They were digital notebooks. However, over time, they became a place for student voice. They evolved as my thinking about…

Jul 24 2012

You Need to Use Technology the Wrong Way

By John Spencer Technology and Media Literacy 25 Comments

I don't think I've ever known anyone else who uses a spreadsheet as a calendar. For me, it works, though. I have the date, the day, the task or event, the type of task and the location. For recurring events, I simply write "every week"…

Jul 14 2012

11 Reasons Teachers Aren’t Using Technology #edchat #edtech

By John Spencer Technology and Media Literacy 133 Comments

I know that all tools are technically technology. However, for the purpose of this post, I'm thinking computers, tablets and mobile devices. This is not a comprehensive list and I admit that it's limited entirely to my own experiences and my own local context: #1:…

Mar 19 2012

The Paradox of Play

By John Spencer Uncategorized 2 Comments

Christy and I are picking orange blossoms. Unlike the desert plants, the blossoms don't affect my allergies one bit. Between the heavy scent and the thrill of dodging bees, it is hard to imagine that anything else exists in our world beyond the moment. We…

Mar 06 2011

It’s Okay to Love Technology

By John Spencer Uncategorized 5 Comments

I wrote this after reading a thought-provoking post on the Spicy Learning Blog. When I first began blogging, I felt like a lone Luddite in a techno-wilderness. While writing about the greatest "killer apps" (sadly, not nun-chucks), I wrote about the need for technology criticism.…