Blog - Page 47 of 50 - Spencer Education

Apr 02 2015

Eight Lessons Learned in Doing Scratch Video Game Projects

By John Spencer Technology and Media Literacy 4 Comments

My students are currently working on a Scratch video game project. Walk into my second, fourth and sixth hours and you'll see a general buzz that goes from slightly noisy to intense silence. They are locked in and focussed, sometimes arguing about the best scripts…

Mar 27 2015

Four Options for Dealing With Broken Systems

By John Spencer Uncategorized 5 Comments

I don't believe that schools are broken. I know that sounds so non-innovative or whatever, but I don't care. I see amazing things that happen at my school on a regular basis. I watch what my kids have learned and I'm blown away. I see…

Mar 01 2015

Seven Surprising Things About Creativity

By John Spencer Creativity 2 Comments

It's no secret that I like to make stuff. My wife and I co-wrote Wendell the World's Worst Wizard and I have been blown away when classrooms choose it as a read aloud. I worked with two other people on creating Write About, a digital publishing…

Feb 21 2015

Teachers Need Genius a Hour, Too

By John Spencer Student Choice 14 Comments

My wife and I give each other one night a week to pursue our own interest. It's sort of like having a date night alone. Odd, I know, but something that allows both of us to pursue our own interests no matter how crazy life…

Feb 09 2015

What Makes Project-Based Learning Work?

By John Spencer Project-Based Learning 2 Comments

So, I’m at the Nova Now Conference at Kent Innovation High School and I’m watching the students working on an aquaponics project. At one table, students are debating the aesthetic design. In another area, students are using Sketch Up to work on a framework for…

Feb 05 2015

What If Middle Schools Started Adding Recess?

By John Spencer Creativity 6 Comments

I'm writing this post during recess. It's not really recess. It's lunchtime. However, for this half an hour, students have a break. They can move. They can play. They can socialize. They can be free. I contrast this to my daughter's class. She's in pre-school,…

Jan 20 2015

Eight Reasons My Principal Rocks

By John Spencer Uncategorized No Comments

Our principal walked into a really tough situation this year. The school culture was in serious trouble and we had a mass exodus of teachers who left. We had unfilled positions along with new initiatives that could have been really unpopular. And yet, the school…

Nov 07 2014

I Hid My Art: Why Shame Often Kills Creativity

By John Spencer Creativity, Uncategorized No Comments

Just a few years ago, I would have been mortified for people to see that picture (above). When I was in high school, I decided not to go into Advanced Art, because I was scared. I had created a few pieces that won awards and…

Oct 08 2014

Your First Draft Will Probably Suck — And That’s Okay

By John Spencer Creativity 2 Comments

One of the reasons I struggled with teaching code last year was that the lessons tanked. I felt like I should be able to teach a new concept without struggling. After a decade of teaching, I assumed that I wouldn't have projects that fell completely…

Sep 30 2014

Sometimes innovation involves boldly looking back in order to move forward

From Relevant to Meaningful

By John Spencer Uncategorized 16 Comments

Originally posted 3 years ago, but I think it's still relevant now. I'm at a conference, listening to a technophile gush about the latest available tools that schools need to quit blocking. "What's relevant to kids these days?" "Facebook," the audience cries out in unison.…