It was about five years ago when a boy walked up to me and asked, "Hey Mr. Spencer, can you talk to the district and see if they'll open up the library over the summer?" "I don't think they can," I answered. "But the city…
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At first glance, it would seem that Hagrid has all the makings of a great teacher. He is willing to take creative risks. He has a deep and passionate knowledge of his content area. And most importantly, he cares about his students. But unfortunately, content…
Warning: this post may contain spoilers. If you haven’t read the books, go do that now and then come back to this post later. Let’s just put it out there. Hogwarts is probably a terrible place to send your kids. It’s dangerous, and I’m not…
What happens when you give students exemplars? Do they simply copy the pre-existing examples? Do they fail to take creative risks? Do they internalize the idea that their work must fit a previous model? Does it implicitly tell students "this is what it should look…
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https://www.youtube.com/embed/xf8mjbVRqao Subscribe to YouTube Channel I used to teach a class called photojournalism. I usually referred to it as "digital journalism," because people assumed we were a photography class. Students created videos, podcasts, documentaries, and blogs with the goal of sharing their work with an…
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A few months ago, my son came to me to pitch a story idea. "I want a story about a superhero taco." "You mean, like a superhero that eats tacos?" "No, a superhero taco. Like a real taco, though. Not those fake hardshell tacos." "Got…
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It's late morning on a Wednesday. I have a string of meetings and a stack of paperwork. Right now, I'm thinking of the classroom. I'm remembering the way we would do a maker project on the day before Thanksgiving. We were learning, but it never…
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When my grandpa died, my grandma told me that she missed the small stuff. She had plenty of photo albums packed full of memories, but what she missed the most was waking up next to him in the morning. I remember visiting her on a hard…
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Subscribe to YouTube Channel I used to hate the word “innovative.” See those quotes right there around the word? Those are actually air quotes that I would use whenever I used the term. “It’s a buzzword,” I would say. “It’s overused,” I would point out.…
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Yesterday, I got the chance to lead a discussion on makerspaces. I felt out of place as a facilitator, because I've never actually created a maker space. I know my limitations; and that includes redesigning the physical space of the classroom. If you asked me…
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Dr. John Spencer
I’m a professor and a maker. Sometimes I make things. Sometimes I make a difference. On a good day, I get to do both.
