Information Technology Education

I've been working on ways to have my students explore and reflect on the importance of mindset in the classroom.  To this end, they took Jo Boaler's course called " How to Learn Math " last spring.  It was definitely a highlight for many of my students. Many had never realized the importance of having a growth mindset and to not be afraid of making mistakes.  It was a freeing and empowering moment for so many of them. Image  link I really got to thinking about I address standards and practices (mathematical practices and science and engineering practices) in the classroom, but what about mindset?  So, to start off the school year, I returned to a series of videos from IDEO that I watched when I took a Human-Centered Design course.  It's a set of seven videos addressing mindsets that we must have as we design solutions:  learn from failure iterate, iterate, iterate make it empathy creative confidence optimism embrace ambiguity They can be found here. ...

Starting a new school year, establishing safe and appropriate online behavior is always a priority for me as a middle school teacher.  I searched many options for my students and it was not an easy task. Many of the secondary digital citizenship games and interactive sites covered topics such as phishing with details that I did not want to bring into my class.  Many of the elementary sites, however, were too simplistic and my students needed more content.  So, I was thrilled when I found Common Sense Media's Digital Compass.  It was in an interactive game format that required students to made decisions as the characters went through their day.  Each character faced unique challenges from citing sources to facing peer pressures.  Opportunities to explore the pitfalls as well as the 'upside' of digital media are included, which makes for a great learning experience for all students. The Educator Guide is full of great ideas to extend and the content covered ...

It's back to school time and with that, comes lesson planning and looking for new things to try in the classroom.  I just realized the other day that everything I share on this blog has to do with half of my job which is as a middle school STEM teacher currently.  The other half of my job, though, is as a teacher-on-assignment to support K-6 teachers.  To this end, I have created a resource site called TeachCreateInnovate, I made it my goal to provide links to quality instructional material.  I also included links to numerous STEM competitions and tech tools that they might find useful to integrate into their classrooms.   Here 's the link to this site:

Back in the spring, I was asked to direct a STEM summer academy.  I was thrilled to have the opportunity to create a summer experience for grades 4-8 learners that would be the best STEM experience they could ever have!  As I was brainstorming ideas, I decided it would have to be all about the kids having a maker experience in every sense of the word - three strands all centered on making and creating. 1)  Code-makers:  Here, the students used Google CS-First and App Inventor to create games and apps.  They engaged in pair-programming and had a lot of fun 'making' with code. 2)  STEM-makers:  In this strand, the students created using science, technology, engineering, and math.  The room was full of "junk" that they used to make Rube Goldberg devices.  They had Ozobot and Sphero challenges.  For Ozobot, they had to design the longest course in black marker on an 8.5 x 11 inch size sheet of paper.  Then, they ran their ozobots on t...

Excited to share about an article just published in Desert Ridge Lifestyles: STEM in the Middle Explorer Middle School and its diverse STEM offerings Contributed by Janice Mak STEM, or science, technology, engineering and mathematics, emphasizes the interdisciplinary approach to teaching students about these areas that is critical to society both now and in the future.  Explorer Middle School is unique in its approach to meeting the educational needs in this area through its pioneering approach and reputation as a school leading the way in technology.  From its diverse elective course offerings to its extracurricular STEM club, it is a unique place for middle school students to explore in a hands-on, minds-on way areas that interest them. Electives In its signature Project Lead the Way program, Explorer Middle School students learn about engineering firsthand by designing and testing windmills, robots and more.  Offered at both the introductory and advanced levels, studen...

I just returned from ISTE that was in Philly this year.  It was an incredible few days with ed tech enthusiasts from around the world.  I also gave my first Ignite talk...but first, a confession.  When I first submitted by Ignite proposal to be considered for acceptance, I actually had no idea about what an Ignite talk was.  I just knew it was a 5 minute presentation.  Before my proposal was accepted, I attended a conference that had a few Ignite speeches and when I realized what I signed up for, my heart dropped just a little.  And then when I found out my proposal was accepted, it dropped a little more.  At the same time, it was a challenge I knew I wanted to accept.  Since learning about them, I have wanted to use it with my students as a final performance-based assessment.  What a great way for them to distill the really important info into a meaningful presentation format! So, I got to work on my slides and really did some reflection - w...