Dear Teachers, When teachers hear the term “digital citizenship”  and want to know more about that topic, they often begin with some kind of interest in addressing cyberbullying. Cyberbullying and other risks of the Internet - computer viruses, identity theft, phishing, etc. - are legitimate concerns, of course, and our students certainly need to be … Continue reading Growing Digital Citizens as We Grow Ourselves

Dear Teachers, Confession time: I have a teensy little iPhone addiction problem. There is something about that screen that calls my name all day (and sometimes in the middle of the night). Whether it's quickly scanning Twitter, seeing how hot it's going to be today, checking email, or playing a couple of dumb games, I … Continue reading Assumptions

Dear Teachers, One of the things I most love about being a connected educator is getting to know some really smart people who I would likely never meet in real life. I especially love when I see a particularly smart social media post that really makes me stop and think. Recently that post was one … Continue reading The Intersection of Technology and Humanity

Dear Teachers, The ISTE 2018 conference is now a fading memory. It's always such a great experience to connect with other like-minded educators, overwhelming as it is. (Read about ISTE 2018 by the numbers here.) As you might expect, I spent no small amount of time talking #digcit with my nerdy friends from far and … Continue reading It’s Time to #DigCitCommit

Dear Teachers, As a former librarian (and you know I always say I'm forever a librarian in my heart!), I'm always curious about what people are reading. I've been known to start a conversation in airports with strangers who are reading, particularly if that book happens to be one I've read. I've gotten lots of … Continue reading What Are You Reading?

Dear Teachers, It's my favorite time of year again: the time when I plan with my awesome team to develop our district's annual Ed Tech Success Initiative (ETSI) professional learning experience. Each year, we tweak and modify ETSI, and I have to say, I think each year it gets better and better. I'm proud of … Continue reading Getting Ready for ETSI 2018!

Dear Teachers, Have you seen the recent reports about how selfies distort your face and make your nose look bigger? "Researchers now are cautioning that patients interested in cosmetic procedures should not turn to self-photographs as guidance when considering making changes to their faces," says a recent CNN article. Even before selfies, I noticed a … Continue reading Accurate Reflections