I recently read a blog post by
@johntspencer titled "
Techno-Shame." John eloquently explains why he has removed most 21st century technology blogs from his feeder. I will be taking a line directly from John's post because I don't believe I could say it any better...."Over time, I've dropped most of…
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Added by Justin Tarte on February 21, 2011 at 1:45pm —
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Here are 10 videos that will get you thinking and reflecting on your educational practices and beliefs. I did a post a few months ago with 7 different videos, and the response was quite positive. Leave a comment and let me know what other videos you would add to the list. Thank you and enjoy!
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Added by Justin Tarte on February 6, 2011 at 7:08am —
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We all live in a world that is rapidly changing, and in particular, the advancements associated with technology. As society evolves and changes, schools are coming under increasing pressure to stay with the times. So often we hear that technology is a silver bullet in education, but we must remember that technology is merely a tool. A tool in the hands of a sub-par educator will continue to yield a sub-par education, while a tool in the hands of a great educator will only enhance and aid…
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Added by Justin Tarte on January 31, 2011 at 6:15am —
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I recently had a discussion with a friend about the relative merits and demerits of technology, and before you jump in to claim that the pros outweigh the cons, let me iterate that the topic under debate was the value of (or lack of it) technology for those who are either scared to use technology or have no clue about it. The tech savvy may find this hard to understand, but there are still those who refuse to embrace technology or do so under considerable duress.
There’s no doubt that…
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Added by Justin Tarte on January 20, 2011 at 1:30am —
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I will start this post off by saying you will not find any answers here.
At best you might be more confused than when you started. This year
has been the year of change for my German students and myself. We have
been pushing the envelope when it comes to technology integration in a
foreign language class. Overall, I can honestly say things have been
going quite well. Students seem to be actively engaged and interested,
and most importantly they have taken…
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Added by Justin Tarte on December 27, 2010 at 2:29pm —
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I started this blog on June 14th, 2010. For the last 6 months this blog has provided me the opportunity to share and collaborate with some of the best educators in the world. I have been able to take my self-reflection to the next level, which in turn has hopefully made me a better educator. This blog has been influential as I embrace the concept of 24/7 professional development...anytime and anywhere. For the members of my PLN and the readers of my blog, I thank you for your support and…
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Added by Justin Tarte on December 19, 2010 at 9:14am —
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My German 3 students are doing a lot of things they have never done in school before. They are taking part in an experiment of sorts...an
experiment aimed at increasing student interest and engagement levels
through the use of technology. Most importantly, I am learning right
along side each and every student of mine. Together, we are stepping
outside of our comfort zones with the hope of growing and learning
through sharing…
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Added by Justin Tarte on December 4, 2010 at 6:40pm —
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5 Technology Tips for the Not-so-Tech-Savvy Teacher - @JPPrezz Guest Blogger…
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Added by Justin Tarte on November 21, 2010 at 8:07pm —
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I typically have a clear and well-thought out purpose for each blog post, however for this blog post I am going to simply reflect on today's
professional development session. I lead a PD session about 7 weeks
ago for all of the staff members at my high school on social media and
technology integration, and today's session was an extension of the
previous session for any teachers interested. We asked each staff
member to choose…
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Added by Justin Tarte on November 17, 2010 at 6:17pm —
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This past weekend I had the opportunity to attend the EdcampKC technology conference in Kansas City, MO. This was my first
"unconference," which basically means the entire conference was
participant-driven and each session was presented by someone who was
actually attending the conference. There was a big board set up in the
main room, and before the conference officially started any person
interested in presenting was able to…
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Added by Justin Tarte on November 9, 2010 at 7:13pm —
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If somebody asked me about the last 6 months of my life, I would respond
by saying something like this; the past 6 months have been extremely
challenging, but yet at the same time I can say with little hesitation
that I have grown more as an educator in the last 6 months than in any
other time period in my life.
The world in which we live is changing faster than anyone could ever
imagine, and because of this the educational system must evolve and…
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Added by Justin Tarte on October 29, 2010 at 8:10pm —
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I entered the 2010/2011 school year with two goals:
Goal 1 - Try as many new and innovative ideas in my German classes as possible...
Goal 2 - As a Professional Development Representative at my high school, I want to share as many resources and ideas with other…
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Added by Justin Tarte on October 19, 2010 at 6:50pm —
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In my German 3 class we recently finished a story we have been reading for the last three weeks. We have done several different types of
activities to facilitate the understanding of this story, and each
different activity has proven to have both its advantages, and
disadvantages. The unique thing about the activities I have done is
that each activity is something brand new that I have never tried
before. As any educator…
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Added by Justin Tarte on October 10, 2010 at 7:57am —
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My wife and I have been married for a little under three years, and about a year ago we decided that we wanted
to grow our family. As we discussed the most typical way of growing a
family (a baby), we came to the conclusion that we should start small
before taking the big leap. Last summer we purchased an 8 pound, runt
of the litter, slightly discolored, adorable, and loving yellow lab
puppy.…
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Added by Justin Tarte on October 4, 2010 at 3:18pm —
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I watched this video on TED: Ideas worth spreading (which I highly recommend)
http://www.ted.com/,
and I have to say I was really intrigued by the topic. Every day at
school I get the opportunity to see students growing and
developing...some more than others, and some not enough. However
inconsistent their growth may be, one thing is for certain...the growth
and development of children can be summed up in one word - amazing! If
we…
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Added by Justin Tarte on September 22, 2010 at 5:35am —
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The last 4 weeks have been extremely busy for me. We recently started a brand new gradebook and website system in my school district. This has proven to be an amazing tool and
resource as we look to ways to improve education. For all the greatness
this new opportunity provides, we have been faced with the never ending
battle of growing and developing educators so they can utilize this new
resource. As exciting as it is to work with educators…
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Added by Justin Tarte on September 18, 2010 at 2:00pm —
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1 - Listen to what others are saying... Being able to speak is important...being able to listen is more
important. If you can truly listen to what others are saying, you will
be able to establish an unlimited amount of strong and long lasting
relationships. Your ability or inability to listen, will most
definitely affect the success, and the number of relationships you will
have in life.
2 - Watch what… Continue
Added by Justin Tarte on September 11, 2010 at 9:28am —
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Last week I was speaking with a colleague of mine, and we were discussing activities we could do during one of our professional
development days. As we discussed potential ideas, we turned our focus
to activities that teachers could employ immediately. We wanted to
avoid activities that would require a lot of time and preparation in an
effort to provide our teachers with several very strong and powerful
strategies they could…
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Added by Justin Tarte on September 11, 2010 at 9:15am —
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Most students from across the country have returned to schools refreshed, recharged, and rejuvenated to continue their journey through
the educational process. As students use their summer break to relax
and simply be kids, teachers and administrators utilize their time to
both improve and develop their skills as educators. The summer provides
an excellent opportunity for all educators to refine and enhance their
abilities as…
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Added by Justin Tarte on September 3, 2010 at 6:50pm —
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I was inspired to write this post after
speaking with a friend and colleague. Over the course of a lifetime and
career we all experience the highest of highs, and the lowest of lows.
So much of what we do in our lives comes back to our goals,
expectations, hopes and dreams. The biggest difference between those
who accomplish their goals and those who do not...are the paths they
choose while developing their vision.…
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Added by Justin Tarte on August 22, 2010 at 10:01am —
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