I recently read an article about the Hidden Benefit of Giving Back to Open Source Software. The main focus of the article is about the economic benefit. The author makes the point early on that, “The reason for that benefit lies in the experience and knowledge that certain employees gain through contributing, says Nagle. His … Read more
Your Starter Guide to Makerspaces (The Nerdy Teacher Presents) by Nicholas Provenzano My rating: 4 of 5 stars It’s a good discussion about what makes a makerspace. I really loved the author’s personal touch in sharing his own experiences more than the theory of maker spaces. He had lots of keen insights and it was … Read more
I first read the quote, “Every wall is a door” by Ralph Waldo Emerson on the wall of a Facebook friend. It continues to be one of my favorites. Just yesterday we got some unhappy news. When bad news comes it invites a response and more often that not I’m prone to think of the misfortune. … Read more
Rad Women Worldwide: Artists and Athletes, Pirates and Punks, and Other Revolutionaries Who Shaped History by Kate Schatz My rating: 4 of 5 stars This is an easy yet provocative book that tells stories usually left out of typical history books. This book and it’s contents need to be celebrated and given to girls around … Read more
The Art of LEGO MINDSTORMS EV3 Programming by Terry Griffin My rating: 4 of 5 stars Great book. I’m teaching a EV3 robotics and programming class and this is my main text. It’s a fantastic resource for teachers and students. Great diagrams too.
This year I got a great opportunity to work with a unique group of students in an after school program at St. Bonaventure University. I am fortunate to work with Dr. Anne Foerst, a computer science professor at St. Bonaventure. Together we applied for and received a grant from National Grid to teach STEM to … Read more
One of my favorite quotes is,”education is not the filling of a pail, but the lighting of a fire.” by William Butler Yeates. Yet, most of the emphasis in education today is on how much is in each pail. We continue to weigh the pail as though with each measurement we are increasing the mass … Read more
Saturday I attended my second EdCamp in the last two months. I learned some new things as a result. Furthermore I’m inspired by the teachers and administrators whom I met there. There was an eagerness to learn and share that’s frequently missing at formal conferences. In fact at most educational conferences that I’ve either attended … Read more
Today while I was at the All Things Open Conference I thought, “we need more educational technology people here.” There is a wealth of information shared about open source projects and technologies and most of them should be on the radar of anyone that’s teaching today’s students. This morning I listened to an excellent presentation … Read more
What is a Bar Camp? That’s what I wanted to know a week ago. Lots of reading about them but no experience. That changed about 11:00 am yesterday morning as I sat in Room 1400 at The Golisano Computer Center at Rochester Institute of Technology. I saw first hand why this is an unconference because … Read more
