Education

Reblogged: Math, Literacy, and the Need for More Blank Paper

shawnacoppola

Hello friends! I was recently asked to write a post for The Educator Collaborative blog, and I decided to focus on a concept I've felt strongly about, but was never able to articulate, until I read this fantastic post by author-educator (and part-time ninja) Tracy Zager called "A Brief Ode to Blank Paper." If you… Continue reading Reblogged: Math, Literacy, and the Need for More Blank Paper

Lessons Learned In Combat

The Latest Worksheet Fail

shawnacoppola

Recently, a colleague of mine drew my attention to this poor excuse for what some would consider reading "assessment": I feel okay tearing it apart here because 1) it didn't come from my kids' school, 2) I blurred out the author's name, and 3) it's freaking horrible. (If you disagree with my justification, I would… Continue reading The Latest Worksheet Fail

Education, learning, Lessons Learned In Combat, Literacy

Creating a Digital Poem: Thoughts on Process

shawnacoppola

What does your Facebook news feed look like? If yours is anything like mine, it's full of text--but not the kind we typically value most in schools. Sure, there's written text. But we'd be hard-pressed to find a news feed that doesn't also have images, videos, and links to other web content. Am I right?… Continue reading Creating a Digital Poem: Thoughts on Process

learning, Literacy

Digital Poem: Georgia Heard’s “Straight Line”

shawnacoppola

Hi everyone, I was asked to digitize a poem as part of a UNH course I am taking this semester on integrating technology and "new" media into the language arts classroom. I chose to digitize Georgia Heard's poem "Straight Line," as it is one that is near and dear to my heart. I would definitely… Continue reading Digital Poem: Georgia Heard’s “Straight Line”

Lessons Learned In Combat, Literacy

How to Tell If a Book is For Boys or Girls: A Guide

shawnacoppola

Last week, I found this fantastic infographic by communications designer Kristen Meyers and immediately posted it on both Facebook and Twitter:   Then I remembered this story I'd read recently about author Shannon Hale (Princess Academy, Austenland), who recently posted on her Tumblr page about her appalling experience visiting a school a few weeks ago. She wrote… Continue reading How to Tell If a Book is For Boys or Girls: A Guide

Education, evaluation, learning, Lessons Learned In Combat

What Our Education System Gets Wrong about Learning

shawnacoppola

So much about our education system leads people--including some educators-- to believe that learning is a linear process. That learning as a result of "good" teaching or "best" practices is part of a fairly neat, continuous progression, save the inevitable few bumps in the road.   This grave misconception about learning is reflected in the way we… Continue reading What Our Education System Gets Wrong about Learning

Education, Lessons Learned In Combat

Balance, Obscenity, and Our Future Citizenry

shawnacoppola

In his book Learning in the Cloud: How (and Why) to transform Schools with Digital Media, Mark Warschauer, a professor of Education and Informatics at the University of California, Irvine, writes of the need to teach "21st century skills" alongside content in schools; that the "separation" of these two in schools and classrooms is potentially harmful… Continue reading Balance, Obscenity, and Our Future Citizenry