Our high school digital media class has been creating some great work. Simon May (who will soon have a blog of his own) has done a great job of allowing the students to create their own assignments around digital media. Early in the year Simon had the students come up with a name for the site and then purchased the […]
Yesterday the Edublog Award winners were announced and what a proud moment for Shanghai American School, Jason Welker, and the 140+ students who over the past two years have helped to create a fantastic wiki. There’s a story here that I believe needs to be told and one that makes me very proud that I get an opportunity to work […]
On Oct. 30 I wrote about a presentation I gave to our High School student body on Oct. 29th. To date it was one of the hardest presentations I’ve had to give. Talking to students about their spaces, about their future, and trying to make an impact that lasted well after the 45 minute presentation. I wore jeans, a loose […]
When technology all works, it can do some amazing things. Yes, there are hills and valleys to the use of technology, but when technology allows students to engage in the learning process and create some simply amazing projects….I still shake my head in awe when I see what happens when we can guide them in the process. When we get […]
Why? Because it’s their language! Educators who say they understand students and do not understand why you would/should use technology resources in the classroom really don’t get it. Technology in many different forms engages students today. It is how they want to learn, it is their language, and by allowing them to use technology we actually engage them in the […]
A great use of a blog from some of our middle school staff and students. Our middles school does a “Week without walls” where they go and visit other cities in Shanghai for the week. Before they left I met with the 8th grade team who set up a blog and each day have the students reflect on what they […]
So my post earlier today was a lot of frustration at myself and not having the skills necessary to continue to move my school forward. I was at my wits end and was not looking forward to walking into first period and hearing the “Mr. U, I can’t get on my blog.” I felt as though I had let them […]
A teacher at our high school is running a Poetry Competition. The students post their poems on a blog for all to read. If you have some time with your High School class, it might be a nice assignment to read and respond to some of the blogs there. I’ve read a couple of them and some are very well […]
You hear all the time about how fast Shanghai is growing, and how fast they are/can build stuff in this country. Well here is a great example. They broke ground on our new high school sometime early January when we were away on Winter holiday. The school will be finished in August when students arrive. That’s 8 months to build […]
Tonight I’m sitting here shaking my head at all the amazing things that teachers are doing this year and how we are changing the way we use technology. Teachers continue to find great ways to incorperate these new tools. Here is a look at some of the great things happening as my school. First let’s start with my 7th Graders […]