
Elementary Google Apps EDU
Back in December I wrote about our Google Apps EDU rollout with elementary students. As I mentioned in that post Iwas initially bit unsure as to how much these kids really needed Google Accounts and wondered if they could even remember their passwords. However, as I wrote the kids really surprised me and I found […]

ETC! 2014 Sessions
One of my favorite annual technology conferences, today is ETC! 2014. If you attended one of my sessions or are attending virtually from home you will find all of my resources below. Session 2: Creating Digital Writers with iOS – Joe Wood & Burt Lo Session 3 &4: Digital Storytelling with Google Apps – Joe Wood […]

Scoring Zero
Earlier this month on Digital Learning Day, our Speak Up Survey data was released and I finally had time last week to sit down and analyze the results. At Natomas Charter we look closely at this data because it is a powerful tool for listening to our students, staff, and families. As I sat down […]

Gettin’ Ready for Digital Learning Day
Digital Learning Day is right around the corner – a week from Wednesday (February 5, 2014) to be exact! This third annual event is sponsored by the Alliance for Excellent Education with many partners including the National Writing Project, Library of Congress, and Edutopia. The day itself is simply a national day to celebrate innovative teachers […]

Living #TeamKid
Yesterday I had the opportunity to visit John Swett Elementary School in Martinez with my friend and colleague Jennifer Kloczcko (check out her post on the visit). John Swett Elementary is the home of Adam Welcome (@awelcome) and a team of innovative teachers who live the hashtag #teamkid. The original plans for our visit stemmed […]

Taking Control of Your Professional Learning
My first year in the classroom education was at the height of the No Child Left Behind revolution. All of the teachers at my school site, including me, had been deemed “highly qualified” so my school district decided that they could cut all professional development funds and did so for quite a few years. Sheer […]

Google Accounts? Yes, They Need Them
Over the past few weeks we have been in the process of launching Google Apps EDU accounts with our 1st, 2nd, and 3rd grade students. Today was the final day of launch with one remaining class of 3rd graders sending me their first email about their favorite books. I have to admit that when we […]

FallCUE 2013 Workshops
Tomorrow morning the completely sold out FallCUE 2013 conference begins at American Canyon High School in Napa County. I’m looking forward to learning from and reconnecting with new and old friends…starting tonight. If you are attending one of my workshops click on the links below for the handouts and resources. I can also be […]

CapCUE Tech Fest 2013
Last weekend was the first annual CapCUE Tech Fest at Natomas Charter School and it was a phenomenal event. We had over 200 attendees with 45 sessions lead by smart, knowledgable educators from all over Northern California. Since NCS is my school and many of the presenters and attendees were longtime friends it was also […]

Digital Composition with Google Apps – Buckeye USD
Over the next three days I have the pleasure of working with a brilliant group of teachers and administrators in Buckeye Union School District as they launch their Chromebook pilot project. As a collective group we will focus our conversation on how we can use these tools for digital composition across all subject areas in […]