Faster than I hid under my desk when a wild hail storm hit here this week, here is a downpour of the week’s best articles from Tech & Learning.
Seriously though, glad I wasn’t outside when these were crashing down!
On the plus side, we were treated to a double rainbow afterward …
- A New Book Argues Grades Are Failing Students. Here’s Why - Joshua R. Eyler gives the U.S. grading system an “F” in his new book Failing Our Future: How Grades Harm Students, And What We Can Do About It. In it, he makes the case that grades hurt academic success and are helping to fuel the ongoing youth mental health crisis.
- The 4 Best New Features For Google Classroom - Google Classroom continues to add new features, many aimed at helping educators serve students better … although it still has yet to add the ability to convince your principal that an hour-long meeting could just be an email.
- How A Cellphone Ban Might Impact Equity, Digital Citizenship, and Local Control in Schools - “If we’re telling students they can’t have their phones, and then you have teachers using them or administrators using them, what messages does that send?” asks Glenn Robbins, Superintendent of the Brigantine Public School District. Does a ban address the real issues?
- How Implementing Coding, STEM, and Robotics Early Can Benefit Students - Sandi Castro, Director of Information Systems & Applications at Del Valle ISD, shares that the earlier, the better, when it comes to introducing STEM subjects. Which is not a shock to Bill Nye the Science Guy.
- Facing History and Ourselves: How to Use It to Teach - You’ve no doubt heard, “History teaches us that we never learn from history.” Facing History and Ourselves offers the opportunity to flip that with resources to face the harsh realities of our past. Although I’m not sure it can explain polyester leisure suits.
- Educator Edtech Review: nXu - nXu is a CASEL-aligned college and career readiness solution that offers a holistic approach featuring the five key developmental areas—purpose, identity, social-emotional wellness, social capital, and career exploration.
- Connecting Teachers Globally to Enhance Teaching Everywhere - A virtual classroom for teachers around the world to work together was a difficult project to undertake, but in the hands of Jacqueline Gardy, it has flourished. And she didn’t even just buy everyone a Coke.
Okay, now I’m thirsty. Hope everyone gets to enjoy a few beverages of their choice and the long holiday weekend ahead!
