Eileen Lennon's Blog (43)

I read George Couros' book The Innovators Mindset recently. It was enlightening to say the least. There was so much in the book that I wanted to implement in my classroom, so I created an infographic about the…

In the beginning

When I began teaching digital citizenship in 2010 it was an innocent time. We were only worried about the students believing all websites were real. I directed students to The Dog Island website, where you could pack up your dog in a crate and send him off for a week long romp on a beach. The site was very believable; pictures of the dogs, and even information about how to ship your dog. There’s other sites too; you can learn…

I have parents coming into my classroom today asking how their child is doing in my class. They only have a 95, how can they get a higher grade?

Really?

This happens over and over again. I wonder why they're here. I don't think it's to make themselves feel better about how great their child is doing in school. I also don't think that they are very worried about the 95 not being a 98. I believe it's to show their child that they are fully invested in…

From a NYCSchoolsTech Facebook discussion, teachers offered their best practices on how to manage today's classroom. Here's what we shared.

So, I took the Google Certified Level 2 Exam last year and failed it by 4 points. That stung.

I was embarrassed, I pouted, and felt sorry for myself. (Yes, my life is a living hell.)

But after a few hours, I got over myself and realized that this is a real learning experience. I thought about what failing feels like to my students. Do they feel the way I do when they fail?

The difference between their tests and mine was…

These North Korean officers are standing there proudly and why shouldn't they? They're wearing enough bling on their uniforms to set off metal detectors.

If you notice along the side of my blog, I've got some micro-credentials: Google, Microsoft, CommonSense, etc. I'm proud of the work I've done to earn them and to display the badges on my blog. I realize that my…

While staying late sitting in my classroom until its dark is not the way I want to spend a day, I do find Parent Teacher Conference Night a way for me to be a better teacher.

I love seeing the family dynamic. Kids can be so funny; they behave one way in the classroom and act completely different around their parents. Seeing how much the parent loves their child is also a reminder that the kid in my class is actually someone's child. They're young and out in the world without their…

While staying late sitting in my classroom until its dark is not the way I want to spend a day, I do find Parent Teacher Conference Night a way for me to be a better teacher.

I love seeing the family dynamic. Kids can be so funny; they behave one way in the classroom and act completely different around their parents. Seeing how much the parent loves their child is also a reminder that the kid in my class is actually someone's child. They're young and out in the world without their…

I use Google Classroom in my technology lab almost all day, everyday. It's a great tool. I've personalized each class with a portrait of the kids. Here's some of my little knuckleheads.

I also use many other Google tools. After the students get their school gmail account, we go over…

I've got a lot of these skills covered, but certainly not all of them. I'm assuming we all could improve our skills. This post resonated with me, so I made it pretty to post it near my desk. When I glance at it, it reminds me of what I am working towards. For all the resources, go back to the original post in The Educational Technology and Mobile Learning website.…

I've moved to a new middle school this year. I tell my sixth grade students that I'm just like them; I have no idea where the bathrooms are either. It's a fresh start for me, so I need to step back and really reflect. 

With technology constantly changing, I always need to look at my curriculum and decide if what I'm teaching is still relevant for today's students. Some lessons I've taught for years, like how to format paragraphs and create tabs, but most lessons have…

When I first added logos to my profile picture, I just simply did it in Preview on a mac. It was effortless. Once people saw my profile sporting my nifty badges to show off my accomplishments, everyone wanted to know how to do this and I wanted to help. Since not everyone has a Mac I put together these handy directions to use on any device. I used Lunapic, a free online photo editor.

Step 1:  Upload your photo into an image…