Instructional Design: Overkill or Good Practice

For the next couple of years much of my time will be spent on coursework as I have enrolled in George Washington University's Graduate Certificate in eLearning, the first step toward completing the Masters Degree in Education Technology Leadership. In the spirit of learning in public, I plan to use my blog as a thinking [...]

Posted by milesmac on January 19th, 2013 | 1 Comment Posted in #GWETL, Pedagogy

Student-Led Conferences

Enthusiastic students sharing their work with proud parents at student-led conferences. Watching my grade 8 students and their families is always a treat. It isn't hard to imagine home lives where every night of the week is filled with some social obligation, team practice, club meeting, or work shift. Interactions at home may be little [...]

Posted by milesmac on March 21st, 2012 | No Comments Posted in Pedagogy

Minecraft 07 Some Finished Grade 8 Ancient Greece Projects

Our grade 8 classes have wrapped up their first minecraft project recreating a scale version of an Ancient Greek structure. Accompanying the project were some calculations, and a video tour of their structure while describing the historical importance and architectural details. Part of our challenge was getting the students to balance research and writing time with [...]

Posted by milesmac on March 1st, 2012 | 15 Comments Posted in Pedagogy

Minecraft 06: Lessons Learned doing History with Minecraft in the Middle Years

  Shortly after embarking on the project with our donated set of non-networked laptops, students asked if they could bring their own devices. A few students even figured out how to get an old WiFi router I had kicking around to serve as a hub for their server hosted on a Nintendo DS. Other students [...]

Posted by milesmac on February 10th, 2012 | 5 Comments Posted in Gamification, Projects

Laptop screens are not handles. Pics, so it happened.

Students learned a lesson in how to handle technology. This laptop is now living its' new life as a representation of a cautionary tale in the hallway display case.  

Posted by milesmac on January 14th, 2012 | No Comments Posted in Pedagogy