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"I asked myself, what if homework was really valuable?  Better yet, what if homework was life-changing?  What if it could teach students - prove to students - that with effective effort and time, they could achieve anything? I set out to design a homework system with that goal in mind.  Since I first started four or five years ago, it has changed many times.  My earlier blog posts on the subject are now way out-of-date, so I'm going to describe what I do these days.  This is the best iteration of my homework plan so far, and over my two-year loop with a group of children from second to third grade, I saw amazing results."

"Believing in students is not simply telling them that you believe in them. These words matter only if they are true and if you demonstrate them by your actions. There is no way to fake it, because kids have built in crap detectors (a phrase taken from Neil Postman, and Charles Weingartner, in Teaching As a Subversive Activity), and they can tell if you don't mean it. Here are some ways to express it."

"Of course, if instructional coaching is going to be effective, coaches need to partner with teachers to provide the supports that empower teachers to implement new practices in a way that gets results.  But we make a big mistake, I think, if we assume this means that teachers must mindlessly follow a script."

"Here's the thing - I have a theory. My theory is that most people who don't like it, don't like it because of the way it was taught to them - A bunch of $100 words by a very intelligent teacher. Now, I'm not trying to bash on teachers because they (we) are important. However, sometimes, it is necessary to break down concepts into little bite-sized chunks. That is what Interactive Biology is all about - Breaking down the concepts in biology so that if a Freshman in High School wants to understand Graduate-level Neurobiology, with enough discipline, she could do so. Technology is AWESOME, and I enjoy using it to enhance my classes. The internet continues to amaze me. It's such a useful tool that can help anyone who wants to learn about any subject. Well, if biology is the subject you want to learn about, this is the site for you."

"So I hope no one minds if I continue to try to document the ways in which "education" is being reframed in this country at the peril, I think, of losing everything that is best about schools and teachers and classrooms. If you're not up to speed with these reframing efforts, the above titled article in the Wall Street Journal this morning should do the trick. The canary is singing in full throat. And let's not make any bones about it: the Journal has a vested interest in making the type of online learning it describes successful as it owns a large stake in many of the vendors trying to occupy the space."

"The reality of this moment is that every one of our students can create and share and connect in ways that didn't exist even a decade ago. I can't imagine what it's going to be like a decade from now. But I know this: if our students look at the work we're asking them to do today and say "It doesn't matter," we're missing a huge opportunity to help them become the learners they now need to be."

"My challenge to you, the unions, Mike Klonsky, Diane Ravitch, and all the others who take issue with me when I say that the unions must be clearer about what needs to change is this: If we really want to change the direction of reform then we have to articulate a clear strategy on how it can be achieved. "

"If you're like me, your change efforts focus on raising awareness. Maybe on rewards and even penalties. But "Influencer" describes how to tap into 6 very different sources of influence to change specific "vital behaviors"  (also known as "keystone habits")."

"If my students are TRULY going to reflect daily on their progress towards mastering essential outcomes, they HAVE to become skilled at spotting trends in their OWN learning. "

"Families of children with Angelman Syndrome often experience stress about whether their child's needs are being met at school. Families are concerned about if their child is receiving enough support to develop strong communication skills, can demonstrate their learning effectively, is forming close friendships with other children, and is being prepared for a meaningful adult life. The Education Strategy Seminar will be a place where all people involved in the care and education of a person with AS can learn, reflect on, and discuss the education of your loved one with AS. Whether your son or daughter is a toddler or an adult, he or she is still on a journey of life-long learning and needs your advocacy to continue his or her education. This Seminar will be divided into four sections to teach families strategies to be more effective advocates for their child with Angelman Syndrome, across the lifespan."

"if you're looking for video sites for using in your classroom, look no further than this article for Edudemic by Jeff Dunn. He has compiled a comprehensive list of over 100 of the very best video websites out there, and broken them up into various sections according to different lesson theme preferences. Explore and enjoy!""

Free resources - Success at the Core began as a question. In 2005, Paul G. Allen, philanthropist and co-founder of Microsoft, asked his production company, Vulcan Productions, how media could be used to make a difference in education. In pursuit of an answer, Vulcan Productions teamed up with Education Development Center and together, we set out to discover if and how media-when used to illustrate good practice and inspire others to achieve the same-can impact student achievement

"Google Docs makes it possible to create and share documents digitally. This is great for the classroom, but it can also be a management challenge if you have lots of students and lots of docs. Learn the best ways to share docs, properly use folders, create dropboxes for students, make handout folders for teachers, use comments to provide feedback and help students revise work, make use of the template gallery, and more. The paperless classroom is possible!"

"The Instructional Framework (IF) is the Akron Public Schools (APS) articulation of high quality teaching and learning. It is research and "best practice" based."

"This fine academic tool was designed to assist in the writing of reports, grant applications, and other documents related to public schools. I believe that it will be particularly useful for people involved in writing reports for WASC accreditation. Amaze your colleagues with finely crafted phrases of educational nonsense! The javascript code is adapted from Dack.com's Web Economy BS Generator. I would be remiss if I did not thank my district's Professional Development staff for introducing me to many of these gems. "

"GoClass is a cloud based teaching and learning platform designed for connected mobile devices in the classroom. This App allows you to use several GoClass services and features on Apple iPads, iPhones and iPod Touch devices. If you do not already have a GoClass account you can set one up for free at the GoClass website."

"Looking at vintage ads is a good way to learn about a particular era and to compare eras as well. History teachers will be glad to hear that the website has a large selection of propaganda posters from the 1800's up to the 2000's but note that most of the posters after the 1940's are from Communist China. If you teach social studies then do yourself a favor by checking out the Vintage Ad Browser."

"If you're one of the people that made the switch to Chrome in 2011, here are some extensions and Chrome web apps that you and your students should find handy."

"Social stories or visual scripts are stories that describe with words and pictures different activities or events that happen in life in a step by step detailed way. The social stories or visual scripts listed are mostly in PDF format (unless otherwise noted). If you do not have a PDF reader, you can download Adobe PDF Reader."

"How it works: I give the bus driver a stack of 'report cards' at the beginning of each month. Each morning he checks the appropriate boxes (and sometimes writes notes about the previous afternoon) and gives the paper to the student. The student delivers the paper to me (or classroom teacher) on the way to class each morning. If the student has met his goal at the end of the week, he receives a reward. "