Latest articles by J. Robinson
False Promise of Social Media: Confessions of a Former SM Evangelist
I’ve often talked about how social media fostered conversations and connections. I now confess: I’ve been wrong all these years.
Having Trouble Organizing Your Google Drive? Take Charge with These Tips
Managing documents in your Google Drive account can be problematic, especially if your district and your staff use Google Docs, Google Slides, or Google Sheets a great deal.
If You Want Students to Be Passionate Readers, Learn from This
We can become hung up in test prep---exposing students to so-called "test questions" and sample passages---and in the process utterly blaspheme the joy of reading and the beauty of literature.
Be Wary of Products Claiming to Be ‘Research-Based’
"Having a product that claims to be ‘based’ on research-based principles of learning is not the same has having a product that is validated by research."
WHEN TRANSFORMING AND INNOVATING YOUR SCHOOL SEEMS HOPELESS: THREE THINGS YOU CAN DO
Most of us face situations in which success seems impossible or improbable, and many of them involve what Malcolm Gladwell calls “Goliaths” from his book, David and Goliath.
A Principal Plays Pokemon Go: Lessons Learned So Far
Curiosity won out, and I downloaded Pokemon Go for two reasons.
When Transforming & Innovating Your School Seems Hopeless: 3 Things You Can Do
In education, we often find ourselves in these "Goliath" situations where our initial assessment is that we can't possibly succeed, because we are out-manned, out-resourced, and out-powered.
Teachers Impact Students' Lives in Immeasurable Ways
How do you measure the true educational impact of a teacher?
Want Innovation? Start with the Teachers in Your School Instead of Experts on the Outside
The real problem with the heavy-handed reform strategies and tactics imposed from above is that their development and implementation failed and continues to fail to be collaborative endeavors.
How Federal Education Policy That Says 'If They Breathe Test'em' Has Deformed Kindergarten
In that study, it is very clear that our schools have increasingly short-changed and abused young students with their testing fetish. I
From the Principal's Office: School Leadership Is About Keeping Teachers Happy: Not Just Weeding Out the Bad
Too often there's this undying faith in educational leadership literature that if the right school leader is found, then the problems of the school will be resolved.
Three Reminders for Educators on the Eve of the Spring Standardized Testing Onslaught
As the season of testing falls upon us, the obsession with bubble sheets and number two pencils begins anew.
So What If I'm Using Microsoft Office 365! It's Still a Good Bet!
I realize there's a great deal of "anti-Microsoft" sentiment floating around, but this office suite still has proven its utility, over and above any other office suite.
Micro-Credentialing: Potential New Professional Development System or Fad?
Last evening, while participating in an #NCED Chat, I encountered a new idea for professional development called “micro-credentialing.”
YikYak-Type High School App Used for Cyberbullying
I stumbled across this post on the Washington Post web site: “Millions of Teens Are Using a New App to Post Anonymous Thoughts, and Most Parents Have No Idea.”
“After School:” Mobile SM App for High Schoolers Offers Potential Headaches for Educators
It turns that our students now have access to a high school version of the app Yik Yak called “After School.”
