Technology in Education: Notes from the Closet

My Middle School "Brains" Middle school students are in a world of their own.  I know from experience- I work in a building with pre-kindergarten through eighth grade bodies and have twins in seventh grade- I can't escape middle school brains!   This post contains some articles and information I have discovered that are helpful for those who deal with middle school children, whether at work or at home! image source Fascinating Brain Facts A typical brain consumes up to one-third of all the water we ingest.  Studies indicate that discipline issues typically increase in the afternoons when students may be dehydrated Middle school students need at least 10 hours of sleep a night although most children get less (somebody tell my son!) The prefrontal cortex in the brain isn't developed fully until the age of 18 or in some cases the early 20's.  Male brains typically mature slower than female brains.  This area of the brain processes planning, re

My blog post from Teachability.com Posted by  Nicole Zumpano  in  First Year Teaching  on Mar 17, 2014 2:53:00 PM Each semester my undergraduate and graduate students are introduced to incredible amounts of technology concepts and tools in my Technology in Education classes.  One of the assignments calls for the students to create classroom lessons that incorporate technology and to develop sample artifacts using this technology.  I’m always impressed by what these students are able to create.  After all, many are undergraduates; they have yet to step foot in a classroom and many have not yet had education foundational classes. Below are links to some of the great projects I’ve seen this winter.  With the quality and thought that went into these I’d say our future is in good hands. Alphabet QR code flash cards for little learners Counting coins with QR codes Create a mystery game of fractions using QR Codes! Use context clues to practice spelling with QR Codes!

Recently I was asked by Teachability.com to blog about the ICE Conference.  Below is my post. During the final week of February  Illinois Computing Educators  (ICE) held their annual educational technology conference. This year the conference saw record numbers with 3,400 educators through the doors over the course of 4 days.  The theme was “Connect to Learn”.  The conference offered numerous ways to achieve this.  Learning came in many forms:  full day workshops, half day workshops, 45 minute breakout sessions, poster sessions, a PLN Plaza, social gatherings, an after-dark edCamp, in lines for food, eating in the atrium or simply sitting next to someone in a session and introducing yourself while sharing a story or two about yourself, your school, your students. Although the focus of this conference is technology it goes beyond that- it’s about sharing your passion and your knowledge, willingly.  Presenters weren’t limited to “experts” in the field and included classroom teach