As technology becomes more ubiquitous in our world, I think back to my humble beginnings. When I was teaching Technology at Montview, I was sometimes limited by the classroom teachers’ expectations. While I wanted to give the kids all they could handle, the teachers often just wanted word processing, slideshows, and drawings done on the computer.…
Category Archives: Technology
Hacking The World
Creating cybersecurity classes can be fraught with concerns, as schools and districts often harbor apprehensions about the potential for inadvertently fostering hackers or criminals. It’s essential that these programs incorporate a strong moral component. Fortunately, my experience has shown that many students self-select out once they realize that cybersecurity involves more than just breaching systems.…
Training & Inservices for Technology
The greatest joy I have is sharing computer science, cybersecurity, & technology with others. The opportunity to share with fellow teachers has always been a highlight but it is a double-edged sword. Teachers who want to lead inservices about technology often ask me for help.…
Perpetuate The Non-Fiction
The following excerpt is from Seymour Papert’s book Mindstorms, published in 1980, yet its relevance to current classroom practices persists. The book is over forty years old and is still as important today as it was in 1980. The passage below speaks to a project by students using “Turtle” programming to create a holiday sign.…
Day 176 May 23, 2023 Zip Ties
We started moving toward one-to-one Chromebooks several years ago. We started with carts in classrooms of 20 to 25 each. I sometimes have moments of OCD and I like everything neatly done. My interns and I set up the carts in the rooms.…
Day 174 May 19, 2023 Self Esteem Monitor
Sometimes we need to serve as monitors for our students. I had a teacher in high school who refused to use my nickname, and his reasoning always made sense. He felt that it was important to honor the student, and using their name instead of a nickname reinforced that idea.…
Day 158 April 27, 2023 WordPerfect 9.1
I have spent my career being at the forefront of technology I have used some great products over the years. PowerPoint is a case in point. I started using PowerPoint for MAC in the early 90s. It didn’t start out as a Microsoft product but they were bought in the late 80s.…
Day 157 April 26, 2023 Leadership
Leadership matters. For my CyberPatriot trip to the National Finals, we had a leader that had emerged three years earlier. Lucas Nicodemus was our leader on the team and ran a tight ship! Our goal from 2010 was to return and Lucas spent the next three years making that goal a reality. …
Day 108 February 13, 2023 – War Games
The title for today is a slight throwback to my elementary days but it is worth the story. In 1999 long before 9/11 changed how the government and secure sites handled things, I got to attend a 4-day workshop. The workshop was sponsored by NASA and held at the Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs.…
Day 98 January 30, 2023 – Thermofax Heist
If you have been teaching for a long time you will remember the thermofax machine. This made things for the modern invention, the overhead projector. There were three modern machines when I started teaching: the overhead projector, the opaque projector, and the thermofax machine.…
Day 93 January 23, 2023 – What Toaster?
Reverse engineering is an integral skill for my students in engineering class. We spend a few weeks on this task. We learn about the elements & principles of design. We do a visual analysis of a product and then do a functional analysis.…
Day 81 January 4, 2023 – Flying Cars
The story for today isn’t about my time at Rangeview. It is about my time at Vivian Elementary in Lakewood growing up. As we pass into the year 2023 I am reminded of how far away the year 2000 is. It is as far from my high school graduation as the year 2000 and I remember thinking about how far off that was.…
Day 62 November 15, 2022 Error Message
Derek was one of my favorite students when I first started at Rangeview. I worked with him in Theatre and had him in web design class. Derek had a sense of humor that matched mine. We were working on a project to create a website for a resort and had to have pages that covered the full gambit of a resort.…
Day 57 November 8, 2022 Wiring Techniques
Building improvements and retrofits are common in schools. Over the years we have had several additions and some remodeling. The two biggest have been additions and wiring retrofits. The wiring is the most important to me as a computer and business teacher.…
Day 52 November 1, 2022 High School?
I am moving into high school. I will still do an elementary story now and then but it is time to transfer to Rangeview High School. I will be using my experience in several areas as the basis for these stories.…
Day 50 October 28, 2022 Technology Leader
Accomplishments are important and I am a believer that if my accomplishments help others, I have been successful. In the mid-90s we were writing out report cards for every student. Your hands would cramp up and trying to find ways to say things briefly became an art.…
Day 49 – October 27, 2022 Sharing Ideas
Today I landed in Orlando, Florida getting ready to present at the PLTW Summit for the next three days. I have been to many conferences in the last 30 years. This weekend will be the last one as an APS teacher.…
Day 47 – October 25, 2022 Early Adopter
Microworlds and Logo programming was my first step into programming with kids. I was doing this with students in the third, fourth, and fifth grades at Montview. As I compare to students coming into my class today, those elementary kids were miles ahead of the high school kids I see now.…
Day 41 – October 7, 2022 Thematic Phones
In the words of that great philosopher Kermit: “It isn’t being green.” Most elementary teachers use themes to enhance their rooms and build the sense of family. My first few years saw me use a frog and green theme. It was at this time that cell phones were starting to become more common.…
Day 38 – October 4, 2022 Persona Non Grata
I was a member of a small group of innovators that started technology specials in elementary. In our district, we had Carl W, Andy Y, Randy W, and me. It was the opportunity of a lifetime to create something exciting and new.…
Day 37 – October 3, 2022 Sarah
I had the joy of starting a technology special at Montview. It was a perfect rotation for a year-round school and kept the specialists on a similar schedule. I had kindergarten through 5th grade all year long. I had to develop lessons and work for every level.…
Day 30 September 22, 2022 The White House
Presenting in large groups to other teachers is always fraught with danger. You have those in the room who are already experts and attend just to show up the speaker. Others attend who have no idea what they are getting into.
Day 27 – September 19, 2022 Early Web Design
One of the challenges of being the “Tech Guy” is that everyone wants advice or work for free. I have undertaken those opportunities over the years. Usually, because someone else dragged me into it or asked too nicely. I have started websites for several education groups and schools.…
Day 16 – August 30, 2022 Network Technician
Teaching during the start of this current information and internet age was a blessing and a curse. We often had the freedom do what we wanted to do because nobody was sure of what it was we were doing. Networking equipment was one of the first big hurdles.
Day 8 – August 18, 2022 Technology Wave
The story for today is a celebration and post-mortem of introducing students to technology. In the early 1990s, I was lucky enough to transition to the Technology Special at Montview. One of the first things we decided on was the skills that students needed.…
Day 7 – August 17, 2022 Laptops
Schools are always in search of trends and community needs. Our job is to provide an educated and prepared workforce. We spend a lot of time preparing students for careers that don’t even exist and it is sometimes a guessing game.…