Joan Sharpe

Digital Storytelling: Meaningful Technology in Third Grade

Posted on July 14, 2014August 15, 2015 by Joan Sharpe in Inspiration, Technology

Are we sabotaging our children by classifying them as smart or not? Do we empower them to gain meaningful technology experiences?

5 Things to Say to Someone Who Hates Tech

Posted on July 4, 2014July 4, 2014 by Joan Sharpe in Technology

Home and still reeling from an awesome ten-day conference tour which featured a presentation at NC New Schools, and my first experience at ISTE in Atlanta, it finally is easy being green, Kermit! I had a chance to have lunch with one of my favorite colleagues, an elementary curriculum guru, in my opinion. Our conversation … Continue reading 5 Things to Say to Someone Who Hates Tech →

10 Takeaways From ISTE 2014

Posted on July 3, 2014 by Joan Sharpe in HOT, Technology

The 2014 ISTE conference in Atlanta GA, was indeed an eye-opening experience. If you're on Twitter, you've probably seen the #ISTE2014 on your feed for the last seven days. I got off the plane ready to take in all of the information, and I boarded the flight home afraid that my brain was going to … Continue reading 10 Takeaways From ISTE 2014 →

PBL Role Descriptions For Beginners

Posted on June 9, 2014September 26, 2014 by Joan Sharpe in Technology

Now that Project Based Learning has taken shape in education, there is one major area of emphasis that must be stressed. Roles and descriptions are vital if PBL is going to work for you. Each team or group that you assemble to carry out a project, has to be assigned specific roles within the team in order to function properly. There is a vast difference between "group work" and "collaborative grouping."

Never Lose Your TechEd Resources Again!

Posted on April 24, 2014May 5, 2014 by Joan Sharpe in Technology

Sharing simple tools for keeping up with endless bookmarks (Diigo), anotating and saving texts for later (Evernote, Clearly), or creating the world's best blogs (WordPress, of course!) can mount up, and it's easy to lose track! So to stay organized, I decided to expand to a web hosting site that I've grown to love:

STEM In Rural Schools: What Kids Want Us To Know

Posted on April 16, 2014April 16, 2014 by Joan Sharpe in Technology

I walked into the media center at Bertie STEM High School in Windsor, North Carolina and saw the most beautiful thing: Children were making presentations to their peers about something great they learned, and the product they created! The presenters were all well versed in robotics, and were proficient in controlling its actions. I thought to myself, people need to know that there are some GREAT things going on in Bertie County! So here we are.

What You’re Doing Wrong With Classroom Tech

Posted on April 14, 2014 by Joan Sharpe in Technology

In short, I was using the technology (so 20th century), but I failed miserably at infusing it (21st century). If we are all honest with ourselves, what would we say about tech in our classrooms? Is it enhancing the quality of student learning outcomes, or does it appease the masses who pass by and see the technology in use and assume that we're getting the job done?

Screencasting Tools for 2014: The Flipped Classroom

Posted on April 9, 2014September 23, 2014 by Joan Sharpe in Technology

Lots of teachers across America have inverted their classrooms, and have found tremendous success doing so. I'm here to tell you what tools they're using and where to find them. This post is also for those who still need convincing that 21st Century Learning encompasses much more than online research.

Go Wild With Social Media In The Classroom! Sort of…

Posted on April 2, 2014April 9, 2014 by Joan Sharpe in HOT, Technology

I've got a couple of tools for you from Classtools.net that your little social media enthusiasts will love! So, let's take a traditional research paper/PowerPoint (substitution) assignment, and move it into the Modification/Redefinition levels of technology integration.