Developed and maintained by Frank LaBanca, Ed.D.
Dr. LaBanca was recognized by eSchool News and Discovery as the 2006 National Outstanding Classroom Blogger for his blog, Applied Science Research
In Search of Creativity was a 2011 Edublog Awards Finalist in the "Best Teacher Blog" Category
Problem finding is the creative ability to define or identify a problem. The process involves consideration of alternative views or definitions of a problem that are generated and selected for further consideration. Problem finding requires individuals to set objectives, define purposes, decide what is interesting, and ultimately decide what they want to study.
Andragony offers an effective use of formative assessment 10/22/08
Do teachers understand? 1/31/08
An apparent paradox in idea and workload 8/29/07
The disenfranchised student, the suspect counselor, and a reflection on an Ed Tech’s perspective 6/1/07
A chat with Carol 5/2/07
Check out this fantastic video about the concept of Moonshot Thinking
I am excited to be attending the Google Teacher Academy in Atlanta next week. HERE is info about the great the educators with whom I will be working.
In order to move to a 1:1 environment, I think Bring Your Own Device “BYOD” is critical because it allows you to leverage funds more effectively to get devices in the hands of ALL students. Those that can provide, do; those who are unable, can use a device provided by the school. To build capacity in my new school, we’ve presented this concept at parent “meet-and-greets,” student meetings, and school orientation. To more widely distribute the information, I recently created a video with my colleagues. We also created the following 1-pager. We are well on our way to being the first school in our urban district that is 1:1.
BYOD 1-pager DOWNLOAD
I am attending the Google Teacher Academy in Atlanta later this month. GTA has asked that if we have an innovative idea, we apply to present. Here is my submission
When conducting experiments in a science environment there is often a great deal of experimental error associated with student data collection. This can lead to inappropriate conclusions or misunderstanding of science concepts or phenomena. One of the easy ways to remediate this is by collecting class data: outlier data is averaged and balanced and students use more meaningful mathematical processes for analysis. In the way-way past, this was done on the board. We’d make a data table and students would fill in, then copy. Once computers were more readily available, we would use a spreadsheet at a single station: students would come to the station, one group at a time and input their data. We would then have one sheet that could be posted to the class website. This process was still cumbersome. With the advent of the Google Spreadsheet, it’s a totally different ball game. Students can work simultaneously to input data and real-time progress monitoring can take place. There are some key strategies to make it work effectively that I will discuss.
