Think Fast!!!

Every once in a while, the Internet forgets to work. And suddenly, life becomes so much more… exciting. Yeah. Exciting. That’s the word.

Where’s my sarcasm font when I need it?

So there I am, teaching technology, 25 middle school students teetering on the edge of good behavior, when the Internet dies. Suddenly. Without warning.

Think fast!

I whipped up a spur-of-the-moment assignment, passed out paper and pencils, and declared: “Today, we’re going Old School.”

I'm definitely going to keep this one in my toolbox. 

Digital Creativity: How Today’s Students Are Building Tomorrow’s Innovations

We’ve talked a lot about how technology is shaping education—AI in the classroom, cybersecurity, and ethical considerations. But this month, I’d like to shift the focus from what technology does to students to what students can do with technology.

Digital creativity is booming among today’s middle schoolers. Whether it’s designing a 3D model in Tinkercad, programming a video game in Scratch, or using Canva to produce a class newsletter, students aren’t just consuming technology—they’re creating with it. Tools that were once locked behind professional paywalls or steep learning curves are now browser-based, free (or nearly so), and designed with young learners in mind.

This creative shift is more than a novelty—it’s a powerful educational opportunity. When students code an animation, build a simple app, or design a virtual world in CoSpaces, they’re not just playing around; they’re engaging in problem-solving, systems thinking, storytelling, and collaboration. They’re building digital literacy, resilience, and confidence in their own ideas.

As educators, we can nurture this trend by making space for creativity in our curriculum—not just in tech classes, but across disciplines. A history teacher might let students create an animated reenactment of a historical event. An English teacher might encourage digital storybooks or AI-generated dialogue experiments. The key is to provide flexible tools and encourage exploration, not just correctness.

Of course, balance is important. Not every moment needs a screen. But when used thoughtfully, creative technology gives students something even more valuable than answers: a chance to imagine, design, and build their own. In a world increasingly shaped by innovation, these early acts of digital creation are more than fun—they’re foundational.

 

My Emotional Support Sport

There’s just something about baseball that soothes my soul.

Teaching is hard. Like, actually hard. Some days, everything that can go wrong does—kids acting like they were raised in barns, adults in matching bad moods, the copier jammed for the eleventh time this week (I know it's plotting against me), and the day feels like it’s stuck in some cruel time loop.

And when that kind of day ends? I go home. I pour myself a glass of wine. I kick off my shoes, prop my feet on the couch, and turn on MLB TV. 

And suddenly... everything is okay.

The Sox are on. The crowd is buzzing. The grass is perfectly contoured, the baselines are bright and crisp, and the camera pans across a field that somehow looks like peace in visual form. I find myself smiling. I remember how to breathe.

It’s almost meditative—my version of Zen. The world may be loud, messy, and completely off the rails, but here, in this moment, Crochet is throwing 95 mph fastballs and all is right with the world. School, with its infinite noise and unpredictable chaos, feels a million miles away.

Baseball doesn’t fix everything. But on nights like this, it sure comes close. 

I thank my friends Dave and Sue from the bottom of my heart for this gift. They have no idea how much my sanity depends on baseball! 

Or maybe they do. 

The Best Thing I Didn't Know I Needed

The other day, I was roaming the hallway like a ghost of bad behavior past. I had one mission: find a fellow teacher to vent to before I exploded into a confetti blast of frustration and sarcasm.

It had been that kind of day—kids throwing things, lying with the boldness of someone auditioning for a courtroom drama, general chaos. The kind of day that makes you seriously wonder if you accidentally signed up for the wrong profession. ("Did I check the wrong box on that career interest survey in high school? Should I have gone into dental hygiene?") I was evaluating my life choices, and it wasn't pretty.

Anyway, I was on the hunt for my usual confidante, but her office was empty. Heavy sigh. But across the hall… I noticed something strange.

Laughter.

Joy.

People having fun? In a school building? After 2:30 p.m.?

Naturally, I was suspicious.

But I poked my head in and found a whole group of teachers—just hanging out, solving the New York Times crossword puzzle together like it was the most normal after-school activity in the world.

And here’s the best part—they welcomed me in like I’d always been part of the crew.

We’ve got a little of everything:

• Two social studies teachers who know just about every historical fact ever.

• Two math teachers who actually enjoy numbers.

• A technology teacher who loves coding.

• A special ed teacher with the patience of a saint.

• An ELA teacher who knows words that haven't been used since 1874.

Our ages range from mid-20s to 60s, so our knowledge is as diverse as our snack choices. Someone always knows something, and someone always has a random fact no one asked for—but turns out to be super useful.

And Friday? Friday was a milestone. For the first time ever, we completely solved five days’ worth of crosswords in a row. A full streak. It was like winning the nerdy Olympics—and yes, we were very proud of ourselves.

I went looking for someone to commiserate with, but instead I found a little unexpected joy in a classroom full of crossword-loving coworkers. Now, I look forward to it every day. It’s not just about the puzzle—it’s the laughter, the camaraderie, the brainpower, and the feeling that hey, even on the worst days, I’m not alone in this.

Teaching is hard. But a daily puzzle with good people? That’s a little reminder that there’s still a lot of good tucked in between the chaos.

An Overview of Leading AI Systems

In the world of AI, there are a lot of tools out there. The leading AI systems are ChatGPT, Claude, Copilot, and Gemini. Each of these comes from a different company and serves a unique purpose, but all of them are designed to make our lives easier in different ways.

ChatGPT, created by OpenAI, is a general-purpose AI that can do pretty much anything—answer questions, write essays, generate code, you name it. It’s like a jack-of-all-trades. Whether you're looking for a quick answer or need help brainstorming ideas, ChatGPT is there to lend a hand. Its ability to generate human-like text makes it useful for everything from customer support to content creation.

Then we have Claude, developed by Anthropic. Claude’s main selling point is safety and ethics. The team behind Claude has designed it to be more careful with the responses it gives, reducing harmful or biased output. It’s built with the idea that AI should align with human values, which makes it a great choice for high-stakes or sensitive environments where you want to be extra sure the AI stays on track.

Next up is Copilot, a collaboration between GitHub and OpenAI. If you're a developer, Copilot is a game-changer. Powered by OpenAI’s Codex model, it helps generate code, suggest improvements, and even debug. It’s like having a personal coding assistant that can autocomplete lines of code, saving developers tons of time. It works in a variety of languages, making it a go-to for anyone writing code.

Lastly, Gemini is Google’s latest offering from DeepMind. It’s designed to handle both text and images, making it a more advanced, multimodal AI. If you're looking for something that can analyze text, generate images, or do both at the same time, Gemini is the tool to turn to. Google is clearly aiming to push the envelope with this one, integrating it across their suite of tools for an all-in-one AI experience.

In short, while ChatGPT, Claude, Copilot, and Gemini all offer powerful AI capabilities, each one brings something different to the table. Whether you're chatting, coding, or looking for something more advanced, there's an AI for you.

I love these kids!

For the holiday, I assembled treat bags for the kids with little things Melissa and I bought for them. We gave them a jingle bell, a candy cane, a pencil with two little erasers, a sticky hand, and a coloring book. We decided that, because of the low attendance today, we would show them a movie and give math a break.

7A, my SPED class, was the one I thought would be the most crazy. Instead, they opened their treat bags quietly, ate their candy canes, and enjoyed Beethoven's Christmas Adventure. They even said thank you as they were leaving the classroom!

7B, my gifted group, was the one I thought would be the quietest. Wrong again. The sticky hands were almost immediately flying in all directions as they tried to pull other student's belongings away from them, tried to stick them on the ceiling, tried to stick them in each other's hair... The Santa Clause was just background noise for happy shenanigans. I thought they were a riot, but Melissa was not amused. Probably a good thing...they would have been out of control all period, and I'd have been right along with them. :D

7C, my English language learners, was the group I was unsure of. A high percentage of the group follows the path of Islam, so I had a back-up coloring sheet in case they had religious objection to a Christmas movie and gift. I need not have worried. Some seemed to get the biggest kick out of the candy canes, eating it from both ends. As a whole, they initially preferred coloring in the little holiday coloring books in their treat bags to watching the movie , but then quickly realized they could grab each other's coloring books with the sticky hands. I probably shouldn't have let them get away with it, but hey, it's the last day of school before break, and I'm tired. :D

It's funny how this job is working out for me. I don't think I've ever worked so hard or for so many hours, but I feel like I'm making a difference. It's fulfilling, enjoyable, and worth every minute.

I have finally found my purpose.