Each year I try to spend time with my seniors (in between in class assignments) to see what their goals are in the coming years, and what steps they are taking to reach those goals. Each year I hear some of the same goals from previous years so I am able to help them find the connections they need to take those first steps after graduation to accomplish those goals, but each year there are a few who have goals that I haven’t looked into in the past. This year I have a student who wants to become a pharmacist.  Despite a lot of pharmacy automation, there is still a great need for pharmacists which is a good sign. So we are looking at what he needs to do to go … Read entire article »

Do you wish you could track your child during the day while they are at school? I know many parents that are particularly nervous when their babies start school about riding the bus.  What if your school had student tracking software that enabled you to know when you child climbed on the bus and when they arrived at school?  Wouldn’t that be reassuring. I’ve refused to get my CDL license as I do not want to be responsible for so many little kiddos.  I don’t know how bus drivers do it. I’d be so scared, but with software like this, a bus driver would be able to print a report of when and where they picked up and dropped off their young riders. Sound unbelievable? I’ve been reading about it, and it’s now possible.  I’m not … Read entire article »

You might remember my post earlier this week about bus tracking. I seem to keep thinking about it, and the more I think about it, the more I like it. I’m not sure what all it can and can’t do, but wouldn’t it be great if after all the kids were loaded in the afternoon, it could track who wasn’t on the bus? Or on a field trip, it could tell you instantly that everyone had gotten back on the bus? There are some really cool possibilities here. Or the little kid that gets on the bus in the afternoon, what if she’s on the wrong bus? Could it be programmed to beep or something to notify the driver and get the kid on the right bus asap? Like I … Read entire article »

I get multiple educational magazines, and I was flipping through one today before trashing it, and came across an interesting article. It was about school bus gps tracking which I had never heard about, but after reading about it, I thought it was a pretty good idea. Basically it tracks the kids and the bus.  It knows when the kids get on and off the bus and where they do this.  What a great way to make sure that everyone is in the right place, and if something did happen, you’d easily be able to see where/why/how.  Now of course since my daughter goes to school with me every morning, she’s only rode the bus on field trip days, but I can for sure see how that would be a … Read entire article »

My daughter works hard in school – harder than I did, I think. But her grades don’t always reflect it. School comes a little harder for her, and I’m always looking for ways to close that gap and motivate her to keep working hard. Thanks to a review facilitated through Mom Central, I’ve been able to find a new program that she enjoys. In fact, so that you know just how satisfied I’ve been, I’ll be signing us back up for this program after the Christmas holidays and continuing it through the end of this school year at least. How is that for a satisfied review? So what is Kaplan Tutoring? Kaplan Tutoring is an online tutorial program for math and reading developed by Kaplan for elementary age students. … Read entire article »

This post brought to you by ATETV.org. All opinions are 100% mine. As a technology lover and teacher, I am always on the lookout for useful sites that will enhance a students love for technology.  It is also great when you can show them what they are learning in the classroom can honestly be used in the future. ATETV.org (Advanced Technological Education Television) is a site I discovered recently that has a ton of videos that tell about possible career options in high-tech careers in math, science, engineering, and technology.  While I can usually show them several careers in technology that they will have as options in their futures, I was impressed at the variety of careers covered on ATETV because there were many that I had never heard of.  In addition, … Read entire article »

As a secondary teacher, I’m always looking into what careers are on the rise – which are reliable – where should my students consider as possible careers? I was reading the paper this weekend, and have to admit that I was disappointed to not see education as a top “Secure” career, but on the top of that list was a health care career.  I suppose no matter what the status of our economy is, we will get sick and need medical treatment, huh? If you knew an 18 year old about to graduate from college seeking direction, what careers would you suggest they consider? … Read entire article »