From the desk of Mr. Walters

Okay peeps and tweeps, it's time for this year's round-up of inspiration and wholesome challenging goodness for the start of the school year. This is when I share who / what is challenging me right now with you... kind of an annotated bibli blog raphy of awesome. Are your students totally Psyched? Okay, maybe they're not, but they should be. If you're a teacher, and you're not a Vlog Brothers fan (or a Nerdfighter like me), you may have missed this. I'm posting it here for you to share with your friends, colleagues, administrators, and, most importantly, your students. DFTBA An Open Letter to Students Returning to School John Green Room Readiness Ahhh... Room readiness. No matter what your district calls it, you probably have to go set up your junk this week or next week. What are you going to do differently? What will you keep the same? What is your core message? ...WHAT? I thought we were talking about room setup, not an essay or lecture. This yea...

This is part 2 of my Design Matters series. If you missed part 1, you can check it out here . In this post, I'll focus on little ways you can encourage better overall visual literacy in your classroom. We'll talk about why you should and how you can. I'll include the first set of three simple tricks to improve design in your classroom. I'll add three more in the next post in this series and so on. On to glory...   Visual literacy beyond the Art room First, I am not an art teacher. For the most part, the fine arts are a bit lost on me. I wish that weren't true, but it is. I may not appreciate a Picasso, nor can I tell it from a Rembrandt. I can, however, appreciate the design around me. I can instantly tell a Mac from any PC. We're surrounded by great design daily. A quick visit to the mall or The Dieline , will quickly cement that idea. Most of us know great design when we see it. We don't have to know fine art to be visually literate. Also, it'...

Hey peeps & tweeps! I'll be facilitating a course in games, games based learning, and gamification this Fall, called, "Simulations and Gaming Technologies for the Classroom™ Online". Head on over to PLS to sign up! We'll talk about current beliefs & assumptions about using video and computer games in the classroom. We'll look at some serious games. We'll even look at the mysterious art of game design. I hope to see some of you there!