The best place to start is always at the beginning so let’s start there. The name of this blog (at least for now) is Binary Misadventures.  The name is appropriate for several reasons.  First, and probably foremost, I am a Math & Technology teacher at Irvington High School in Irvington, NY where I also serve as the district’s Technology Coordinator.  I find that, although I am the teacher, I probably get most of my technology knowledge from my students.  Whether it is a website, utility, or game, my students are generally the ones giving me the heads up.  This is not something I am ashamed of (Some of you must be thinking “What?!? Your students are teaching you?!?!”) and, in fact, I take a great deal of pride in how enthusiastic they are and how willing and open they are to sharing.  As far as they are concerned, Binary Misadventures could be a way of summing up my constant attempts to keep up with them. 

When I take time to reflect on my job and the general state of education, I am troubled by the fact that we discourage our students from fully utilizing their technology knowledge. Most schools have strict policies regarding things like cell phones, IPods, and electronic devices.  Is this the right attitude that school districts should have? Karl Fisch’s “What if?” presentation really hits this point home.  Just because we may not be digital natives (I’ll touch more on this in a future post), does that mean we close our students off to learning opportunities that could only be afforded to us through the use of these new, innovative technologies.  For instance, teachers are beginning to leverage Web 2.0 technologies in their classrooms.  We are creating paperless environments where all of your work is wherever you are!

Note: If I lost you at Web 2.0 and you don’t feel like reading about it, here is a video which sums up the major points.

Here, is the real meaning of Binary Misadventures.  What are we doing in schools to make the most effective use of technology? Finding ways to educate both students and educators on innovations in educational technonology is the mission of this blog.  Together (dear readers), I hope to explore topics related to this mission.  I’ll end this first post with another Karl Fisch presentation entitled “Did You Know?”  If this doesn’t get you concerned about the current state of education in our country, I don’t know what will.