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“The pure and simple truth is rarely pure and never simple.” - Oscar Wilde

The Preamble to the Constitution of the United States of America establishes insuring domestic tranquility as one of the nation’s four primary objectives but the first is Justice. In a just and tranquil environment one ought to be able to expect to live free from fear of gun violence. This is especially true in our homes and the schools in which we entrust the well-being of our children. 

“The most courageous act is still to think for yourself. Aloud.” - Coco Channel

Expressing oneself is the essence of higher order thinking. If you have something to say share it! 

When we share a video online it becomes a podcast. We can make it available to everyone on the World Wide Web or to a select group of people. But often the first step is to make it available as an individual file you can upload to the commons.

“No one man has the right to dictate what other men should perceive, create or produce, but all should be encouraged to reveal themselves, their perceptions and emotions, and to build confidence in the creative spirit.” - Ansel Adams

We began this journey recognizing analysis, synthesis, and evaluation as the three broad categories of higher order thinking. An expression of such thinking is necessary to document that learning has occurred.

"Don't limit a child to your own learning, for he was born in another time." - Rabindranath Tagore

Assessing higher order thinking can be tricky because you and your student may see issues from different perspectives. The safest strategy is to assess the form of the expression rather than it's content.

“Education is a progressive discovery of our own ignorance.” - Will Durant

Assigning projects is a critical point in engaging students in higher order thinking projects with or without iPads. It just has to be done right.

"It is the supreme art of the teacher to awaken joy in creative expression and knowledge." - Albert Einstein

I believe if you want students to use higher order thinking you give them freedom to think for themselves and to express themselves knowing their ideas are valued even when they are wrong. This is how we learn.

I grow weary of teacher complaints about laptops and smartphones in the classroom.