Do the best you can until you know better. Then when you know better, do better. – Maya Angelou

Mr. Walker's Classroom Blog


  • Thomas Suarez is a 6th grade student at a middle school in the South Bay of Los Angeles. When Apple released the Software Development Kit (SDK), he began to create and sell his own applications. “My parents, my friends and even the people at the Apple store all supported me,” he says, “and Steve Jobs inspired me”. Thomas points out that it’s hard to learn how to make an app. “For soccer you could go to a soccer team … but what if you want to make an app?” He’s started a club for fellow students at school, where he shares his knowledge of programming. Thomas articulates his vision that students are a valuable new technology resource to teachers, and should be empowered to offer assistance in developing the technology curriculum and also assist in delivering the lessons.

    Thomas has been fascinated by computers and technology since before kindergarten. Recently, he’s been focused on the development of applications for the iPhone, and has established his own company, CarrotCorp http://www.carrotcorp.com/. His most successful application is one he terms “an anti-Justin-Bieber game” called “Bustin Jieber”. “It’s is a variation on the Whac-a-Mole theme,” he explains. http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/bustin-jieber/id404956571?mt=8

  • Social media monitoring service Reppler recently surveyed more than 300 hiring professionals to determine when and how job recruiters are screening job candidates on different social networks.

    The study found that more than 90% of recruiters and hiring managers have visited a potential candidate’s profile on a social network as part of the screening process. And a whopping 69% of recruiters have rejected a candidate based on content found on his or her social networking profiles — an almost equal proportion of recruiters (68%), though, have hired a candidate based on his or her presence on those networks.

  • The Internet’s role in education today is integral to educating the populace, and occasionally the ubiquity of the Internet’s reach is taken for granted.
    So much can change in 15 years. In the world of tech, this is doubly true. Rarely does the year 1996 seem more distant in our rearview mirrors than when we take a look at the state of the Internet in that era. It’s immediately recognizable: the bad fonts, the spinning gifs, and all manner of regrettable web design. But that isn’t to say that we don’t look back on it fondly. Indeed, we came of age on that Internet of long ago. But that’s not to say it isn’t a relief to see how far we’ve come. Not only has Internet penetration and use skyrocketed in a mindblowing fashion since those days, but it’s become a much, much more pleasant experience. The only thing we really miss? The fact that the University of Michigan’s website used to be in the top 10 in users reached!

    Created by: Online University

  • An introduction to QR Code technology which makes the real world clickable like a website.