AnnMaria

One thing I gained from judo was the importance of persistence. There are no doubt a lot of people who have better technique than me. They had better instructors who came from famous clubs, maybe even the Kodokan. I started at the Alton YMCA. There are probably lots of people […]

How judo taught me to avoid Startup Burnout

17 Jan, 2020 in AnnMaria / Bilingual Education / Start-up Diaries / Women in Tech tagged startup / startup advice by AnnMaria De Mars

Sunset on the Standing Rock reservation — I get stressed that I have not accomplished enough in a week. Then I look at what has happened this decade. Weeks add up. People are awesome.

Word of the Decade: Gratitude

31 Dec, 2019 in AnnMaria / Start-up Diaries by AnnMaria De Mars

buffalo in winter — All right, so what if your sister, Betty had all of her Christmas shopping done by November 15th. She also alphabetizes her spices and we don’t see you doing that. You’re busy. We get it. On the other hand, you don’t want to be the person who shows up at […]

We Won’t Judge You For Shopping on Christmas Eve

24 Dec, 2019 in 7GenGames / AnnMaria / Newsletter tagged AnnMaria De Mars / Christmas Eve / Donate / Holiday Shopping / newsletter by Erick Salomon

One of the hardest things to do in creating a math game is to come up with problems that relate at all to student interests. Textbook publishers try, and so do we. You see a lot of math problems that include baseball statistics or buying CDs. Of course, then no […]

I want math problems for Christmas

11 Dec, 2019 in AnnMaria / Educational Games tagged Christmas / Holidays by AnnMaria De Mars

Our consultants on Dakota culture and American history combed Library of Congress archives for these photos of Dakota and Ojibwe life.

When you want more than pictures of happy Indians and ...

27 Nov, 2019 in AnnMaria tagged Native American heritage month / Thanksgiving by AnnMaria De Mars

Spirit Lake has multiplication word problems — In nearly 30 years teaching and consulting on American Indian reservations, I’ve seen a dismaying number of failures to provide a good education. In the movie, Mask, the mother of a boy with a noticeable physical disfigurement is trying to register him for middle school. The principal says, Perhaps a […]

Failing Native American students: Let me count the ways

27 Nov, 2019 in AnnMaria / Cultural content / Education: Innovation and STEM / Educational Resources tagged Native American heritage month by AnnMaria De Mars

horse in a field — I have mixed feelings about this time of year. On the one hand, I love my family and I have SO much to be thankful for. On the other hand, I’ve spent most of my career working on American Indian reservations so my feelings about the whole “let’s celebrate the […]

Native American Culture for Thanksgiving

25 Nov, 2019 in AnnMaria / Cultural content tagged Native American heritage month by AnnMaria De Mars

Dr. Carol Davis — When I was a graduate student at the University of California, Riverside, all three of my daughters attended the university preschool program. The Director of Native American programs had an office near mine, and each year, I’d stick my head in and say, “Hey, Alfreda, you spoke at the preschool […]

Three for Thursday: Native Americans TODAY

21 Nov, 2019 in AnnMaria / Cultural content / podcast tagged Native American heritage month by AnnMaria De Mars

On a twitter education chat, people were discussing, “What education conferences would you recommend?” You missed it this year, since it ended today, but I have one for you for next year. First of all, the cost for the Wyoming Native American Education Conference is an unbelievable $25. Yes, you […]

Hidden Jewel: Wyoming Native American Education Conference

20 Nov, 2019 in AnnMaria / Educational Resources tagged Native American heritage month by AnnMaria De Mars

Native American man sitting — I was super-excited to have had the chance to speak at Minot State University on how we use Native American culture to teach math. In analyzing our data, one key issue we found was PERSEVERANCE. That is, students simply give up when it gets the least bit hard. It wasn’t […]

Using Native American Culture to Teach Math

19 Nov, 2019 in AnnMaria / Educational Games / Math tagged Native American heritage month by AnnMaria De Mars

Boy and girl from forgotten trail sliding downhill — In Making Camp Ojibwe, what was our first App for Android and iOS, players learn how the Ojibwe lived hundreds of years ago. They learn about the Ojibwe migration. They can earn points by watching videos about history or math and answering questions. They can also earn points by doing […]

Native American kids, Latino kids, they’re all kids

13 Nov, 2019 in AnnMaria tagged Native American heritage month by AnnMaria De Mars

Native American dancers at EPICS conference — I think all special education needs more math, but today I’m at the Native American special education conference, EPICS, so let’s talk about that. It’s a good conference, not least of all for the entertainment, and I’m already planning to come back next year. I went to some good sessions […]

Native American Special Education Needs More Math

12 Nov, 2019 in AnnMaria / Education: Innovation and STEM / Special Education tagged Native American heritage month by AnnMaria De Mars