As an Oklahoma Science Teacher for thirty years, I have been fortunate to serve the last half of my career in public high schools with 1:1 student laptops.
 
Because of my science education and logical left brain, I viewed teaching as an objective science. I was comfortable with the "industrial" model of education - where all students are evaluated based on the SAME set of skills.
 
Computers and the Internet are NOT learning tools! They are a part of the ENVIRONMENT in which today's learning takes place! Computers and the Internet have changed the PARADIGM of education! When a paradigm changes, SKILL SETS change!
 
After years of using computers with students in the classroom, I have come to see that TEACHING IS AN ART - an act of CREATION! Art is not objective. Art is subjective! Its value is determined by the individual. This view requires a new paradigm of education - the "creative" model - where every student is encouraged to develop their INDIVIDUAL and CREATIVE skills.
 
The best learning environment currently available for Public High School Students is 1:1 technology in a Blended Learning Environment with a Dedicated Teacher using a Web-Based Curriculum they have CREATED!
 
My "left brain" is STILL dominant, but I am working very hard to increase the use of my "right brain". I STILL "teach" science (only chemistry), but now I USE chemistry to teach students (1) HOW TO LEARN, (2) HOW TO THINK CRITICALLY, and (3) TO BE CREATIVE - three things that are relevant to ALL students. My students learn chemistry, but as a by-product of my three main goals.
 
The Web-Based Curriculum I have produced contains the BACKGROUND INFORMATION students need to be able to Think Critically (use Background Knowledge to construct New Knowledge) about chemistry.
 
My Blended Learning Environment consists of 20% online student/teacher interactions and 80% face-to-face student/teacher interactions. It is the 80% that allows me to teach the way I do!
 
Students that are INTERESTED in chemistry have the opportunity to drill DEEP into concepts. Students that have OTHER interests, once they grasp the concept BASICS, have an opportunity to explore how chemistry FITS into the things that interest them.
 
My class assignments give students OPTIONS that allow them to develop their own talents and interests (their CREATIVITY) while providing them appropriate Background Knowledge in chemistry.
 

 
Interesting Reads For Educators:
 
The Essentials of Method - De Garmo, 1900 - A description of essential teaching methods.
 
Interest and Education - De Garmo, 1908 - The importance of inspiring student interest in the classroom.
 
How We Think - Dewey, 1910 - A description of thinking and how school conditions relate.
 
Principles of Secondary Ed - De Garmo, 1913 - Describing the move from the 3Rs to a "modern" system of education.
 
Experience and Education - Dewey, 1938 - The history of education as one of theoretical opposites.
 
When Teaching the Right Answers Is the Wrong Direction - Rebecca Alber, Edutopia
 
The Role of Socratic Questioning in Thinking, Teaching, and Learning - CriticalThinking.org
 
Six Types of Socratic Question - ChangingMinds.org
 
Using "Think-Time" and "Wait-Time" Skillfully in the Classroom - ERIC Digest
 
Articles by Daniel Willingham - A cognitive scientist researching K-12 education.
 
Formative vs. Summative Assessment - Iowa Dept of Ed
 
Grading Rubrics - Park University, Parkville, MO
 
Blended Larning: The Convergence of Online and Face-To-Face Education - A pdf report from the North American Council for Online Learning
 
A National Primer on K-12 Online Learning - A pdf report from the North American Council for Online Learning