Hi! My name is Adam Zurn. I am a veteran teacher who loves technology. I work for a school district in Lancaster County where I also serve as department head.

When I’m not teaching I advise several clubs and organizations. I even had a two year stint as senior class Powderpuff coach. I am the only coach in school Powderpuff history where the senior girls lost the Powderpuff game. I was not asked back for a third year. 😜

The two clubs I currently enjoy most are advising the online student newspaper and helping with set construction for the high school’s theatrical performances.

Education

I attended Millersville University. I began undecided but after two semesters I decided to enter the family business and become a teacher.

I liked college so much I spent almost five years getting my Bachelors. I immediately went back for a Master’s in Technology Education and then again for a second Master’s in Teaching & Learning. If money wasn’t a factor I might have become a perpetual student basking in the warm glow of academic nirvana.

Family

My wife, Maribeth, teaches first grade at Penn Manor School District. Before that, she taught Kindergarten for ten years. I look forward to having coffee with her on the weekends before our son, Benson, wakes up. I’m always disappointed if our schedule prevents it.

My nine-year-old son has been the perfect excuse to do all the things society frowns on a grown man doing–horsing around, playing video games, and watching cartoons.

Benson and I always have a project. This past summer we got a 3D printer and have been busy printing V-Bucks and props from Indiana Jones movies. In the video below, we did a spoof on Raiders of the Lost Art finding the fertility idol from the film’s opening.

Teachers Pay Teachers

I also have a Teachers Pay Teachers’ site. A majority of my TpT materials have been requested from my wife for use in her classroom or inspired by my elementary age son based on his interests, hobbies, and suggestions. Visit my TpT store today where a majority of my downloads are priced under $3!

BeePresent App 🐝

This past year I developed an app with my business partner, Steve Spealman. We could not be more excited about our innovative new app, BeePresent, that might help shift the tide of cell phone distractedness.

The app is designed to actually discourages classroom smartphone use through gamification. The app applies many of the same principles that keep you using an app but flips the concept by encouraging you to not use the device to earn the rewards.

Students earn coins for not using their phone during class. The more people that participate the more coins you can potentially earn. If you switch your phone to do not disturb, the coin earning multiplier increases. There’s even double jeopardy and sudden death modes for use during tests or other specials events to further incentivize non-phone use.

At the end of class, you receive a detailed report documenting how many coins each student earned, how many times each person’s phone was unlocked, and how many minutes the devices was unlocked. Think what you could do with that data.

For more curated news and information about about the effects of mobile devices on learning, behavior, and society in general follow the BeePresent app on Twitter or Facebook.

Closing Thoughts

It’s a tough world out there. Many people are fighting their own personal demons. So in the words of Plato…