Imagine That!
I’ve felt a bit out of sorts whenever I start thinking about my ImagineIt project. I get a little scared I am on the wrong track. Then I start thinking about the transformation in my classroom this year. My class has come alive with excitement. My students are no longer waiting for me to “start teaching”, they enter my class with a sense of purpose, waiting to tackle the tasks I have set up for them.
Since day one of the school year, I have been pushing new skills, ideas and learning tool on them. The level of excitement has grown incredibly. Not only are me meeting our content goals, are tech skills are growing daily. I dare to use the word transformative. That is all I can think of to describe the change.
What I really pleased with is the “evolution” of my practices. I did not see this iteration of my class when I started formulating my ImagineIt project. I thought it would be teach a few tech skills, and then give them 20% of their time to pursue a project of their own. Instead, the tech skills have become embedded in their learning, and they are pushing towards new uncharted territory.
Now I see the technology is the puzzle piece they were missing. Many of them only touched on the surface, including me, using technology in small measured increments. All that has changed. I have let the tech genie out of the bottle. My students are showing me examples of their learning in new and ever more dazzling ways.
Where this will go is hard to say. I can hardly wait to start a new chapter, or section of the text, to see what direction are learning will take. That said, the sky's the limit. There is no stopping us now...
Time to Take Off....
I feel like I have this “Invasion of the Body Snatchers” thing going on this year. I really only wanted to make my year great, and really engage my students in learning. I’ve been teaching for a while, and I really thought I had teaching down to a science. Boy, was I wrong. What I had was several boring practices, tied into my own desire to produce high test scores, that seemed to teach my students what they needed to know. Fortunately, for my students, you can teach an old dog new tricks.
My summer learning energized me this past July, and instead of going to the beach and forgetting about it when my two weeks were up, we kept at it. I started the school year in September with a plan, and this crazy energy. This school year has been different, in so many ways. Instead of doling out information to my students, and using the same boring practice to get them to recall some of it, I stepped back a bit (actually I took a giant step back) and started cultivating a different classroom culture.
Some tricks I learned in my summer session (can you call teaching practices tricks???) caused me to turn up the heat in the classroom. I dove in head first, and never looked back. Of course there were a few little problems to overcome. Dilemmas as they are known in some circles. Technology availability proved daunting at first, by we learned to do more with less. I learned how to accommodate 30 plus students with ten Chromebooks, two desktops, and well planned tasks. The second dilemma I faced was getting students to own their work. Many of them left their names off the work they turned in, or failed to include the names of all their team members. Google Classroom, and a leap of faith fixed that. I feel guilty my dilemmas were little more than nuisances. I guess it’s just perspective.
Now of course my story doesn't end there with my dilemmas sailing off into the sunset. I had to share my ideas with a focus group, and then move forward. I think I was already moving forward at those points, and meeting with others just clarified my thoughts. I don’t want to oversimplify what I’ve done or am doing, but I have no doubts and great clarity at this point.
Now here’s the weird “Body Snatching” thing going on. My students like the new ways of doing things. Classroom management has never been easier. Students know they have deadlines, they like their work, they’re more creative and collaborative. Each period literally flies by. And it’s spreading. Teachers I work with are asking me for help. They want to set up Google Classroom. They want to know how to use Google Forms, and Google Drawings. Slowly my practices have begun spreading around the other teachers. Not every teacher of course, but between my suggestions, and willingness to help they are converting. It’s actually fun to watch. I’ve had teachers ask how to use different tech tools, because the students are asking for it. What could be better?
So where do I go from here? Good question. My thought is to stay the course. I have one secret goal, I need to reach the 8th grade Science teacher. She is very set in her ways, and can’t see the value in changing her practices. I worry she will make my students go back to paper and pencil next year. Not that that’s wrong, but I don’t think it’s right. So I’ll nag her a bit, and showcase some of my student work during our content meetings. I think given time I will make her see the value of a tech driven science program.
My summer learning energized me this past July, and instead of going to the beach and forgetting about it when my two weeks were up, we kept at it. I started the school year in September with a plan, and this crazy energy. This school year has been different, in so many ways. Instead of doling out information to my students, and using the same boring practice to get them to recall some of it, I stepped back a bit (actually I took a giant step back) and started cultivating a different classroom culture.
Some tricks I learned in my summer session (can you call teaching practices tricks???) caused me to turn up the heat in the classroom. I dove in head first, and never looked back. Of course there were a few little problems to overcome. Dilemmas as they are known in some circles. Technology availability proved daunting at first, by we learned to do more with less. I learned how to accommodate 30 plus students with ten Chromebooks, two desktops, and well planned tasks. The second dilemma I faced was getting students to own their work. Many of them left their names off the work they turned in, or failed to include the names of all their team members. Google Classroom, and a leap of faith fixed that. I feel guilty my dilemmas were little more than nuisances. I guess it’s just perspective.
Now of course my story doesn't end there with my dilemmas sailing off into the sunset. I had to share my ideas with a focus group, and then move forward. I think I was already moving forward at those points, and meeting with others just clarified my thoughts. I don’t want to oversimplify what I’ve done or am doing, but I have no doubts and great clarity at this point.
Now here’s the weird “Body Snatching” thing going on. My students like the new ways of doing things. Classroom management has never been easier. Students know they have deadlines, they like their work, they’re more creative and collaborative. Each period literally flies by. And it’s spreading. Teachers I work with are asking me for help. They want to set up Google Classroom. They want to know how to use Google Forms, and Google Drawings. Slowly my practices have begun spreading around the other teachers. Not every teacher of course, but between my suggestions, and willingness to help they are converting. It’s actually fun to watch. I’ve had teachers ask how to use different tech tools, because the students are asking for it. What could be better?
So where do I go from here? Good question. My thought is to stay the course. I have one secret goal, I need to reach the 8th grade Science teacher. She is very set in her ways, and can’t see the value in changing her practices. I worry she will make my students go back to paper and pencil next year. Not that that’s wrong, but I don’t think it’s right. So I’ll nag her a bit, and showcase some of my student work during our content meetings. I think given time I will make her see the value of a tech driven science program.