Review and New

We have a shortened week of school due to our extra day off or long weekend.  This extra day was given to us so we could honor an American hero, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.  What did you do to remember this great man?  ABC News shared 5 Ways to Honor the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.  You may want to check them out.

As for the rest of this short week, it will be jam packed!  We will start off where we ended last week.  For some of you that will mean finishing up your second part of the Genius Hour Brainstorming Guide.  For most of you it will mean setting up your book for this project.  I have given created the first assignment in Google Classroom to share the details for the Book Creator set up of this resource for your projects.  Please go to my class in Google Classroom and find this assignment.  If you were have not yet "joined" our ILT classes, you will have the chance to do so today.

You will also be creating a second page on your blogs this week.  This "Genius Hour" page of your blog will be the space for your to record your progress.  I will ask you to create your first "post" on this page; sharing your initial thoughts about Genius Hour.

And of course, you will be taking your Blogging and Commenting Assessment this week.  Have not worries, you will have an opportunity to review with Kahoot It before taking the assessment.
                  ~Mrs. White :)

A New Journey

This week we will begin a new journey together.  We will be going down the road of exploring passions, identifying problems, and creating solutions as we begin exploring Genius Hour.  Step one will be brainstorming.  This will probably be a different type of brainstorming for many of you.  We aren't thinking of topics or projects.  Instead you will be doing some self-reflection and identifying things you would like to try and ways you could possibly help others.  Are you intrigued?  I hope so.  This is a new journey for me and I am excited to be taking you along with me.  There are many "experts" out there who will be able to help us if we take a wrong turn, but they will not give us answers. This will be frustrating at times, but I am sure the rewards will far out weigh the difficulties.  We will climb the hurdles together.............

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My New Year's Resolution

2015 will be a year of creativity, exploration, and new beginnings in my lab.  Over the past couple of years  I have attended and participated in numerous workshops and courses, read books, articles, and blog posts recommended by colleagues, and many which I have just “stumbled upon.”  In my mind I was expanding my PLC and being a life long learner; qualities found in many educators.  As I was sitting listening to a keynote at ETT Boston it happened; my mind was blown!  Suddenly the final piece of the puzzle fell into place as the picture became evident and I knew what I had to do. I needed to put the learning in the hands of my students; allow them to determine what they want to learn about and how they plan on sharing their knowledge.   In 2015 students will be following their passions, using technology as a means to the end, choosing the tools, conducting the research, creating the end products, and sharing them with an authentic audience; creating solutions to real world problems, or finding answers to their questions (not mine), and making mistakes along the way.   It is both exciting and terrifying; as I am letting go of the weight and the control that has been holding me and them back.  My role will be to provide an environment conducive to nurturing innovators; allowing my students to move from consumers to contributors. This infographic sums it all up!  So ready the sails, the course is changing and my students will be at the helm!

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Gearing Up For A New Year

   Although I have not been blogging over the summer, my mind has continuously been thinking about my old students, and my new ones.   I took some time to read through the feedback letters my students wrote for me at the end of the school year.  I am making some adjustments based on their suggestions.  So thank you so much to all of you for your thoughtful feedback.  
     As for this year......hold on to your hats!!!  I am so excited about the start of the new school year!  The format of our classroom will be changing drastically.  The year will begin with preparation for the iPad 1:1 rollout which will be taking place at the beginning of October.  We will also be taking a look at Google and how we use it.  After getting ourselves Google and iPad ready, we will be moving in to our Genius Hour format.  I am going to ask my students to help me determine a new name for this concept as we will not be limiting it to one hour, or maybe it will be.  Hmmmmm something to talk about.
     Anyway....my head is spinning, and my heart is racing.  I am sure there will be some mistakes made along the way, but that is how we learn.  Get ready to explore your passions and share your finding with the world!!  I cannot wait to meet you all.  See you soon.