One way to help students begin thinking about what "Big Questions" they will pursue for their Genius Hour projects and the products they will create as a result, is by encouraging them to move in the direction of their "why." Last year, our college counselors showed the following TEDx presentation to my sophomores with author, … Continue reading Genius Hour: Know Your Why
Remind
If you have been looking for an easy, privacy-ensuring way to quickly communicate via text message with your students and/or their parents, Remind is a perfect tool to do so. Merely open a free account, create classes for each of the periods you teach, and Remind will generate a code for each class. You can … Continue reading Remind
Genius Hour: A Poll
Summer break provides the perfect opportunity for rest, relaxation, and reflection. In addition to spending more quality time with family and friends, I consistently engage in my own professional development by finding books, webinars, or conferences which will help me better prepare my students for life beyond high school. I mentioned in this post that … Continue reading Genius Hour: A Poll
Grit: Ancient Wisdom
Since 2013, over 11 million of us have viewed Angela Duckworth's TED Talk entitled "Grit: The Power of Passion and Perseverance." While her teaching experience and graduate research were indeed fascinating and resonated with quite a few, I couldn't help but think her findings were merely echoes of ancient wisdom reborn for a newer and … Continue reading Grit: Ancient Wisdom
Sir Ken Robinson Podcast
Sir Ken Robinson delivered a TED Talk in 2006, "Are Schools Killing Creativity?" which has been their most viewed talk to date with 25 million of us viewing it online. In 2013, he recorded the following 45-minute podcast for On Point entitled, "On Discovering Your Passions," which could be a helpful resource for teachers, guidance … Continue reading Sir Ken Robinson Podcast
Canva
Canva is an excellent design tool for any and all creative projects. Whether you need to create a blog title, Twitter header, resume, presentation template, or Venn diagram, they have it all--and it's free! Merely go to the website, create an account, find a template you like or choose a generic layout, and start designing. … Continue reading Canva
Curiosity: The Key to Success
Meet Caine, a 9-year-old from East L.A. whose curiosity has inspired millions: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=faIFNkdq96U Why is it that some of our students, like Caine, will follow their curiosity and interests to produce amazing creations or contrivances whilst others flounder or look to the teacher to tell them what to do next? How do we as teachers … Continue reading Curiosity: The Key to Success
Genius Hour 2.0
From Day 1, I was already reflecting on how it could be better. I am one of those teachers who jumps right in and iterates as I go. This was no exception.
Game-Based Learning
(Source: Edutopia.org) Game-based learning in the classroom is not new as students compete for points by way of grades on a daily basis. Where it becomes interesting is when the concepts of game design are applied in a more meaningful, real-world way to engage students as creators and problem-solvers for any number of issues they … Continue reading Game-Based Learning
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