by Beth Sanders | Apr 19, 2012 | Creating Global Classrooms, Less Teacher, More Student, Student Life, The Compelling Need for Change, The How of 21st Century Teaching, Voices
My teaching mission is simple yet absolutely necessary to helping my students prepare for their futures. I began this school year with a list of questions that could help me envision, plan, reflect and maintain focus on where my students and I needed to be when the last bell rings in late May. Out of my personal questioning and reflection came what would be the essential question for my 11th grade social studies students during our time together: “What does it mean to be a citizen nationally, globally and digitally?”
by Lisa Noble | Mar 28, 2012 | Making The Shift, Student Life, The How of 21st Century Teaching, Voices
I talked with my students about the KONY campaign. We looked at the way the story was evolving minute-by-minute and read three newspaper articles together. What I did not do was show my students the original video. Most of my students accepted this, but a few Grade 7 boys really took me on. They felt that if their classmates lost a little sleep, it was nothing compared to what those children were experiencing.
by Becky Bair | Mar 26, 2012 | Less Teacher, More Student, Making The Shift, Student Life, Voices
I’m thinking more than ever about my kids, who they are as whole children, and what the real worth of the schooling they receive might be. I’m wondering why we educators, both administration and faculty, don’t send these same kind of notes home all year long. Why aren’t sleep and nutrition and stress reduction equally important the other 171 days of the school year?
by Sr Geralyn Schmidt | Mar 21, 2012 | Making The Shift, Student Life, The How of 21st Century Teaching, Voices
Face to face conversations are part of how human beings have interacted since the beginning of time. They will never go away even though the barrage of technology greatly expands how we communicate with one another. That said, I believe educators need to teach both ways of communication to students. We are obliged to do this because, as educators, we are preparing our students for the jobs of the future — and for lives in a digitally shifted world.
by Jamie Reaburn Weir | Mar 9, 2012 | Less Teacher, More Student, Making The Shift, Passion Based Learning, Student Life, The How of 21st Century Teaching, Voices
I am a proponent of BYOD (bring your own device) learning. I very rarely travel anywhere without my iPhone or iPad, and I can’t really blame my students if they do the same. I see the “addiction†students have to their cell phones as an opportunity to engage in learning since I view cell phones as another teaching tool, not a distraction. The technology is in their pockets. It’s a learning resource. Let’s use it!
by Becky Bair | Feb 6, 2012 | Less Teacher, More Student, Making The Shift, Student Life, Teacher Leadership 2.0, Voices
I am trying to shift my teaching, make inquiry the centerpiece, and have my students be the leaders in their learning. The biggest challenge I face is that my students have no idea how to work together. As teachers we need to steal back the time necessary to make community-building a priority in our classrooms.
