For Kathy Cassidy, going back to school means “I set up my classroom, I think about how I will meet the needs of the students I will have, and I plan new ways I will meet my curriculum outcomes.” She’s done these things her entire teaching career, of course. “But because I am now a connected educator, I no longer do them alone. I do them with an entire network of educators online.”
A game-changing experience inside her personal learning (and knitting) network has teacher Lisa Noble thinking about how to bring the transformational potential of powerful social media events into her own classroom.
The question becomes, how do we translate our history students’ understanding of past actors into action by young people today? In March we decided to chuck the traditional exam format and craft a project to help students make this connection and consider what it means to be an engaged citizen.
In the long term, being hacked by a Twitter “phish” will make me a much better teacher of safe Internet use. I’m just really sorry for the inconvenience and possible harm I might have caused due to my lack of caution.
After years of having a consistent online presence, I’m continuing to come to terms with my lack of blogging and other writing/sharing in the school year just past. But I think I can say that my muted voice is in part the result of a ever-increasing focus on the all-important high stakes tests, and the strict curriculum controls and direct-instruction mandates that have grown up around the national “accountability” movement.
Management of our iPads is more of a hassle than I had anticipated. But it is clear to me that these devices ARE making a difference. When I see the students’ engagement, their learning, their sharing and their pursuit of their passions, I can’t help but be convinced that these devices have the potential to transform my classroom.
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