Here’s the outline for a seminar I teach in schools before the holiday break, to excite teachers about what they can accomplish “the second half” of the school year:
Every year, I make New Year resolutions and ignore them. I don’t promise to fulfill them. I don’t even check my progress and revise as needed. I make-and-forget, check it off the New Year’s To Do list and move on.
This year, I’m trying something different: resolutions that aren’t quantified, that won’t take extra time from my too-busy schedule. Resolutions that are, instead, about my teaching mindset. Here’s my list:
I will learn one new tech tool a month
There are so many. I get massive lists of webtools, websites, apps, extensions, and links in my inbox, mostly proclaimed as “the tool I can’t do without”. Every month, I’ll pick one and try it.
Just to be clear: Today’s tech ed tools aren’t like they used to be. The ones I’m interested in are easy-to-use, intuitive, easily differentiated for varied student needs, and free or inexpensive. Anything that requires a time commitment to learn and buckets of creativity to use is off the list. My schedule is too packed for that sort of commitment. And, I’ll unpack them with the students, authentically, as part of a project we do.
To get me started, add a comment with your favorite tool — the one I should start in January.
I will say yes when students ask for a variance from my lesson plan
I spend hours developing lesson plans. Even carryovers from last year, I revise, update, and re-evaluate in the lens of how it went last year and what new twists my team has added. I’m vested in each piece which makes it difficult to NOT answer with a knee-jerk “No” when a student suggests something they think will work better for them. In fact, I’ve done this so well in the past, students rarely make suggestions anymore. This new year, I’ll encourage students to replace a written book report with an audio version. I’m going to ask them to consider how they communicate best and choose a method suited to their needs — as long as they accomplish the lesson goals.
Lesson goals — like the Big Idea and Essential Question — shouldn’t be dependent upon the tool. I’m going to make that a reality.
I will encourage collaboration
Conversation between students is welcome if it is on message. They will be encouraged to learn from each other, work together, share knowledge in a collaborative open environment. If they get off topic, I’ll come up with ways to fix that (leave a comment below if you want or have suggestions).
I will be more available to students and parents
We talk about the importance of the parent-teacher link, but then set structured office hours and narrow timeframes in which we can meet with them. While this might suit my schedule, it rarely fits a parent’s 9-5 workday. This new year, I’ll let parents meet with me on their schedule when it doesn’t interfere with classes. This might mean it falls during my prep time or I have to come in or leave on a flex schedule. I might even arrange virtual meetings.
Talking to colleagues who do this, surprisingly it doesn’t make their day endless. In fact, because parents feel you are more accessible, always willing to discuss their child, they become less demanding. Well, once they get past the backlog of questions they haven’t been able to ask all year.
I will encourage parents to help in my classroom
Transparency is an oft-discussed and rarely-delivered promise. Often, we think it’s counter-productive for our curriculum to be questioned by non-professionals. But, really, it’s about extending our teaching to a different group of learners: parents, helping them understand how all the pieces work. I don’t expect many parents to take me up on this offer, but I will welcome those who want to drop by to see what exactly a Technology class looks like. They can participate, help, or just watch. They can ask clarifying questions (after class). They might even request tutoring to catch up on what their children are learning that they haven’t a clue about.
BTW, dedicated parent classes work well, too. I usually offer them during lunch or after school. The parents who attend become my cheerleaders in the school community.
I will let students redo work
We teach write-edit-redo, but then refuse to let students do it when it’s outside of the writing class. What’s with that? I will allow students to redo their work for a better grade. I’ll even help them master skills they don’t get in after-school tutoring. The hard workers will be rewarded for their efforts and move much closer to achieving the goals I’d planned for the lessons.
Note: To a person, the teachers I know who do this tell me it doesn’t add to their day. Students often redo the work on their own time or in the lab, after school, when the teacher is there anyway. They become some of the most positive, supportive students, as do their parents.
I will play music during keyboarding time
Most keyboarding tools I’ve seen don’t concentrate on pace as a factor in touch typing. In fact, keeping a steady rhythm while fingers hit the keys is critical to developing speed. In the real world, students think they should go as fast as they can, meaning speed through easy words like “as, is, and” and slow down for complicated words like “calculate”. In reality, a steady pace is one of the biggest predictors of speed in keyboarding.
Which brings us to music. Music has a rhythm that continues throughout the song. I need to pick one that’s the right speed for my students and they like, but then they’ll enjoy the novelty of working to music.
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I’m excited about these changes. They may rearrange my time, but it’s about working smarter, not harder.
I like that.
Here’s the sign-up link if the image above doesn’t work:
https://forms.aweber.com/form/07/1910174607.htm
“The content presented in this blog are the result of creative imagination and not intended for use, reproduction, or incorporation into any artificial intelligence training or machine learning systems without prior written consent from the author.”
Jacqui Murray has been teaching K-18 technology for 30 years. She is the editor/author of over a hundred tech ed resources including a K-12 technology curriculum, K-8 keyboard curriculum, K-8 Digital Citizenship curriculum. She is an adjunct professor in tech ed, Master Teacher, freelance journalist on tech ed topics, and author of the tech thrillers, To Hunt a Sub and Twenty-four Days. You can find her resources at Structured Learning.
