Chapter 1: Free Access
Technology eliminates geographical barriers to the students’ learning experience. Teaching a new topic or concept? Contact an expert in the field and ask them to SKYPE in to do a Q & A with students.
Chapter 2: Efficiency
Eliminate the need to cart home thousands of pieces of paper by creating a digital learning space, such as Google Classroom, in which grading, discussing, and feedback can happen virtually. There is an automatic record of all the work and all you need is the Internet to access it anywhere. Bonus: this mimics the Learning Management Systems (LMS) that nearly every college uses, so students are better prepared to navigate those if they choose to attend college.
Chapter 4: Empowering Students
Utilize the endless amount of information online to drive students to discover their unique passions. Try new approaches to the good old research paper like Genius Hour or Passion Projects. Have students create TED Talks instead of doing a traditional speech. All of these things are enhanced with technology yet still depend on critical thinking and demonstration of core skills.
Chapter 8: Connect with Questions
Getting personal in ways that facilitate higher level thinking may be way out of your comfort zone, but students will transform when you make learning more relevant to their lives, their daily experience. Try engaging students with deep questions (Level 3) about universal themes and creating text sets with skills assessments/activities around those questions. For example: Why do we hurt the ones we love? Learning will transform!
Chapter 9: Fun and Magic
Disney does it right, they focus on setting the scene and making every customer’s experience magical. If teachers focused on creating that kind of atmosphere in the classroom as often as possible and on serving their students as they would a customer, the learning experience would improve for teachers and students. I spent 8+ hours a day in my classroom; I chose flexible seating, low, sparkly lighting, and modeled my room after a local coffee shop. It made me want to be there and the students never wanted to leave. Something to think about…
Chapter 12: Task over Tool
“The mindset that fuels digital learning is: Good teaching trumps good tools.” An effective teacher is monumentally more important than having brand new Chromebooks. What an effective teacher can do with Chromebooks is nothing short of amazing with the right planning. A good rule: if the tech doesn’t enhance the student learning experience and make your teaching more effective or efficient, don’t use it.
Chapter 23: Create a Home
If you no longer pull all of your content in print textbooks, you’ll have to create a digital home base for the content. Create a place that students can go to access all class content, such as Google Classroom, Edmodo, Padlet, or another online storage space. This is the place students will start when they begin any lesson and go out from there. One login is a beautiful thing, also.
Chapter 24: Create Content
Also important if you don’t rely as heavily on print textbooks will be digital content creation. Don’t be afraid! Try VoiceThread or Screencast-o-Matic to record your voice over your screen activity to make tutorials for students. Use QR codes around the classroom for a choose-your-own-adventure style research project. Post galleries of art for students to respond to in writing or via discussion board. This is no different than traditional lesson planning, except you’ll have a digital copy for future use. #winning
Chapter 29: Choose Wisely
After doing the first two things mentioned above, gather a couple of tools that you’ve tested out, such as Kahoot or Socrative, for example, and try them out. Tweak or abandon their usage in your digital classroom as needed based on student results. Don’t make the mistake of trying to use ALL the tools you find interesting or fun. You will be overwhelmed and little learning will result.
Hello, Universe by Erin Entrada Kelly
This Newbery Medal Winner is told from four intertwining points of view—two boys and two girls—the novel celebrates bravery, being different, and finding your inner bayani (hero). This is a neighborhood story that will intrigue and delight children and adults alike. It just might make you laugh, too, which is something we all need more of in our daily lives. Find out more about the author on Twitter @erinkellytweets.
As the Crow Flies by Melanie Gillman
A Stonewall Honor Recipient, As the Crow Flies is a comic about a 13-year-old African American girl named Charlie who is struggling with her identity, sexuality, and faith. As she tries to figure it all out in a most unlikely place, a Christian backpacking camp, she finds herself coming to some tough conclusions about everything she’s always known as true. Connect with the author on Twitter @melgillman.
Long Way Down by Jason Reynolds
Recommended by the Waggener High School Library Media Specialist and my long-time mentor, Kristen Heckel, Long Way Down won a Newbery Medal, a Printz Award for Young Adult Literature, a Coretta Scott King Honor, and an Odyssey Award for Best Audiobook, just to name a few. In it, 15-year-old Will struggles with grief after his brother is shot and killed. The story of his survival skills after this traumatic event is not one you'll soon forget. Check out Jason Reynolds on Twitter @JasonReynolds83. His books are not only award-winning, but extremely popular with young adults, particularly boys.
Kristie Hofelich Ennis, NBCT
In an effort to systematically study relevant research and stay connected to the teachers I greatly respect and with whom I have worked for years to successfully implement independent reading, this newsletter came about. It will offer research and practical ideas for quick implementation and may prompt further discussion or study with your colleagues. I hope you'll find it useful and thought-provoking; I also hope you will stay in touch if you implement any of the ideas with your students. They are, after all, why I do what I do!
Email: kennis@murraystate.edu
Location: Dublin, OH, United States
Facebook: facebook.com/kristie.hofelich
Twitter: @KristieHEnnis
