Ideas for Secondary ELA: What will you do next?
Over a decade's worth of insights examining how to integrate technology into the classroom with efficacy. Plus times that pen and paper are even better.
Lessons, Student Blogs, and Inquiry-based Learning (including PBL) in the ELA classroom.
I've been long involved in finding ways to put students in the driver's seat. 20% Time and Genius Hour are excellent ways to put them in charge of their own learning.
How does our classroom stay relevant for students?
Covid shut downs changed education more dramatically over the past year than ever in history. We went from a system that had remained static for over a century to a model that looked completely different over the course of one weekend. During this time, every single K-12 teacher became a first year teacher. Everything we knew about content, delivery, and especially classroom management was thrown out the window. We now teach virtually on snow days, utilize websites more than ever before, and play the never-ending game of keeping students on task while using their devices. It is exciting. It is scary. It is a brave new world to be sure.
We also learned what our continued role looks like as we move forward in education with 1:1 in classrooms. Every student has a computer in their pockets- they can Google anything and get answers to their questions in seconds. This will never go away. A teacher's role has changed from being the giver of information to the facilitator of information. Our jobs now are not to tell students things, but to show them how to ask questions and find the answers to their questions.
This site is designed to share the good, the bad, and the ugly as we traverse through a lot of unchartered territory. My hope is that by sharing what worked in my classroom, I'll be able to give some great tips. By sharing what bombed, I can help teachers avoid potential pitfalls.
If you have a horrible experience to keep others from going down that same path or an amazing lesson that you are excited to share, please email me at pettyapps@gmail.com to guest post.