20% Time (Genius Hour)

I love 20% Time! This time is where my students get to show off all of there awesome talents. We do 20% Time projects on Fridays and students and their teacher look forward to this day each week. 

A little background... Two years ago I decided, with research and the help of my principal, to get rid of homework. This was going to be a completely new avenue for me in my 8 years of education. Upon my research I discovered flipped classrooms, which I now do and believe the learning on my class has vastly improved. My biggest fear with the flipped classroom was what are the overachieving students going to do once they finish their work? I discovered something called 20% Time and as they say, whom ever they are, the rest is history. 

Some of the projects my students have done in two years has been so impressive. The school spirit and creativity on display has been awesome! Students have painted the walls, lockers, locker rooms, doors, and even a hearing vent. I've had numerous students learn second languages. I had a student collect books to donate to a children's hospital. This student actually contacted me once she was in high school to let me know she was still doing her project on her own time. 

The creativity that 20% time offers can be difficult for some students. Having that freedom in the classroom causes some students stress, but once they find their passion, most continue to excel. 

I love 20% time and our genius hour. I have been extremely lucky to have administration that supports this type of learning. With a new administrator coming into the school this fall, I will do my best to emphasize the importance of 20% time. 

I look forward to 20% time every year and students now on the first day usually have two questions, where are the books  and our we doing 20% time this year? I love answering those question. We ditched the text books, and yes we will be doing 20% time. Just writing about 20% time gets me excited to see what my new 8th grade students will impress me with next school year. 

DTAs

Deeper Thinking Activities (DTAs) are some of my favorite days in the classroom. Through DTAs the students gain a better understanding of the concept being covered in class. Some of our DTAs include The Boston Massacre:CSI, the Industrial Revolution Assembly Line, Lewis & Clark, the Oregon Trail, and our Civil War Museum. 

These DTAs take a lot of time to prepare, but usually end up being the most rewarding days for me as a teacher. I try to have at least one DTA per unit and I try to add one more each year to each unit. 

There have been numerous successes with my DTAs, but I've experienced failures as well. I tried a new DTA this year with the Salem Witchcraft Trials and it did not go well. Through reflections and learning from my mistakes, I'm excited to see how that DTA goes this upcoming school year. 

I enjoy the DTAs because they usually get the students out of the classroom and doing something hands in or with technology. For the upcoming school year I am looking for more DTAs to use because this is a type of learning style where all students can benefit. 

Schoology

I was fortunate to have Schoology introduced to me by my principal. He told me about it in a Monday, and on Tuesday I had each student signed up with an account. When I first began using Schoology, it was just a place for students to turn in homework. It has evolved into so much more for me and my students. 

I now use Schoology for notes, discussions, test, quizzes, formative assessment, and so much more. Everything is so simple and the students love it because it looks similar to Facebook. 

Because of this platform, my students are definitely prepared for a future that is only going to add more technological advances. Working on this platform for a year and s half does not make me an expert. The students still discover new tools all the time. Through open discussion groups on Schoology, I have been able to try and stay ahead of the kids, but they're so smart and willing to help and show off what they know. 

I really like Schoology. I have used other learning platforms, but Schoology has been a perfect fit for what I needed. Schoology has offered the ability to stay in contact with students after hours. This might be the greatest aspect of the LMS. Answering questions in real time for students relieves anxiety and stress. 

Overall, there are so many great aspects of Schoology, that this blog would turn into a book. Schoology is great, and I will continue to use it next year. 

Reflecting

As summer days flow into summer nights, I have been able to reflect upon the past school year. I smile as I think of the the students and learning that happened over the course of our brief, yet memorable, time together. 

I started experimenting with a paperless classroom midway through the previous school and went all in this past year. I feel the students enjoy the use of technology and it prepares them for their future. Through generous grants and ample use of the computer labs, each student had plenty of opportunity to complete and research work. 

State testing caused much debate this past year. Will our kids be ready? How will they do taking test only on computers? How do we prepare our kids? Those, amongst others, were the questions posed by parents and teachers. I felt great that my students had been taking test and quizzes online for over a year and would be ready because of the education they received from our great staff, but also because they had been taking test online and knew what to expect. 

I'm not sure how I'm going to use this platform yet, but I want to post about the LMS we use in class, Schoology, Deeper Thinking Activities (DTA's), and 20% Time. 

I'm also attending a summer institute at the Newseum in Washington, D.C. that will be a great opportunity for me. D my students. 

Thank you for reading and I'm excited and interested to see the direction this blog heads.