Reflective Teaching: A 30-Day Blogging Challenge For Teachers (Day 2)

Reflective Teaching: A 30-Day Blogging Challenge For Teachers (Day 2)

Today's Topic:
Write about one piece of technology that you would like to try this year, and why. You might also write about what you’re hoping to see out of this edtech integration.


So this will be hard to pick only one piece of technology that I want to try this year. Because generally I glom on to something new all the time and integrate it as soon as I can. I will say overall however I would like to use internet publishing for my students as much as possible this year. Yes, they will be creating a website again, however I want to go beyond that. For instance the author/ genre study where students will be writing an explanatory piece hopefully for the website WritingSuperheroes.com will be one of the first steps. 

Beyond that though since I have had restrictions placed on my students websites being made public I have to be thoughtful about how to get online interaction happening with people outside my district domain. I am thinking about ways to have the students get feedback through their LMS, posting their essays and being able to read one another's pieces and commenting on them. Then picking the best of the best for the website (both #writingsuperheroes and my own websites for the students).

I also want to think about ways to publish online that allows for interaction between classes in our own building. For the last year or two I have been preaching about the idea of breaking down the walls of our classrooms but I always think in terms of connecting classes nationally. But there is power for sure in connecting within your own state and your own district & building. We rarely think about ways to get multiple classes interacting within our own building and I am hoping that with different lessons we are already planning we will be able to do that more. 

It actually started last year with us creating courses online for students to interact depending on what books they were reading when we did a unit on bullying. We also planned our first library day where all three 8th grade classes were in the library together checking out books. Then we have also started talking about when we start Genius Hour allowing students to get together in the library or cafeteria to show their pitches to other students and get feedback.  

Overall good ideas to make writing more authentic by publishing online, and breaking down the walls of the classroom however that might end up looking! 

For more on the 30-Day Blogging Challenge click here!