tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4008498494966179877.post2999963834408869794..comments2023-08-25T05:09:21.741-07:00Comments on Craig's World: Now Announcing: Two Innovation Courses for 2015-16Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17903384571911102323noreply@blogger.comBlogger59125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4008498494966179877.post-58467970647172737092015-04-20T12:11:27.949-07:002015-04-20T12:11:27.949-07:00I'm excited for you! Especially as a first yea...I'm excited for you! Especially as a first year teacher, it's easy to just keep your head afloat much less attempt something new and highly innovative. I'd love to hear more about your Genius Hour journey as it progresses. Are you doing any blogging about it?Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17903384571911102323noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4008498494966179877.post-19571937651415415512015-04-15T17:31:42.769-07:002015-04-15T17:31:42.769-07:00This all is really great! Thanks for sharing. I...This all is really great! Thanks for sharing. I'm a first year teacher, teaching special education and this year I'm co-teaching 11th grade English and teaching two modified English classes. I'm all about finding new, innovative lessons/projects to get my students ready to learn and passionate about what they are learning. I'm interested in incorporating Genius Hour in my Resource and English classes! What I think is great about Genius Hour and you talked about this in your proposal briefly, is the idea that what we learn we can apply to our communities. That we can serve our communities by what we are learning and experiencing in the classroom. That's what I want most of my students; is that they can apply what they learn in class to what is happening in their life and around them. Real-life application is so important and especially at the high school level, finding true meaning in learning and how it applies to our lives is huge. Thanks for the resources! Best of luck!Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13975080533479877362noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4008498494966179877.post-28693442831128691802015-04-07T09:46:51.488-07:002015-04-07T09:46:51.488-07:00Wonderful! Wonderful! Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17903384571911102323noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4008498494966179877.post-72927093655741219522015-04-07T09:32:33.774-07:002015-04-07T09:32:33.774-07:00I will see what next year brings! I will continue...I will see what next year brings! I will continue to read teachers' blogs about their success and failures with Genius Hour to get a better idea of how it could work in my library.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15705908535478276511noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4008498494966179877.post-38547869425758022902015-04-07T07:13:52.784-07:002015-04-07T07:13:52.784-07:00Funny you should say that. Read it back in the fa...Funny you should say that. Read it back in the fall. http://craigsworld37.blogspot.com/2014/11/book-review-more-beautiful-question.html An excellent book that nails inquiry based learning well. I used that book when talking about Genius Hour at OETC earlier this year. I may need to go back and skim it though. It's easy to forget some important parts of books, especially when you've read a lot on a similar topic. <br /><br />The hardest thing right now is the not knowing. Not knowing the projects these students will select makes predicting how to steer them virtually impossible. But, I like your thinking. The weekly conferences will be a great way for me to sit with students and work through the how-to issues with them. Thanks for the input. <br /><br />Tell me about your Passion Projects course. <br />Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17903384571911102323noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4008498494966179877.post-903515722144415222015-04-07T07:01:40.154-07:002015-04-07T07:01:40.154-07:00Hi Craig. Considering a cycle course at our MS cal...Hi Craig. Considering a cycle course at our MS called Passion Projects. Thinking that you may want to consider a process such as IDEO's Design process to scaffold things a bit more or students but still leaving it in their hands. For example, if a student wants to create something for other students, then they may want to create a survey to collect student input. This is not only the empathy part of the process but also research. A GREAT book you may want to read is Warren Berger's A More Beautiful Question.debschihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08856780584685453373noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4008498494966179877.post-74295060926354584172015-04-07T06:51:42.714-07:002015-04-07T06:51:42.714-07:00This comment has been removed by the author.debschihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08856780584685453373noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4008498494966179877.post-10239763305052573972015-04-07T04:24:08.667-07:002015-04-07T04:24:08.667-07:00Got it on my Feedly feed now. Can't wait to s...Got it on my Feedly feed now. Can't wait to see what happens down the road! Thanks for sharing!Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17903384571911102323noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4008498494966179877.post-1544344810716077662015-04-06T18:16:36.045-07:002015-04-06T18:16:36.045-07:00Sure do! It's lambertclass.blogspot.com. It...Sure do! It's lambertclass.blogspot.com. It's still fairly new. Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09941203037644354866noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4008498494966179877.post-83549326539239815642015-03-30T11:44:42.931-07:002015-03-30T11:44:42.931-07:00Thanks, Bob. It comes from some experience and a l...Thanks, Bob. It comes from some experience and a lot of reading. With that said, I think the younger you go, you need more and more structure built into the Genius Hour model. I'd be interested in seeing how you implement this into your elementary class. Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17903384571911102323noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4008498494966179877.post-18454800794768944222015-03-30T08:33:13.724-07:002015-03-30T08:33:13.724-07:00Craig, I think you're on to something that wor...Craig, I think you're on to something that works, here. What I liked the most was the amount of "structure within the freedom" that is included in your proposal. All of us elementary teachers want to create free-thinking independent learners, but our kids must have a structure to thrive in. I think that the kind of gradual release that your proposal lends itself to will be successful.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01106983763448512111noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4008498494966179877.post-48007441586111732842015-03-30T07:11:19.011-07:002015-03-30T07:11:19.011-07:00Wonderful! Loved the chat! Can't wait to be me...Wonderful! Loved the chat! Can't wait to be mentioned ON Ellen. :)Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17903384571911102323noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4008498494966179877.post-27182286351809477142015-03-30T07:04:47.205-07:002015-03-30T07:04:47.205-07:00Thanks for the encouraging words. Also, thanks fo...Thanks for the encouraging words. Also, thanks for the two person tweet chat this morning. Oops, I think I forgot hashtags in our chat. HA! I will be checking out some of your other blogs. I'll give you a shout out when we make to the Ellen show. Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04842307130979239594noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4008498494966179877.post-77633227580124166562015-03-30T05:35:43.116-07:002015-03-30T05:35:43.116-07:00Thanks, Kathy for your encouraging words. I'm ...Thanks, Kathy for your encouraging words. I'm excited that you get to give GH a whirl next year, even if it's with some restraints. I think administrators like the idea of GH but feel too tied to standards and tests to allow us to go full bore with it. The trick is to find a way to teach the way you want within the restraints. Think of some broad open questions that relate to your unit and run with it. And remember, there is a ton of writing in GH, which helps continue to nail your ELA standards. <br /><br />As for the students, I got nothing. I think it's hard to go from a life where everything is handed to you and go cold turkey into what we are doing with them. Think about it...they go from "do this to get your A" to "what do you want to study? what should the final product look like?" They must think we've flipped our lids. <br /><br />Good luck! Let me know how things go. Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17903384571911102323noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4008498494966179877.post-66200270443399224032015-03-30T05:30:41.246-07:002015-03-30T05:30:41.246-07:00Great! Thanks for reading and sharing. I'd lov...Great! Thanks for reading and sharing. I'd love to hear more about your GH projects. Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17903384571911102323noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4008498494966179877.post-18978651834690552702015-03-30T05:27:59.814-07:002015-03-30T05:27:59.814-07:00Great! Thanks for reading and sharing. I'd lov...Great! Thanks for reading and sharing. I'd love to hear more about your GH projects. Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17903384571911102323noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4008498494966179877.post-66933307448110763862015-03-30T05:26:05.512-07:002015-03-30T05:26:05.512-07:00Lisa, it sounds to me like you have great ideas an...Lisa, it sounds to me like you have great ideas and have a foot in this crazy GH world already. Mind you, my only personal experience with GH is in middle school, so I can't speak with any authority on 4th grade. (I did teach 4th grade for 2 years in New Jersey back in the day when I was that teach the same thing for 20 years teacher. GH didn't exist then.) <br /><br />I think you're right. Your students won't get the individual global audience we want them to have, but it looks like you'll be getting their work out there. The important thing is that you are awakening them to creativity in the classroom. Too much of education these days is about standards and testing. We need teachers like you who will keep that creative channel open. <br /><br />I have no experience with Book Creator (though I want to) but I found found that a shared Google Doc or OneNote folder is a great way for students to reflect. It's not as public as a blog, but it's a great 2-way communication between student and teacher. <br /><br />Any other questions, let them rip. Keep me in the loop as you get rolling. I'd love to see your kids hanging out with Ellen! :)Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17903384571911102323noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4008498494966179877.post-40427548026687668382015-03-29T21:35:54.067-07:002015-03-29T21:35:54.067-07:00Students in schools that allow the addition of ele...Students in schools that allow the addition of elective courses without a lot of complicated proposals are lucky indeed. In our district teachers of middle school and high school students are learning about Genius Hour but will have to incorporate it within their existing classes of English, math, social studies, science, foreign languages, and perhaps a few existing elective classes. That is what I am trying to do in order to learn ways of incorporating Genius Hour into a full Reading/Language Arts curriculum in junior and senior English classes. I have had a classroom set of iPads in my room since October, and I have found students do not understand being in charge of their own learning. Many want to be like little birds--opening their mouths and letting someone drop the "food" (what they are to learn) in. I hope your new classes go well and that you have some students getting outside their comfort zones to take advantage of this type of class to learn something they really want to find out about. Kathy Liebenguthhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11758128916759765471noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4008498494966179877.post-53240570932383883502015-03-29T19:40:54.144-07:002015-03-29T19:40:54.144-07:00Thank you so much for sharing these resources. I ...Thank you so much for sharing these resources. I have bookmarked them as valuable resources as I embark on my own Genius Hour project this summer. ginastukhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12158916838225446798noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4008498494966179877.post-35081704220360603012015-03-28T13:37:10.944-07:002015-03-28T13:37:10.944-07:00Craig: I like your innovative ideas and ways of t...Craig: I like your innovative ideas and ways of teaching. Your detailed plans will allow other educators to teach students about innovation. I can tell that you are not the kind of teacher that Don Wettrick described in his book about teaching the same thing for 20 years. :) We all know that we have had those kinds of educators. <br /><br />I am fortunate enough to have a 1:1 ipad classroom and had heard about 20% Time and Genius Hour through social media and our ipad collaboration day. I knew I could find one hour a week to allow my students to research their passion. We have "dabbled" for about a month and then last week I had read Mr. Wettrick's book. We are even more excited for "Fun Friday" each week. <br /><br />I am a 4th grade teacher and you had mentioned that with elementary students there most likely wouldn't be tweeting, blogging, or YouTube videos for sharing the project process and final projects. I have a class twitter account that I use to share info. with parents and tweet "cool happenings" in the classroom. I also have my students use kidblog to blog. I understand that they most likely won't get that "expert" audience reading their blogs (it will be other students and maybe teachers), but their ideas and findings are being heard in kidblog. As far as video, our school has parents sign a release form at the beginning of each school year. I have a class YouTube channel, so I thought when the time came for students to share their work with an audience, we would post any videos to our class channel. I also thought if the blogging thing didn't work out, I could have my students journal their research findings, ideas, brainstorms, etc. in the Book Creator app, just to have a place to reflect. At the end of their project they would have a book of their entire Genius Hour project process. Do you think I am on the right track for implementing Genius Hour into my 4th grade classroom.<br /><br />PS: My students have high hopes we will be doing Google Hangouts with Ellen (I have a student who wants to be a talk show host), the Kansas City Royals will have new uniforms next season, Disney channel will be starring new actors straight out of Bellevue Public Schools, and little girls everywhere will be buying “Genius Hour” doll clothes from Target. Although, most of these examples are unlikely, it sure has been fun watching the excitement as my students are given the opportunity to explore their passion and develop important life skills along the way.<br />Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04842307130979239594noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4008498494966179877.post-65196043913918962142015-03-28T09:29:12.559-07:002015-03-28T09:29:12.559-07:00Thanks, Ashley! I'm pretty excited about this ...Thanks, Ashley! I'm pretty excited about this as well. My only GH experience to date is with middle school students. However, the more I research and read about GH, I see that the younger the students, the more structure you need to add. I would probably start with a lot of brainstorming but keep it within the topic of a current unit of study. The content would be teacher/curriculum directed but the mode of presentation could be student directed. I'd love to hear how you would use GH in your class!Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17903384571911102323noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4008498494966179877.post-36520207422801007252015-03-28T06:28:04.955-07:002015-03-28T06:28:04.955-07:00This is amazing! How exciting that your school is ...This is amazing! How exciting that your school is giving you the opportunity to teach students about innovation. As an elementary teacher, I would be interested in hearing how you would adapt the middle school class for intermediate students. Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4008498494966179877.post-33771288954464571572015-03-27T14:31:40.116-07:002015-03-27T14:31:40.116-07:00Thanks, Chrissy. I'm excited to be taking on t...Thanks, Chrissy. I'm excited to be taking on these courses. I've done GH before, but these classes will put GH on steriods. 100% time, not just 20%. I can't wait to see what these students produce. Are you using GH in your class? Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17903384571911102323noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4008498494966179877.post-37270314369023464002015-03-27T14:29:18.642-07:002015-03-27T14:29:18.642-07:00At least you get to see it in action with a collea...At least you get to see it in action with a colleague. You get to learn from others' bumps and bruises. Will you give it a whirl next year? I'd love to hear about the adventures!Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17903384571911102323noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4008498494966179877.post-10635642323443724232015-03-27T12:16:10.197-07:002015-03-27T12:16:10.197-07:00Craig, its great to see you taking a risk and tryi...Craig, its great to see you taking a risk and trying Genius Hour with you classes! Whenever I see other teachers taking risks like that, it encourages me to try new things with my classes. Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com