Ed Tech In the SpEd Classroom

Using Technology to Help Bridge the Learning Gap

Genius Hour: Mission Complete! (5 minute read)

June3

Wow.  I can’t believe it’s already been 8 weeks since I started Genius Hour in my Resource class! Time really did fly by! Anyway, I’m excited to share with you my Genius Hour (GH) journey with you in hopes that you will be able to do something like this with your classes.  Lots of learning with students and teachers alike!

If you remember from this post a while back, I explained to my students that our GH would be a chance for students to explore any topic of their choosing, as long as: a.) a passion of theirs, b.) they researched something, c.) they created something, and d.) they presented their work.  The thought being, if students worked on something they were passionate about for 20% of the time, morale would increase and productivity would go up as well.

At the beginning of our GH project, I gave students a GH Digital Interactive Notebook that I created to give them a little bit of structure.  As you know, there is minimal teacher involvement in the whole GH process.  However, I didn’t want students to go blindly in.  With the Digital Interactive Notebook, students could focus on that week’s goals and reflect on their own work.  The DINB stated that week’s goal and offered them a space to think about what they had accomplished, what changes were made, and also what they needed to do to prepare for the upcoming week.

This past Friday marked Week 8:  Presentations week.  Students had spent the past several weeks brainstorming, pitching their ideas, researching, preparing their presentations and, finally, presenting their work.

Needless to say, I was floored.

I have had some of these students for the past 3 years, since we keep our same caseload students throughout the duration of each student’s high school career.  These same students, who I’ve seen procrastinate, struggle, joke around…their presentations showed me a whole new side to them.  I almost wanted to shout to them, “where have you been this whole time??” The way they presented showed just how passionate they were about their chosen subject matter.  There was no reading off their slides, there was no lack of tone.

It was just information given from students who haven’t been given the opportunity in school to show the world who they really are and what really matters to them.  

I had students creating survival guide manuals, caring for horses, doing comedy acts, creating tutorials on how to execute basketball and soccer maneuvers, how to progress as an artist, inventions to help families when they have a lost child, students showing us a song they played after self-taught guitar lessons, and so much more.  One of the most memorable presentations was a website that a student created to inform people of the different sexual identities a person can have.  She didn’t only explain the different ways people can identify themselves, but she ended her presentation showing us her “My Story” page of the website.  This was the page that explained her struggles growing up and eventually led her coming out to the entire class.  My students were very respectful and haven’t treated her any differently since then, but I could sense a strength and pride in my presenter that I had never seen before than when she shared her story.

What would I do differently? Aside from some minor DINB tweaks, I would opt to give my students the entire DINB ahead of time, instead of the beginning of the week we were on.  Basically, when it was week 1, I mass-assigned week 1 slides only to all my students.  Every week I would add that week’s slides to each student’s DINB.  I will not be doing this in this manner next time.  Originally, I had thought that I could attache each week to the master DINB copy in Google Slides and that change would disperse out to each student copy.  Alas, that is not the case.  When you give the student a copy of a Google Slide, they get exactly the copy you give them initially.  Any further changes in the master copy do not show in their copies.  So essentially, I had to go into each student’s DINB each week and copy/paste that new week’s slides into their files.  It was a pain, to say the least.

Also, I would do more conferencing during the project.  While doing the DINB gave me the opportunity to check in on a student’s work at any time, I wish I would’ve done a more thorough conference with each student.  Some students really struggled with choosing one topic to focus on.  I had some students change their minds a few times, which was ok–but trying to give them guidance while still allowing them to take the reigns was a bit challenging.  It was difficult for me to find a good balance.

One other thing I would do differently is change the peer review sheet we used for presentations as well as the rubric.  I want both to align a little bit better than what I had used.  Lastly, I would want to invite more people in on the students’ presentations.  I think there’s more accountability when you know a larger group will there to witness your presentation than if it is just your small Resource class.

Overall, however, I’d say it was a success.  This year was my guinea pig year, but they enjoyed doing something different.  I mean, think about it:  what teacher did you ever have tell you to work on anything you wanted? My kids brainstormed, they learned, and they created something awesome that they shared with the rest of their class.  It was a win for everyone.  That is the beauty of Genius Hour, and that is why I will do it again.

Flipgrid Introduces Genius Hour!

March26

Howdy, partners!

I know what you’re thinking:  where can I get a cool zebra cowboy hat like that? 😉

I have learned that students really appreciate you looking like a joke from time to time.  They seem to get a kick out of it.

Today, I decided to use Flipgrid with my Resource students for the first time eva.  To them, I was just delivering another “Do Now” (warm up), but in reality, it was a way for them to start thinking about the last big project of the school year they have coming up.  We are going to be starting a Genius Hour after Spring Break, and today’s prompt got them thinking about their passions.

The Do Now consisted of a video that I created, explaining how to download the Flipgrid app or use the website option.  Additionally, I explained that their Flipgrid needed to answer the prompt:  What Are You Passionate About? They had to identify things they enjoyed doing in their spare time or things they would like to learn about, if they could learn about anything they wanted.

While at first it took a LOT of time for them to warm up to the idea of *gasp* recording themselves, they eventually did it.  Nervous giggles were heard throughout the Do Now, as they tried to think about what they were going to say, stumbled over wording during their recordings, and (with some students) realizing they accidentally deleted their video instead of saving it.  I can’t remember how many times I heard the words “I don’t want to show my face!” today, but it was a few (um, isn’t this a selfie generation??).  Anyway, since it was their first one, I did give the option for them to not show their face, as long as they answered the prompt.  Aside from the few students who had technical issues, it was an overall success! Some things I heard students talk about was their passion in drawing, reading, basketball, organizing, and singing.  Some students stated they wanted to learn how to cook, learn Japanese, learn about other countries, and learn how to make shoes.  It was pretty awesome to see! Not to mention, some of their video selfies that they took and decorated were priceless.  It’s a cute little feature that Flipgrid has that makes it a little more fun.

A student gets giggly as he records his Flipgrid.

When we get back from break, students will start thinking more specifically about their passions as we introduce Genius Hour to them. For those who are unfamiliar with Genius Hour, it is where students are given class time to research a topic they are passionate about.  It doesn’t have to be academic at all, unless they choose it to be. Students will research a topic over a span of a few weeks, then create a presentation that they will deliver to their classmates.  The idea behind Genius Hour is that it gives students the chance to explore their passions more in order to increase morale and to help answer a question of some sort.  Students are encouraged to pursue a topic that either is fun for them or that addresses an issue they care about.  For example, some may research how to create a Rube Goldberg machine and why it works (while actually creating one), while another student creates their presentation about how to stop bullying in schools.  It is all left to students with minimal teacher guidance, other than the general guidelines that are given.

For a lot of my students, what they want to do with their lives after high school is unknown.  They know they have to have a plan for what they’re going to do by the time they graduate.  Some even have a career in mind.  However, most don’t know all the training/work that goes into those careers. Or, they don’t know what to pursue at all.  I think a Genius Hour project could help them identify what really matters to them, which could carry over into a future profession.

I’m excited to see what they end up creating.  It’s a chance for me to see a side of them I normally wouldn’t see and learn more about them as people.

I know it’s going to be great.

 


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