Today, I decided to find a YouTube archive from the 30 Goals Conference (which I participated in online last summer). I hadn't watched this one, but it's from a teacher in Greece named Christina on the topic Challenging Students, An Ongoing Journey.
She talked about how she decided, based on something she'd participated in through 30 Goals, to have her 5 ESL online students create a video introduction of themselves to start the class. She gave them a bunch of technology tools to choose from, many that they'd never used (Powtoon, Animoto, etc.). This was their challenge, one that she feared they might not be able to do to, especially through distance learning. They were encouraged to help each other, collaborate and communicate online, and come up with a product to share a week later. She simply called the project "And You Are?" (here are the student examples).
She discussed how they began using the tools they played with after the project--compiling photo albums, doing family projects, or for other assignments. As she put it, the JOURNEY CONTINUES. Once we give students a taste of something, give them positive attention to nurture their potential, they often will rise to the challenge and will discover more about their talents.
PERSONAL NOTE: As a technology teacher, nothing pleases me more than when current or former students come back to my lab wanting to use the programs I have taught them for a contest, family project, or for another class. I've had students want to use my equipment and programs to edit a video for Spanish final projects or do an audio mix for a pep rally. Just this past year, one of my Advisory students asked to learn content (I didn't even have him in the applicable class) so he could edit a video of something that he'd done in social studies class. This "need to know" knowledge is what drives all of us to learn. We need to find more ways to challenge students in a way that enhances their knowledge and ignites their passions.
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