Tech Tuesday-Rediscovering the Joy of Learning

Here in Minnesota we are desperately looking ahead to spring. The dream of being able to walk outside without a coat seems like it is close to becoming a reality, and with daylight savings this past weekend we can drive home from work without turning on the headlights! However, when you work in a school, you know that with spring comes standardized testing. While I look forward to the warmer weather, I always dread the months of April and May because of the high stress feeling in the building. Earlier this winter I saw this post on Twitter and it has really stuck with me:

It is so easy to get caught up in the daily grind of checking off a list of concepts that students have mastered, then planning their next steps, AND catching kids who didn’t master the concept, planning appropriate interventions, while simultaneously juggling 20+ personalities in the classroom, their families, and professional obligations.  It shouldn’t be surprising that we end up with students who are good at school, but lack the skills to do well when they leave here. I think part of the problem is that we have slowly squished the joy of learning out of our school day.

If asked, “Why do you teach?” I’m sure that many educators would respond with something like, “I teach because I love watching a kid’s smile when that light bulb goes off, and they finally understand it (whatever it is).”  Most educators love learning and want to share that love with others. It is the joy of learning, not test scores, that inspires us to come back day after day, year after year.

Given the demands of this job, it is easy to forget or let that feeling of joy get buried in all the other “stuff”.  Finding a way to recover that joy can be challenging, so I wanted to offer a few resources to reignite the joy of learning for you and your students.  

Wonderopolis

This website is great for students to explore topics they are interested in or find explore topics they had never even considered.  The site features a Wonder of the Day question accompanied by a short article, video, and photos/graphics to help explain the answer.  I love that the website was designed to be accessible to lots of learners. The graphics make it easy to navigate, and the best part is you can have the articles read aloud while the words light up.  There is an option to create an account, however, it does require parent permission. And since an account is not necessary to use the site I would avoid going this route with students.

Mystery Doug

This site offers a little less flexibility, but has some really great resources.  Doug used to be a teacher, but now he answers questions he receives from students.  If you sign up for a teacher account you will get a new video emailed to you each Monday, and the videos often correspond with current events (recently he answered questions about the Olympics, and this week with St. Patrick’s day it is about rainbows).  A cool built in feature is that at the end of each video your class can vote on the topic for the next week, you can also submit a topic for Doug to answer. This is a great resource to have on hand for a brain break, snack time, indoor recess, or when you have a guest teacher.

BrainPOP

This is an oldie, but goodie. Did you know that BrainPOP is almost 20 years old?!?!  Not only can you access great educational content, but the featured video can be accessed without any login.  The videos always start with a question and include humor and engaging graphics. BrainPOP has also expanded to be more than just a video and quiz platform.  By signing up for a My BrainPOP account teachers can assign different activities for students and give them the opportunity to create as well as consume information.

In discovering these resources, I kept coming back to the idea of Genius Hour.  Genius Hour is great, but I know from experience that facilitating a full blown Genius Hour can be overwhelming, particularly with younger students who need more assistance.

So my thought is this: instead of working through a huge project, try to find some time even if it just a few minutes a week to give students time to explore these resources. Perhaps if they finish their work early, they can have some time to look up something that interests them. Or one day during their read to self time they get the opportunity to explore something they have been wondering about.

As far as keeping kids accountable for their research, there are lots of quick easy ways to do this:
1. Post on Seesaw
2. Post on Padlet
3. Post on Flipgrid
4. Respond to a question on Google Classroom
5. Post on a bulletin board in the classroom (yes, low tech is great too!)
The best part about having students share is that they can learn from each other, and be inspired by their peers to learn about other topics.

Spring is the time of year when everything feels renewed, refreshed, and happy. I hope that you can find some time to renew the joy of learning for your students, refresh your passion for teaching, and lastly, I hope that in the next few months your classroom is a happy place with smiles and lightbulbs!

Happy Spring!