by Jenna Shaw
More and more we are finding that our students are moving outside the traditional classroom structure when they need to find information or learn something new. Our students can access YouTube, search on Google, or chat with just about anyone to learn everything from fixing their Xbox to building a two-story lego structure.
So why do we try to keep our students boxed in the classroom?
This question has been leading my thinking and actions ever since we arrived back from ISTE 2012 and started our EdTech Fellowship. More recently, I have begun having very real and honest conversations with my students about how relevent and engaging our learning is in our classroom. In our after school space, we are in the process of taking action to change this.
Our EdTech web-design after school program is transforming into an online publication: a creative writing publication. Student-written, student produced, and completely student driven. Students from all over the country can submit orginial pieces of writing to be showcased each month. Our after school group will be working to create and design the publication journal using WordPress and we will be networking with other schools, communicating with students aout submissions, and publishing the journal each month.
What are we called? Well, the name is still not decided, but the title “Elsewhere” is a hot contender. If this is the victor, I will dedicate a future blog post to explaining the symbolism and weight this title has for my students and me.
Until then, keep your eye out for those talented writers in your life that might be lucky enough to be featured in one of the first student-produced creative writing journals!
